《Manan - Entangled》Part 26
Advertisement
Nandini asked Harshad's dad why he married her mom and cheated her. Harshad's dad didn't see her as a threat to him, so he told Nandini the truth. Photos could be photoshopped and the certificates didn't have his real name, so she couldn't use it against him and do any harm to him.
Dad : "I was in a band which traveled from city to city and performed to earn a living. I had a family and my earnings weren't sufficient to make both ends meet. I met Meena (Nandini's mom) when our band was performing in her city. She was fascinated by my voice and she met me, and appreciated my talent. She used to attend our performances regularly."
Dad : "I came to know that Meena was very wealthy. She didn't have her parents or siblings. Moreover, she was a heart patient. What use would all that money be to her? I got an idea. Meena didn't know that I was married and I hid it from her."
Dad : "I made her fall for me thinking that I could convince her and get a large sum of money from her. But then I came to know that according to her parent's will, Meena could get full control over her wealth and property only after her marriage. I had put in a lot of effort and I didn't want it to go waste, so I married her."
Nandini : "You knew she was a heart patient and she needed money for medicines to survive, but still you took her entire property away from her .. Moreover, it is her wealth you wanted, you could have taken that and left. Why did you continue the relation and impregnate her? Giving birth only deteriorated her health further. You didn't love her, but don't you have any value for someone's life."
Dad : "Why would it matter to me if she is dead or alive? Whether it is her wealth or her beauty it wouldn't be of any use to her. She was bound to die sooner or later, so I made use of it. I didn't tell her to give birth to you, she chose to .. who knows you may not be my daughter after all. Who knows she might have slept with someone else and .."
Nandini curled her fingers together and used her fist to punch his face with all her might. Back then she wasn't weak, so it had hurt Harshad's dad badly.
Nandini : "You are like that, not my mom. You married my mom and cheated her as well as your wife. My mom's mistake was that she loved and trusted a cheat like you, and as a result she lost her life."
Advertisement
Nandini : "A paternity test is sufficient to prove that I am your daughter, but I don't want a father like you. You are not a great man like my mom said, you are a devil who is responsible for her early demise. I am ashamed of myself for having spent my entire life searching for a cruel man like you."
With that Nandini took all her belongings and left from there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't only Nandini's image of her dad that had shattered that day, Harshad's image of his dad as his role model and hero had also come crashing down. He was in no mood to meet his dad, he too left from there immediately after Nandini.
Harshad's dad didn't realize that Harshad was there and had overheard their conversation. He was busy figuring out how to prevent the past from ruining his future.
Nandini always retorted when Harshad taunted her. His dad had done great injustice to her and her mom. He wanted to know what Nandini was planning to do because he was worried for his mom and sister. How would they react if they come to know about it? His mom considered her husband as god and his sister adored her dad.
Nandini went out of the hotel and looked for a secluded place in the garden and went towards it. Her eyes were filled with tears and she didn't notice the step in front of her and she tripped. Harshad who was following her held her from falling. Nandini thanked him without seeing who it was and went and sat in the secluded corner. Harshad joined her.
Nandini would have burst into tears, but she controlled herself after seeing Harshad next to her. He had never seen her like that so far and he knew the reason too. He passed his handkerchief to her without saying anything.
Nandini : "Something went into my eyes. .. What are you doing here?"
He didn't know how to start right away with what he had overheard, so
Harshad : "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, so I followed you."
Nandini explained what happened the previous day. Both the incidents together felt too much to handle for Harshad at that time, so he thanked her and left. He could talk to her about the other matter at a later time. Harshad had taken a few steps, when Nandini's phone started ringing. She received the call and he stopped after knowing that it was from Arya.
Nandini : "How are you Arya? How is your uncle doing?"
Arya : "I am fine and he is feeling better. Are you alright? Why are you sounding so low?"
Nandini : "I am fine. You aren't here for company that's why I am sad, nothing else. So when are you coming back?"
Advertisement
Nandini disconnected the call without sharing her sorrow with Arya because she didn't want him to get worried. She had controlled herself for too long, she covered her face and started crying uncontrollably.
If it was earlier, Harshad wouldn't have bothered about her, but now, he knew the truth. His dad hadn't accepted her, but it was clear that Nandini was his dad's daughter which also meant that she was his sister. Nandini had saved him from becoming a victim too and Arya also wasn't there to console her or provide moral support.
Harshad was used to taunting her, not consoling her. He hesitated at first, but then kept his hand on her head in an attempt to console her. Nandini lifted her head to see who it was, and tried to hide her tears.
