Read the message at the end:)
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"तेरी आदत लगने से पहले तक,
सब ठीक था!!"
Delhi-
"This is the file, I got from the record office, and sorry to say but, it has nothing. Not even her full name." Cabir and Abhi looked at the file and frowned when found nothing relevant. They were surprised with the fact too that the case never went forward. They both looked at each other and then at the DSP Abhishek Jindal, who was sipping his coffee.
"So that means the culprit was never caught?" Abhishek shook his head in no and leaned into the table.
"As far as I could get the history, both, the victim and the culprit belonged to influential families, and they never chose to come into limelight for such a thing. So, Basically, there is no lead."
"Sir with due respect, she is a survivor not a victim." Abhishek smiled at Abhi and muttered a sorry to him.
"So, we won't get anything like literally nothing?" Cabir asked from Abhishek who pressed his lip and kept the mug on the table.
"Actually we can." Abhi and Cabir sat alert hearing him and waited for him to continue.
"My brother, he will help us with this."
"Your brother? How?" Cabir and Abhi were confused but Abhishek just sighed and asked them to wait for few minutes. And after few minutes they saw Abhishek standing up and smiling, looking at the entrance. Both looked back and saw a guy of their age walking towards their table with a smile on his face. Cabir frowned in confusion looking at the guy who hugged Abhishek before coming towards them and taking a seat in front of them and beside Abhishek.
"So Cabir, Abhi, this is..."
"Moksh." Abhishek started but was cut off by Abhi who completed his sentence. He was shocked seeing Moksh here and was thinking why was he here actually. He saw Moksh giving him a smile and forwarded his hand.
"Hey Abhimanyu, long time no? How are you?" Abhi gave him a sceptical look before shaking hand with him with a small formal smile. He shook hand with Cabir introducing himself and sat leaning back to the chair.
"Moksh, you know him?" It was Abhishek who asked the question making Moksh smiling at him.
"Yes Bhai, he is Abhimanyu. We met around four years ago. He is friends with Rohan." Abhishek nodded and looked back at the file on the table.
"So, umm, how will Moksh help us?" Cabir asked from Abhishek looking at Moksh all the time.
"Well, it was Moksh's birthday party, the night when it all happened. So basically he would know more than anyone, since Abhimanyu didn't know most of the people." Cabir looked at Abhi with raised brow but Abhi just blinked. He was confused. Moksh wasn't the good guy when he met him four years ago. And why does he wants to help them?
"Moksh, you know, Abhimanyu was the one who took the girl to the hospital." Moksh made an ohh face and looked at Abhi giving him a smile.
"That's nice. You literally was a knight for her, no?" Abhimanyu passed a faint smile to Moksh who sipped on his coffee. Cabir could feel Abhi's doubtful gaze on Moksh but chose to talk to him later.
"So, Moksh you might know her right?" Moksh nodded at Cabir.
"Yes. Nandini. But first tell me, how do you guys know her? And where is she? I really felt bad for her. And I so wants to apologize to her."
"Why apologize?" Abhi asked with a frown.
"Well, for destroying her life." Abhi and Cabir sat up straight and Abhishek looked at Moksh with confusion. Moksh looked at the trio looking at him suspiciously and he leaned back.
"Oh No guys, I meant whatever happened to her, it happened at my birthday party, no? She came there for me, I should have taken care of her. But Alas!!" The trio bobbed their head and sat back comfortably again.
"Anyway, Moksh tell us everything you know about Nandini Murthy." Moksh frowned hearing Abhishek and looked at him with confusion.
"Who Nandini Murthy?" Cabir and Abhi looked at him irritatey and Abhishek exhaled a deep breath.
"Nandini Murthy Moksh, the girl we are here for."
"But she is not Nandini Murthy." Moksh shrugged and the trio looked at him with confusion.
"You mean her name is not Nandini?" Cabir asked from Moksh and the other two looked at him.
"Obviously, her name is Nandini. But it's not Murthy. She is not Nandini Murthy."
"Then who is she?" Abhi asked and Moksh leaned into the table.
