53• The Secret Box

"Shit! Manik, you have to hide. It must be Ethan." She kicked him in the same way as she had done before, and he fell onto the floor.

"Fuck! Why, why does he have to come now? And why does this girl always kick me like that? She looks like a baby, but she kicks like a hulk, my poor bum!" He cried out like a child, rubbing his buttocks.

"Sorry." She mouthed, showing him her hands, and asking him to open them while Ethan was constantly knocking.

"Ethan, I'm in the bathroom. Give me a minute." She gave him an excuse.

Manik stood up, hurriedly opened her hands, and kissed her knuckles before hiding under the bed, picking up his belt and tie.

She wore her top inside out in a hurry and rushed to open the door.

"Why did it take you so long?" He paused when he noticed that she was wearing the top in the wrong way.

"I-I was in the washroom." She stammered, fiddling with her ring.

"And what exactly were you doing in the washroom?" As Ethan asked, pointing at her top, Nandini's eyes widened, and under the bed, Manik's brows narrowed in confusion.

'Why is he questioning me like that? Is he doubting me?" She wondered.

"W-what type of question is this, Ethan?" Nandini asked, looking around.

Ethan realised what he asked and asked again, "I meant what were you doing that you came out weaning the top inside out." He laughed, making her sigh in relief.

"Such a kiddo!" Manik muttered under his breath, shaking his head after knowing she was wearing the top in the wrong way. He hissed as his head hit the bed when he shook his head.

She answered him, "you're laughing at me? I only came in a hurry because of you. I was about to take a bath when you started knocking on the door so loudly that I hurriedly changed back into the same clothes."

"Wow! Nandini, you're so smart." When she saw Ethan's face become convinced, she mentally praised herself for coming up with such an amazing excuse.

"God, if she reacts this way, Ethan will surely come to know," Manik murmured under his breath and controlled his laugh with great difficulty.

"Well, I wanted to check if you were fine because I went without seeing you yesterday," Ethan said, lovingly caressing her head.

She smiled. "See, I'm perfectly fine."

"Yeah, and you're glowing. What made you glow so brightly?" As Ethan asked teasingly, her eyes widened a bit in shock.

"Glowing? Oh yeah, it must be the face serum I'm using." She answered quickly.

"Ethan, you don't know it's the magic of my love that your sister is glowing," Manik murmured to himself, smiling.

"No, I think it's Manik." As Ethan uttered this, Nandini and Manik's eyes widened in fright.

"What are you saying, Ethan?" Nandini almost shouted.

"I know you're glowing because Manik might have delivered your favourite red velvet cake because yesterday I asked him to compensate. Isn't that right?" Listening to his words, Nandini and Manik both sighed with profound relief.

"Oh yes-yes, that cake was so yummy." She hugged him, pouting because Manik didn't give any cake to her.

'Huh, I'll see him later, he forgot my cake.' She thought, glaring at the bed from the corner of her eyes.

'Shit! I forgot about the cake; she makes me forget everything,' he wondered with a smile on his face, lost in the precious memories of yesterday.

"Okay, now I'm going because I'm feeling so sleepy. I'll see you tomorrow." Ethan said as they pulled away.

"Good night, Ethan."

"Good night, Sweetie." He placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving. She immediately shut the door and locked it, sighing.

Manik came out from under the bed and stood up, laughing. She held her waist and glared at him, pouting.

"Why are you glaring at me like this, I didn't call Ethan to disturb our romance?" He asked, strolling towards her.

"You didn't give me the cake yesterday." As she adorably told him the reason for her anger, he chuckled. "I lied to Ethan because of you, you're very bad." She whined while he was just smiling at her because he found her extremely adorable when she adorably complained like this.

"In case you forgot, let me remind you of what we were doing last night. The cake slipped my mind because I was too preoccupied with loving my Kiddo." After recalling the previous night, a red hue appeared on her face. He pulled her chubby cheeks with a smile. "My darling, Kiddo." She chuckled.

