Hey guys,
Sorry for the late update but I was really occupied at work and also, had a little bit of a writers block. However, I've managed this part. I hope you guys like it.
Also; I know I was going to dedicate the this part of the winners who successfully decoded the cover but I will update this on the chapter a little bit later as I am really sleepy (it's 3:50 am here and I need to sleep now).
This part is dedicated to the following people who were able to analyze the cover of the book accurately:
_peekaboogirl_, PhatkareSiddhi , rupamramam4 , puzzledlife , A_Rath, Ritika_Mundhra
However, the list of people below also said the something similar and hence, I would like to give them the due credit too:
AmrutaKulkarni , SrishtiSharma9 , Mansith , vaish_116 , muskantina , TosmiGoel
I'm so overwhelmed to see that all of you pay attention to the minutest details in the show as well as this book. Thank you for taking the time out and reading and appreciating this book. It means a lot.
And last but not the least, subtitles are updated now!
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The rest of the day passed in a blur. Alya and Mukti reached the hospital as soon as Cabir called them followed by Dhruv as well. Yes, he was ashamed of what he did. But he wasn't going to continue doing what he did and was going to start making amends in any way he can. Hence, he had come too, to support Navya and Cabir. Nandini had ensured that Cabir and Navya, both had some food she had brought as they would be quite tired and hungry and may not have eaten since last evening. They also offered some food to Arjun and Zoya as well who had stayed all night at the hospital too. As all of them spent time waiting for some news from the doctor, Arjun and Zoya couldn't help but wonder how loved Abeer was by this bunch of people. All of them had left everything they needed to do and were at the hospital for Abeer and Navya in the middle of a weekday. They now realised why Navya wasn't so scared to raise the baby on her own. She did have a strong support system in these people and subconsciously, she knew that these people will always be there for her and Abeer.
After a couple of hours, Manik too arrived at the hospital. He climbed up four floors as the lifts were currently very crowded with patients being transferred from one floor to another in stretchers and wheelchairs. As soon as he reached the paediatrics wing, he spotted Nandini sitting there with the rest of his friends. One glance at her and he knew she was cold from the air conditioner. She was one weird woman. Who felt cold in an air conditioned room? Here he was feeling all hot and sweaty and she was hugging herself a little to keep herself warm. He then saw Cabir standing in a corner and for some reason, he looked really worried. He hoped nothing was wrong with Gogo.
Manik - Cabir..
Cabir - Hey...
Manik - Sorry mann. I got late. I have been in Pune since last night. Aur phir I just got delayed with so much traffic in New Bombay and Lower Parel when I was returning.
Cabir - It's okay Manik. Don't worry about it. We have just been waiting only subah se. (We have just been waiting since morning)
Manik - But what happened so suddenly? Doctor ne kya bola? (What did the doctor say?)
While Cabir was filling up Manik on Abeer's condition and Manik was intently even listening to him. But at the same time, he was panting a little as he had just climbed up 4 floors and was thinking of getting some water for himself. Not a second had passed since that thought had crossed his mind, when he saw a bottle of water being forwarded to him from the corner of his eye. He knew it was Nandini without even looking at her. He unconsciously took the bottle from her and drank from it while he continued to talk to Cabir.
Manik - So is this phototherapy treatment working? Or do we need to do a blood transfusion?
Cabir - Looks like it is working as of now. But we are waiting for the doctor to give us an update.
Manik - Hmmm.
Manik then looked around to see Nandini sitting next to Navya, giving her the much needed support. He even saw Dhruv, Alya and Mukti waiting there too. He smiled when he saw all his friends there. FAB5 or no FAB5, all of them always stood by each other no matter what. He also saw the couple who were planning to adopt Gogo. He had met them once on Nandini's insistence earlier to figure out if they were decent people. And to be fair, they looked like good and genuine people. Although, he was really mad on the day he had to meet them. He had agreed because of Nandini but she herself didn't turn up for this awkward meeting stating that she had classes to attend. Irrespective of all that, he had managed to know that these guys were doing very well for themselves financially but didn't flaunt it. On top of that, both of them were well-educated and well-travelled and had a progressive outlook to life.
Cabir - Manik. Kuch important baat karni hai. Chal na. (Manik, I want to discuss something important. Let's step out)
He walked out of the waiting room asking Manik to follow him. Manik knew it was something serious and hence, decided to follow him but not before he removed his blazer and handed it over to Nandini who could save herself from the cold. Nandini looked up at him confused and then smiled once she realised what he did. Manik rolled his eyes at her telling her how she's feeling cold again for no reason and then followed Cabir out of the waiting area.
