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It was almost 10:45 pm when Manik walked out of Cabir's apartment with a sense of urgency in his body language. Dhruv, who was sitting on the stairs, got up at the sight of him approaching the elevator.
"Everyone went home?" Manik questioned Dhruv as he found him sitting alone in the hallway. Dhruv was aware of the fact that this question was, particularly, just about Nandini but he, probably, did not wish to make it obvious.
"Yep! Except for Nandini who was waiting for you but you guys, literally, took more than one hour so she had to leave. She asked you to take her car, just in case you need to drive yourself and Aliya. She has a meeting tomorrow morning so she took a cab, home." Dhruv informed him and tossed the car keys in Manik's direction. Nandini did not mention the driving himself and Aliya part but Dhruv could not help himself from adding that bit. He wanted to know what happened so that he could give Nandini a heads-up, simply, because she was too stressed about this.
"You let her take a cab, this late in the night?" Manik asked him back in disbelief.
"She's a big girl, Manik. She can take care of herself. Besides, I offered to drop her but she refused it." Dhruv told him in response.
"Forget it! I should leave... Umm... Can you give Aliya a ride back?" Manik, sort of, requested Dhruv.
"If you aren't leaving together, can I say it's a good sign?" Dhruv chided himself internally for being so nosy but he felt like he owed this to Nandini.
"Good sign? For what?" Manik was puzzled.
"For you and Nandini!" Dhruv replied making Manik's mouth form a proper 'o'.
"Nandini told you?" Manik asked him in surprise.
"Yes! What do you expect? She tells me everything because I'm her best friend." Dhruv knew that this was a weak nerve for Manik because he, absolutely, hated when anyone else called themselves Nandini's best friends other than him. Dhruv loved to have his share of fun so, he ended up making that remark in a nonchalant tone.
"No, you are not! A close friend is what you are... I'm her best friend and, now, her boyfriend as well!" Manik declared with an undertone of assertion which made Dhruv grin, widely. He just needed to know that his best friend (did not matter if Manik agreed or not) was not going to be heartbroken at the end of the day.
"Fine! Go back to her and tell her that she does not need to worry. I'll take care of Aliya." Dhruv reassured him to take care of Aliya because even though Manik had rejected her, he still seemed worried about her for understandable reasons.
"Thanks, man!" Manik, quickly, hugged Dhruv and sprinted his way, down the stairs without a care about the elevator.
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"I do not mind you smoking but can you do that a little earlier in the night? 11:30 is too late to be wandering around in the streets by yourself and especially, when you look like that, don't you think?" Manik's voice startled Nandini as soon as she reached her apartment. She was, obviously, not expecting to see him there after everything that happened.
[⚠️Warning: Smoking is injurious to health and can cause terminal diseases like cancer. The characters portrayed here do not support the use of any type of tobacco products.⚠️]
"You... I..." Nandini tried to form at least one coherent sentence but she just could not do that as she felt the surge of feelings rise inside her.
"What? You think you can get rid of me just like that? It is not going to be that easy, Murthy." Manik remarked with a humorous chuckle.
Nandini looked at him for almost a whole minute where he, simply, felt conscious about himself. He had many things to say to her but he did not know how to begin any of them. He needed to know about what was she thinking before he saying anything. His thoughts were put to a rest, almost in an instant as she launched herself onto him for a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her bare waist(courtesy of her saree) and lifted her up in the air, just a little.
"It is okay! I am not going anywhere... just relax, sweetie..." Manik felt the necessity to mumble sweet nothings into her ears as he felt her tremble in his hold. She was disturbed and it was, clearly, conveyed to him by her body language.
"Let go of me, will you? Just till we get inside?" Manik asked her because he saw her neighbors pass a nasty look to them for their PDA. If she wanted to keep living in the same society then they will have to be careful about these things- he noted.
"No!" Manik heard her mumble to him which caused goosebumps near his neck. He breathed, loudly, to suppress the feeling before they end up doing something that should stay enclosed amidst 4 walls of confinement.
