F L A S H B A C K
Zoya was standing in front of the entrance of their flat. Seeing Nandini, she took Nandini straight to her room. But Aamna saw them and she didn’t forget to ask Nandini about her parents. Nandini couldn’t reply to them properly as Zoya dragged her before that saying they had some important work. Nandini was relieved too.
As soon as they got inside Zoya’s room, she locked the door and turned towards Nandini. “Who’s the guy, Nandini? Is it Arjun?” Zoya asked in a serious tone.
Nandini looked surprised. “What are you talking about? What guy? Which guy?”
Zoya glared at her.
F L A S H B A C KNandini was breathing heavily after letting her heart out. She didn’t know why she said all this even when she was unsure about it but she was having a hope that Manik might accept the reality now, on the other side she was scared too of his reaction.Nandini didn’t hear any reply from Manik. She thought Manik must have left. She raised her eyelashes to look and Manik was still standing there in the same way staring at her with a frown covering his face. She gulped. Till now she was uttering things without thinking twice but now she regained her consciousness.She felt her throat had dried. Nandini tried to soak her lips using her tongue but that didn’t seem to help. She tried to take a step behind with a hope to run away from there. Looking at Manik’s face, she
F L A S H B A C KZoya was having a stomach ache for the last few days but she didn’t take it seriously thinking she might have eaten something wrong. But in the evening the pain increased so much that she couldn’t bear it anymore and cried out loud. Aamna was alone at home that time. She also got scared seeing Zoya like that. So, she called Hrita.Rudra was not at home. Getting his mother's call, he rushed home as soon as he could. Rudra’s throat dried up seeing Zoya crying in pain. Without wasting a second, he pitched her up in his arms and drove to the nearby hospital with their mothers.There was chaos going on in the hospital. They admitted Zoya and immediately did some tests. Aamna, Hrita and Rudra were waiting outside her cabin, all tense and nervous. Rudra was talking to the doc
F L A S H B A C KZoya and Rudra’s engagement date was fixed two days later. They decided to arrange a close ceremony for the engagement and the wedding would be a lavish one. Currently Zoya was busy with her new assignments and shows, so it wouldn’t pressurize her as well.Manik, Nandini, Zoya and Rudra decided to go shopping this evening. Nandini was already at Zoya’s place, so Manik would come in the evening to pick them up.EVENINGNandini was waiting for Manik to arrive impatiently. She had called him but he didn’t pick it up. Later he called Rudra and informed him that he would be here within half an hour. Though she felt a little hurt as he had been ignoring her since that night, she made up her mind to pacify him soon and never repeat the mist
F L A S H B A C KNandini went to Manik and snatched the phone from his hand. She looked at him with an angry face. “I’m talking to you.”Manik gave her a surprised look. “You were talking to me? But I’m not any big deal for you.” He muttered in a casual tone.“I’m accepting my mistake. I said I did wrong. Then….”Manik passed a sarcastic smile towards her. “Ohh! Really!” He got down from the bed and stood facing Nandini. “You realized? Good. But what should I do now? Shall I throw a party or shall I announce
F L A S H B A C KNandini was scared for a moment but her hold tightened around him. She clutched her shirt more tightly and hid her face in his chest, making Manik’s heart skip a beat. Her lips were just above his heart and he could feel the warmth of her lips even over his shirt.Manik closed his eyes and inhaled a long breath. He needed to calm his increasing heart beats. He couldn’t lose himself in her once again. He was here for something else and he needed to leave as soon as possible.Getting frustrated with herself, Nandini sobbed again, hiding her face in Manik’s chest. She fisted his shirt tightly. Her sobs made her warm breaths fan on Manik’s chest. Her soft lips were pressed on his chest as she nuzzled in his chest while crying, making him close his eyes. He softly car
F L A S H B A C K“God! Nandini!” Kabir screamed and ran towards his daughter. He sat beside her and took her head in his lap. He shook her and rubbed her palms to wake her up but she didn’t respond.The bag fell from Manik’s hand. It took him some time to register what was happening. He came back to his senses hearing the noises. He immediately ran near them, forgetting everything else.“Uncle, call the doctor. I’m taking her to her room.”Manik didn’t wait anymore and picked Nandini up in his arms and ran towards her room. He placed her carefully on the bed and he sat beside the bed on the floor on his knees. He took her one palm in between his and rubbed it. His face was clear
F L A S H B A C K NEXT DAY It was almost past 12 in the morning and Manik hadn't seen Nandini even once since last night. Zoya and Rudra were getting engaged the next day, so he thought Nandini might have gone there. But it couldn’t stop him from checking his phone from time to time, hoping she might call or text him like other days. “What happened to her today? Did she take my words seriously last night? She didn’t send a single text yet. What shall I do now? I think last night I went a little overboard. I should control my anger and make people understand things calmly. For now, let me call Zoya and ask about her. I just hope Nandini is doing fine.” Manik thought to himself and dialed Zoya’s number. She picked up the call after a few rings. “Hello, Manik.” “Hi… Hi, Zoya.” He didn’t think twice before calling Zoya but now he was feeling nervous to ask her about Nandini. “Manik, are you there?” Zoya asked not hearing anything from the other side for a long time. “Yeah, I’m
FROM THIS CHAPTER THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS..... “Hey, hunnies! Are you two home?” I heard mom’s voice as she returned home from work. “We’re in the kitchen, mom.” I replied, making Manik move away from me as he was hugging me from behind. As soon as Manik moved away from me, mom entered the kitchen with a bright smile on her face. “Good evening, aunty.” Manik greeted her with an awkward smile. I wanted to smile looking at his face but stopped myself. “Mom, do you want some coffee?” “I won’t mind. By the way, why are you making it? Where are the butlers?” Mom asked the most obvious questions. “Actually, mom, I gave them an off today. We were not at home, they also didn’t have much to do. They need a break too.” I put on the most innocent smile possible. Mom melted seeing my smile. She didn’t say anything more. By then the coffee was ready. I handed over a mug to mom and the other one to Manik. I didn’t need one for myself as Manik was here to share with me. “Listen, kids, I