"Goenka. Nandini Goenka. One and only daughter of The Suraj Goenka and the only sister of The Mighty Goenka Brothers. She is not Murthy." Moksh ts-ked at last while Cabir and Abhi were still at their place. They both looked at Moksh in horror as if waiting for him to tell that he is just kidding, but when even after silence of few seconds he didn't laughed off, they gulped.
Nandini is not Nandini Murthy, but Goenka? And that too the Goenka family which they know. The Goenka's who are so close to the Malhotra's. They were shocked would be an understatement. How many more truth are to be unveiled, they were unaware. They both came out of trance when Abhishek called them.
"Are you sure Moksh? She is, Nandini, she is a Goenka?" Cabir asked still not believing him while he rolled his eyes.
"Why would I lie Cabir? She was in my school only. I know her. She is the only daughter of the Goenka's. The daughter who was always kept hidden from the world and then one day, she was nowhere. Poof!! Goenka's never gave any explanation about this but in an interview Mr. Senior Goenka did said that their grand-daughter is no more." Cabir and Abhi inhaled deep breaths, and Moksh and Abhishek looked at each other before looking at them back.
"No doubt the case never went further, I have heard about Mr. Prithviraj Goenka, for him his reputation in the society is above everything." Cabir and Abhi knew that this was so true. No doubt, Prithviraj Goenka is sweet to his family but they had seen him doing everything to keep their family's reputation intact. But can he really be so cruel to throw his grand-daughter away to save what? His family's so called reputation?
They were confused with everything. If this is true then how the hell they're going to tell Manik everything. Manik literally respect and adore Goenka's just like his own family. How will he feel when he will realise that the same people whom he respects so much are equally responsible for his The One's grief. They knew, he will break, and the worst part is they knew that this won't be the last time he will be breaking because the web of hidden truths is getting clear slowly and slowly. They could feel that there's much more.
.
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"You are our little doll, we will always love you the same mere bache." A twelve year Nandini gleed widely hearing this from her grandfather, and showed her tongue to her brother who was teasing her saying that when she will grow up she will get married and everyone will eventually start loving her less.
(My child)
"You're not only my daughter gudiya, you are my whole world. And that's a secret through, but I love you more than I love your brother. And I can never see you in pain." A thirteen year old Nandini smiled at her father who wiped her tears as she was feeling low due to her first ever period cramps.
(Gudiya- a nickname for girl child, literally means doll)
"We promise, that no matter where we are, we will always protect you from every bad thing."
"Yes and we will always make sure that you don't shed tears which are not due to happiness."
"And we will always protect this cute smile of yours, because We love you." A fourteen years old Nandini felt blessed when her brothers promised her to always protect her and love her.
She was a gifted child. Until she wasn't. She was a golden bird. Until she couldn't burn more.
Nandini felt warm tears flowing down through his eyes as the memories of her life flashed around her mind. She didn't dared to wipe them and kept looking at the silent sea waves as she sat on the beach away from the crowd. She would feel the sea waves coming and touching his feet and although it should've calmed her down, but today this has no effect.
Hearing Manik's confession, she was dumbstruck. She wasn't able to believe that someone like Manik Malhotra can fall in love with her, her who even doesn't love herself. But isn't what her so called family too said always? That they love her. That they would always protect her. And their love would never change. Where was their love when she was going through panic attacks after that dreadful night? Where was their love when she was roaming on streets for days and sleeping on nights as her so called family had thrown her out? Oh yeah, it would've been busy protecting their family's reputation, because all she did was bought shame to the family.
Nandini let out a dry chuckle. Love? It's easy to spell out the words than to really mean them. It's easy to say that you'll always be at their side, but when the time comes, they leave you to fight your own battle. Forgot that, they doesn't even come to treat the wounds. She has seen love. She has experienced it. She is not afraid of love, what she actually afraid of is, the same love which claims to protect you, leaving you behind. She is afraid of breaking down. She is afraid of living with hopes again, only for them to be crushed down by the retreating footsteps of the same love.
