Glamour

Chapter 10

"You bought the studio!?"

Nandini stared at Manik in disbelief, her mouth agape while he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms with a smug smile on his face.

"Yup. I bought the studio. You can pick up your jaw from the floor now Miss Murthy."

Nandini opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and then opened again.

"Wh- why?"

Manik smirked at her.

"You know you look incredibly cute right now."

Nandini flushed, just a bit. In an attempt to hide the effect of his words, she tried to appear irritated.

"What the hell Manik? Why would you just go and buy my studio?"

She had her hands on her hips and her body leaned forward a bit. Manik didn't reply. He was now straight as a rod of steel and didn't move a bit. His silence put her over the edge. But before she could retort, her eyes buried into his gaze and her breath hitched. There was a dark storm coiling which threatened to snatch her in, all in and sink her in their depths. Nandini suddenly found it hard to breath. She gasped, trying to fill her lungs with air and prayed with all her heart for Manik to not see what went through her. But he was the one caused it and he knew it all too well.

Desire.

Swirling inside of them both. Deep, dark, dangerous desire. The air around them had changed from playful to tense, from thin to thick, from light to heavy.

She didn't know why. Manik took a step towards her, she involuntarily took a step back. There was something about this man. He didn't intimidate her, it was quite the opposite. Something pulled him toward him, almost uncontrollably and it scared her.

For once, she thought she should stand her ground and she did. And Manik entered her space.

No touch, no words. Yet, Nandini found the air electrified with emotions. She looked up at Manik's towering form and gulped. Her eyes flicked to his lips and she fought the urge to close the distance between them and kiss him with all the restraint left in her body.

Only a touch from him would break that too and she pleaded him with her gaze. Manik's body stiffened even more. His gaze turned hard and cold as he looked down into her eyes, holding her gaze.

Their breaths mingled and Nandini could push only a single word out of her mouth, her voice soft and vulnerable, laced with overwhelming emotions.

"Why?"

Manik's voice was cold as he spoke.

"I did it for you."

Nandini closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't explain the joy that was brought to her. When she opened her eyes, Manik was gone and she was left in the cold loneliness, devoid of his warmth.

***

The days went by and they were mostly uneventful. Exchanged were only glances, habitual on Manik's part, cautious on Nandini's side. Apart from the shooting, they hardly spoke to each other, and the growing tension between them could be felt by the crew. Yet they couldn't put a finger on it. They didn't have any major fight on the set, none actually. Which confused the people even more and also the media who were dying to dig up some scoop, to have a glimpse of the inside life of the two stars, to know if the handsome hunk had made his way into the broken-hearted heroine's life. But all their efforts went in vain.

On the last day of shoot, Nandini looked at herself in her vanity mirror. It was coming to an end, the movie and so was their time together. She tried to embed that thought into her mind. She would make sure not to cross paths with Manik ever again. Today, she will seal her fate. She will choose her path and will never let anyone else accompany her, especially not Manik Malhotra.

In between the shots, Nandini was summoned by one of the executive producers. When she entered the trailer, she found Manik sitting across from the producer. He looked up at her briefly, then quickly averted his gaze. She did the same and sat on a chair settled between the two men. She flashed the producer her mild, professional smile.

The producer smiled back and jumped straight into business.

"The film looks really good. I know there are some scenes left to shoot and the rest need to be edited but still I think the people are going to really like what they see."

Nandini and Manik both smiled politely, avoiding to look at each other at all costs. The producer continued.

"And most of the credit goes to you two. Really! You gave it your best shot."

Manik and Nandini mumbled a 'thank you', almost simultaneously.

"So I wanted to ask, are you interested to do another film?"

Manik and Nandini glanced at each other, unsure of what to think of what they heard.

"You mean if we want to do another movie together?"

Nandini's voice sounded edgy, almost panicked.

The producer shrugged.

"Yeah, that's what I was-"

"No."

Manik's cold voice reverberated through the confined space of the trailer. Nandini almost jumped, her eyes snapped back to Manik. Before the producer could come up with any questions, Manik spoke again.

"I am sorry but I can't. I am actually planning to produce my own film. And I have my own studio now, so.."

He looked at Nandini, his gaze icy. Nandini's heart squeezed. She stared at him, didn't utter a word, not sure what to say or how to react.

The producer shrugged again and glanced at Nandini, who suddenly seemed a bit upset. She cleared her throat and seemed to choose her words carefully.

"I will do it."

She said with a forced, small smile. And with that, she abruptly stood up and left the trailer.

***

There was anticipation in the air; just like the day it started, on the last day of shooting, the people were excited. For the beginning on the first day and today, for the end.

And in the middle of it all, Manik and Nandini stood, inches apart from each other as they delivered their dialogues.

When they were done and Raj shouted 'Cut!' for one last time, they didn't move, as they usually did. They stood there, not moving closer or away. It was a battle between them, a battle they neither wanted to win nor loose.

Nandini was the first to break the silence.

"Why?"

Manik stared at her silently for a couple minutes before answering.

"Why what?"

Nandini's eyes flashed with anger.

"You know what! And I want the answer!"

The anger was reflected in Manik's eyes.

"Really? Because I doubt you know what you want to know in the first place!"

Their tone was hushed, they were shouting in whispers. The tension between them soared to  the peak.

"This is how it is, right Manik? This is how it has been for you all along. I was just a tissue paper for you to use and throw away, wasn't I? That's why you no longer want to see my face?"

Manik shook his head with a bitter smile on his face as he looked away. When he looked back at her again, his eyes sparkled with tears of rage.

"Ask yourself Nandini and find the answer to your question."

"Pack up!"

The shout from the director ended the conversation and Manik walked away without another word. Nandini stood there, speechless, as clouds roared above in the sky and a few moments later, strong raindrops hit her skin like harsh, cold, biting needles.

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