MaNan OS : Hamesha...
Monster Manik! How can he be so arrogant? Samjthe kya hain yeh apne apko?!. Main iski koi personal travelling bag hain kya jab deko udhake le jaate ho. How dare he! Aiyappa, why can't this guy leave me alone.Dekho how he is smirking at me.Grrr..he wants me to accept his apology na...yeh sab harkaton ke baad apology accept karna toh duur. I'm not even gonna talk to him. Mujhe stubborn bola than na..haan hoon main stubborn. Neither am I going to accept his apology nor am I going to talk to him. Nandini thought glaring daggers at him.
Manik couldn't help but smile at her. Her chubby cheeks looked even more chubbier when she was angry. He longed to to caress her cheeks and see it turnred beneath his fingers...how did he even think of leaving her ...as if that was possible. Even if Dhruv did have feelings for her he knew he wouldn't have been able to keep himself away from her. It just wasn't possible . He didn't have any rational explanation as to why it was so. His Nandu...His Nandu, his angry kitty was now very busy huffing and puffing and glaring at him. Another involuntary smile crept up his face. Nandu's eyes narrowed at that but she kept mum.
"So...Nandini, the deal is simple. You accept my apology and I'll let you go" he said knowing very well that she was not going to accept it at any cost. After all who knew his Nandu better than himself.
She answered him with another glare and sat turning away from him fuming.
Acha so madam mujhe silent treatment dene waali hain. Too bad I already know how to deal with it. Kuch toh innovative socha karo na nandu. He thought a feeling smug.
Deal? Like seriously?...bech raaste se mujhe kidnap karke yahaan le aaya and now he is trying to blackmail me into accepting his apology whoever had heard of that? Mr. Arrogant Manik Malhotra I'm so not going to accept you so called deal. Her eyes widened when she saw him coming towards her. The look on his face switched on her mental alarm. Uh oh.
Manik leaned down close to her in his well-practiced move. This time he made sure to trap both her hands. With Nandini Moorthy you never know when a punch is on the way. His face was mere inches from hers. Nandini's eyes were wide and she was desperately trying to free herself. Manik took his time studying her beautiful face mentally savouring every inch of it. He was lost in her.
Nandini could fell his breath washing over her face. The look he was giving her made her mind go blank. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Why does this happen every time he comes close to me she wondered. No ..nandini get a grip on yourself. You're not going to give in so easily are you?
" Manik ..tum kya kar rahe ho. Leave me" she said through gritted teeth.
That snapped Manik back to reality. His angry kitty won't give up that easily ofcourse!
"This is the punishment you get for not answering my question..." he said and gave her a peck on her cheek. "next time if u don't answer me Miss Nandini Moorthy then u'll have to face more severe consequences"...he said eyeing her lips meaningfully.
Nandini glared at him ..but she couldn't prevent the blood from rushing to her cheeks. Trying to ignore all the butterflies that were fluttering around in her stomach she managed to speak...
" Manik just leave me." She said struggling to release her hand from his grasp. He left her hand and leaned away trying to calm his own racing heartbeats.
Just then his phone began to ring...His screen flashed Mukthi calling'
"Hello Mukthi..haan...woh main... I'm out on a business, what happened? Kya?Today evening? How is that possible..Shit! Don't worry.. I'll do something"
Ab isse kya ho gaya hain? Nandini thought . He looks tensed. Should i..no why should you. It's his business Nandu..Let him handle it himself. She had a tough time convincing herself to stay where she was while she watched him pacing across the room frowning to himself. Finally after a few minutes he again took his phone and called someone.
" Haan..Nyonika. I need Mr. Mehra to postone our performance for the album for tomorrow...oh pls !!!...cut the lecture and tell me what you want in return...Again?! I've to go to him?! ...okay fine. Deal". He cut the call. His eye cold and expressionless. He slumped down into the sofa staring at nothing in particular.
Nandini was confused. She knew that Manik and his mother had a rough relationship...but she didn't know that it was so ...cold.As if they were business associates more than family.Manik's shoulders were slumped in defeat. There was no trace of playfulness that she saw moments ago on his eyes. Her heart reached out to him.After a few arguments with herself. She finally gave up and sat beside him.
He didn't acknowledge her presence. His head was too messed up to think straight.
"Let's take a break" She said.
This caught his attention and his head shot up. But he didn't respond just stayed quiet. Nandini knew that whatever it was that was bothering him had hurt him deeply. She could read it in his eyes. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to be his strength. She slowly took his hand in her own and intertwined their fingers.Both of them staring down at their clasped hands.
It was the vulnerability that she saw in his eyes that made her heart ache. She knew she was the only person in the world who had seen the vulnerable side of Manik Malhotra. Whenever he needed strength he always came to her. This made her feel special.
How did she do this?! He wondered. Every time when he needed her she was there for him unconditionally. He felt a warm feeling fill his chest. All the worry about Nyonica, his dad and the deal disappearing already. He just stared into the pair of dark brown eyes filled with compassion and...love?
