"No...a big no.."- We both spoke at the same time..
"We are definitely not married.."-I huffed as the Bummed Manik charged straight at the lawyer who was sitting across us ..
The stupid grumpy old lawyer was hell bent on making us a couple..oh hell no..I thought...there is absolutely no way I would be with him..he looks like a crossover between a monkey and a baboon with a fake smirk plastered on his face..which now has been transformed into a big scowl..
"Are you sure..you two fight like a couple..I remember when my wife and I .."-the lawyer drained on but stopped as soon as he saw Manik giving him the murderous look...I on the other hand , was more of annoyed at his dense conclusion..
"No , we are not.."- I felt like repeating for the nth time..
"Alright then , so how are you going to manage if you are not together..."-the lawyer asked..
"Manage what.."-I asked dumbly..
"Pari's custody of course , Miss murthy..."-the lawyer pointed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world..what was he onto..I doubt..and why would pari be needing custody ...Cabir and Navya are alive for god sake...her actual parents..
"Look , I don't how does that make any sense Mr..."
"Mr Madhyam Singhania.."
'Yes Mr Madhyam , I don't know how does it make any sense to you to give us pari's custody when her actual parents are alive somewhere in the world.."-I stopped as soon as I saw him giving the most clueless expression with his eyebrows raised ..
"Yes, Nandini is right..we are only looking after pari or more Nandini is only looking after pari for a week or less and by then we will definitely trace out the whereabouts of Cabir and Navya .."-Manik replied and I thanked heavens for once we get to agree on the same thing without his preposterous arguments involved..
"No..you are not understanding..Mr Malhotra...the things are not as simple as they seem."- the lawyer boasted..
"Wait..let me show you.." - saying that mr madhyam lunged for the remote nearby and turned to his somewhat vintage looking tv..wow he still has one..I remember my appa had one of those retro designs somewhat ten years ago..
( Sorry if the retro design didn't click..i tried hard 😊)
As he tuned the channel on his black and white tv , a reporter popped up with the headlines - " Breaking news : Business Tycoon Harshad Saxena dies in a car blast.." ..and my mind drifted to the blast that happened with Navya and Cabir's car..
Suddenly I zoned back to reality as I heard the anchor's voice boom loud and clear..
"Today , the Mumbai city lost it's hero as his car got blasted near bandra.."
"Yes , if sources are to be believed , Mr Harshad Saxena was going for an international conference that was scheduled in London but before he could reach there some suspicious men followed him on the route to his airport and started firing midway ..."
"A few minutes later his car blasted as you can see on the footage obtained from CCTV cameras of two petrol pump that happened to be nearby his car at that moment.."
I couldn't believe as I saw the footage of Cabir's car being blown intoSmithereens..well it was technically Cabir's car..it even had the same number plate Cabir has...but strangely howsoever something was missing..it just didn't felt right..
"Who is Harshad Saxena .."- Manik asked the billion dollar question..even I wanted to know who was he and how come he found himself in Cabir's car which later got blasted by some goons..everything seemed suspicious..
"You don't know who he is.."- that lawyer fired..
"No..."- Manik answered with a blank face..gosh what with him and his attitude ..
"Well Mr Malhotra you sure be living under a rock because there is no one who haven't heard about him.."
"And why is that.."-I asked before Manik could burst..damn this lawyer sure has death wish which in fact could seemed to be arranged for all the glares Manik has been giving him from past ten minutes..
"Well because miss murthy..Harshad is not only the topmost business tycoon but the gossip has it that he is somehow linked with Mafia ..many believe that his oversea consignments are meant to cover his drug smuggle ..but the fact is he has never been caught red handed...which however is strange because he had gone from rag to riches this previous year..nobody knew about him before then and look now he is only one people talk about..somehow he has the most powerful connections in business world probably someone from inside could be helping him..."
Okay so he , the Harshad is a kind of drug lord or some deep mystical creature of underworld but..what I don't get is how the evil shrimp got blasted in Cabir's car..what Navya and Cabir have got to do anything with him..this is getting more complicated..
"Excuse me Mr Madhyam , I get the point but I don't understand why Harshad was in Cabir's car.."- I croaked my concern all the while Manik stood stilled..
