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CHAPTER 7-E
"I won't hurt her again... I promise... I love Nandini more than anything and the last thing I would want to do is hurt her." I sincerely said, my voice shook.
I knew those words weren't enough to convince him... He just stared at me with a cold, stoic expression.
"I know words aren't enough... I... I'll do anything to win her back." I said
"Anything?" He quietly asked.
"ANYTHING." My eyes glowed with hope.
He was looking at me with eyes like steel... cold and hard... He was very different from his warm and welcoming demeanor... the one I was used to seeing... I couldn't blame him though... I had hurt his daughter, his princess... We were in his study... I was sitting on the single armchair sofa in front of his desk... The fact that he had let me in their home again, I take that as a good sign.
He cleared his throat. "You're willing to do anything for my daughter, huh?"
"God knows there's nothing I won't be willing to do for her" I said.
"I want my daughter back as much as you want her back." He looked at me with a serious gaze. "She hasn't been the same since she came back here. She used to be a vibrant woman, going out and doing things... Her smile and laugh was amazing."
I nodded my head in agreement...It was to die for.
"Now it's as if she's lost her spirit... She smiles and laughs but it isn't the same anymore... I know she's only doing it for me" His face fell and my I could feel my heart in my throat.
I did it to her... It was my fault that she was hurting.
"I'm sorry." My voice cracked.
"Your sorry doesn't mean anything to me... It's what you do about it." He said in a stoic voice. "You know... I didn't start out rich... I had to work way up to where I am now...I worked from dawn to dusk with my father. You r a man born of privilege and wealth...I doubt you've done labor work." He said
"I haven't." I honestly said.
He gave me a slow nod and he rubbed his chin.
"I want my daughter happy again at any cost...But that doesn't mean I would let you off the hook easily... Are you willing to work for me?" he said
A smile of relief and joy found its way on my lips.
"I... I'm more than willing to" I agreed to work for him
This turned out far better than I expected... He took me to where I would be staying at...It was an old, run down tool shed near where the horses were... It didn't have any light or electricity... It had enough room for just a bed and a little space to walk... It was old, it didn't have a mattress and it had holes and it looked like it was ready to collapse any minute.
It was already late and he left me alone...It wasn't the kind of bed I was used to... It took me a while to find a comfortable position... It made some parts of me sore...There were bugs climbing over me, flies biting me but I had never felt this happy...This was better than going home in an empty house without Nandini... All these didn't matter to me all I cared about was Nandini... Now she was just within my reach...I had never slept better since Nandini left until tonight.
NANDINI'S POV
I had been doing the same routine everyday... Wakeup, eat, sleep and in between those, I try to distract myself. I tried not to think about him, I tried my hardest not to let my mind wander to the times we spent together, times I was in his arms... I tried to ignore what I was feeling but it was hard when it hurts so much... All I could do was momentarily distract myself from the pain I feel... It wasn't so bad once you get used to it... You go on with your life and you learn to live with it... I had a quick breakfast and after that, I went to the horse stable to take Jenny out.
It was a nice day today... The sun was up but there were high clouds filtering the light... It was warm but not blazing hot like yesterday...I heard a voice from a nearby room...I was just a few steps in when I saw a familiar figure of a man... My feet stopped like I had hit a glass wall... He had his back turned to me as he was putting food in the horse feeder... He was wearing jeans folded up to his knees and a black tee.
His muscley back, his biceps, his veiny arms, I was familiar with every part of his body... I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't imagining him but the he was still there... I inhaled a sharp breath when it finally sunk into me... He must've heard it because his head snapped to my direction... Manik looked at me with his dark and intense eyes... His expression softened when he gazed at me... I just stared back at him wide-eyes.
He slowly walked towards me and my heart started pounding hard and loudly.
"W-what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I've missed you." He gently said.
He stopped a few inches from where I was standing and he just looked at me as if memorizing my face for a few moments.
"Nandini... My marriage with Shreya is over... I'm divorced." I opened my mouth but no words came out.
It was too late... I had already given up and once I give up, I give up completely... I don't give up easily and I fight with everything I have but this time I couldn't do it anymore...Everything had changed... I grew up... I no longer looked at him through rose-tinted glasses... I no longer see him like I used to... It was different now... He'd lied to me and I just couldn't trust him anymore... He said he loves me. Was this what he does to people he loves?
