You're Still the One Manan Short story COMPLETE - Page 3

Chapter 8

Nyonika looked at the photograph of a ten year old Manik. He should have been laughing and happy, but instead the child was quiet and sad looking. She had done that. She had done that to her only child, subjected him to a lifetime of pain and horror...She had warped and twisted a gentle, young boy into the distrustful and guarded man who could barely manage civility towards his mother..

But it wasn't too late. .she was now realising ...She had fainted few weeks back and her doctor had told her that she had cancer...she hadnt told Manik... instead now she wished to spend the last few moments of her life with her son...how desperately she wished to live. And how much she wanted Manik in her life...Nyonika looked at the fax from the private investigator. Her son was about to be a father and he didn't even know it. ..She was going to become a grandmother...A second chance. That's what this child was and Nyonika. was not about to let it slip away, not from herself and not from Manik.

Few weeks later

Nandini opened the envelope and carefully unfolded the letter. There was a check. She sighed in relief and immediately grabbed her purse so she would remember to deposit it. Turning back to the letter, she picked it up carefully and read it. Tears pricked at her eyes.

It had been extremely difficult explaining to her parents about her situation. After she had moved to Mumbai, things had been strained. They had been very upset that she had left without a word, that she had been really bad about keeping in touch. They had worried about her for months.

When she finally had returned, it was to inform them that she was married to Manik. They hadn't been pleased. They were immediately distrustful of his money and his reserved manner. He wasn't like the open, honest people they were used to and they were afraid he would hurt Nandini ...

They didn't have a lot of money, but they sent her a check once a month to help pay for doctor visits and other expenses.

She was barely scraping by and Aliya was a great help but she couldn't leach off of her forever. Slowly, she refolded the letter and put a hand over her belly. "We'll figure out something," she said to her unborn child and was rewarded with a tiny kick.

"What's going on?" Aliya asked, taking a seat across Nandini's...at the kitchen table..

Turning to face her with a huge, wondrous grin on her face, Nandini replied, "I'm in my second trimester now," Nandini said with a look of wonder. "The doctor told me at my last visit that I would start to feel him, but I didn't think ... "

Aliya s eyes went wide. "You felt the baby move?"

"Yeah," Nandini said almost dreamily.

" Nandini, that's wonderful," Aliya gushed. Up to this point, she had been hesitant to get excited about the child, fearing that Nandini would lose it, but her fears disappeared as she looked at her glowing friend.

"It's really real," Nandini said absently.

Aliya smiled.

Nandini looked at her friend across the counter in their kitchen. "A little bird told me something pretty interesting yesterday."

"What?" Aliya asked innocently, busying herself with chopping vegetables.

"So how is Dhruv?" Nandini asked evilly.

"It was just lunch," Aliya countered.

"Uh-huh," Nandini said in obvious disbelief.

Aliya sighed and looked at her friend. "I feel so stupid," she said. "After all the things he did, I'm having lunch with him."

Nandini shrugged. "He's been very persistent," she said. "And besides, I'm not one to talk. Look at all the crap Manik pulled and I did a lot more than have lunch with him." She patted her gently rounded belly.

Manik frowned as he read the phone message in Mr.Shah's scrawling hand. Yet another summon from his mother. For weeks, Manik avoided Nyonika., saying he was too busy dealing with company business to take time for a personal meeting. Part of him was still too raw from everything with Nandini to be able to handle a confrontation from his mother.

Apparently, Nyonika. didn't care.. The message threatened a litany of unpleasant consequences should he refuse this time and Manik took his mother at her word... It was not going to be a pleasant evening. Resentfully, Manik resigned himself to go.

"I see you received my message," Nyonika. drawled slowly as her son entered her room.

"With such a charming invitation, how could I resist?" Manik retorted sarcastically...

Nyonika .took a moment to assess her son's appearance.. He was thin, almost gaunt and his usually piercing gaze was blood shot. There were also large dark circles underneath his eyes. His black shirt and pants were wrinkled and looked like they had been slept in more than once.

"God Manik," Nyonika.. said, "you look like shit."

"Thank you," Manik replied dryly, scratching roughly at his unshaven jaw. "Now what exactly did you need to see me about?"

"I think," Nyonika. said carefully, "that you would do well to check in on your former wife."

Manik 's brow furrowed as he stared at his mother. "Why on Earth would I want to do that?" he asked, both annoyed and curious by the odd request.

Nyonika. smiled an oddly mirthless smile. "It has been brought to my attention that you may find the visit very ... enlightening," She said mysteriously..

A thought hit Manik and something inside his chest tightened to the point of pain. "Is she all right?" he asked quietly.

Nyonika.smiled again, but this time the expression held genuine warmth. "To my knowledge, she is in the best of health," he said.

Manik relaxed. Now that he was reassured of Nandini 's safety, curiosity gnawed at him. Without comment, he rose and exited his mother's room... As much as he hated playing into Nyonika.'s plans, he couldn't ignore the suggestion. Climbing into his car, he headed for the Book n' Bean.

Chapter 9

Despite Aliya 's best efforts to keep Nandini off her feet, the latter was determined to earn her keep., She decided to start taking care of the annoying little jobs that everyone seemed to avoid. Grabbing a step stool and a feather duster, Nandini set about dusting the top shelves that were seldom bothered.

