Manan FF - Kaisi yeh Yaariyan season 3 - Chapter 123 & note - Page 63

Nandini was pacing up and down the living room, biting her nails. Amms had gone out with Chacha for some last minute shopping completely dismissing her pleas. Apparently , this 48 hour notice period was only for Nandini. Neel's family had known the date for over a month. They had prepared a long list of rituals and a longer list of invitees. But Amms had intentionally kept her own family in dark, as she was afraid that Nandini or Shanno could come up with a plan to ruin the occasion.

Nandini checked the time. Manik would still be on his way to Panchgani. Yes, this time he had told her, that he was going to Panchgani to catch hold of the people Neel had employed to kill Manik. Thanks to Nishant, they could track these people through their bank accounts and now Manik would give Neel a taste of his medicine. He had paid these people to bump Manik off, now Manik will pay them double to confess the truth in front of everyone.

Manik had asked Nandini to text her, in case of emergency, but the condition that Nandini was in, at the moment, she had to hear his voice to calm her fraying nerves. But with the spies roaming all around her, even speaking to Manik was going to be risky. An idea struck her mind and she rushed to the washroom upstairs, locked the door and dialled Manik's number.

"Manik ..." That is all she could manage to say.

Just one word and he could feel the deep agony in Nandini's voice. He had expected things to go wrong, and he had already drawn a contingency plan. But the graveness in Nandini's voice implied, things at her side had gone worse than he had anticipated. Had he been in Mumbai, he would have somehow met her and consoled her in his embrace. But, all he could now, was to talk her out of whatever problem she was in. "What's wrong Nandini? Why are you gasping?"

"Wo Amms... Wo..."

"Take a deep breath Nandini & tell me" By then Manik had parked his car in front of a nearby shop. The last thing he could afford now was another accident.

She did as told. Stopped and took three deep breaths before resuming to tell the sordid tale.

"Wo Amms has gone all nuts, kuch bhi bole ja rahi hain, ek to wo Neel ke parents have landed here, upar se Amms ne chachi ko kya kya sab suna diya...You know she even taunted chachi for not having her own child...I can't even imagine, how she could say that?" More than the happy moments, it were times like these, when she thanked her stars for having Manik in her life. 'To have that one person in life, with whom you can share your biggest worries, & who will do anything and everything to keep you safe' is a blessing that only those know, who have fought their battles all alone. Rolling back to the time before Manik's return, Nandini remembered how she would be all nervous and quiet, unable to share her inner thoughts. How day after day, from a bright and resilient girl, she had withdrawn from the world to shrink inwardly & become a sorry version of her earlier self. Pushing those thoughts aside, she continued "And tumko to she hates like you are her enemy. Like you are responsible for everything wrong in our lives. Earlier also she used to be strict and a pakka disciplinarian but you know na, she used to have a heart... but the way she spoke today, she sounded like an autocrat who refuses to see or hear any logic."

"What else did she say about me?" Manik asked and Nandini innocently replied without weighing her words.

"Yahi ki you are a spoilt brat & she had made a mistake by forgiving you the last time. She said she will not forgive you again and never let you enter our house. Why does she hate you so much, why does she always read people wrong? Why does she the devil in you and the angel in Neel?"

Manik replied after a long pause "May be she still cares for you. May be she just hates me, and that hatred is making her do all this...with you and Chachi"

"But why should she hate you? Tumne kiya kya hai.. Mera khayal rakhne ke alawa?"