"Okay, fine! Just give me the keys..." Manik asked her softly at which she, plainly, handed over the keys and hugged him again. He, carefully, shifted all of her weight on just one of his arms and opened the door using the other arm for them to enter.
"Uhhh..." Nandini groaned when Manik tried to break away from the hug, once they were inside her house.
"Just let me take off my shoes, sweetie, please?" Manik pleaded and hoped that she would oblige.
"I don't want to..." Nandini muttered to him.
"You clingy little baby, it will just take a minute of my time. Please, let me! I'll remove your heels for you as well." Manik's words made her leave him but she did not let him remove her footwear as he suggested. She unbuckled it herself to remove it and began to move inside the living room only to be stopped by an arm lacing around her petite waist.
"You don't like being called clingy! Am I right?" Manik asked her as he carried her a little up in the air and walked both of them toward the sofa.
"Yes!" Nandini told him honestly because the word sometimes implied that she might be overstaying her welcome in someone's company which she did not wish to do.
"Well then... You have to be okay with it because you are a clingy girlfriend which is exactly how I want you... us to be like because I am clingy as well. Screw being mature and giving space because I wanna stick around you forever." Manik declared his thoughts with no shame, whatsoever.
"You're crazy!" Nandini commented and nestled closer to his chest since she settled down on the couch with her in his lap.
"Why were you so scared and bothered? Don't you trust me?" Manik had to question that because he did not like the expression on her face when they met outside her house, a few minutes ago.
"It is not about trust, Manik. I... It's hard to not think that you'd want to go back to Aliya because she is a lot easier and plus, she has been your comfort person for the longest time. You guys kind of deserve to end up together given the way you two have been since college days." Nandini was a very rational and practical person hence, Manik knew that none of these words were coming from a fake place just to get his attention or sympathy. If she was saying it then she was thinking it which in turn meant that she means it as well.
"Pretty convincing, huh, Murthy! But the only thing making it difficult for me to believe is you being all comfy on my lap with that tight hold on my collar." Manik chuckled after saying that which leaked red color all over Nandini's cheeks.
"Murthy does not sound very girlfriend-y." Nandini remarked with a frown.
"I cannot always be babying you now, can I? After all, you are my best friend before girlfriend so I keep alternating between the two zones." Manik told her at which she nodded in agreement.
"Do you want me to tell you about my conversation with Aliya?" Manik quizzed her with a sincere expression. All that he wanted was to assure her that Aliya did not affect him or his place in her life, anymore. He had moved on from Aliya long back and ever since he moved back to Mumbai, Nandini owned him and his heart.
"No! That should stay between just the two of you, according to me. But, I wanna know if you said yes to her or even if you considered it for a second. Do not give me an answer that will please me. Just be honest, please!" Nandini sounded strong when she asked him to share about the specific part of their conversation and only that. She did not seem vulnerable which meant that she had braced herself for the worst possible outcome from this situation.
Nandini tried to get away from his lap and sit down to have their conversation but Manik did not let her do so. She gave him a pointed look which he shrugged off, conveniently.
"I did not, for a second, feel the urge to even consider it because I'm pretty invested elsewhere. I am a one-woman man, Nandini. The one-woman used to be Aliya until a year ago but now if I think about it, only your face pops up into my head. Now, mind you, none of this is to please you in any way. This is how I feel. I had an elaborate discussion with Aliya about the same which is why it took me so much time." Manik said. Nandini had a soft smile as he began saying but by the end, she was left agape.
"Are you serious? You did not tell Aliya about us, for real, did you?" Nandini interrogated him with a tone of disbelief. They were not unaware of Aliya's feelings about Nandini so how could he just snowball the news of them dating over her, just like that?
"I had to!" Manik answered her in just three words making her frown at the thoughtlessness.
"What? Why?" Nandini asked him back.
