71• Under Her Intense Control

"Mam, breakfast is ready." She came out of shock as she heard Mary's voice. She closed her eyes and composed herself before moving her eyes to Mary.

"Bring it here." She ordered her.

"Okay, Mam." Mary nodded and left to bring the breakfast.

"Seriously, his rage is unbearable for me, but this is a part of him, and with time, I'll learn how to handle and relax him in this situation." She talked to herself.

Mary returned with a plate of cheese toast and boiled eggs, which she handed over to Nandini.

"Thank you, Mary." Nandini politely thanked her and then said, pointing at the broken glass. "Could you please clean this mess?"

"Sure, Mam, it's my duty," Mary replied with a smile, and Nandini gave her a small smile before strolling towards Manik's room with the breakfast.

By pulling down the knob, she opened the door and went inside. She saw Manik standing on the balcony, grasping the railing. Her gaze was drawn to the box of cigarettes as she placed the plate on the table.

"So it means he still smokes." She murmured and made a sad pout.

She marched onto the balcony with the box of cigarettes and questioned him. "Manik, this was kept on the table, it means you still smoke?"

He turned towards her and glanced at the box of cigarettes before looking at her. "That bastard's words were ringing in my head and I couldn't come to meet you; that's why I smoked in the morning." He told her the truth, clenching his hands and knitting his brows in anger.

"Why do you get so angry, Manik?" She asked him in disbelief.

"And why do you cry so much, Nandini?" As he inquired, she glared at him.

"What to do, Manik, I can't control it?" She pouted at him.

"What to do, Nandini, I can't control it?" As he spoke and pouted like her, she burst into laughter.

"But, baby, please don't smoke, it is injurious to your health." She implored, caressing his stubbles with her thumb, and her deep brown eyes were filled with genuine concern for him.

"Okay, my love." He clasped her hand and kissed it. Nobody could say they were quarrelling just a few minutes ago. They couldn't stay angry with each other for long because of the power of pure love.

"Now let's have breakfast because I'm starving." She clasped his hand with one hand and placed her other hand on her belly. He found her extremely adorable and wanted to eat her up, but he restrained himself because his kiddo was hungry.

"Okay, Madam, let's go." He nodded at her, smiling.

Then they walked into the room and had breakfast after settling down on the sofa.

"Manik, are you fine now?" She asked, clasping his face and stroking his stubbles with her thumbs, and he closed his eyes to feel her soothing touch. Her mere touch was enough to put him at ease.

"When you're around me, I'm perfectly fine, Kiddo." He replied with his eyes still closed, and her lips curved up into a smile.

"Then why did you hurl the glass in anger?" As she asked, he opened his eyes.

"Because you made me angry with your words, Kiddo. You were," she shushed him by placing her finger on his lips.

"I can understand. We have a different point of view, and we can't change it, so we won't discuss that topic anymore because I don't like to fight with you." She told him, placing her head on his chest.

"You're saying as if I am fond of arguing with you." As he spoke, she raised her head from his chest and gave him angry looks, but her face hung down in sadness as she saw the wounds on his face.

"It must be hurting you a lot, right?" She concernedly questioned, softly brushing the corner of his lips.

"Yes!" He nodded and pouted at her like an adorable kid, bringing a smile to her face. Only he had the power to make her smile in this situation.

She moved closer to him and whispered against his lips, gazing at him intensely. "Don't worry, I'll remove your pain." She lovingly sucked the corner of his lips before kissing every wound on his face, applying ointment on his wounds with her soft, rose-petal-like lips. With his eyes closed, he was completely engrossed in the warm touch of her lips on his skin as she was taking away all of his pain with her tender kisses.

He clasped her face and kissed her lips with profound softness and love, touching her inner soul and making every single cell of her body alive.

"I'm glad I have an angel like you in my life who always shows me the right path. You're so young, but still so mature." He praised her from the core of his heart and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes and smiled with utter contentment.

"I love you so fucking much." He merrily added as she opened her eyes.

"I love you more, my hottie biker." She confessed as well, deeply gazing into his eyes and grasping his jacket collars. A contented smile didn't leave their faces as they touched their foreheads, losing themselves in each other and forgetting about everything else.

