"Are you out of your mind?! Tumhara bheja kya 16th century mein banaaya gaya tha? Tum ulloo ho ye toh mujhe pata tha par itne bade ulloo hoge ye nahi socha tha maine!" Manvi chided Virat when he had finally finished his past story. Virat's head shot up and he looked shocked. He had expected Manvi to sympathise with him, console him and take sides with HIM and not HER! "Tum…tum use…How dare you?! Yahan main apna dard aur past tumse share kar raha hoon aur tum mujhe PAGAL bol rahi ho?!" Virat hollered back at her.
Both of them were standing in the parking lot of Vadhera House, away from the function being held in honour of Inder Chachu's victory and Virat's recent inclusion into the Vadhera law firm. Manvi had met Maya that morning when Virat had taken her to the mall again, to get some things for Chachu's surprise. She noticed that Virat was being crabby after he had literally shooed the girl away and had been on silent mode ever since. She had tried all ways, including the most tacky ones (thanks to Dabbu and his full-on filmy ideas) to cheer Virat up but the maximum he had given her was a meek smile , that too when she accidently spilt iced tea on Dadaji's pants and had offered him a cloth to wipe it, which turned out to be Buaji's dupatta. After the mortifying incident, Manvi had taken enough and directly asked Virat to spill the beans or not talk to her ever. The second option being impossible Virat had reluctantly chosen the first one and both of them had landed up at the parking lot where Virat revealed his big fat past story. Initially Manvi had been very curious and also sympathetic to an extent. But when Virat ended the story saying that he caannot forgive Maya for her choosing her career over him, Manvi exploded.
"Pagal nahi ulloo" Manvi corrected him even in her fury " Tumne apne pyaar ko isliye bhula diya kyunki usne pehle apna career banana chaahaa?! Virat, ye toh aaj kal ki koi bhi ladki bolti na?" Manvi controlled herself and resorted to convincing Virat. Virat threw his hand in the air in frustration and turned to go away. Manvi caught his hand and narrowed her eyes at him "Meri baat sun toh lo ? Dekho , main bas itna bol rahi hoon ki tum us se PYAAR karte ho. " "THA…karta THA" Virat corrected her in a firm voice making Manvi raise an eyebrow. "Really? Ab tum apne usual denial mode pe jaane waale ho? " Manvi asked exasperatedly and Virat came forward to yell once again when Manvi lifted both her hands and made a small i'm-sorry gesture but continued " Pehle apne dimaag ke thermometer ka reading kum karo aur phir meri baat pyaar se sun na ok?"she asked and made him sit with her in a bench nearby. Virat was feeling hurt but couldn't refuse Manvi as he had never done it before as well. So, both of them sat down while Manvi kept holding on to Virat's hand just to give him comfort.
Manvi turned to look at him but he was in no mood to look at her ,so kept staring ahead. "Virat, ye zindagi bohut choti hoti hai. Isme hum kayi kism ke logon se milte hain, unse hamaara rishta justha hai, unki yaadein hamare dil mein basti hai aur phir hum doosre logon se mil jaate hain. Par in saare logon mein kuch log aise hothe hain jo sirf hamare yaadon mein hi nahi , hamaare zindagi mein bas jaate hain. Maya un logon mein se ek hai tumhaare liye " Manvi said softly. Virat started to retort when he stopped looking at Manvi's small pleading smile, so Manvi continued. "Maya tumse mili, tumne us se pyaar kiya aur us ne tumse. Pyaar mein insaan zindagi ko sirf khoobsurti mein dekhna chahtha hai. Use sirf apna pyaar aur uska saath important lagta hai. Aur ye sahi bhi hai. Pyaar se zyaada is duniya mein kuch bhi important nahi hai " Manvi asserted making Virat turn towards her in curiosity as she went on " Tum Maya se shaadi karna chahthe the aur tum bilkul sahi the. Is mein koi shak nahi hai. Par ek minute ke liye zara Maya ki baaton ke baare mein bhi socthe hain ok? Usne kya tumse shaadi karne se hamesha ke liye inkaar kar diya? Nahi na? Usne bas itna kaha, ki pehle tum dono ko apna career, apni zindagi ki manzil ko haasil karna chahiye. Agar ye situation reverse hua hota , aur ek ladka ye sab baatein ek ladki se bolta, tab bhi kya tum ise galat bolte? Maya tumhe aur apne aap ko successful dekhna chahthi thi, kya ye koi bhi girlfriend nahi chaahegi? Ye bhi toh pyaar ka ek factor hota hai na? " Manvi asked in a sweet voice. By now Virat's temper had calmed down and he was listening to her completely but his thoughts were not on Maya.