Manik - Hey. Kya hua? (What happened?)
Cabir - Uhh. Woh... Manik....
Manik - What's wrong Cabir? Why are you hesitating so much? Tell me what's wrong?
Cabir - Woh.. Actually... I need some help.
Manik - Haan. Bol na. (Yes, tell me.)
Cabir - I actually need some money. Woh... hospital ke expenses ke liye. So.. I was wondering if you could lend some money to me. I mean yeh hospital bohot expensive hai and this doctor... she's the best one in Mumbai. Toh pata nahi kitni fees hogi uski. And we haven't yet gotten a reimbursement for Navya's delivery too. So...
(I actually need to borrow some money. For hospital expenses. So, I was wondering if you could lend some money to me. I mean, this hospital is very expensive and so is the doctor. She's the best on in Mumbai. I'm not even sure how expensive will her fees be. And we still haven't gotten a reimbursement for Navya's delivery too. So...
Manik - Relax Cabir. You don't have to give me an explanation. I'll take care of it.
Cabir - Thanks Manik. I swear I'll pay you back as soon as we receive a payment from Paramount.
Manik - It's okay Cabir. Pay me back whenever you're comfortable. No pressure.
Cabir - Thanks yaar. I have been so tensed about this whole thing since we got Abeer admitted here. Woh Arjun aur Zoya humein iss hospital mein lekar aaye because they knew the doctor personally. Aur phir Abeer ki haalat itni bigad gayi thi that we had no time to shift to another hospital or even wait for the next day. Woh toh humein advance payment nahi karna pada because they knew the doctor personally.
(Thanks man. I have been so tensed about this whole thing since we got Abeer admitted here. Arjun and Zoya got us to this hospital since they knew the doctor personally. And then Abeer was so sick that we had no time to shift to another hospital or even wait for another day. Thank God we didn't have to make an advance payment because they knew the doctor personally.
Manik - Hmmmm... waise ek baat poochu if you don't mind? (Can I ask you something if you don't mind?)
Cabir - Of course. Tu kab se permission lene laga? (Since when did you ask for permission to ask me something?)
Manik - Shouldn't Navya be worrying about all of this? I mean if she isn't going to give up the baby for adoption, it means that she wants to raise the baby on her own. And if that is the case, shouldn't she be worrying about how she's going to support her baby financially? Does she even have a plan?
Cabir - Main kya bolu Manik (What do I tell you Manik). I am tired of explaining this to her. God only knows what's going on in her head. She's probably feeling guilty of giving up on her own baby.
Manik - That's okay Cabir. That is her decision based on whatever she thinks is right. But tu uska husband ya boyfriend nahi hai that you're bearing all her expenses. (But you are not her boyfriend or husband that you're bearing all her expenses)
Cabir - I get that Manik. But what can she even do in the situation she is in. She doesn't have a choice.
Manik - She does Cabir. She can come to terms with reality and give up the baby for adoption. And if she doesn't want to do that, then also it's her choice. But she needs to come up with a plan on how she's going to support her baby financially without depending on you.
Cabir didn't have anything to say. He knew what Manik was saying was right but he just couldn't refuse and turn his back on Navya when she really needed some help.
Manik - Cabir, all I'm saying is that you need to think about yourself too. You're just 21. You're going into a whole new field of work. And you need the money for yourself too. Didn't you want to buy the expensive camera equipment from the money you are going to get from Paramount?
Cabir - Haan (Yeah). But I'll have to push that now.
Manik - Exactly. Main tujhe yehi bol raha hoon (That's exactly what I am telling you). This hospital expense is understandable. But a baby will come with so many things and expenses after that. And you will continue to keep struggling like this all the time. And you don't need to do this Cabir. This baby is not your responsibility. You're already helping and protecting Navya a lot. But if she doesn't feel the heat of what is in store for her, she's never going to deal with her responsibilities.
Cabir - Hmmm. I think you're right. I need to have a conversation with her. But thanks for helping out this time. I swear I'll pay you back soon.
Manik - That's okay. Don't worry about it.
