Nandini stood nervously, saying, "I really felt like you were my dad." She stumbled a bit while speaking. Her eyes were teary, showing how much she meant it.
"You were..." She paused, trying hard to find the right words. "You were someone I really admired, like a father."
"You already have a dad," Moga chuckled softly.
"Then why did you take me?"
"I need your energy."
"You're awful," she said, her words dripping with pure hatred.
Manik interrupted, "I need subtitles for this," clearly bored with the conversation.
Nandini shared, "When I was a kid, he took me from home and abandoned me at an orphanage because he couldn't get what he wanted. He's the cruelest person I've ever known."
Manik observed him from head to toe and remarked, "He seems too young to be a mage."
"I am more than 1000 years old" Moga chuckled.
The mage with a childlike appearance has a slender body, smooth skin, and shorter stature, making him seem young. He is dressed in a long black robe that hides his true age. Despite looking young, his eyes hold ancient knowledge and he acts wise and mature, seeming older
"Fine, I get it. You left her when she wasn't useful to you, so why show up now?" Manik asked curiously.
"Because you both fell in love."
"Love? Who?" Manik and Nandini blurted out simultaneously.
"You both" He pointed them both.
"We—" Nandini started, her voice trailing off as she looked over at Manik.
"I don't," Manik interjected bluntly, his words cutting through the air, leaving Nandini surprised and hurt by his sudden and harsh rejection.
"No matter how much you both lie to yourselves, the proof is in your birthmarks," the mage stated firmly.
"You shut up old man" Manik spoke taking his gun out.
"Ah...so harsh."
"Speak one more word and I'll shoot you"
"Bullets won't do anything to me" Moga laughed hard. "You, children are so amusing" He sat down peacefully in Manik's chair.
"Listen, I don't want any conflict with either of you. You're my precious children," the mage spoke gently. "Starting today, I'll stay in this house with you. Nandini, you still have some time left to gain your complete and unlimited life force, being immortal. I want to be near both of you during this time because I don't trust you"
"This is MY house. Who do you think you are?"
"I am a person who can control your life as I want and also make you have sex without your consent. I can take what I want by force but I just want to amuse myself a little bit before that. So, don't provoke me. Live your little lives and let me get mine peacefully!"
"Let me see you try!" Manik fired his gun from which the bullet pierced through the mage's body. Blood splashed all over the floor.
Amidst the smoke clearing, Nandini screamed, "Manik!"
As the haze dissipated, Manik was astonished to find the mage standing tall, seemingly unaffected by the bullet wound. With an unexpected calm, the mage delved his fingers into the wound, extracting the bullet effortlessly. Astonishingly, the wound sealed shut almost instantly.
"Told you!" Mage laughed hard.
"Manik, relax. I have lived with the mage before. I know his powers. He is not someone you can kill."
"So, what do you want me to do? Wait until he watches us having sex?"
"Who will do it with you? Over my dead body!!" Nandini screamed.
"As if I am ready to have sex with you."
The mage released a sigh, observing their unyielding stubbornness.
Glancing around, the mage noticed a maid nearby. "Hey, can you show me an empty room?" he requested, catching the maid's attention. Manik hesitated for a moment, casting a final glance at Nandini before conceding to allow the mage to stay in his mansion.
Nandini, filled with anger, "I hate you!" she spoke and stormed off to her room, leaving Manik to grapple with the aftermath of the decision.
Manik sat in the empty room, his distress palpable. His romantic life had been a series of disappointments. The women he cared for always seemed to reject his love when he finally confessed. Despite numerous encounters with strangers, he found himself falling deeply for Nandini, unable to control his feelings. He longed to cherish her but the revelations from the mage about her true nature left him reeling. He refused to touch her out of someone else's desires; he wanted her to feel genuinely special, truly loved.
He yearned to confess his feelings, to make things official with Nandini, but the mage's interference had shattered those plans. His stubbornness had led him to harshly reject her in front of the mage, and now he worried that Nandini despised him. The fear of her hatred consumed him, leaving him troubled and anxious.
"That mage! Even if I can't kill him, I should've beaten him to a pulp," Manik muttered, frustration evident in his tone.
----
Nandini lay on her bed, tears welling up in her eyes. The sudden reappearance of the person who abandoned her triggered memories of her time in the orphanage. Recollections of the hardships and struggles she faced as an orphan flooded her mind, each moment etched deeply within her.
Loneliness had been her constant companion as she grew up. Witnessing other children being picked up by their parents from school only amplified her sense of isolation. Seeing her friends embraced by loving families left her with a lingering ache, a poignant reminder of her longing for that warmth and belonging.
The longing for a family had always burned within Nandini, a fervent desire that remained unfulfilled. The realization that someone had selfishly robbed her of that chance, leaving her not as the first priority in someone's life, deeply upset her. It was a harsh reminder of the selfish actions that had deprived her of the love and connection she yearned for, leaving her feeling profoundly hurt and deprived of a sense of belonging.
The harsh rejection from the person she deeply cared for plunged Nandini into profound sadness. It compounded the pain she already carried, intensifying her feelings of heartache and isolation. Being rejected by someone she loved added to her emotional turmoil, leaving her engulfed in a deep sense of sorrow and despair.
