They reached a restaurant cafe and took a seat at a table and ordered themselves some coffee and pizza.
Nandini kept playing with the rim of her cup thinking of ways to break him the news of her dating Manik.
Ishaan was staring at her while having his coffee and sighed putting it down.
"Tell me.",Ishaan said watching her nervous for a while and she looked at him.
Taking a deep breath she composed herself and nodded.
"That day after I left with Manik we talked about my sudden confession and everything. He said we can try and I agreed.",She said keeping it short and watched his reaction.
"Oh",he said surprised and went on to drinking his coffee.
"You are the first person to know about it. We haven't even told any of our friends. I just wanted you to know. ",Nandini said confused at his less of reaction. She had expected him to react more than that.
He put his cup down and smiled at her. She could see him hurt behind that smile.
" I am happy for you. Honestly I still hoped that maybe we could get together some day but I probably deserved it for not sorting out my mess before approaching you. It was not fair to still have feelings for someone and show interest towards you. Trust me like I told you before during the beach getaway I am happy to see you have found your happiness with someone even if it's not me. Guess I will stick to messing with him to calm my rejected self.",Ishaan said with a smile joking in the end making Nandini chuckle a little too.
" You deserve the best and I know you are going to find your happiness soon. I don't mind you messing with him but I am not sure about if it won't affect your business.",Nandini said smiling at him and he looked at her curious.
" He won't bring our personal thing into business. Will he?",Ishaan asked scared a little and Nandini just shrugged in reply.
There was a silence and she looked at him.
" Tell me about her. I want to know your story.",She asked him and he looked at her hesitating before giving in.
" What do you want to know?",he asked getting comfortable and she looked at him surprised he agreed.
"Everything. From the start.",She said a little excited and he smiled.
"Our parents were family friends. Her parents were killed in a robbery when she was young. She somehow survived that incident. My parents took her in and we were inseparable since then. We grew up together. We were best friends. We would share everything with each other. We even gave each other our first kiss. We had plans about going to the same college and you know getting married when we were young. I was in love with her for as far as I remember and I thought she had the same feelings for me. We never really dated officially but it was like known to everyone around us that we liked each other.",Ishaan started the story with a smile on his face as he recalled those memories. Nandini smiled hearing him talk so passionately about her.
"We met Shravan during high school and they became friends. It was okay for a while we three used to hangout together and were good. When we joined college she changed. She would not spend as much time with me as she did before. She would always visit Shravan during her free time. I tried talking to her but she would avoid it and give an excuse. We were doing our Masters and were interning in my father's company at the same time so I thought it was work stress.",Ishaan said with a small frown on his face and Nandini was confused at Sia's sudden change in behaviour towards him.
"I gave her the space but it was hard staying away from her. I was very serious about us. Even my parents knew how crazy I was for her. I decided to propose her and you know make it official. It was long due anyway. I had everything planned out according to her dream date. I learnt to cook for her and made the special dinner. I was excited about it. I don't know what went wrong that day. She said she doesn't like me and we can't be together. I thought she was joking at first but she said she was serious and I was too shocked to even ask anything. Before I could wrap my mind around anything she left. I followed her and saw her with Shravan. Watching her in his arms broke my heart. I was crazy in love with her. So this rejection didn't settle well for me. I tried very hard to stay sane but couldn't. Her rejection didn't hurt as much as seeing her with Shravan did. I felt as if he backstabbed me. He knew about us still he came in between us. Things would have been good if not for him. I was very angry and I knew I needed to get away from her. I told my father that I will leave abroad and handle the work there. Sia was not happy with that decision. You see we kind of made promises to each other that we will start our own company and work together. We had made all the plans but it was too tough for me. We had an argument when I saw her trying to act like everything was good between us and she didn't break my heart. I said some mean things to her and left. During this 3 years I didn't make any contact with her. The first year was tough. I would stalk her profile and seeing her happy and with Shravan would kill me. So I started focusing more on work. I just left her a message on her birthday every year. Dad called me back to handle work here and I thought I was ready to put the past behind. When we met after 3 years, I pretended like nothing happened with us. We got back to being friends and working together. I never apologized for hurting her,she never explained. We never talked about the past until recently at that weekend party.", Ishaan explained her the full story while Nandini listened to him talk without asking any question in between.
She felt sad for him and guilty too realising she kind of did the same to him.
"I am sorry.",Nandini said and he chuckled.
" Why are you sorry for?",He asked and she looked at him.
