MaNan : Aching Smiles|| COMPLETED

2. Demeaning the meaningful

~ from the deepest desires, often comes the deadliest hate~

Nandini woke up, earlier than her usual time with a hope in her heart to talk with her long lost best friend and win back his friendship. She got ready in a yellow long kurti and white leggings which was basically within an hour for the first time in her entire life and ran downstairs, to find Manik already on the dining table with Pakhi.

He was munching his toast, with sips of fresh orange juice in between. Seeing him, a huge smile formed on her face as she jumped the last two stairs and ran to the dining table.

" God morning people!", Her cheerfulness was a sight to behold.

"Good morning sexy!", Pakhi winked at Nandini and Manik raised his eyebrows at the remark.

" Oh please maa! Don't call a behneji sexy. Who would say she have returned from London?", The expression Manik made made Nandini conscious of her dressing sense.

"But you loved seeing me in Indian", a small reply made him look upward at her and he smirked. The arrogant businessman smirk.

" That was ten odd years ago Ms Nandini, a lot have changed since that, especially my taste", Manik sipped his juice and shrugged, making her doe shaped gorgeous eyes misty.

"Manik!", Pakhi chidded him for his tone, "is this the way you talk to your best friend?", She scolded him for she could never tolerate tears in eyes of her Nini.

"What is this 'best friend' shit both of you have started since yesterday? We are not even friends, forget best friends!", Manik spoke through clenched jaw throwing his hands in the air.

"She is more or less a stranger to me, and me to her. So please, forgive me and let me go out of this imposed conversation", he stood up, and took his blazer on his left arm and his phone in his right hand before turning to leave. Two steps ahead and he stopped. Nandini who was looking at the floor until looked up with a tiny hope. He turned back to face them and dropped a kiss on his mother's forehead, softly.

"Have a good day maa!",he wished her and left without sparing a glance at the girl he called his best friend for 16 long years.

Tears rolled down her chubby cheeks as he disappeared from her peripheral vision. She had anticipated an outburst from him, maybe a few days of anger and attitude, or a few emotional conversations but never had she dreamt of this cold and ruthless behaviour from him. Was it her fault that her parents got transferred that far away? And had not she tried to call him and message him, all of which he had stopped responding and replying to.

"Nini beta, it's your first day today right? Don't spoil your mood for that jerk of a son of mine. I will talk to him, he will come around", Pakhi rubbed her shoulders and Nandini looked up at her with a helpless face, before wiping her face and bringing up a small smile.

"Am I really a stranger to you people?", She asked earning a playful slap on her shoulder.

" Don't even think about it", Pakhi scolded her before hugging her like a child.

"Lets have breakfast!", Pakhi smiled as she served Nandini's favourite cuisine, pancakes dipped in honey and saw her face lit up like anything. Afterall she knew how and what made her children happy. She sighed looking at a delightful nandini
Nandini, there were some urgent talks to be done with Manik.

Nandini had an aweosme day in her new office she had joined as the intern. To be honest, it sounded odd, a girl who did her graduation and post graduation from Newyork coming to india for her internship. But then, the decisions made from heart are not logical. And Nandini had just seen this as a chance to meet her long lost bestie again and grabbed it, though that was altogether another story that the same friend made sure to make her regret the choice.

Manik entered his house at 7 pm, which was quite early as compared to his daily routine but his meetings were done and he desparately wanted to catch some sleep. So he was about to walk upstairs to his room when he glanced at the kitchen to find Nandini busy in cooking something. She was in a white tank top and blue fluffy short skirt, a demenour much different than the morning indian one.

Nandini was stirring the pasta in the pan, as she mixed the sauces but she had caught him entering the house nevertheless. She smirked at the opportunity.

"Now you will see that Nandini Murthy can rock western as sexily as she does with Indian", she smirked while stealing glances at him. If Manik can play games even she could and that too better than him.

Her breaths hitched when she felt him standing behind her. He leaned forward making her gasp as he put her chin on the hollow of her neck.

" If you are that desparate to grab my attention, just say it to me directly", his husky and teasing voice rang in her ears as he dipped his finger in the bowl of tomato sauce kept beside the frying pan and licked it, before giving her a disapproving nod and tracing his steps back.

" By the way, I don't eat pasta anymore, so stop with your stupid excuses of impressing me", Manik commented again and left for his room leaving a stunned Nandini behind.

Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that the person she had spent her entire childhood with, would demean her with such disgusting words. Slutty clothes? How could he say that to her? Was this the friendship she came back to India for? Nandini felt the world spinning around her. What had happened to her Manik, the guy who always cared in extremes for even the peon of their school? The guy who respected every women irrespective of anything? The words he spoke burned her insides like acid, making her feel sick of this person. She closed the gas and ran to her room, locking the door behind her and burst into tears. It had been only twenty four hours of her return and he had used the meanest phrases for her. But then she was not this pitiable girl who would bear anything and everything, was she?

He needed to answer her question, that's it. She decided and wiped off the tears from her face before storming to his room and knocking the door.
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Note: for all the readers who are guessing that Manik loved Nandini and she left, that's why he is angry, it's wrong.😂😂😂 Manik didn't love her.