Nandini's POV:
I didn't know why Manik is so upset. ''Ye letter mujhe do, I will give to Navya'' I asked him what he was not ready to give it. He had already hurt Navya and now he is not giving it too. ''Is this what you were writing at the airport?'' he asked me. This means he knew I was writing. ''Ye nahi main script hi likh rahi thi, Navya was telling and I wrote accordingly'' I said. Does this mean Manik did not read the script, ye tho aur bhi bahut problem ho gaya. ''Did you read the script Manik?'' I asked him nervously. ''Nahi, why everyone is asking about the script? Don't we read it every time before shoot? What's so important about it'' he asked innocently. I guess he just read the letter.
''So, did you assume that I wrote the letter?'' I asked and he said yes instantly. How could he think of me like this. ''I wish ki tum ye script bhi ek aur baar padh le'' I left from there. I thought Manik said yes to the shoot and that's why I came here. Mujhe Cabir se abhi baat karna hoga. But usse bhi pehle mujhe Navya se baat karni hogi. ''Navya'' I called her. ''Sorry, I didn't know that you have put the letter in the script copy'' I apologized Navya I should have checked it before giving it to Manik. ''No Nandini, teri galti kuch nahi hai, I thought I will give it to Cabir but couldn't thought of you giving it to Manik'' Navya said. ''I will get that letter from him anyway'' I assured Navya. ''No, we will not disturb Manik, but I'm afraid how will he react if he reads the script'' Navya is right. Ye letter tho kuch bhi nahi hai agar wo script padh liya tho aur gussa ho jayega.
''He didn't read the script Cabir'' I said to Cabir. Navya and Aryaman are also with us. ''Hume clearly communicate karna tha, misunderstanding ke wajhe se ye sab dekhna pada'' Aryaman said. ''Jab maine usse poocha tho usne kaha ki padh liya, he also said he needs time'' Cabir said. Me and Navya, we looked at each other. ''But the point is, ab hum usko kaise manayenge'' Cabir said again. ''I know a way'' Aryaman said after giving it a thought. ''What?'' me, Navya and Cabir asked all at once. ''Wo tum log mujhpe chod do!'' he said in his usual cool and calm tone. What is he up to now? I can't imagine Manik's face after reading it.
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Manik's POV:
What the heck? What's going on their mind? Is Cabir on Weed while writing this? Tabhi tho ye mujhse itne baar pooch raha hai, it's high time that I should confront him now. I searched for Cabir and here he is having a personal meeting session with Nandini, Aryaman and Navya. ''Cabir'' I almost shouted at him losing my temper. Everyone stood up as I came. I think they were expecting the same reaction from me. It was so evident on their face. ''Is this what you want me to read?'' I threw the script copy on the table there. ''Manik, listen I can explain'' Cabir said but I'm in no mood to listen.
''How could you justify a kiss scene, even without my consent?'' I asked him. It was clearly not there in the script when he first narrated to me. The basic story line of this cinema is an eternal love story of a couple where hero dies in the end. Out of nowhere, he now wrote a kiss scene. ''Manik, I have improvised a bit'' he said as simple as that. ''And you thought I will do it as simple as you said it'' I asked him out of disbelief. ''That is why I sent you the script beforehand but my bad, it didn't reach you on time'' Cabir said. Right, even he is not responsible as he didn't knew that I didn't read it. But Nandini ko pata tha, then I looked at her. She looked down immediately. ''Nandini, you are the one who wrote it right?'' I asked her but she didn't look at me. ''Yes Manik, but I thought you said Ok'' she said. ''Nandini ki galti nahi hai, even we tried hard to make her accept it'' Navya intervened. ''But ye idea kis ka hai, is it even necessary? Many times hum formally bol dete ki script ke demand ke anusaar humne ye scene kiya, but would script really demand kiss scenes?'' I asked them.
''Manik, you have already done few kiss scenes in your earlier movies, there is no No-Kiss clause in either of your agreements, moreover this scene comes as a dream sequence, I mean why not, mujhe green signal already mil chuka bhi hai'' he said. ''Green signal?'' I asked. ''Dhruv suggested that we should go ahead with this script'' he said. ''Manik, someone wants to speak with you'' Aryaman said giving me his phone. I stepped aside taking his phone. ''Manik'' Siya spoke from the other side. ''Aryaman and Dhruv told me everything'' she calmly said. ''So everyone except me knew all about this, why was only I kept in darkness all this while'' I asked her. ''Because we know you wouldn't accept'' she was quick to answer. ''And what makes you all think I will accept now, because I don't have any option'' I asked her. ''Manik, aisa nahi hai, please meri baat suno'' she was saying something.
''Siya, please you can't always have your ways with me'' I told her and cut the call before she could speak anything. Everyone here knows that Siya is my weakness, so they think that they could make me accept anything if she said. Nandini came there. ''Manik, even I don't want to do this anymore now, mujhse bhi nahi hoga'' she said. ''When did you know this? How could you say yes?'' I asked her. Even she didn't feel like asking me! I'm surprised now. ''When I first heard about it, I was hesitant, but then I said OK because we are actors, hum jo bhi kar rahe hai wo sab acting hai, we are not doing it for real'' she made sense. ''Hum audience ko uss emotion feel karwana hai jo hum khud mehsoos nahi karte, I mean we don't actually love each other but we expect the whole audience to experience the love between us, isn't it weird?'' she asked. I listened to her.