Nandini had somehow missed the hurt , which had subtly crept in his voice. But when he replied a bit too casually "Oh, that, chill! I am used to hatred. 23 years ka experience hai after all. Wo aaj tak Nyonika ne ek hi cheez to kiya hai mere liye, to fill me with so much hatred that I have become immune to it. So... Amms hating me is not important, what's important is that she shouldn't have said all that crap to chachi and you.", thats when Nandini realized that despite claiming otherwise, he wasn't immune to hatred & especially when it came from her family. She cursed herself for blurting out everything without considering the impact it could have on him. Only she knew the extents he had gone for her. A guy who had no value for any relationship on earth, who didn't know what it is to have family, had saved her brother, had loved her family, had taken the pain to go to Mangalore and convince her granny for HER SAKE. Perhaps he would never accept, but it did matter to him, because somewhere deep down he wanted to be a part of her family, to get the love and concern that his own mother and to an extent his father had deprived him of. If only she had thought all this before speaking.

"Manik, I am sorry...I ...I didn't mean it that way."

"Nandini..Nandini..its ok..You shouldn't say sorry..really. Everyone is entitled to have their opinion, even Amma... ab if she doesn't like me, she doesn't like me. Simple, infact sorry to mujhe hona chahiye, I should be sorry that you and chachi had to hear all that because of me."

"NO ITS NOT OK. She doesn't have the right to hate you...no one has the right to hate you...Manik, tum world ke bestest friend ho, and bestest se bhi better agar kuch hota hai, to waise boyfriend ho, You have the most unpretentious heart in the world, and your eyes, they can never lie. You don't deserve this hatred, not from her, not from anyone else."

"Nandini ...ITS OK maine kaha na...you don't need to do this, you don't need to prove anything to me."

"Manik stop. Isse pehle you ki pretend more that you are ok and unaffected by all this, just stop. Tumhe pete hai, when you stay too long with a person na, to uski qualities bhi slowly tumme aane lagti hain. Tum pehle jaise itna acha pretend nahi kar sakte. Bilkul meri tarah...

I know you are hurt and meri stupidity ki wajah se...but one thing jo maine pehle bhi bola tha and I am repeating, you are the best...the best of everything... and if I compare with all honesty, you are a much much better person than me. Main bas batein karti hun and you live it...in friendship, in love, in life. Aur koi kuch bhi kahe, don't ever forget this."

"Got it Miss-always-right."

"Abhi meri baat puri nahi hui. I know I was asking you..ki why Amms is doing like this but Mujhe na abhi ek baat yaad aa gayi. Meri ma bolti thi, when someone curses or criticizes you for no fault of yours, it doesn't define you, it defines them. Kehte hain na beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, hatred bhi lies in the eyes of the hater. Jo bhi haiyeh unka problem hai. Humara nahi...aur tumhara to bilkul nahi. Tum to hamare sone munde ho.."

"Tumhara nahi miss Murthy from Mangalore, sona munda to main bas chachi ka hun. Waise tell her ki unko zyada sad hone ki zaroorat nahi regarding that child thing. I am still open for adoption if she is willing, waise bhi mere parents ko to yaad bhi nahi hoga whether I am alive. Bas ek hi condition hai, food I will order from outside. "

"Maaannniiikkk..."

"Ok..ok listen.. Don't argue with Amms...let her say whatever she wants to."

"Whaaat? Are you serious??? Matlab after all this you are telling me to keep quiet...what's wrong with you Manik."

"What's wrong with you Duffer? Jao jake chillao Amms par and the next thing tht will happen is wo Neel ko call karke sab bol dei aur hamara sara plan suru hone se pehle hi puncture ho jayega. Waise adha to tumne puncture kar hi diya hai. Yesterday I broke up with you and today you defended me."

"OOO...yeh to maine socha hi nahi..."

"That's the problem na, tum sochti kahan ho...tum to sirf karti ho, hai na miss murthy?"

"To what should I do now?"

"Just get ready for your so-called-marriage and I will take care of the rest... and ya, you will receive some excel sized gifts soon, just receive them without any questions. We will meet soon. Till then, I love you cotton."

"But I love you more."

Nandini was happily walking out of the washroom, her head a full 20 kgs lighter than it was before speaking to Manik, when she collided with her supposed Mother-In-law. Oh so she was eavesdropping on her. Nandini felt sorry for the girl who would end up being her daughter in law. She made a face at her and left from there.