"Toh tum bol rahi ho, ki Maya ne mujhse zyaada apne career se pyaar karke sahi kiya?" Virat asked her calmly but with a hint of sarcasm which Manvi didn't miss. She took a long breath and smiled " Nahi baba. Main bas itna bol rahi hoon, ki jo usne tumse kaha wo shaayad poori tarah se galat nahi tha. Aur agar tumhe lagta hai ki galat tha, toh ab wo waapas aake tumse maafi bhi toh maang rahi hai na? Virat, kitne logon ko zindagi mein second chances milte hain? Tumhe toh zindagi gift-wrap karke second chance de rahi hai yaar. Kya tum is gift ko try bhi nahi karoge? ' Manvi asked and Virat closed his eyes while silently cursing his luck. Virat had told Manvi about Maya not for advice on how to get back with her. Over the few days after Manvi's arrival in Chandigarh Virat had realised that his first love had neither been music nor Maya. It had been the infuriatingly innocent girl who had made his life livable again in such a short time. It was Manvi. He didn't know when or why but just knew that he couldn't think about anyone else anymore. And here he was now. Listening to a love lecture from the love of his life on how to accept his past, which didn't matter to him anymore, except for the tiny hurt in his heart over the betrayal he knew Maya had done.
That morning when he had met Maya, Virat had been upset because he had been planning a proposal of sorts for Manvi during the evening and Maya had turned up before them, with the same pleading. He had been prepared to forget the incident when he had noticed that Manvi was actually sympathising with Maya, after she saw her leave in tears. Virat didn't want to mess up his plans and so had stayed quiet about the issue but the incident had left a nagging doubt in his mind on Manvi's true feelings for him. He knew that she considered him as her close friend by now, but was he that alone? These thoughts were the reason he had been silent the whole day, trying to sort things out. But Manvi was Manvi. She had suspected that he had a past relation with Maya and was hell bent on knowing it. Virat knew that she would never accept that he was over Maya, even if he said that a thousand times. And boy, was he right!
"Virat?...Virat tum sun rahe ho na?!" Manvi's voice brought him back from his thoughts. Virat turned to look into her eyes and kept searching for the answers he wanted in them. "Erm..Virat? Tum convince ho gaye ya main aur filmy lines bolun? Mujhe aur bhi aate hain don't worry! But agar main bolti rahi toh party miss ho jaayegi…" Manvi said sheepishly while wondering why he was staring at her like that. Finaly, Virat gave a smile and stood up "Tum sahi bol rahi ho. Theek hai, tum jeeti. Main Maya ki apology accept kar leta hoon. Ok? ' Virat asked confidently. Manvi was shocked to say the least. Had he ACTUALLY just agreed with her so soon? She got up and without thinking gave him a tight hug "Tum toh best ho Virat! Ab dekhna sab kuch theek ho jaayega. Main tumhe tumhaare pyaar se milaaungi tum dekh lena!" she said happily and skipped away inside to have some fun , now that her mission was over. Virat stood at the same spot and watched her go " Ab toh sab kuch sach mein theek hoga Manvi ' he said to himself "Tum yahan mujhe Maya se milaane ki planning karogi aur aakhir mein khud hi realise karlogi ki sahi kya hai. Tum ab tak nahi samajh paayi ho ki tum bhi mujhse pyaar karti ho na? Ab main tumhe samjhaaunga. Actually, tum khud hi apne aap ko samjhaaogi. Aur isme madad karegi, Maya. Aakhir tumhe mujhe mere pyaar se jo milaana hai? Woh toh khud tum hi ho. I'm sorry but agar aise hi tumhe samjhaana hai, toh yehi sahi!" Virat muttered to himself with a smile and went inside, trusting his love to triumph in the end anyways. You see, jealousy is quite a medicine for lovers who are stubborn not to see their love fast!
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