And she is not ready, not ready to break all over, again. Not ready to collect all her broken pieces, again. Not at all ready to see someone walking upon her, again. She is just fine, wherever she is. She doesn't want love. Grief is all she have and she will live with it. Because she has learnt that Grief is really just love. It's all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go. And she is satisfied with her kind of love.
And if it about Manik, then she told her mind, that he is misinterpreting his feelings as love. How can anyone fall in love with her broken self. No-one! He will soon get over them.
I can never force you to love me Nandini. But you will also never call my love just an infatuation. For me, it's too pure to be compared to anything less. And I don't need to prove that to anyone. For people, love might be just a show off, but I can die for you in secret.
Nandini closed her eyes tightly as his words rang in her ears. And it were not just his words, but the intensity with which he uttered those. How can he love her without even knowing anything about her. It's not like he doesn't know that Anahita is her daughter. She frowned thinking something.
Why did he never asked her about Anahita? No-one from Fab Five did. They just accepted the fact, just like that. Is this just because they are kind enough to not interfere because she asked them to or they know something. Does they know about her, she wondered. If yes, then how?
Then it clicked Nandini that Manik was the one who tried to calm her mind down on the night she was almost unconscious after being assaulted. How was he on the phone? She is sure that the person who covered her body or took her to hospital was a boy. But she also know that he wasn't Manik, because he was on call. Then who was the person who took her to hospital that night. And does Manik know him? And in that way, does Manik know about her?
Nandini's head felt heavy with all the thoughts. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest. She never thought about it. But this can be a possibility. She closed her eyes trying to remember the person who saved her but all she could remember were the images of the person forcing himself on her, which made her take heavy breaths. She took sharp breath opening her eyes trying not to have a panic attack at this moment. She tried taking deep breath by exhaling and inhaling. She touched the rock she was sitting while exhaling and inhaling deep breaths. She looked around her, the sky, the orange sky with the sunset view. She felt the water of the waves in her feet. And after few minutes she was able to calm down her breaths. She had tears in her eyes again which she wiped harshly. She hates this. She hates living like this. She hates being alone.
It's like, She don't want to die, but at times existing becomes a bit hard for her.
Somedays she felt everything at once, and at some days feels nothing at all. And she still doesn't know what's worse, drowning beneath the waves or dying from the thirst.
For now, she chose not to think anything. She closed her eyes and imagined her daughter's smiling face which brought a small smile on her face too. The only good thing she has is her daughter's love which she know is going nowhere.
Her forehead again creased when Manik's smiling face flashed in her mind and she fluttered her eyes open. And again, same thoughts started surfacing in her brain.
She felt that she was thinking too much. If Manik would've known her reality, he would've never dared to look at her even, leave falling in love. But deep down her heart knows that Manik is not the kind of person to stay by your side in your goods, he is the one who will happily drown himself to let you take the much needed air. But, she didn't want to accept it.
And she thought that once he would know her truth, her reality, his love will itself disappear like her family's did.
Little bit she know, that Love is not just an emotion or feeling. It's a choice. A choice that we make everytime. A choice that Manik has made, that he will bring her out from the hole of darkness, even if it needs for him to stepping into that hole.
And no-one can stop him, because it's his choice.
And he has chosen her!
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Yo Yo!!!
How are you people?
See updated as promised and made you happy and you guys know what makes me happy, right?
Anyway, how was the chapter?
Haha, again hila dala naa? *flipping my hairs dramatically*
So, what are your views on the new *cough* enteries?
And hey, Cabir and Abhi now know about Nandini being a Goenka *inserting abhi Mazza aayega na bhidu meme*
What do you guys think, will happen now, mhmm?
And few words for our Nandini, her life is so messed up!!
Ps- the line- She was a gifted child. Until she wasn't. She was a golden bird. Until she couldn't burn more. - was taken from Pinterest I just copied because found relevant>>
Do drop your reviews here, love reading them.
Now about the MESSAGE thingy, so I guess I'm quite fascinated with some bookstgram pages, so thought why not do the same 😊 although can't promise to be active very much, but will be posting some goody things and sometimes spoilers on mah page there, so do contact me there, link is in my bio and insta handle is @ the_wanderinghub. Hope to see you there >>
2700 words!
~A ♡