"Manik, now get ready." She suddenly spoke, standing up, and he stared at her with his brows narrowed in confusion.

"Where?" He arched his brows at her.

"To my place. You'll stay with me there until your wounds heal." She stated, her voice calm and authoritative. Only she could command Manik Malhotra like that.

"But we can stay here. What's the problem?" He rose from the sofa and asked.

"I want to stay with my brother as well, Manik." She told him.

She couldn't leave Manik alone in this situation and didn't want to leave his brother alone either, because she loved them both equally and could never decide which one to choose. Therefore, she wanted Manik to stay at her place.

"Okay, let's go then." As he agreed, she grinned widely.

When he went to the table to pick up the bike's keys, she noticed he couldn't walk properly. 'So it means his legs are also injured, and he is still hiding this from me. Why won't he hide? I cry so much. But what to do? I just can't see my love in pain.' She wondered, looking at him unblinkingly when he lumbered towards her, smiling with the bike's keys in his hand.

"I must say, Manik, that you're so good at concealing your pain." His smile faded, listening to her words.

As she knelt before him, he inquired, "What are you doing-" He immediately became quiet as she glared at him.

As she raised his jeans, her eyes widened and she palmed her mouth, seeing the deep wound on one of his legs. She raised her moist eyes to him while he just stared at her silently.

'I have to control my emotions because if I fall weak and cry, he'll again hide his pain from me, and I don't want this. That's why I'll stay strong and won't cry.' She fought back her tears and stood up after deciding to stay strong; she could do anything for her love.

"And you were going to ride the bike in this condition? How can you be so careless, Manik?" She rebuked him for his carelessness.

He suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and yanked her to himself, and her eyes widened in shock. "Because I know my Kiddo is there to take care of me." Automatically a smile flashed on her face, listening to his words, and for a few seconds, they both got lost in each other's eyes.

"Please never hide your pain from me." She implored, becoming serious.

"Only if you promise not to cry," he said, drawing her closer to him.

"Look, I didn't cry, seeing your leg injury. Now you can trust me that I'll stay strong."

"That was quite shocking, but I'm impressed that you're learning to handle your emotions." As he praised her, she smiled with self-pride.

"Now you should also start controlling your anger, Mister." She ordered, pointing her finger at him.

"You're already controlling my anger, Baby. In fact, you're completely controlling Manik Malhotra. My mind, my heart and my soul are under your intense control, Baby." He huskily whispered the last line after moving closer to her lips, and then he stole her breath with a passionate lip kiss.

***

They reached Nandini's place in her car, which she drove. Ethan was sitting in the hall and reading the newspaper while sipping his black coffee. He was dressed up in a grey Armani suit.

Nandini rushed towards him and started hitting him after sitting beside him, and he was taken aback. "You lied to me, Ethan. You're so bad." She whined, still hitting him.

Manik reached there and settled down while laughing. When Ethan saw him laughing, he shot deadly glares at him.

"I lied to her because of you, Manik, and you're laughing." Ethan chided him.

"Don't lie, Ethan. In fact, you were the one who suggested this to me." When Manik put all the blame on him, Nandini frowned at her brother.

"Nandini, he is lying. It was his plan." Ethan tried to defend himself, and as Manik chuckled at his condition, Nandini glared at him, and Manik gave her a 'what did I do wrong' look.

"Don't act innocent, Manik. I know you both were equally involved in this plan, and I'm leaving you both this time because you planned all this for me. But next time if you both do this, I won't spare you both." As she gave them a warning, they both listened to her, lowering their eyelashes and, at the end, they nodded their heads meekly at her.

"Anyway, how did you come to know about this?" Ethan asked her.

"I'm your sister, Ethan. I can easily catch your lie." She smiled, smug after saying this.

"I'm sorry. We just didn't want to see you upset." Ethan gave her justification.

"I'm an adult now, guys. I have to face everything on my own; you both can't always protect me." She tried to explain to them.

"Sorry." They apologised in unison, bringing a smile to her face.

"It's okay, my overprotective brother and boyfriend." She looked at them with adoration, feeling fortunate to have them while they beamed at her and hugged, sandwiching her between them. She made cute faces as she tried to break free from their grip.