" I kind of did the same thing to you. Got your hopes high and then rejected you for some other guy.",Nandini said guilty and he smiled at his luck sadly.
" It's not your fault. I knew what I was getting in and took the risk. When I saw you at the cafe that day. You looked so beautiful lost in thoughts having your coffee. It was the first time in years someone other than Sia had caught my eye. I wanted to talk to you and after you rejected my advances I was curious about you more. I had fun with you and was happy after so long. You took away the stress of office and facing Sia. I felt like I can be myself again. You made it clear the first day that you didn't want to do anything with me but I was determined you know. I didn't want to get rejected from every single girl I show interest in. I knew in the back of my mind that I was fighting for a lost cause but I didn't want to give you up. Even if we don't date. I wanted us to be friends.",Ishaan said and she smiled hearing his confession about her.
"We will be friends always. I promise.",She said with a big smile on her face and he smiled back hearing her.
"And what if your boyfriend has a problem?",Ishaan teased her pressing on the word boyfriend and she blushed a little.
"He won't.",Nandini said and Ishaan laughs a little.
"I love messing with him. I will enjoy our meetings more from now on.",Ishaan said with mischief reflecting in his eyes and she smiled.
" Are you okay with Sia now?",Nandini asked after a while and he looked down before looking at her.
" She had tried to talk but I am kind of ignoring her. I don't know if I am still ready. It scares me that if we talk then I will get the closure and then the only thing that is connecting us will break.",Ishaan said and she smiled understanding exactly what he meant.
"I understand what you mean.",Nandini said with a look of understanding on her face as she looked down and he studied her.
"Someday when you are ready. I would like to hear your story too. I have always felt that our stories are similar.",he said and she nodded with a small smile.
" Let's go for a walk in the park. I will buy you your ice cream and drop you back home later. ",He said and she nodded smiling wide hearing ice cream.
They paid the bill and took a walk in the park across the cafe talking about things mostly he talked about Sia and work teasing her in between about Manik.
He drove her back home and she enters the house and saw Navya sitting alone watching something.
"Where's Goofy?", Nandini asked and Navya smiled.
"He had something to talk about with Manik. ",Navya said and Nandini nodded before smiling thinking about it.
"You know what. I have few things in mind we can do together.",Nandini said and Navya nodded excited.
"Let me just get changed and then I can give you a head massage while we have fun.",Nandini said and Navya nodded.
"I will bring in some snacks and put on our favourite show.",Navya said and Nandini nodded as she went inside her room.
She quickly changed and then looked at her phone and picked it up.
"I reached home some time back. I will call you at night."
She dropped a message for Manik and waited for his reply.
"Okay will talk to you later. Mukti and Cabir are here."
He replied soon enough and she smiled as she walked back to the living room typing a reply.
"Enjoy."
She sat on the sofa beside Navya and they started their favourite show and got comfortable.
Nandini gave her a head massage as they talked about stuffs. She shared with him about Ishaan and work.
"I will give you a massage now. You will love it.", Navya said and Nandini nodded as she finished putting Navya's hair in two braids.
"You know how much I love it.", Nandini said and she smiled and did the same with Nandini's hair before massaging her shoulders.
They then moved on to applying nail paints and facemasks.
Manik was sitting on his sofa trying to make himself look busy while playing with Oscar.
Cabir and Mukti were staring at him waiting for an explanation but he kept mum.
"I can't wait anymore. You got angry. I saw you get angry today. When you said that you got angry before at Nandini. Did you mean this? ",Cabir asked getting impatient and Manik sighed preparing himself for more questions and nodded.
" Manik did you consult with the doctor? Is it bad for you? How often have you got angry like this?",Cabir started asking pacing infront of him.
Manik gave a helpless look to Mukti to help him out but she was just sitting there waiting for him to answer.
" Manik I am talking to you.",Cabir said and Manik looked at him with a sigh.
" Yes I have talked with my therapist. I am going every week to see her. I am having my medicines. She thinks it's a good thing I am getting angry but I need to control it. Does it answer all your questions.",Manik asked and Cabir gave him a glare for giving him an attitude.
" Do you get angry at anyone else or just Cutie?",Cabir asked him and Manik looked at him.
" For now just her.",Manik whispered.
" What do you mean by for now? Do you plan to get angry like that with me? I am doing fine with the glares. I can't handle you like this. I wonder how my cutie pie could tolerate your anger and forgive you.",Cabir said narrowing his eyes at him as he wondered about Nandini.
