Married To Mr. Malhotra #1 ✓ (2016)

1 : the lie •

(A/N: Aha. So I am back! So this was written in early 2016 when I was a stupid kid, so most of it is immature, don't judge! ;) The person in the media box is Manik Malhotra, THE male protagonist of the book! Go read and lemme know how's this going up! Okaythanksbye. Love you all.)

Status : Edited

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"Mom, I cannot marry her." Manik said, shaking his head in disbelief. Of course, he wanted to marry a girl he loved. He wanted a love marriage. He didn't believe in an arranged marriage. Forget him believing, I didn't believe in it either.

"Why Manik? They accepted you as their son-in-law already. Why are you being so difficult? This is the fourth girl you're rejecting and I don't know why you're doing this. Don't you respect us, Manik?" His mother, Nyonika Malhotra, tried to convince him. In a way, I wouldn't blame her.

"It's high time you get married, son. You're 21 and you have great career options in your hands. Why don't you take the next important step in life?" His dad asked him. Every parent wants their child to live a happy life but it is a fact that they know very little of how to keep a child happy.

"Bhai, bol raha hun tujhe. You're in deep shit now. Arranged Marriage is a pain. Especially now, since you're still young." (Bro, I'm telling you. You're in deep shit now. Arranged Marriage is a pain. Especially now, since you're still young.) Cabir, his best friend, advised him from behind. Manik knew he was in trouble.

His parents didn't like love. Love was a word they hated and even if he ever fell in love, they would never accept his girl, or so he thought.

"Mom, I cannot marry her." He said, sternly again. He was way too stubborn to give in so easily. He was Manik Malhotra after all.

"Manik, tell us. What's the matter?" His parents asked, worried.

"Dad, I... love someone else." He made up an excuse and Cabir rose his eyebrows and tilted his head in surprise. His parents froze at their places. They had a lot of things to ask him but they just needed to know one important thing.

"Naam kya hai uska?" (What is her name?) His mother asked him. It was something to be considered seriously. He thought for a while and came up with a lame name, which was supposedly my name out of all the names he could find in the world.

"Nandini. Nandini Murthy." He said and hung his head down, like he was guilty. He grinned evilly in his mind as he saw his parents in deep thought, through his lashes. His lie was working. Little did he know that lie was going to twist our lives.

Cabir was looking at him as if Manik was his role model. He was such a great actor. Manik changed his expressions and further began to justify what he said, to make it sound true and anyone who knew him knew he was very good at hiding things; most things, at least. His feelings were an exception.

"She's in my college. We're dating for a year now." He said and pressed his lips, to supress a laugh. Cabir was rubbing his finger on his chin, trying to comprehend what was happening.

"Bring her home." His mother suggested and he looked up at them, with wide eyes. What would he do?

"Both of you don't believe in love. Believe kya? You guys hate love na? Ab achanak kya hua?" (Both of you don't believe in love. Forget believing, you guys hate love right? What happened all of a sudden?) He tried to divert them from the topic.

"Your happiness is our happiness." They said in unison. Manik's face dropped. How could he escape now? Who could he bring in place of 'fake' Nandini?