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We learn new lessons every day. The lesson that Nandini had learnt today was 'When Manik Malhotra says something, you should rather take it seriously.'

When he had warned her about the EXCEL sized gifts, she should have known they would be indeed EXCEL sized. Because right now at her door step were standing Ranbir, Navya and their 4 suitcases.

"Pay lagoo chachi , parchachi ji and Aap-Kaun Ji" totally ignoring her small yet substantial frame, Ranbir greeted chachi, Amms and Neel's mother (strictly in that order) from the door step itself. And then dragging the suitcases inside, they walked in, leaving a few jaws hanging open.

Shouldn't someone care to explain to Nandini, what exactly was going on? why these two had suddenly landed at her house and that too looking all zombie-ish as if they hadn't slept for 3 nights. Well, how was she to know that friendship calls for sacrifices. How was she to know that Manik had made an emergency call to Ranbir in the morning and asked him to pack his and Navya's bags, take a flight and land straight at Nandini's home to protect her from her deadly Amms and slimy in laws.

"Tumhari shaadi ki baat sunke to hamse raha nahi gaya, seedha bags pack karke hum yahan aa gaye. Ab tum choro ki tarah shaadi kar rahi ho to iska matlab ye to nahi ki hum apni ek lauti dost ki shaadi pe dhoom na machayein." Navya said, stealing glances at Amms and making sure that the sarcasm hit the right people at the right places.

{Now just because you are marrying secretly like a thief, doesn't mean I miss the wedding of my best friend}

"Haan ab to baraat ke nikalne tak hum yahin stationed hain. I hope you are fine with it chachi ji."

Struggling to hide her giggles, chachi side hugged them both "Bilkul, yeh bhi koi puchne wali baat hai, ise apna hi ghar samjho. Nandini ki shaadi mein, tum nahi celebrate karoge to kaun karega? Waise tum dono akele hi aye ho ya mere sone munde ko bhi aye ho?"

{Why are you even asking. Its your friend's wedding and you should legitimately have fun. But have you come alone or even my sona munda is with you?}

The joke was lost on Ranbir, who couldn't understand the context, but Navya caught it. "Nahi wo to final ki tayyari kar raha hai chachi, ekbari shaadi me hi ayega, patakhon ke sath"

{No chachi, he is preparing for the final wedding, he has to bring the fireworks na}

"Waise yeh kaun hai, tumhari bua hai kya?" Ranbir asked pointing towards Neel's mom, faking innocence. By then All three of them, Amms and her not so prestigious company were looking visibly disturbed. Needless to say they weren't particularly pleased at the entry of Nandini's friends, especially Amms who mistook Ranbir for Cabir and remembered the kind of antics they were capable of. She had been the first hand victim in Mangalore, how could she ever forget that epic episode.

{who is she, is she your aunt?}

"Are duffer yeh Nandini ki saasuma hain" Navya chipped in.

"Kaun ma?" Ranbir made such a constipated face that even Neel's dad couldn't keep his 23 teeth inside.

"Saasu ma, to - be- mother- in - law, idiot." Navya slapped Ranbir on his head, apparently to admonish him for his stupidity.

"Nandini, tumne bataya nahi, tum ghar jamai-with-family rakhne waali ho?" 10 pair of eyes turned towards him, as if they would crucify him then and there. "Are joke tha...chill chill" he subtly rubbed salt on their injury in a way that only the Dhawan brother were capable of.

Nandini wasn't not listening. She was here, but so not here. She was lost in her own dream world, where she was kissing her prince charming. Only Manik Malhotra could slay like this, take the most unfortunate of situations and turn it upside down like this. Now, this wedding would be royal fun. Uff, Manik should have been here and seen the 100 watt smile on her face. But wherever he was, she was sure he could feel her bubbling with joy.

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A/N:

1. thank you for the looovely comments. replies are coming soon.. enjoy!!