"But I want my cake." She said in a stern tone, pointing her finger at him.

"Of course, I'll bring it for you. If you say, I'll bring the whole cake shop here." As he said, she laughed out.

"Anyway, I found something under the bed. What's in this?" Manik bent down and took out the huge secret box from under the bed.

"Do you remember when we used to chat, I told you that I had your stuff with me and would show you when we met?" She excitedly asked him when he kept the box on the bed.

He nodded. "Yeah! But when were you planning to show me?" He asked, raising his brows at her after sitting in front of the box.

"From the day you came into my life, I just remember you and nothing else." She told him, sitting in front of him. In the middle of them, the box was kept.

"Completely agree with you because even I have forgotten everything after meeting you." They both laughed out.

"Now I'll show you. Don't tease me, please." She requested him, looking at him with her innocent eyes.

"Okay, promise." He moved forward and sucked her lips.

She lifted the lid of the box, her gaze fixed on him, keenly noticing his expression. His eyes widened with surprise as he saw his black shirt in the box.

"You stole my shirt?" He asked, looking at her in utter shock.

"Yup." She answered, moving her eyelashes down in shyness and smiling sheepishly.

"I can't believe it. When did you do this?" He asked in a disbelieving tone, picking up his shirt.

"I stole it from Ethan's bathroom." She told him and hid her face with her palms.

"You're unbelievable, Kiddo." He shook his head. "You were seriously crazy for me."

"I'm still crazy for you, Manik." She hugged him, sandwiching the box between them.

"Let me show you more things." She said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Okay, I'm excited."

"This is the glass used by you." She picked up the glass and handed it to him.

'Fuck! She is completely insane and loves me so much that no one else can. I'm so blessed to have such a pure-hearted girl in my life, and I had no idea she had stolen my things in the past. Her madness for me drives me insane.' He thought while she showed him his ring, photographs, and bracelet, and he was amazed to see how crazy she was for him.

"I just can't believe it. You were so insane for me, and I never doubted you." He was looking at the things incredulously.

"It was another kind of fun to collect, I mean to steal your things." She giggled and continued, "I have cherished every moment since I saw you." She smiled contentedly, recalling those days.

"Oh, God, I love the way you love me kiddo." He planted a quick kiss on her lips. He squealed, "you're the best thing that ever happened to me." She smiled at him widely.

"My joy has no bounds since the day you accepted my love. I feel like I have gotten everything I've ever wanted in life as it was you I always desired. I prayed to God for the miracle of you falling in love with me. I still can't believe that you're mine." She told him, placing her head on my chest with a beatific smile on her face, and her words touched his heart.

He moved behind her and hugged her firmly, placing his head on her shoulder, and she closed her eyes and rested her head on his arm. He had only one desire: to keep her in his arms for all eternity, and he wanted to never lose this precious soul at any cost. Their lips drew up into a contented smile as they lost themselves in each other's arms.

"Now let's finish what we left in the middle." She said after closing the box and keeping it under the bed after coming out of his arms.

"What?" He asked, as if he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Manik, stop teasing me." She glared at him and said, waggling her finger at him.

"Say it from your mouth, Kiddo, what you want. I want to hear it." He moved closer to her and whispered gravelly, brushing her cheek with his thumb, taking her breath away from her.

"I want you to love me, Manik." She breathed, gazing into his intoxicating brown eyes.

"Elaborate it, Kiddo. You know I didn't understand things easily, you have to explain to me first." He teased her, playing with her hair.

"Manik, it's enough." She pushed him away, irked.

"Okay, fine, then I'm not going to do anything." He lay down, placing his entwined hands under his head.

She frowned at him. "You're such a tease. Now I'll see how you don't do anything after this." His brow furrowed in bewilderment as she spoke. Next moment, only his eyes dilated in surprise when his kiddo did something unexpected.