The two of them then went back to the waiting room where the rest of their friends were waiting. However, what they didn't realise was that Navya had overheard their entire conversation. She had come to tell Cabir something but stopped when she heard him asking Manik for help to pay the hospital bills. She knew that asking someone for financial help was something Cabir hated the most. Even if it is from his best friend. But he had done that. And that only meant that they didn't have enough money and she knew that. But she was so occupied with Abeer's health and also feeling so guilty about being a negligent mother, that she didn't bother to think about the hospital expenses at all. What did she think she was going to do when she had to pay the bills?
What was she doing! She had nothing in control. She didn't know how to take care of her own baby. She didn't have the money to raise him well. She had no support system in the form of a boyfriend or a husband. How the hell did she think she was going to manage this. She had nothing planned.
Another thing she was feeling guilty about is how she was being such a pain to Cabir. He had already done so much for her. He gave her a house to stay in when she was pregnant, helped her throughout her pregnancy, helped her get a job and even took care of her and the baby after he was born. And he still continued to do everything selflessly. And here she was being selfish for herself and the baby. And all of it would've even been worth it if she was good at being Abeer's mother. But she was failing at that too. She never felt like such a big failure in her entire life. Not even when she found out when she was pregnant with Harshad's baby.
She ran into the ladies room when she couldn't control her sobs and locked herself into a cubicle and cried her eyes out.
Manik came back to the waiting room and sat next to Nandini. He needed to speak to her properly. He wasn't in the right state of mind the previous day when Nyonika had told him about the stock tank. And although he had spoken to her over the phone later, he still needed to explain and apologise to her. He had to even tell her about his conversation with his dad and his suggestions. But that could wait until things got better here and Gogo was okay.
As soon as he sat down next to her, Nandini gave him a smile, put her arm around his and entangled their fingers together.
Manik - Hey.
Nandini - Hi. You took so long to get here. Did you get traffic on the way?
Manik - Haan (Yeah). And that stupid Mohan Bhaiya was driving like he was in a bullock cart. Unfortunately, I had no option but get him back with me because I had only asked him to come yesterday.
Nandini - Obviously. You're a control freak. You don't like it when someone else is on the driver's seat. Be it your car or anything else.
Manik - Why do you have to dissect my character with every little action of mine?
Nandini - Because you are a very unique species. It's challenging and fun to decode you. It's like playing a game. And guess what, I win every single time.
Manik - You know, just because you're my girlfriend, I'm letting this go. Agar koi aur hota na (If it were someone else), I would've screwed that person's happiness.
Nandini - Koi aur yeh kar bhi nahi pata (No one else can do this either). You tend to forget Mr. Malhotra. The only person who can decode you is me. You will also lose to me in this game.
Manik couldn't help but smile a little when she giggled at her own sentence after.
Manik - Anyway, did you eat something? You've been here for a few hours now.
Nandini - Nahi (No). I'm not so hungry.
Manik - What do you mean by you're not hungry. You must've had your breakfast at 5 or 6 in the morning. And it's past lunchtime now.
Nandini - Mann nahi hai. (I don't feel like eating)
Manik - Kya hua? Mann kyu nahi hai? (What's wrong? Why don't you feel like eating?)
Nandini - I'm just worried about Gogo. And then I'm feeling very guilty too.
Manik - Guilty? Why are you feeling guilty?
Nandini - About Navya.
Manik - Ek minute (Hold on for a minute). Let's go out and talk.
Both of them stepped out of the waiting room and found a lonely corner in the hospital to talk.
Manik - Ok. Now tell me. Why are you feeling guilty?
Nandini - I've been super insensitive to her recently. She was going through such a tough time. And I was being so mean. Just because I couldn't connect with her, I ignored her. She had so many things going on. And all she did was expect me to be there for her and I ended up being so rude.
Manik - That's not true Nandini. I think you're just overthinking.
Nandini - No, I'm not. And you also know that. Stop lying to me to make me feel better. I pushed her away so much that she didn't even bother informing me when they were taking Gogo to the hospital nor did she ask for any help from me. I'm just the worst friend in the whole world.
Manik smiled at his cute but grumpy little potato, who was determined to make herself feel guilty and repent her mistake. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight, resting his chin on her head.
Manik - Okay. Listen to me. If you think it was your fault, then apologise to her and make amends. I'm sure she'll forgive you. And don't beat yourself over something like this. It's okay to make mistakes. But now you know what went wrong. So fix that. Navya also knows you're her best friend. And you came here today despite everything and leaving everything to be there for her. I'm sure she appreciates that and has forgiven you already.