" I don't always get angry at her and I always apologize. Trust me I feel worse than she does whenever I get angry.",Manik said in a whisper before frowning feeling guilty himself. She didn't deserve his anger no matter if he felt much worse than her.
Mukti walks closer to Manik and he turns to her.
"Don't worry about anything. It's normal to get angry. You haven't been angry for years so it feels strange and worse for you. You will be fine. Just follow everything the therapist says and the next time you get angry try to avoid yelling at her. Let your anger out in other ways.",Mukti said and he nodded noting it down in his mind.
" Now no more discussion on this. ",Mukti said and Cabir tried to protest.
" You know I have something to talk to you with.",Mukti said to Cabir and he frowned taking a seat.
" What's going on with you and Navya? ",Mukti asked and he sighed and looked at her worried.
" Did she say something? ",He asked immediately and Mukti smacked his head.
" Stop being insecure and trust your relationship. ",She said and cabir frowned.
" I am not being insecure. ",He murmured and Mukti was about to smack him again.
" What's going on? ",Manik asked them confused.
" He is being extra possessive this days and annoying Navya by being extra sweet and loving. ",Mukti said and Manik rolled his eyes knowing it's a pattern.
He would get clingy with you and be all possessive when he feels he is not getting enough attention or is insecure.
Manik and Mukti has seen him do this with them many times that they knew it very well by now.
"What happened?",Manik asked him and Cabir sighed.
"We were talking about our ex's and flings and we both pretty much had same past. I noticed she had a certain type of boyfriends and everyone fit into that category except me. I also got to know that she was still friends with her ex's. ",Cabir said sad and both Mukti and Manik shared a look confused.
"And that's a problem how? ",Manik asked him and Cabir narrowed his eyes at him.
"Well it means that I am not her usual type you know. I can't help but wonder that we gave into our attraction early and soon she will realise that I am not her type and leave. Also knowing that she works with her ex and are being friends doesn't help settle my nerves.",Cabir said them in a defeated voice and Mukti sighed while Manik rolled his eyes at his silliness.
" If she had to leave she wouldn't wait for 5 months and tolerate you.",Manik commented and Cabir punched his arms.
"Manik...Shushhh.",Mukti said knowing Cabir is sensitive right now.
"No seriously when I said it's being early you said it's not and you are sure about her and everything and now when you guys are so much in love you are saying it was early and second doubting everything just because her ex boyfriends weren't like you.",Manik said with a scoff looking away in disbelief.
" Cabir if you think her past boyfriend were her type then why are they her ex?",Mukti asked him trying to put some sense in his head and he started thinking about it.
" Maybe it didn't work out.",Cabir said and Manik pushed him making him fall on the sofa.
" What the fuck?",He exclaimed getting angry.
" Are you usually this dumb or it's just Today?",Manik asked him and he rolled his eyes at him.
" Will you guys stop fighting?",Mukti said getting irritated.
"He is picking up a fight.",Cabir accused him narrowing his eyes at him while Manik rolled his eyes at him again.
" Well you better get your act together before Navya dumps your sorry ass. I like her and I don't want to see you changing girls every week like in the past.",Manik said him and he frowned.
" Manik stop being so hard on him. It's common for people to feel insecure in a relationship especially when it involves past relationships. It's normal.",Mukti said him and Manik looks at the two of them and sighs.
" And who told you that? It's never a good thing to get insecure in any relationship. It shouldn't be normal. I mean she has never given you a reason to feel insecure. She loves you like crazy and here you are being insecure because her past boyfriend weren't like you. Did you even talk to her? I am sure she is the smart one among the two of you and would have put some sense in your head. You do know that honesty and communication are important for any relationship and from what I have understood Navya, she appreciates communication very much. I can understand your fears of losing her but if we see it from her perspective than Navya must feel insecure too, the girls you have dated in the past are completely different than her and if I recall well, two of them are still your clients.",Manik said calmly trying to help him see the picture.
Cabir thought over it for a while.
" It is different in my case.",Cabir tried to argue but Manik raised an eyebrow and he shut up immediately.
"Okay fine I can see what you are trying to say. I will talk to her.",Cabir said knowing he was at fault and Manik was right.
Mukti was hiding a smile as she looked at Manik.
"You know for someone who has never been in a relationship before you sure do know how to work out a relationship and handle it.",Mukti said with a tease and Manik felt embarrassed thinking of Nandini as his ears turn red and he looks away.