"Manik some relationships give us strength... some others just binds us up and makes you weak. Life is a mixture of evry thing. We've good things and bad things. Tumhe pata hain ki aisa kyoun hain? Because god wants you to derive strength from the good and overcome all the other problems.To make you strong." She said.
Manik was overwhelmed. He just cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers. This sweet gesture had Nandu's throat tighten. She obliged closing her eye. She felt so complete with him. Love she knew was strong emotion ..one which can defeat anything even her stubbornness didn't have a chance against it.
"Nandini...i...I'm... I'm sorry. You were the only thing in my life that actually felt right. I know I'm very lucky to have my friends...but I was the one who always took care of them. They always shared their feelings and vulnerabilities with me. But i couldn't do so with them. I'm their pillar of support so I had to be strong always...or pretend to be even if I was not. Then you came along and...I got something beautiful in my life. For the first time I felt like there was someone there for me who truly cares about me. You were... are my strength ..you are my life...pls ..don't
"Manik.."Nandini said her eyes moist and her voice breaking.
"Shh! Just let me complete..i need to let it out"
"When..we were together, I felt like the happiest person on earth. Then Dhruv said he loved you and I was torn ..i went recoiling back to my older self. Dhruv is like my brother ever since he saved my life when I was a kid...Dhruv ke attacks ke bare mein tumhe pata hain na. That night Dhruv saved me and got hurt himself...
I just didn't know what to do...phir mujhe laga ki Dhruv is 100 times the person I am. I thought that he deserved you more than me. You deserved someone better than me..so i.. i...did what I thought was right. I regreted it every time I saw you crying...it was killing me. Every second I stayed away from you was a torture...but I ...I was confused and hurt and...I never thought it will hurt you so much...Every time I saw you with Dhruv I was burning... it took me some time to realize that just letting you go wouldn't help anyone..i'm sorry ..i hurt you badly but...I ...just. Nandini plsI ..need you ..pls don't leave me"He said hugging her as if his life depended on it.
She could say no to the arrogant Manik. She could deny the angry one, she could even ignore the sweet one, but to deny this vulnerable Manik was beyond her. So she hugged him back with all her strength. If he had the power to freeze the time, this would be the moment. After a long time ...they broke the embrace.
Nandini felt the need to lighten the mood.
"Break over!" She said and promptly walked away from him and sat opposite to him. Manik was confused. What did she mean?
"Tumhe deals bahout pasand hain na. So here is my deal." She knew that she was threading dangerous waters. Once she said it there was no taking back...but this was no time to play safe!
"I'll accept your apology if you say what I want to hear." She said hardly believing that she was actually saying it.
Manik looked at her confused. "I already told you that I'm sorry na"
"yes. You did"
"what else do you want to hear?" he asked innocently confused.
She just walked away suddenly more interested in the aquarium placed near the wall ...Aiyappa! why is he making this so difficult?! Itni sibaat samajh mein nahin aatha aur yeh mujhe dumb kehtha hain!
This girl is driving me crazy...what does she want to hear now? That I'll never leave her again?... no that seems lame. He took his phone and messaged Cabir.
Bro..ineeed your help! What does a girl want to hear while trying to patch up with her?!
Cabir on the other side chuckled seeing the message. Yeh kameena pura ka pura gadha hain.
You mean after confession? He typed back smirking ..
Manik stared at his reply for a few minutes. Did she ..did she mean ..she actually wants me to..? really?
Nadini was nervously chewing her lips. Why did I say that?! Itni jaldi bhi kya thi!...oh my god..how will I face him now?!
She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't see him standing right behind her. She jumped when she felt his hand on her waist.He pulled her and her back collided with his chest. He gently put her hair back and leaned close to her ear. Nandini gulped and felt her heart beating fin her ear.
"Kya sunna chahthi ho tum?" he asked huskily sending shivers down her spine.
"Who...hmmm...kuch nahin..bas.."
"Bas ..kya?".
She felt her knees going weak. She didn't say anything she just leaned back against him. They stayed like that for a long time. After some time Manik turned her around so that she was facing him. He cupped her face and asked
"will you shine for me?" The look in his eyes rendered her speechless. She just nodded her head. He kissed her forehead.
"aur kya main tumhare prayers mein rahainge?" she again nodded. She didn't trust herself to form coherent sentences. He smiled and kissed both her eyes.
"aur you won't leave me again... ever again? " He asked.She looked at him and whispered "no. I won't"
"I love you Nandini" Manik said finally. Her whole world stopped as soon as she heard those words leave his lips. She was afraid to blink...afraid that this might be a dream.
But all the thoughts disappreared when he leaned down to touch her lips with his. It was a kiss filled with promises...promises for s beautiful life ahead...
They broke apart their foreheads still against each other. Nandini wanted this moment to be perfect for both of them.She gathered all her remaining bits of sanity and said
" I love you too Manik...hamesha"
"...Hamesha" He whispered his voice betraying him.
Mr Cupid up in the heaven smiled down at his latest accomplishment. Uff !In donon ne mujhe bhi tension mein dal diya tha. But I always knew a kidnapping would help. Ha! Bade aaye cupid se panga lene!
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CID