Nandini - Hmmmm...
Manik - Do you want to go grab something to eat now? I'm very hungry. And you should eat something too.
Nandini - Hmmm. Okay.
Manik - Let me text on the group if anyone wants to join us or we can get takeaways for them.
Nandini - Hmmm. Waise tumhara pair kaisa hai? (By the way, how is your foot?) Does it still hurt? Do you want the doctor to check it?
Manik - Nahi (No). It was a very small cut. It doesn't even hurt now.
Nandini - Are you sure?
Manik - Yes.
And the two of them made their way outside the hospital to a small restaurant nearby to grab some lunch. Manik, in the meanwhile, was filling up Nandini with everything that his Dad had told him and his suggestion about joining a music-based startup and so on.
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Soon, it was evening and the doctor finally gave a positive update. Abeer was responding well to the phototherapy treatment and is now feeling much much better. Navya thanked Mata Rani a hundred times for keeping her little one safe. However; the doctor recommended they keep Abeer in the hospital for a couple of more days to ensure his jaundice is completely treated and there were no further complications.
All of them were glad that he was doing well and finally heaved a sigh of relief including Zoya and Arjun. When all of them saw Abeer in the room sleeping soundly after Navya had fed him, they decided to retire for the day. However; Navya had to stay back in the hospital with Abeer to ensure she could feed him if he woke up at night. Zoya too wanted to stay and hence, she volunteered too. And hence, it was decided that all of them would go back home other than Navya and Zoya and would return again the next morning.
Manik - Guys. Now that Abeer is okay, do you guys want to have some dinner together and relax a little bit? There's a decent restaurant right across the road and all of us must be hungry.
Arjun - I don't mind. It's been a long day and I have no energy to go home and cook anything.
Cabir - Haan (Yeah). Okay. We can go
Navya - Par Abeer? (But Abeer?)
Zoya - Neha ne kaha ki woh medicines ki wajah se at least 4-5 ghante so jayega. Hum aadhe ghante mein waapas aa jayenge. Aur yahaan pe bohot saare nurses aur doctors hai. Don't worry.
(Neha mentioned that he'll be asleep for the next 4-5 hours due to the medication. We will be back in half an hour. Besides, there are of lot of nurses and doctors too. Don't worry)
Navya agreed reluctantly but she also knew that she had to eat well to feed Abeer. Manik, on the other hand, only suggested this so Nandini and Navya could get a chance to talk to each other. And also, everybody had been very tense for the last 24 hours. This would help all of them relieve some stress. All of them made their way to the restaurant nearby, settled on a huge table and all of them called for their respective food.
All of the friends were finally a little normal and talking amongst themselves whereas Arjun and Zoya were feeling a little awkward. Cabir noticed them stealing glances at one another and decided to generally strike up a conversation with them.
Cabir - Arjun and Zoya, I'm assuming both of you had a love marriage, right?
Arjun - Yes, we did. Obviously.
Alya - So tell us about your love story? How did you both meet and fall in love?
Zoya - We both have known each other since college. In fact, we both started dating in college only.
Arjun - Yeah. Our story is pretty filmy. She was a college diva and every guy had a crush on her. And I was one of those shy kind of guys. I could barely speak to a girl. But then once, we got put into the same project as partners and that's how we became friends and then fell in love.
Zoya - What rubbish. We didn't become friends so easily. We both fought like crazy in the project. Our opinions never matched. But somehow, we managed to complete our assignment and only after the project got over, we became friends and then we fell in love.
Nandini smiled at their cute love story. Again, she couldn't help but notice that Arjun and Zoya have also been together since college and it was possible for a relationship to last for so long and beat all odds.
Mukti - Hey. That's like Manik and Nandini.
Cabir - I know right. Main bhi yehi kehne wala tha. (I was just about to say the same thing)
Manik - Shut up guys. Aisa kuch nahi hai. (It's nothing like that)
Cabir - What do you mean by shut up. Saale, tere aur Nandini ke romance ke kisse poore SPACE mein famous hai.(You asshole, yours and Nandini's relationship is famous all over SPACE.) You know Arjun and Zoya, these two have almost the same story as you both. Manik is the stud of our college. Every girl has a crush on him.
