MaNan~ Tangled Destinies- Hearts to Redeem [COMPLETED]

•7• •Unsettling settlements!•

A special mention to the five readers who cared to comment about the chapter.....
purnima17 SrishtiSharma9 SizzPani salriz and TheBlueCanvas 😘😘😘😘
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||Unsettling settlements!||

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Manik was lost in his thoughts as he sat by the night lamp on his side with his eyes closed. Since the time he had entered his room back after witnessing the conversation between his cousin and his ex-girlfriend he was disturbed.

His balcony was adjacent to Nandini's and thus he ended up eavesdropping on their talks even when he did not intend to. He was well aware that him and Nandini were in the past but there was this teeny-tiny feeling in him that made it difficult to absorb the reality. He just couldn't see Nandini with somebody else that way. Years back it was just him who was that close to her and today looking at her with someone else, getting married as well, irked him.

He never acted this bizarre around any of his exes but why just her? She was the first girlfriend he ever had and the way that ended, it shouldn't be this hard to let go but it truly was.

Their previous relationship was when they were in teenage yet it was so pure and soothing. He had temper issues and she had a lot of expectations from their relationship. That lead to fights, bigger fights and then ultimately an ugly break-up. Even then Manik never thought that that'd be the end he was hoping to make it up to her, rectify both of their mistakes and then be together like never before but before he could do anything Nandini's parents' accident happened and then the rest was the history.

I have to get these out of my head. I have to see her get married and in this way I'll surely die by that time or atleast loose a sane mind to this chaos.
He told himself and then lied down to catch some sleep.

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"Good morning." Nandini greeted Manik when she came across him cooking at the kitchen. Manik looked up and passed a smile. She smiled back she moved to the fridge to get some water.

"When did you learn to cook?" she asked him with amusement lacing her tone.

"Few years back. Cabir had to leave the city for a month and at that time I'd have nothing to do at home so I sort of learned it." he replied, putting the raw Mayo-sandwiches into the griller.

"Why are you up this early?" he asked her. She yawned right after that and then chuckled at herself.

"I guess it's the change of time and place. Last night it was difficult to get sleep and today if was easy to wake up early." she told him about her sleep but the 'last night' mention reminded him about the conversation he had eavesdropped on. He rolled his eyes as she couldn't see him. Nandini settled on the stool facing the slab in the kitchen not before grabbing an apple from the fruit basket for herself along with him.

"What are you making?" she asked, munching onto the apple loudly. He chuckled at that and she gulped in awkwardly.

"Sandwiches, fresh orange juice and oatmeal-rasin cookies. Would that be enough?" he asked her showing the tray with cookies. She smelled those and licked her lips indicating about wanting to have it immediately.

"Perfect." just a simple word that she used to love to utter and the one word that he loved to hear whenever she said it to him that way. After having said that she looked at him, in a little shock because she hadn't used that personal tone in years to anybody for anything. It was just him and his gestures which she called prefect in that manner. The way she said that made his heart flutter back then and it astonishingly had the same effect on him even today.

“Errm..... It's enough and I can't wait to eat them.” she told not looking in his eye and he looked everywhere but her.

“I'm glad.” he replied.

“Where exactly is Avi's room? I intend to just check on him.” she asked him and added the reason as well. He cleared his throat out of awkwardness before guiding her about Avidaan's room. She smiled and then moved towards Avidaan's room.

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Avidaan was sleeping soundly, flat on his stomach when Nandini entered his room. He had an absurd habit of not bolting the door shut before sleeping and thus she entered when he did not respond to the knock. The first thought that entered her mind was that his room wasn't as pretty as compared to the room she was given yet it was soothing and relaxing.

She sat on the the bed where Avidaan had left place. She glanced at his face pressed on the pillow. She had never watched him sleep but when she was noticing it today she couldn't be more in awe. He appeared this peaceful little baby wanting nothing but good slumber and she could spend the rest of her life adoring him this way. She ran her slender fingers through his hair to wake him up calling his name ever so softly “Avi, wake up.”

He moved to lie sideways and then opened his eyes with a little difficulty to look at a Nandini fresh as the morning dew. A smile broke out on his face almost immediately.

“Morning, beautiful.” he greeted her with a new endearment. She blushed a little at that and then more when he raised up to peck her cheeks.

“Morning. Get up, sleepyhead. Your cousin has already prepared the breakfast and is waiting for you to join.” she told him and he sat up straight on the bed supporting himself by the headboard. He pulled her close into a bear hug. She shifted readily and placed her head on his shoulder while he hid his face in the crook of her neck.

There he was, Manik, who had accidentally witnessed the intimate hug when he was going towards Cabir's room to call him. The sight wasn't something that he could just ignore. It was really unsettling to see Nandini wrapped in someone else's embrace that way.

Something broke inside him that moment when he realised it yet again that she wasn't his anymore.

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