"The minute you walked away from us at the entrance, all that I could think was what would I do if the roles were reversed and I had to be in your position. I'd have torn apart the entire place in those two to three hours. And in the end, when she proposed, that thought just exploded in my head because I'd have buried Randhir alive had he done something like that. I don't know how the hell did you tolerate everything and keep your calm but I could not stand it. So, after all of you went out, I told her everything and by that, I mean that I even confronted her about what she did to stop us from talking, all those years ago." Manik explained his state of mind at which Nandini could not help but grin. He, truly, was a very considerate person in general, and on instances like these his nature added up to be the best boyfriend for her.
"How did she take it?" Nandini asked him and now she appeared, visibly, relaxed in his embrace.
"First, when I told her we were dating, she flipped out, obviously... She accused me of always waiting to be with you and that I moved back here just to try once more with you. She screamed at me for wasting her time in our relationship which according to her, I was pining for you throughout the duration." Manik began telling her about Aliya's reaction to his news.
"That's ridiculous! You didn't even know that I had reciprocated your feelings so why would you be waiting for a non-existent chance with me?" Nandini remarked and stated facts. They both knew that Manik had given up on them, right when she had rejected him at the Dehradun airport. He did not know, until recently, about Nandini's feelings for him. How could he have been waiting for her during the course of those five years away from her?
"Exactly! When I had enough of her accusations I confronted her about what she did. She lost her tongue, in that instant. I calmed her down and told her politely that just because I'm with you right now, does not, in any way, mean that I wasn't honest in my relationship with her. She understood it, I think... She then asked me to leave because she just could not stand the sight of me so I left. Dhruv was there and he promised to take care of her so, I just came running to you." Manik finished telling her about everything and placed a light kiss on her cheek, by the end.
"Wow! Both of our exes blamed us for not being faithful to them... Great!" Nandini commented with a chuckle that was loaded with sarcasm.
"Yeah! At times like these, I just wish that had we been a little upfront about our feelings in the past, we would be in such a different place, now." Manik shared as he wondered that, in his head
"Who is to say what would have happened, Manik? I don't know about you but, clearly, I was a lot more immature back then so if we had gotten together at that time, maybe, I'd have screwed things up for us." Nandini said, nonchalantly.
"Cannot disagree with you... You gave up everything in your life to be with Randhir so, yes... Who wants that kind of dedication, right?" Manik was, extremely, sarcastic with that statement. He rolled his eyes and began removing her heavy earrings as he felt that she must be feeling uncomfortable with that weight.
"Hey! I did not give up everything... I had a pretty amazing offer here as well so, I refused the offer from Bangalore." Nandini tried to defend herself.
"And how much did you loveee that job? I can bet anywhere and say that you'd have loved to work with Kumar sir which I need not remind you that it was your dream since the moment you opted to become an engineer." Manik challenged her to contradict him which he knew that she wouldn't be able to.
"Maybe... But at that time I wanted to give my relationship, a fair shot and it felt like he deserved at least that much. Besides, I could not stand another minute of third-wheeling you and Aliya. It was okay when we had other people around in college but it would have been just us three and can you imagine how awkward that would have been?" Nandini puzzled.
"I know that Randhir and Aliya have been a very important part of our respective lives but I hate to discuss about it now..." Manik muttered as he nuzzled his nose behind her ears.
"It's hard not to discuss them when one of them proposed to you for marriage, right in front of me!" Nandini remarked with a tight-lipped smile. Nothing could, possibly, satisfy Manik more than the fact that she was pissed at the turn of events. He knew that she wasn't the possessive type of girlfriend which is why it meant a lot to him that she harbored those feelings when it came to him and their relationship.
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Rate the chapter between 1-10.
I hope you guys had faith in my Manik. If not are you happy with how it turned out?
If you were in Manik's place what would you have done differently?
Few words for Manik and Nandini's moment in this chapter.
Do you think Nandini is right about her being too complicated for Manik to deal with?