HER SECRET HUSBAND

5.

They agreed to spend the Saturday at Select CITYWALK, a shopping mall at Saket. “Let me pick you up tomorrow morning. Tell me what time,” said Manik, as they rode in the OLA towards Nandini’s home. “Laki, listen. First of all, you’ll have to leave me a couple of streets away from my building. I don’t want my people to find out that I’ve been spending time with you. And as for tomorrow, I’ll meet you directly at the mall.” She was firm even as she refused to meet his eyes. Manik frowned at her, getting irritated. Was she ashamed of being seen with him or what! He kept quiet, not saying anything. She turned and looked at him, seeing the scowl on his face. She lifted his left hand that was lying between them on the seat and held it between both of hers. “Please understand that it’s nothing personal and I promise to tell you more tomorrow.” She turned to the driver and said, “Please stop at the side for a minute and I’ll get down.” Manik was reluctant to let her go in the middle of nowhere, so late at night. But she was determined. “Ping me when you reach home,” he insisted. With one foot outside the door, she turned to him and said, “Laki, I do this all the time. Please don’t worry. Okay, I’ll ping you,” she said, when she saw that he was about to argue. With a smile and a wave, she walked away from him. Manik gave the driver the address to Ranveer’s home and sat back to think of his evening with Nandini, a serene smile on his face. His phone pinged after a few minutes. It was Nandini. “Thanks for the awesome evening. I’ve reached home. Eager to meet you tomorrow. Bye!” “See you tomorrow, sweetheart,” replied Manik, adding a kiss emoticon. What the hell! He was deeply attracted to her and he wanted her to know. Chanda and Ranveer were waiting for him when Manik reached their home. His sister glowed, obviously happy in her marriage. He hugged her, handing her the parcel their parents had sent her, before shaking hands with Ranveer. They chatted for a while, with Chanda doing most of the talking. “So, who’s this friend who’s so important that you forgot to call me on reaching here?” A small fist attacked his shoulder. Manik gave her a mysterious smile. “Will tell you in good time.” Ranveer grinned, winking at his brother-in-law. “Chanda, I think you should let him be.” Colour ran up Manik’s lean cheeks when Chanda stared at him accusingly. “Manik?” He shook his head, refusing to utter another word on the subject. Respecting his reticence, Chanda changed the subject and asked about the rest of the family. It was past one when they all got up to go to bed. “By the way, I’ll be out the whole day tomorrow,” said Manik softly. Chanda felt torn. While she wanted to spend time with her brother, it seemed he was keen to be elsewhere. Ranveer offered, “Since you are here on Sunday, why don’t you spend time with your friend here? Chanda and I plan to go out for the day on a picnic with some friends of ours.” He had made the plan on the go, sensing the need for his brother-in-law to spend some private time with his girl. Manik’s face lit up. “Are you sure?” Ranveer nodded firmly, his hand holding Chanda’s tightly, not letting her speak. “Absolutely. We’re out by 9.30 in the morning and we’ll probably return past eleven in the night.” “And you’re welcome to use my car tomorrow, Manik. I won’t be needing it,” said Chanda, giving her husband a sideways glance. Ranveer had gifted her a Maruti Swift immediately on their return to Delhi after their wedding. Manik nodded, overwhelmed. “If you guys are sure.” He hugged them both, wishing them goodnight before going into the guest bedroom across theirs. The moment their bedroom door closed, Chanda turned on Ranveer. “What’s this picnic we are going on Sunday? Shouldn’t we spend time with Manik? He’s out the whole day tomorrow as well.” Why didn’t Ranveer ask her before deciding to go out for the day? He always consulted her about the way they spent their weekends. And it was so rude going away when they were having a family member visiting. Ranveer shook his head, pulling her into his arms. “Sometimes Chanda, you can be such a baby,” he teased. “Can’t you see that Manik is a man on a mission? He’s not here to meet us. Don’t you think we should be helpful? I came up with that trip on the spot. He obviously needs to get to know his girl better. They’ll have more privacy here at home.” Chanda’s eyes went wide as she pressed her hands on her husband’s chest, pushing back to look up at him. “Are you serious? Manik has come here to meet some girl?” Her silent brother—was he in love? Ranveer nodded. “Yeah. So, tell me, what would you like to do on Sunday?”