Cabir was lost in thoughts before he turned to Manik.
"I hope you know that I approve of her.",he said suddenly and Manik looked at him surprised before looking at Mukti who gave him a shrug and played with Oscar hiding a smile.
"What do you mean?",Manik asked composing himself confused a little.
" I mean if you like her or have feelings for her. I don't have a problem with it. I have been supporting you for a while now but just clearing it out if you still didn't get the hint.",Cabir said and Manik thought about it.
"It's not like I don't like her or she isn't a nice person. The only reason why I hesitated before was because I was afraid you guys were gonna hurt each other. She didn't want to be in a relationship and I can figure out that something happened in the past and I know you have never been with a girl before and want someone who you can completely trust and be with in a relationship giving your 100% also keeping your condition in mind it would have been a risk. ",Cabir explained and Mukti raised her eyebrows.
" What about now? Nothing have really changed since then.",She asked and Cabir frowned.
" Well I have realised in this past months that she is someone who is very strong and patient and can handle him well. I don't think he can find a girl better than her. She is patient with him, understands him so well and there's the chemistry that's quite hard to miss. So if he has to make efforts and help her move on from the past then he should go ahead with it. Even if he gets hurt, he should atleast not give up before trying because his friend thought it's better to be safe and not take a risk.",Cabir said and Mukti smiled seeing him back to normal and talking sense.
" And Cabir is back.",Manik said joking and Mukti laughs as Cabir chuckled.
" Don't try to change the topic Manik.",Cabir said and Manik looked at him.
" I am not.",Manik said looking away.
" So are you going to ask her out?",Cabir asked and Manik looked at him surprised.
" Don't even try to deny that you don't have any feelings towards her. I mean you have eyes only for her and you open up well when she's around and have fun. She brings out the best of you and you don't even know it. ",Cabir said and looked at Mukti to add something.
" Do you want me to even add anything? I mean it's so obvious. When have we ever seen him so comfortable with someone. You know I used to think they aren't that close and you know professional with each other but Navya told me about all their long drives and ice cream dates.",Mukti said and they both eyed Manik who wanted to be anywhere but here.
It's not like he wasn't aware of the things they listed. It was the reason why he asked Nandini to give it a try but he still wasn't sure if he wanted their friends to know. It felt nice to have this secret with her without the teasing from the friends or trolls from the public.
"Where are you lost? Are you planning to tell her and ask her out? ",Cabir asked getting impatient.
"Soon.",Manik said in a whisper knowing they would keep bugging him.
"How soon?",Mukti asked excited.
Manik smiled seeing her excitement.
"I will be having a session with Dr.Marie. I will tell her after that.",Manik said and they looked at him the previous excitement clouded with worry now.
" You sure about this session. Last time you didn't leave your room for 3 days and got sick.",Mukti asked worried while Cabir frowned himself.
" It's for the best.",he replied and they just nodded.
" Okay now enough let's play some games.",Manik said standing up and they nodded as they all went to play.
Nandini was laying down on her bed after having a fun evening with Navya. They had gave massages to each other, put on face packs, did each other hairs and painted their nails while watching their favourite show dancing and cooking together.
She picked up her phone and went through her contacts and gave a call to Manik.
He picked it after a while and she smiled.
"Are you still busy with Cabir and Mukti?",She asked seeing he took a long time to pick the call up.
"No they left a while back. I was in the shower.",Manik said as he dried his hair with a hand towel.
"Okay I will video call you.",Nandini said and he smiles.
"Give me a minute. I will get dressed and call you.",Manik said and she nodded as an image of him walking out from the shower in a towel comes in her mind and she shakes her head and focused on the call.
"Okay.",She replied and hung up with a blush forming on her cheeks.
She felt her phone ringing in a minute and sat up picking it.
She saw Manik sitting in a different place than usual.
He was shirtless as he ran his hand through his wet hair and the other held the phone.
"You said you were going to get dressed.",Nandini pointed it out and he smiled.
"I did. Trust me I am more dressed then when I picked your call.",Manik said loving how her cheeks grew more red.
"Where is your shirt?",Nandini asked again and he smirked turning completely to the camera.
"I am anyway going to remove it at night. Didn't feel like wearing.",he said teasing her and her eyes noticed how fit he was. She could see the faint lines of abs and felt butterflies wondering how it would feel to run her hand over it.