He had all the time in the world... After everything that happened, how could him? How could I even make sure he was telling the truth this time?
"Please, go." I said, walking past him and towards Jenny.
"I said I'm divorced." He said once again
"It means nothing to me Manik" I said
"Nandini..." He said in a weak voice. "No... you don't mean that."
"But I do." I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "I gave everything to you, Manik! Everything and you didn't even think I was worth the truth."
My back was turned to him but I could feel him getting closer and closer... so close, I could feel his body's warmth and his breath on my hair.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." He quietly said. "I got scared...I wanted to tell u...But things didn't turn out the way I planned...Me and Shreya... we'd been estranged for three years... I never bothered divorcing her because I didn't think I would want to marry again... Marriage meant nothing to me until I met you... God, there's nothing more that I want but to spend the rest of my days with you." He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my hair.
I chewed on my bottom lip and tightly shut my eyes to keep my tears in... It was so nice to hear but I needed more than words... I guess you could say that what had happened jaded me... I became less trusting, more cynical.
"Let me go." I said, shrugging his embrace.
He grabbed me by my shoulders to face him... His eyes were pleading and so vulnerable.
"Say you don't love me anymore and I'll go." He said
My eyes began to water again, my chest tightening and my knees weakening... I felt my emotions exploding.
"I hate you! I hate you so much!" Tears fell from my eyes as I punched him on his chest, muttering 'I hate you' like a mantra.
He cupped my face and kissed me on the forehead... He showered me with small kisses all over my face as he whispered sweet nothings... I grew weaker and weaker until I eventually stopped... I felt his lips move to the side of mine... I turned my head, away from him... His lips landed on my cheekbone which made it damn worse.
My want for him was just as strong, if not more... We both know where this was heading but I had no will to stop him... He layed me down on a stack of hay in the corner... His hands wandered around my body... He touched me with familiarity... He knew my body more than anyone and better than I do... He knew where it ached, he knew where to touch, he knew where to kiss, he knew what made me crazy.
"I won't hurt her again... I promise... I love Nandini more than anything and the last thing I would want to do is hurt her." I sincerely said, my voice shook.
I knew those words weren't enough to convince him... He just stared at me with a cold, stoic expression.
"I know words aren't enough... I... I'll do anything to win her back." I said
"Anything?" He quietly asked.
"ANYTHING." My eyes glowed with hope.
He was looking at me with eyes like steel... cold and hard... He was very different from his warm and welcoming demeanor... the one I was used to seeing... I couldn't blame him though... I had hurt his daughter, his princess... We were in his study... I was sitting on the single armchair sofa in front of his desk... The fact that he had let me in their home again, I take that as a good sign.
He cleared his throat. "You're willing to do anything for my daughter, huh?"
"God knows there's nothing I won't be willing to do for her" I said.
"I want my daughter back as much as you want her back." He looked at me with a serious gaze. "She hasn't been the same since she came back here. She used to be a vibrant woman, going out and doing things... Her smile and laugh was amazing."
I nodded my head in agreement...It was to die for.
"Now it's as if she's lost her spirit... She smiles and laughs but it isn't the same anymore... I know she's only doing it for me" His face fell and my I could feel my heart in my throat.
I did it to her... It was my fault that she was hurting.
"I'm sorry." My voice cracked.
"Your sorry doesn't mean anything to me... It's what you do about it." He said in a stoic voice. "You know... I didn't start out rich... I had to work way up to where I am now...I worked from dawn to dusk with my father. You r a man born of privilege and wealth...I doubt you've done labor work." He said
"I haven't." I honestly said.
He gave me a slow nod and he rubbed his chin.
"I want my daughter happy again at any cost...But that doesn't mean I would let you off the hook easily... Are you willing to work for me?" he said
A smile of relief and joy found its way on my lips.
"I... I'm more than willing to" I agreed to work for him
This turned out far better than I expected... He took me to where I would be staying at...It was an old, run down tool shed near where the horses were... It didn't have any light or electricity... It had enough room for just a bed and a little space to walk... It was old, it didn't have a mattress and it had holes and it looked like it was ready to collapse any minute.