It was around eight thirty Saturday evening when Manik finally reached The Book n' Bean.. It was after dusk and the store was brightly lit so as he approached he had no trouble seeing inside. He glanced up and then looked away. As the image he had seen registered, he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

Nandini had several nice maternity outfits, but she wasn't about to wear them while dusting. Money was tight and they would have to last her for a while. She was just over five months along and already showing.. This evening, she was wearing some of her more accommodating regular clothes, a pair of stretchy black capris and a light blue t-shirt with a pair of sensible running shoes..her morning sickness had been mild and once it passed, she finally started gaining some weight. However, due to how underfed she had been, all of the weight she gained seemed to go right to her belly, making her pregnancy even more pronounced, especially when she wore her old clothes.

Manik stood absolutely still in the middle of the sidewalk. Through the window he could see Nandini standing on a step stool on her tiptoes, dusting some shelves that were just out of her reach. Her body was stretched out as long as was possible, drawing even more attention to her distended stomach.

Manik felt like someone had punched him. Nandini was pregnant, there was no other explanation for the changes in her body. He stared at her for a long time, .She looked wonderful, happy and content, nearly glowing.

Manik walked over to a bench that afforded him a view of the storefront and sat down heavily. Nandini was pregnant. He let out a long, slow breath. This was what Nyonika wanted him to see, his former wife's body swelling with a child.

But how? Part of Manik wanted badly to believe that it was their child, that their last, sweet time together had created a new life, but he knew that couldn't be true...as after her miscarriage the doctor had told them that Nandini wont be able to conceive ever...

Manik shook off ...The unmistakable swell of her belly was proof enough...she was pregnant.. Was it his? Why wouldn't she have told him about it if that were true? Why would she have let the annulment proceed uncontested? Nandini could barely afford to take care of herself, there was no way she could afford a child without help.

There had to be someone else. That was the only answer. Manik felt himself go cold with the realization. That was why she hadn't contested the annulment. She was pregnant with another man's child. The pain was so intense that Manik physically doubled over on the bench.

Anger coursed through his's body. He had to find out who it was, and if it was Aryaman, he was going to kill him ..He waited outside the store until Nandini 's shift was over. He followed her as she walked to her car, which was parked relatively close to his. Her car. The one he bought her. /~You did owe her~/.

When Nandini drove off, he followed her and was mildly shocked to realize she was driving to the apartment she shared with Aliya. Apparently she wasn't living with the father of her child.

Manik waited and waited and waited ... and finally realized that Nandini 's secret lover wasn't going to show up. Now, there was no way he was going to be able to go about his daily life like nothing was wrong. .With a growl, he started the car. He was going to find out who Nandini 's new lover was. He pushed away the nagging "what if" that tugged at him. The baby wasn't his.

"Is he still out there?" Nandini asked as she took the mug of hot water out of the microwave.

"He just left," Aliya replied as she shut and locked the door. She frowned at her friend. "What do you think he wants?"

Nandini shrugged as she set the mug down on the counter and dunked a tea bag into it. "If the expression on his face was any indication, he knows I'm pregnant and he thinks I have a new boyfriend," she said with a sigh. She knew Manik and she knew him well. It was his nature to be distrustful and jealous.

Aliya sighed and sat down at the table and motioned for her roommate to have a seat. Nandini joined her at the table. "Are you going to tell him?" Aliya asked.

"No," Nandini said firmly. "If he wants to know, he can ask me. ..Besides, I'm tired of being the one to give. I know I hurt him, but I never betrayed him... I'm through making a compromise."

Aliya smiled. "Good for you," she said.

Nandini s eyes went wide and she stared at her roommate. "Oh my god," she said. "I totally forgot that my parents get here on Wednesday.".. shit if they found out he was following her around, things could get bad.

Tuesday morning, Manik watched as Nandini entered the Baby store which luckily for him was situated on a corner and had large plate glass windows.

He'd followed her for the last two days and was no closer to figuring out who the father of her child was. ..he followed her around..She stopped by a candy store and bought a bag of snicker chocolates, her favorites, then wandered around the shopping district. She acted as though she wanted to avoid the Baby store, but was sucked in against her will. That happened a lot with Nandini when she was shopping. Something kept her from walking past a sale.

She made one circuit around the store looking at everything and stopped at the clothes section... He watched as she held up a tiny little t-shirt that a child would probably outgrow in five minutes. She smiled and draped it over her belly, laughing. A sales clerk stopped to ask her if she needed help and Nandini modeled the shirt for her, turning from side to side with the tiny little shirt against her stomach. She laughed and the sales clerk laughed and Manik wanted to scream.

Nandini 's shoulders sagged as she sighed and she handed the little shirt to the sales clerk with a nod. He watched as she leafed through her billfold, carefully counting out the money. /~She works part time at a bookstore. There's no way she can afford a child.~/ Manik felt sorry but quickly steeled himself. /~Maybe her new boyfriend just keeps her on a tight leash.~/

Discretely, he followed her back to work and watched as she smoothed the apron over her rounded stomach. Wonder was written on her face as she put a hand to her belly and smiled.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nandini watched Manik lurk. He thought he was being so sneaky.. Sighing, she rubbed her tummy. "Your papa loves you bacha," she whispered to her child. "He's just being difficult at the moment."