"You done checking me out or need some more time. We can talk later.",Manik asked casually with a smirk leaning against the wall and she glared at him.
"Where are you?",She asked changing the topic as she looked at his background.
"In the balcony. The weather's nice. I was thinking to read a book after our talk",he said showing her the book.
It was a poetry book.
"Sounds cozy.",She said and he nodded as he sipped his coffee.
"What did Ishaan wanted?",Manik asked her curious and she smiled.
"Nothing we were just catching up. I actually wanted to tell him about us so I asked him to meet.",Nandini said and he looked at her.
"So did he take it well?",Manik asked waiting in anticipation.
Nandini thought of his reaction and nodded.
"Better than I expected.",Nandini said and Manik sighed in relief.
"I am glad my meeting with him next week will be not awkward.",Manik said and Nandini bite her lips.
"He took it well but he said he would still irritate you. So it's between you guys.",Nandini said with a smile enjoying seeing him get annoyed.
She then went on to tell him about her time with Navya showing him her braided oily hair and he laughed.
"Do you read books?",Manik asked her picking the poetry book from his side.
"Not much. I am not that passionate or motivated to read.",Nandini said him with a guilty smile knowing he loved reading.
"Let me read you some lines. Tell me what you think about it.",Manik asked and she nodded encouraging him.
“Only do not forget, if I wake up crying its only because in my dream I'm a lost child hunting through the leaves of the night for your hands....”
He read her the lines spoken by Pablo Neruda and gave her some time to take it in.
She heard him read those lines so softly she found it hard to understand the words, her focus was on him and his voice.
"Well?",Manik asked seeing her in a daze and smiled.
"Read me another one.",She said and he nodded and read few more lines for her. She took her time staring at him lost in his voice and blushing.
"This one is special. Here it well.",Manik said excited and she composed herself and focused on the words this time.
“Someday, somewhere - anywhere, unfailingly, you'll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.”
Pablo Neruda
She repeated those lines in her mind understanding the meaning behind them.
"It's beautiful.",She said impressed and wondered how a combination of few words can have such deep meaning and Manik looked at her and then narrowed his eyes at her.
"You didn't hear a word I said before this one. Did you?",he asked her as he saw her awed expression as she was impressed truly by the last one .
"Sorry you were distracting.",She said biting her lips and he shakes his head and chuckles.
He reads some lines loudly for her so she can focus on words not him.
"I think I can stare at you reading a book for hours.",She said watching him and he blushes a little.
" Stop staring. I can't read. ",Manik said embarassed and she smiled.
" Do you write too?",She asked curious and he looked at her.
"Sometimes.",He said honestly.
"Can you read that for me?",She asked excited and he nodded in no.
" It's just for me.",he said with a smile.
" Please I showed you my sketches. ",She tried convincing him.
" Later. ",He whispered and she nodded.
" I think we should call it a night.",Manik said as he looked at the time.
She frowned.
"It's still early. Do you want to go back to reading? Am I distracting you.",She asked thinking about it.
" No I just thought you would appreciate a good sleep. We will leave early tomorrow and it will be a long day. ",Manik explained himself.
She looked at him confused before realising about their date and cursed herself for forgetting about it.
" You will be here at 10?",She asked him calculating the time.
" Yes. ",Manik replied her.
" Wait. What am I going to say to Navya? ",Nandini asked him and he shrugged.
" Don't be like this. Help me out.",Nandini pouted and he gave her a few suggestions.
" It won't work.",Nandini sighed and started thinking of excuses.
Manik watched her and then frowned seeing her tensed.
"I will ask Cabir to take her out. You won't have to answer anything to her.",Manik said her.
She smiled but then frowned.
"But..", She tried to argue but he cut her off.
"Now stop thinking about it. We can go to sleep early today. I will see you tomorrow.",Manik said her as he put his book down.
" You wanted to read the book. I can give you company.",She said not wanting to hang up and he smiled .
" I will read it to you some other day. I need to talk to Cabir and he will take a lot of time.",Manik said and she nodded understanding him.
"Have a good night. I will see you in the morning.",Manik said her with a smile.
"You too. Bye bye.",She said waving at the camera and hanging up.
She lay down and smiled to herself. There were behaving like they have just met and are trying to know each other. She was enjoying this and was excited for a date. They hardly spent their time together alone if you ignore the few dinners and coffees. She was looking forward to a complete day with him alone getting to know him more.
She then picked her phone up and searched for the book he was reading her from and went through the poems.