It was already late and he left me alone...It wasn't the kind of bed I was used to... It took me a while to find a comfortable position... It made some parts of me sore...There were bugs climbing over me, flies biting me but I had never felt this happy...This was better than going home in an empty house without Nandini... All these didn't matter to me all I cared about was Nandini... Now she was just within my reach...I had never slept better since Nandini left until tonight.
NANDINI'S POV
I had been doing the same routine everyday... Wakeup, eat, sleep and in between those, I try to distract myself. I tried not to think about him, I tried my hardest not to let my mind wander to the times we spent together, times I was in his arms... I tried to ignore what I was feeling but it was hard when it hurts so much... All I could do was momentarily distract myself from the pain I feel... It wasn't so bad once you get used to it... You go on with your life and you learn to live with it... I had a quick breakfast and after that, I went to the horse stable to take Jenny out.
It was a nice day today... The sun was up but there were high clouds filtering the light... It was warm but not blazing hot like yesterday...I heard a voice from a nearby room...I was just a few steps in when I saw a familiar figure of a man... My feet stopped like I had hit a glass wall... He had his back turned to me as he was putting food in the horse feeder... He was wearing jeans folded up to his knees and a black tee.
His muscley back, his biceps, his veiny arms, I was familiar with every part of his body... I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't imagining him but the he was still there... I inhaled a sharp breath when it finally sunk into me... He must've heard it because his head snapped to my direction... Manik looked at me with his dark and intense eyes... His expression softened when he gazed at me... I just stared back at him wide-eyes.
He slowly walked towards me and my heart started pounding hard and loudly.
"W-what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I've missed you." He gently said.
He stopped a few inches from where I was standing and he just looked at me as if memorizing my face for a few moments.
"Nandini... My marriage with Shreya is over... I'm divorced." I opened my mouth but no words came out.
It was too late... I had already given up and once I give up, I give up completely... I don't give up easily and I fight with everything I have but this time I couldn't do it anymore...Everything had changed... I grew up... I no longer looked at him through rose-tinted glasses... I no longer see him like I used to... It was different now... He'd lied to me and I just couldn't trust him anymore... He said he loves me. Was this what he does to people he loves?
He had all the time in the world... After everything that happened, how could him? How could I even make sure he was telling the truth this time?
"Please, go." I said, walking past him and towards Jenny.
"I said I'm divorced." He said once again
"It means nothing to me Manik" I said
"Nandini..." He said in a weak voice. "No... you don't mean that."
"But I do." I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "I gave everything to you, Manik! Everything and you didn't even think I was worth the truth."
My back was turned to him but I could feel him getting closer and closer... so close, I could feel his body's warmth and his breath on my hair.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." He quietly said. "I got scared...I wanted to tell u...But things didn't turn out the way I planned...Me and Shreya... we'd been estranged for three years... I never bothered divorcing her because I didn't think I would want to marry again... Marriage meant nothing to me until I met you... God, there's nothing more that I want but to spend the rest of my days with you." He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my hair.
I chewed on my bottom lip and tightly shut my eyes to keep my tears in... It was so nice to hear but I needed more than words... I guess you could say that what had happened jaded me... I became less trusting, more cynical.
"Let me go." I said, shrugging his embrace.
He grabbed me by my shoulders to face him... His eyes were pleading and so vulnerable.
"Say you don't love me anymore and I'll go." He said
My eyes began to water again, my chest tightening and my knees weakening... I felt my emotions exploding.
"I hate you! I hate you so much!" Tears fell from my eyes as I punched him on his chest, muttering 'I hate you' like a mantra.
He cupped my face and kissed me on the forehead... He showered me with small kisses all over my face as he whispered sweet nothings... I grew weaker and weaker until I eventually stopped... I felt his lips move to the side of mine... I turned my head, away from him... His lips landed on my cheekbone which made it damn worse.
My want for him was just as strong, if not more... We both know where this was heading but I had no will to stop him... He layed me down on a stack of hay in the corner... His hands wandered around my body... He touched me with familiarity... He knew my body more than anyone and better than I do... He knew where it ached, he knew where to touch, he knew where to kiss, he knew what made me crazy.