Harshad : "You don't have to hide your tears. I followed you to the hotel room, and I overheard your conversation with him."
Nandini : "You were right. I was a big fool to think that my dad would be overjoyed to see me. Orphans like me can't be a symbol of love, we can only be born because of someone's greed or lust."
Harshad : "Don't say like that. So what if he doesn't love you, your mom probably loved you more than her life. That's why she gave birth to you in spite of knowing that her health will deteriorate. You went by your mom's words and she didn't know the truth, so neither is she at fault nor are you."
Harshad managed to console her though he himself was in a turmoil. He had thought of checking with Nandini as to what she was planning to do at a later time, but since he stayed back and she seemed a little better, he went ahead and asked her.
Harshad : "What are you planning to do with him?"
Nandini : "Nothing."
Harshad : "Why not?!"
Nandini : "What's the use, no one will benefit from it. Nothing is going to change for me. Mom left without knowing he is a cheat. In a way it was good, otherwise she would have had a heartbreak and died even more earlier. I came here looking for my dad but he turned out to be a devil. I don't have anything to do with him anymore."
Nandini : "If I do anything to him, it won't be only he who will suffer, his family also may suffer. It wouldn't be right to make them suffer for his deeds. If his family doesn't know about him, and I bring it up, it might break his wife's heart. It may affect his children too. I built castles in the air and it came crashing down. My life has already turned upside down, I don't want their lives to turn out like mine."
Harshad always felt that Nandini was trying to break others' relationships because she didn't have anyone. But she was thinking of the well-being of the family of the person who had ruined her as well as her mom's life. Nandini could have blackmailed his dad or she could have informed his family and broken his family easily if she wanted to, but she wasn't even thinking of it. Harshad's views of two people had changed that day - one was Nandini and the other was his dad.
Harshad : "The person you were talking to is my dad."
Nandini : "What?! .. Are you alright? .. I am sorry.. I didn't know.. I don't know what and all I said about him in my frustration.."
Harshad : "You didn't say anything wrong to apologize. He had to apologize, but he didn't. I am sorry for whatever you and your mom had to go through because of him, as well as for my past behavior towards you. I was wrong about you. You have a very big heart, if I were in your place I wouldn't have let him off the hook so easily."
Harshad : "You were right about his family being affected if they come to know about the truth. The image I had of him is shattered. I don't know whether to tell about this to my mom and sister or not. They both adore him a lot. I don't know how they will take it. It wouldn't be right to hide it, but if I tell them, our happy family won't remain so anymore."
Nandini : "Apart from us, no one else knows about it. I won't tell them or anyone else about it, you have my word. You are free to do whatever you think is right for your family. You know them well, if you feel they won't be able to handle it, then don't tell them about it."
Harshad hadn't made up his mind yet, but he felt that probably it would be better not to tell his family. He himself found it difficult to come in terms with his dad's misdeeds and Nandini, who he felt was mentally stronger when compared to his mom and sister, was also in a similar situation. Though Harshad and Nandini had disliked each other from the time they had met, they became each other's moral support at the time of their distress.
Advertisement
- In Serial35 Chapters
A Hardness of Minds
(35 Chapters >70,000 words, edited version available on Amazon) A Near-Future Hard Sci-Fi about Data, War, and First Contact in our Solar System. Life exists under Europa’s ice, but there’s doubt in the data. Against of backdrop of escalating tensions, double-sided revelations of first contact ripple through all involved as the probe attempts the first landing on the ice of Europa. The novel intertwines perspectives of Earth and under Europa as all struggle for truth. For fifteen years, the Europa Clipper has hinted at life under the ice-shell of Europa. An eccentric mogul, bent on expanding his legacy—funds and launches the first privately funded probe to Jupiter. The robotic submarine can reach the ocean floor and returning by an expertly trained AI. Tensions flare between the United States and China, while cyberattack threatens the project. Meanwhile, Dalton, a self-sabotaging synthetic data engineer, longs to make a name for himself in the scientific community, even at the cost of being infamous. Unknown to Earth, alien society has penetrated up the kilometers of ice, and has long researched ‘Nullworld,’ the mysterious ‘ether’ beyond the ice from which no sonar returns. Tensions in their global society have escalated as their city-state fights with a neighbor whose hydrothermal vent has run cold. Now the military caste is in control, halted all research, and pressed capable scientists and engineers into militia service. The alien scientist must escape and bring back research he hopes will diffuse tensions: the revelation of another water world. This is the second hard sci-fi novel by author Eric Kay (No Lack of Sunshine). It explores issues of data integrity in the age of adversarial information warfare, moving minds away from the brink of war, and experience versus knowledge by proxy.