"That's actually which is both weird and bothering...they , Harshad and Cabir can hardly know each other..they don't belong in same group of people ..you know what's really bizarre the same police who told you about Navya and Cabir's death in a car blast have now press released their statement to -' Harshad Saxena dies in a car blast..' .I repeat in the same car blast..how could that even be possible.."- the lawyer fisted his hair in despair..
"This doesn't make any sense.."- I grumbled..
"So , how do we get to know about the truth.."- Manik, the one who was silent till now spoke as in interested..
"Actually Mr Malhotra, I have already told you..."
"Told us..when..what.."
"Pari's custody..now haven't I been stressing enough on this since the two of have come..."
Wow..just wow..has he really gone mad..how's pari custody is related to all this..I tried connecting all the dots but couldn't as nothing was even there to connect..huh..
"Okay..so.."-the lawyer turned to us scratching his neck awkwardly..
"Fine..but can you please enlighten us how pari's custody is related to all the secrets that you have just so kindly exposed.."- sarcasm oozed his words as manik nodded stiffly at the lawyer..he can be really mean sometimes...i wonder how the old man is taking it...poor him..
"...Well...pari..I mean by accepting pari's custody..the whosoever involved in this car blast will believe that you two have accepted your friend's death and so the case will be closed.."-old man hadn't even reached to the main point before Manik cut off him..
"Superb..this has been the best thing I heard...you sure deserve a salute..yeah..."- amid his obnoxious clapping, Manik lunged at the shell shocked lawyer and wrapped his hand on lawyer's throat cutting off his oxygen supply ..
"Manik..leave him..."- I tried prying away his fingers away..
"No..."- one word ..yeah that's what I got while manik kept shaking his head furiously..and then I had this sudden urge to hit him hard to put some sense in his bonehead..which I actually managed to do despite it wasn't that hard a hit I imagined in my mind..well blame his thick skull..it hardly would have bothered him anyway so in the next I tried tickling him...
"Nandini ..what are you doing.."- I raised my head from mission-a-tickling when Manik spoke suddenly and found him looking straight at me..the lawyer long forgotten..he was crouching on the ground trying to breathe..that means I succeeded ..I was about to celebrate when Manik blabbered spoiling my victory-"Don't even think about it..I didn't leave him because of you tickling..hell I don't even feel ticklish.."
I narrowed my eyes in accusation and huffed - "well you did leave him..so I would say mission accomplished..." and in turn Manik cracked a grin..idiot has the nerve to grin..
Before I could strangle him for good the lawyer pushed himself off the floor settling on his chair ..
"Water..."-he...chocked out..and I rushed to hand him the glass placed on his desk..
Taking the huge gulps he heaved a sigh.. croaking out - "Thank you.." he looked at me in gratitude..
Before I could say anything Manik rushed towards him and bawled out - "yes ..that was wonderful meeting you mr madhyam Singhania and now we would like to leave before your ever so sweet thanks turns into a mournful sorry.."
"Wait..mr Malhotra..."- the lawyer squeaked ..
"Before you go , mr Malhotra and miss murthy..I would like to point out to you that casing the close doesn't mean accepting defeat or stop looking for Cabir and Navya..it all means is letting your enemies believe that you have lost and then strike at the right moment ..accepting pari's custody will let the people involved in this case believe that you seek no problem with case being closed which in turn will pull out the trappers from their hideout for a while and then you can you know ..it would be much easy to disclose the truth..to what actually happened that day.."
It doesn't sound that bizarre as it seemed and probably that's not the best idea but that's the only shot that we have...
"Alright..so what's the next thing if we should do.."-I found myself asking and right when Manik exclaimed repulsed as if asking ...was I seriously considering this..?
I glanced a look at him to mumble - " we need to find out the truth manik..."- groaning but all he remained quiet...
Well..."- I drained..
"Well miss murthy..all we need to do is complete the process of pari's custody.."
"Okay mr know it all..so to whom you are giving pari's custody to..and wouldn't it be difficult considering we are not directly linked to pari..but to her parents.."- Manik drawled out and seriously thinking I was curious too..
"Mr Malhotra..actually this had been already decided..."-lawyer stopped as soon as he saw the perplexed look on our faces..