Manik - Will you stop talking nonsense Cabir? Aisa kuch nahi hai. (There's nothing like that)
Cabir - You shut up. Haan (yeah), so where was I? Manik is the stud of our college and every girl's dream guy and Nandini was the only one who doesn't have a crush on himself so she back-answered him and fought with him all the time. Aur phir, fight karte karte kab inhe pyaar ho gaya, hum mein se kisi ko pata nahi chala.(And god knows how they fell in love while fighting with each other) Now they both are like Romeo and Juliet.
Nandini - What rubbish Cabir. Don't over-exaggerate.
Mukti - Oh there's no over exaggeration here. I'm with Cabir. It's true.
Cabir - Waise Manik aur Nandini. Apna future dekh lo. Kuch saalon baad tum dono bhi Arjun aur Zoya ki tarah tumhare happily ever after mein rahoge.
(By the way, Manik and Nandini, this is a peak into the future. You both will also be living your happily ever after after a few years, just like Arjun and Zoya)
Arjun - Not really. It wasn't that easy. We started dating in our second year in college and we were very much in love for the rest of the time. But after we graduated, Zoya went to London for her Masters whereas I was studying in India only. We both decided that we were going to strive through this and we will do long distance. But unfortunately, we both broke up within the next 6 months. As much as we both tried, long distance didn't work for both of us.
Zoya - Then came the hardest part. Of getting over each other and moving on. We tried everything. We didn't speak to each other for months, we dated different people, threw ourselves in our academics and work. And at one point in time, we even thought we were over each other.
Arjun - Yeah. We both were in two separate relationships as well. But somehow, those were not meant to be. So after a couple of years, we started speaking to each other again and picked up from where we had left and got back together. But this time, we weren't kids anymore. We were mature adults and had learnt how important we are for each other. And we have only grown stronger since then.
Alya - So don't you regret breaking up with him and losing all the precious time you both lost? Did you think you wouldn't have broken up if you had not gone to London?
Zoya - Maybe. But that break up taught me a lot of things about myself. It helped me shape my life better and made me learn so many things. Besides, that was a very important phase of my life. I was living by myself far away from my family In a different country altogether. I learnt so much that time. Living alone and independently, studying, the campus life, making new friends, partying, taking care of myself when I'm sick, buying my own groceries, cooking for myself, cleaning my own apartment and so on. It was the time of my life. And even though I wish I was with Arjun that time, I really liked that independence. And I wouldn't want to exchange that for anything in the world.
Arjun - I kind of disagree with her. Because I was miserable without her. But maybe that phase just made me realise how much she meant to me.
Cabir - So you both got back together again after Zoya came back from London?
Arjun - Haan. And we dated for 3 years after I came back. And then we told our parents that we want to get married.
Navya - Aapke parents maan gaye? Humara matlab hai ki.. aap dono ke religions alag alag hai na, isiliye humne poocha.
(How did your parents agree? I mean, you both belong to different religions)
Zoya - Humein laga ki humaare parents mana karenge.(We were also expecting resistance from our parents). But surprisingly, hum dono ke parents maan gaye (both our parent's agreed). We were also shocked at how they accepted us so easily. But I think both our parents knew that what was important was that we loved each other and we were good people. So it all went great.
As both Arjun and Zoya kept talking further about their wedding and other things, Manik and Nandini both had zoned out and were in their own thoughts.
Nandini was intently listening to Zoya when she was talking about her life in London and all the things she experienced there. She couldn't help but wonder what that life would be like. She had always wanted that for herself. She had dreamt of doing this when she was growing up. But had eventually given up on her dreams when she saw the financial reality of her family. She knew they couldn't afford to pay for her education abroad and she had decided to make the most of the opportunities she could have. But Manik had recently explained to her about how it was possible for her to fulfil her Harvard dream by helping her breakdown the finances and fund her own education with a loan. Maybe it was time that she seriously looked into it and decided if she could really make her dream come true.
On the other hand, Manik had taken away something completely different from this conversation and that was the breakup. Nandini and him also thought that they could survive all the long distance and still be together forever. But after listening to Arjun and Zoya, he felt terribly uncomfortable. A breakup with Nandini was not on the table at all. Because she just wasn't his girlfriend. She was his oxygen. And he wouldn't be able to breathe in a world that they weren't together. He was now determined that they needed to figure out their careers in a way where there would be no/very little long distance. He wasn't going to leave it on chance but take control of this situation and not let long distance or fate play its game at all.