8 85 - In Serial36 Chapters
The Digidream Chronicles
The World Jumper, the first volume in the saga, is now out on Amazon! What you'll find there is the improved, edited and expanded version, so please check it out if you're so inclined. And stay tuned for new chapters of what will become volume two! Right after quitting her job at Digidream, the company where the most innovative virtual reality universe is being made, Sarah will be forced to enter the game to save her boyfriend. Once inside, she will find herself in a world that changes and evolves constantly, according to the whims of the mysterious Game Master. Sarah will have to keep moving and fighting to improve and gain the abilities that will let her win and get out, picking some friends along the way. Everything seems to be stacked against her as she progresses through the different realms, but she will soon discover that there are other enigmatic entities that might not be in line with the rules set by the Game Master. Will Sarah be able to win and rescue her boyfriend, or will she fail and get trapped forever inside the virtual nightmare?
8 101 - In Serial10 Chapters
The OP Adventures of Joe
Follow the adventures of Joe! All kinds of crazy stuff is gonna happen to your average guy who one day awakens to some insanely op powers. He has little interest in petty things and with a perfectly neutral moral compass he immediately decides its best to just enjoy himself and mess around! Though it seems as if some other beings have other plans for him...I want to take this story all over the place, though it originally begins on Earth so never fear if your worried about staying on boring ol' Earth.I may add some more tags later on if the story goes in that direction. Let me know what you like about the story, what you don't and what you want to see happen. If enough people actually get interested then I'll probably start doing frequent uploads with chapters that will probably greatly vary in length but will never be really short.Also let me know if there are any mistakes!Mature tag for: Gore, excessive swearing, sexual content and etc.(Now with sporadic updates!)
8 100 - In Serial8 Chapters
The Magic of Diesel
In a world where magic is part of everyday life, the dreaded Dungeons are an essential provider of valuable resources that make modern society possible. The people who brave the mysterious caverns and its abominable monsters are called Dungeon Runners, and Ian is one of them. Dungeons are dangerous places, but the Tower is the worst of the lot. Despite its lethality, the legendary Dungeon could make any Runner rich beyond their wildest dreams. But the mysterious Dungeon operates on a different set of rules. Unlike any other Dungeons on the planet, a Runner needs a Ticket to enter the ancient portals leading into the Tower. The Academy, an ancient and elusive college dedicated to nurturing elite Dungeon Runners, holds a monopoly on those Tickets. This unique position gives them plenty of power and influence. However, the Academy made a mistake when their greed led to the death of Ian’s sister. Now, he will stop at nothing to crush them and their precious Tower. Will Ian succeed in uncovering the mysteries surrounding the death of his sister? Or will he find himself caught in the schemes of the Academy’s leaders?
8 67 - In Serial10 Chapters
The Chosen Stars - A Transformers Original Continuity
Also available on Fanfiction.net and TFW2005.com. Contains strong language and violence. Updated sporadically. The planet Cybertron hangs in an uneasy state of cold war. The warring factions of the Autobots and Decepticons have brokered a tenuous peace, but tensions are still high. The revolutionary leader Megatron has prepared for a covert mission that will take him beyond explored space in search of an artifact that might finally allow his rebellion to succeed. Meanwhile, a disaffected youth named Airazor searches for a greater purpose, and learns of an Autobot operation to apprehend the former Decepticon leader. The Autobots and Decepticons converge on a world both alien and hauntingly familiar in a battle that will decide the fate of the galaxy. An original continuity- a new Transformers universe featuring elements both referential and original, crafted to tell a completely different kind of Transformers story.
8 152 - In Serial31 Chapters
Land Of Zhelerez
Calvin Tan, 21 years old, currently in his 2nd year taking his Diploma at Republic Polytechnic, tried to save a young child that apparently drop an object while walking towards bus 39 after their bus had a breakdown in the middle of the expressway. Calvin had made the situation much worse than it seems...Will he suffers? Read to find out! Reincarnation - OP Hero Hey readers, this is my first time writing a story and hope I got time to update it at least once a week.If there's any mistake in grammars or typo's found do tell me. As a matter of fact my English is definitely not really good. Schedule:Been cancelled || 10% chance of being rewritten in the futureCan also be found here - Map included >.https://fnovelgames.wordpress.com/land-of-zhelerez/
8 192

