Nandini had no desire to attend the party but she had gone out of respect to her Guru, Pandit Trilok Chaurasia. As soon as she arrived, she made her way out to the back where the pool was, avoiding socialising with anyone. She recalled the last time she had been there. Diwali night. The memories of that night were so fresh in her mind. Manik had kissed her that night. For the first time. Without warning, a lone tear escaped her eyes. She brushed it off furiously. She was done crying over Manik. He had given up on them so easily. One mistake, she made one mistake. And he declared it over between them. Had she not found it in her heart to forgive him when he made a mistake? So why could he not forgive her? Clearly, she had been mistaken about his feelings for her. He did not love her as she had thought he did, if he could not forgive her. Still, she missed him. They had not spoken once since that time in the library when she tried to remind him of all the memories they made. He had stayed out of her way. It was so unlike him to not invade her space. She really missed him.
(inside the living room where the party was being held)
Manik stood near the steps facing the main entrance. He had not seen Nandini at the party, although Cabir told him that she had arrived. He briskly but quietly walked out towards the poolside, not wanting to mingle with the guests. He wanted to be on his own. As soon as he stepped out, he saw her lone figure sitting there. Even though, somewhere deep in his mind he had known he would find her, he was so upset that this girl, the one whom he was ready to die for and the one who betrayed his trust was here. She was here and she looked so beautiful, so ethereal. As always. Anger, pain and longing, all three emotions came bubbling up to the surface. He could not believe any person could feel so many emotions at one go. He did. He reacted on the one most dominating. Anger. He walked to where she was sitting and without any form of warning, hauled her up.
"Why are you here?" He asked her.
She seemed lost for a moment. Then she struggled to get out of his grip.
"Leave me alone, you are hurting me. Let me go, Manik", she spit the words out.
"I asked, why are you here? Who invited you? What do you want from me?", the words were torn from him. She did not cower.
"I came because I am invited. I am one of the participants for tomorrow's competition, as you are well aware. And as of now, I want you to let me go. Let. Me. Go", she retorted, equally angry.
How ironic was it that she was turning him on so fast by being the spitfire than she ever did when she displayed affection towards him? His brain was in overdrive, fried actually. She was fighting against him, making all these sexy sounds and her body involuntarily rubbing against his. Lord. This woman was dangerous. She made him see stars. He needed to get a grip on his hormones.
"Why can you not let me go? You have made it clear that you cannot forgive me, so why are you invading my space? When you made a mistake, when you broke my trust, I forgave you Manik. And you could not extend the same courtesy to me."
They had been moving towards the edge of the pool, slowly and without either of them realising. She used her free hand to push, punch and slap his chest. But he would not let her go.
She continued her tirade at him.
"I said I was sorry. I asked you not to let me go. Yet, you did. Is this how much you trusted us? One small mistake, one small misunderstanding and you gave up on us Manik. I was not worth fighting for? We, were not worth fighting for. And you tell me I betrayed you? Well, you know what? You betrayed us. You told me the best was yet to come. And then you pushed me away when I made one mistake."
Her words were worming themselves inside his head and he wanted to retaliate but he could not focus on the conversation alone. Her scent was filling up his senses. Her body fanning the fumes of want inside of him. She was continuing to use her free hand to push him and suddenly both of them were in the water.
They came up for air plastered against each other. Tiny droplets of water stuck to her lashes, her cheeks and her lips. He groaned. And he could not control it anymore. He pulled her close, so close that there was no space for air to pass between them. Fisting his hand in her hair, he swooped down to kiss her. Her hands automatically came around his neck and she kissed back with equal fervour. He smiled at her reaction. Nandini Moorthy. Always guarded, ever so innocent, was kissing him like an experienced lover. She suddenly dropped her arms and stared up at him. She was breathing heavily as was he. A soft blush was creeping up on her cheeks. He saw that her eyes filled up with tears, tears that were threatening to spill over any moment.
"Manik...", she took his name. So much hope filled in that one tiny word.
"No, I cannot forgive you and seducing me this time, will not work".
He saw her reaction. She looked like she had been slapped hard. And he regretted his words, immediately and was about to apologise for what he had said when without any warning, she punched him in the face.
"You only deserve that from me", she said and she waded out of the pool leaving him, rubbing his sore jawline for the third time in the history of knowing her.
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