"Let me explain..when Mr Cabir Thakur and Navya Naveli decided to opt for custody contract..they put in the clause that pari's custody will be theirs unless something tragic happens to both of them and in that case custody will be transferred to you.."-lawyer spoke looking at both of us..
"You..who..who are talking about.."- I looked at Manik bemused and he did the same..
"Well there's no one except you two here ..so.."- he paused for a moment letting us to sink it in all..and then continued..- " it..the pari's custody belongs to both of you.."
We stared at the lawyer shell shocked and then he decided to drop another bomb .."And for custody to be effective you need to be living together.." - he said pointing to us..both of us...whoa there..what..really what did he say..was he even serious..me and Manik living together like..like as a couple..my mind went abuzz with warning bells ringing in my head...
"Huh..."-was the only brilliant answer I could think of..
"Are you out of your mind.."-Manik challenged..
"Exactly..I am never going to be living with him..even if it is only for sometime.."- I spoke defended..
"Oh,,yeah right..like I am dying to live with you..please your are not even my type..may be someone who's a size of a midget with zero IQ would be .."- now he was just crossing the line..and hell I didn't think next and kicked him in his shin..
"Ouch..what was that for.."- Manik asked dumbly..
" Why..oh dear master ..did this midget offended you...I am extremely.. not sorry.."-I grinned at the scowling Manik..
"You see..that's why...we can't do this..she's hitting me right in front of you..a lawyer..then socho..what would happen if I was alone with her..she's ..abusive..."- he drawled out with fear on his face but I knew better as for his eyes that didn't left me even for a second were sparkling with mischief..
"Abusive..please..you were asking for it..."-I huffed..but stopped as soon as I saw the lawyer narrowing his eyes at both of us as he stood with his arm extended for us to stop..
"Stop it both of you...now if the situation would have been any better I wouldn't have asked from both of you to live together..had I.."-the lawyer stood challenging..and the added..-" you have got to understand this..this isn't about you..it's about the truth you so desperately want to find out ..don't you.."-and that shut both of us , Manik and me as we stood sulking by the lawyer's side..
"But why..do.."- Before Manik could speak further the lawyer cut in -" Enough..I don't want to hear anymore..you have two days.."
"Two days for what.."- I questioned..
"Two days to settle your issues and two days for checking.."-he spoke the latter part too softly..
"Sorry ..what checking ..."-Manik asked..
"Amm..actually..court will be sending some one to check on you whether you are taking of pari or not..and that's why I asked you two live together because court would agree on the fact that a child so young like pari should be given both parents support..of course in your case both guardians support..so .."-he left the word hanging in the air to let us contemplate..
"And what if we don't agree..." - I spoke cautiously thinking about pari..
"Well in that case miss murthy custody contract will be null and void and pari would be given in baby care centre to adopt..."- he replied without a twinge of feelings..while all i felt was my knees tumbling at the prospect of seeing pari in an orphanage..
"No..way we won't let that happen to pari..-Manik raged and I agreed on every word of it..
"Then mr Malhotra and miss murthy I would advise you think about what I said before ..because if you don't ..whether you wish for it or not the case would be closed and pari would be given for adoption.."- whispering the lawyer..madhyam Singhania left with a splurge..leaving us in there to chew over the horrid facts..
******
Pari's squeaks were getting bigger and bigger as she watched the children play in the background while Manik and me were thumping against the grass sitting nearby a toddler's swing in the city park..
"Manik..what are we going to do..."-words left my lips before even thinking..
"Nandini..I don't know..it's all so messed up..I never planned this.."-Manik spoke gazing far off..
"So do you think..I planned this..never have I wanted my best friends to suffer and now their daughter too if.."-I left the sentence as such not bothering to complete..
Manik hummed and we sat there looking at all the children playing..some were with their parents here and as I watched. Them laughing merrily my heart twitched for pari who was looking at the other children running and playing around and in between would start pounding to break free from my grasp ..too scared to lose her I clung to her despite her feeble protests..
"Manik ..I have decided .." - my heart knew I made my choice long before I realised..
So that was it !
I hope you are enjoying the air of mystery 😳
Are you liking the story so far ?
Please post me below what you think..i will appreciate your feedback ❤️
Edited by ShiLee - 9 years ago
Book Talk
Anupamaa