''But ek actor ke liye yahi ek bada task hai na, chaar dialouges tho sab log bol dethe, but why only Manik Malhotra! Because you are an actor, come out of your comfort zone now. This will be something out of the box for an actor in you'' she said. Yes, ek actor ke liye aise roles challenging hote hai, and she is right, I should not back out from this at the last moment. ''You actually thought you could convince me!'' I asked looking into her eyes. ''I don't know if I can, but you can definitely give it a thought'' she said. ''I guess you won, I'm in'' I said. ''Manik, don't worry, everything would go right'' she said patting my back. ''I hope'' I said involuntarily. ''Manik, iss sab ke beech, I think we ruined Navya's proposal'' she said. Oh, I completely forgot about Navya's letter to Cabir. ''No worries, I will make it right'' I said. ''Navya ko Cabir se directly keh dena chahiya tha, love has no short cuts'' she said. ''No, writing a love letter is so romantic, sometimes letters convey much more than a person can do, moreover letter will give you more time to think and analyze. I found the letter wala thing so cute'' I said remembering how I felt after reading it.
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''Manik, Nandini ko room nahi mila, can we both share same room and give mine to her?'' Aryaman asked me. ''Yeah of course, we can share'' I accepted. ''No, I'm fine, I will share room with Navya'' she said. I insisted Nandini to sleep in Aryaman's room. ''You will hardly sleep for few hours, I know you don't like sharing bed with anyone'' she said in a soft tone which only I could hear. How well she knew me! ''It's okay, I can't deny Aryaman, please go and sleep in his room for now'' I asked her. She wished me good night and went away smiling. I must say she has a killer smile. Smile se yaad aaya that I should talk to Siya now. ''Gussa theek ho gaya?'' she asked me. ''Ha, sort of'' I said sheepishly. ''So, now you accept! how did you said Ok?'' Siya asked. ''Because I wanted to explore the actor in myself and I decided to try something out of my comfort zone'' I said confidently. ''Wow Manik! I always wanted to see this in you, by the way, who has this influence on my Manik'' she knows me so well. ''No one, just I thought'' I tried to make bahana but she caught me. ''I know you so well Manik, you always think in one direction, I think there must be someone who said this to you, you didn't listen to what I was saying. So you better say who it is!'' she demanded answer from me. Should I tell Nandini's name.
''It's Aryaman'' I don't why I lied to her. ''That's good, no doubt you both are best friends that you know each other so well'' she said. Does this mean Nandini and I knew about each other so well. I strolled in the verandah and thought about tomorrow. What is this weird feeling? Will Nandini let me kiss her! Or would she think I will ruin her first kiss. But technically it's our first kiss. No, she might not feel anything for me. She was so clear that we are actors and we are showing the audience the emotions which we don't feel ourselves. Does she mean she didn't feel anything for me! Then why am I being restless! She definitely takes my breath away when I'm with her.
My brain couldn't process anything as I was getting ready for the shoot. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. We are going to shoot a dream sequence and I must give the credit to costume designer. I'm proud of myself as I looked like I'm out of a dream. I waited for Nandini but she isn't here yet. ''It's a wardrobe malfunction'' Navya came out with a long white gown. ''Kya hua?'' Cabir asked before I could speak. ''This dress is so tight, Nandini tried to wear but it tore'' she said as the dress can't be worn now. ''Why at the last moment?'' Cabir cursed his luck. ''Calm down Cabir, think of an alternative'' Navya calmed him down. After knowing about Navya loving Cabir, I could clearly see how much she loves him. She manages Cabir and his mood swings effortlessly. She always have everything handy for him. Navya is Cabir's support system. ''Manik, can you please go to the location'' Navya asked and I couldn't deny.
I came to the location and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Snow everywhere, huge mountains in the background, DOP had tried to capture this beautiful scenery in his camera and I must say he is successful. He took few snaps of me and then came Navya and Cabir. Where is Nandini? I wondered. They made necessary arrangements. ''Nandini isn't here yet?'' I asked out of curiosity. ''She is here'' Navya said and pointed at Nandini. I couldn't believe what I saw, asli beauty tho yaha hai. Nandini walked towards in a red saree. I wish life is as beautiful as this frame. She shivered as she wore sleeveless blouse with her red saree. I gave her my jacket and Cabir stopped me. ''Manik, usse tumhara jacket nahi dena'' he said. ''Shot ready'' I heard and took my position. Nandini stood so close to me. Cabir came near us and whispered, ''badi mushkil se ye sab ho raha hai, please do it in one take'' he kind of requested us. ''Action'' Cabir said sitting in front of monitor.
I looked into her eyes. They always tell a different story but now I don't know what they mean. I cupped her face in my palms. She shivered a bit but I was sweating. I stood even closer to her and she looked into my eyes. I brought her face closer and she held my jacket for once. I smiled to myself and kissed her forehead. She did not expect this and looked at me strangely. I wonder why Cabir didn't object me kissing her forehead. I held her hands in mine and she looked surprised on what I'm up to now. I pulled her closer and put her hands on my shoulders. She smiled at my actions. I lifted her chin and claimed her lips to the fullest. They are as soft as velvet, I placed my hands on her waist so that she can stand still, but unknowingly she came closer to me. I could feel her scent on me and she can feel my breath too. She closed her eyes, but I strongly felt that she should see me kissing her. I intensified and Nandini reciprocated the kiss.
I was about to break the kiss when she opened her eyes but something in me stopped and claimed her lower lip.