Let Me Love You ✨|| Completed

30. Heartbreak

~ "Why are you sad?"

"Because I invest my feelings and you deal in words...."~

Two hours driving recklessly on the roads of Mumbai is at times enjoyable, more so if the whether is pleasant and a light drizzle follows. But every passing second in those same roads were killing Manik this time, bit by bit. It was already 10 pm and still, no trace of Nandini. He was terrified and his heart was beating at its double pace. Where could she go, at this hour of the night? His mind was clouded with negative thoughts all over and he felt helpless.

Immensely helpless.

All the roads that could possibly be a route from Murthy House to the Malhotra's had been thoroughly covered by them but there was not a single hint about nandini. Manik was scared now. He didn't want to loose her, at any cost. His heart was aching by now. The kind of pain that tears you apart from inside but renders you incapable of letting it out. Manik glanced at his phone's wallpaper, she was smiling back at him.

"Where are you Nandini? Please come back...", He begged her and closed his eyes as tears threatened to fall. His cell phone came alive at that very moment, as if God had answered his prayers.

Unknown number calling.

"Hello?", Manik inquired, afraid.

"Hello, I am taking from CITY HOSPITAL...", the person on the other side spoke and manik's breaths were hitched.

"Sir, there is this women from whose phone we have retrieved your number from the last dialled list. If you could come here it would be helpful. She is unconscious now but....", Manik could not hear further. The receptionist kept speaking but his mind had blocked out everything.

Nandini was in a hospital.

Unconscious.

"I am coming...", He somehow whispered into the phone, reversed the car and rushed to the hospital. Running in, he inquired about the call from the hospital and was informed that she was in the ICU, on the second floor. He literally ran across the hospital to where she was but was not allowed to enter since it was an ICU. Terrified he peaked in from the small glass window and was confused. There she laid, unconscious and pale, but beside her laid one more bed, on which was sleeping a 12 year old small girl. Both were connected via an IV connection, and blood was being transferred from nandini to a blood bag and from the blood bag to the girl. The little girl was injured badly, as understood from the various bandages that adorned her face and right arm. Her left leg was covered with a plaster below the knee.

" Mr Malhotra?", Someone called him from behind and he turned to find a man in his early thirties, handsome by face but with the current dishevelled look, messy hairs and misty eyes looked pitiable.

" Arjun Khanna", he forwarded his hand and Manik shook his hand, confused.

"She is my daughter Aarushi", he said pointing towards the little girl and Manik instantly felt bad for him.

" And all thanks to your wife that she is alive...", Arjun said, words barely coming out of his mouth while Manik was shocked.

"Excuse me?", Manik asked confused and Arjun turned to look at him.

*Flashback*

Nandini was walking alone on the road to the beach. Her heart was heavy and her mind was preoccupied with things. It was beginning to rain now but she didn't mind. She had once, years before, loved rain. Now, it didn't matter to her as such. With time preferences change, so did hers. She was so struck with her own melancholy that she did not notice the car honking in front of her as it came towards her speeding and was almost about to knock her down when two tiny hands pushed her away. Yes, Aarushi had pushed her and in the process she herself fell down too and was badly hurt, way more than nandini. Arjun khanna, Aarushi's father who had gone to fetch ice cream for his daughter even in that rain was terrified to see his daughter lying in the pool of blood, on the road. Nandini was minimally hurt and she stood up and accompanied Arjun to the hospital, holding Aarushi in her lap. It was by then raining hard outside. Aarushi was taken into the ICU asap but she needed blood for the recovery as she was already anemic and now wounded. Aarushi was AB+ve and ironically only one unit was available in the hospital. It was then Nandini had come forward, she was O-ve, the universal donor and the emergency case it was, she was immediately taken in for taking the blood. Before going in, she had requested the nurse to call Manik and inform him since it was late.

*Flashback ends*

"Aarushi is out of danger Mr Khanna. Just the minimum time needed to heal the wounds and she is all fine...", The doctor informed coming out of the ICU and arjun breathed in relief.

"Doctor, Nandini?", Manik aksed, though he knew she was not hurt anything major, but he was still scared.

" Ohh she is fine too. Just a little weakness, after-effects of blood donation..", the doctor assured and left.

" I am sorry Arjun, Aarushi is here because of Nandini...", Manik apologized, not knowing what else to say and how.

"No Manik . It's okay. If she is here because of her, Nandini is also responsible for saving her life...", Arjun answered with a small smile and the two men simply nodded at each other. Manik called at home and informed everyone about the scenario and aksed them not to worry.

An hour later,Aarushi was shifted to a private room and Nandini came out, walking baby steps. Manik's eyes were filled up seeing her state. Her saree was completely messy and her eyes were puffy. She seemed pale and her hands were trembling. She looked up to find Manik staring at her, and smiled weakly at him. Manik came forward and hugged her tightly. Nandini reciprocated and rubbed his back to calm him down. She could see how worried and afraid he was.

Manik knew how to love and how to make someone feel loved. He was passionate too. But he lacked the skill of expression himself when it came to his emotions, his fears, his anger, his opinions. And even today, he didn't knew what to tell her. He was angry. He was hurt too. But he had no idea what and how to say that. Nandini, on the other hand was observing the array of emotions his face was displaying. It was 2 am at night. Rain had stopped by now and the the weather was pleasant.

"Let's go to the beach, please?", Nandini requested and Manik looked at her nodding.

They reached the beach in a a few minutes and settled down. Nandini kept her head on his shoulder and held his hand in her.

"I am sorry Manik ...I know you asked me to call you when I wanted to leave from amma's place.", She spoke gazing the sea. Manik didn't say anything. He kept looking at the sea.

"I am sorry Manik , sacchi! I thought that I will call you here directly...", She spoke again but he still remained quite.

" You are angry?", She asked, her voice shaky and manik looked at her.

"I am not angry Nandini. Don't cry...", He wiped off the stupid tears that came out of his pretty wife's eyes.

" You are hurt...", She stated and he chose not to answer. She didn't speak anything and snuggled more into his chest.  Manik suddenly remembered that night, when similarly she had snuggled into him and cried, after giving a green signal to their marriage. But today she wasn't crying.

" You know what is GREY?", She aksed out of the blue and he frowned at her...!

"Grey?", He asked to confirm and she looked up at him, nodding.

"Grey!".

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Note : Something huge is coming up. Stay tuned people, for the most important chapter of this story.