This is a little emotional update. Personally when I think of a man with tears, it breaks my heart. And when I imagined Manik saying all this then it was all together on another level. But I guess it was much needed.
Manik's POV
'What am I doing! How can I torture her with my words. She has brought light in my dark world....then why! I hate myself, I hate this anger in me. Cabir was right, my anger will ruin me one day. It's so late and I let her go alone. Manik Manik Manik...get a grip of yourself!'
I quickly rushed to Rishab's room and found him sleeping. I switched the lights off and got my cars keys. It's half an hour since she left....where would she be? Speeding crazily on the roads...but I still couldn't find her anywhere. Suddenly I spotted a red bag lying on the side of the road. I reversed the car and went back. It was the same, she bought this from Shimla when we went for the first time. This was not good....I hope she was fine. I sat back in the car and drove even faster, scanning the entire way to the house.
'Should I go in....But how will mom react and Mukti. Forget it Manik, I need to know if Nandani is alright. Just go in.'
I rang the doorbell and waited impatiently outside for it to open. To my surprise, mom opened the door. Her eyes were dull, she must have been crying all day, all night. Her face was tired. I wanted to hug her and tell her that I am there but then realised that she hated me. My tears stayed in the corner of my eyes and I looked down as I couldn't face her. There was shame and guilt in my eyes for hurting her. But Nandani, I looked up to mom to ask her about Nandani but she left giving me a blank expression. I didn't matter to her anymore. The bag in my hand just slipped and I moved in looking for Nandani.
The stairs seemed like a 1000 kilometres that just won't finish. I stormed into our room, calling out her name in panic but she wasn't there. She wasn't there...suddenly I didn't know what to do, where to go. Sweat crept on my forehead in the fear of losing her. I was moving out of the room when I heard the shower on. Obviously idiot, she must be in the bathroom. But I needed to see her! Was she okay? Without knocking I entered the bathroom and my heart broke in million pieces to see her. She was soaking under the cold water and had crumbled onto the floor. Something was wrong!
I rushed towards her and turned the shower off. She looked at me in a miserable state and I fell onto the floor taking her in my arms. She held me tighter then usual and sobbed hard.
"Manik...Manik..." is all she kept saying between her sobs. This was scaring me but she needed to stop crying. "Manik please..." Her sobs turned even louder and I patted her head to cool her down. This can't be because of me, then what happened.
"Nandani, please don't cry. I am here. Please tell me what happened?" I whispered into her ears but she kept sobbing. I felt her shivering in my arms. She was freezing with the cold shower she had. Her clothes had to be changed. "Nandani, please let's get out of here. You need to change, then tell me what happened." I said cupping her face in my palms and she nodded looking into my eyes. She got changed and sat besides me on the bed. I took the towel from her hand and pulled her into my lap. Her hair was still wet and I started drying them with the towel. She was looking at me with teary eyes, but I couldn't meet her eyes because I feared, maybe I was the reason behind it.
"When I was coming back...suddenly...few people came from the back.....and they....they..." She began to say and tears flowed down her cheeks. I was horrified with what she was saying or rather what she was going to say. "They....tried to misbehave...with...me." I was shocked, I frozen and the towel slipped off my hands. My head fell down in shame and I could no longer feel my breathe. Perhaps she noticed it and hugged me immediately. "I was so scared...!" She said lightly sobbing but patting my back constantly. Despite all this, she was still trying to make me feel better. "Please Manik, don't be stubborn. Come back...I need you, we all need you.!" She pleaded whispering into my ears. But I couldn't make out anything, It was saffocating me. I needed to breath. Without looking at her I walked out.
Writer's POV
Manik stormed out of the house and Nandani let him, because she knew that this time Manik would come back no matter what. Because this time it was about her. Nandani cried her heart out as she was truly terrified with the incident. If it wasn't for Aryaman, then perhaps something really bad would have had happened. He saved her and dropped her back to the house.
Manik walked out, sat in his car and drove. No emotion was displayed on his face but his mind was about to explode. His father's death, his mother's hate, Mukti asking him to leave, Nandani leaving him, his argument with Nandani, his mother ignoring him, Nandani's incident, Nandani's tears and everything played in loop again and again in his mind. The voices were hurting in his head and he wanted everything to stop but it played louder and louder each time. He stopped his car and blocked his ear but nothing seemed to work. His eyes wondered around and he spotted a bar. 'Alcohol, it always helped and perhaps it would help this time too,' he though and went inside. For the first time he drank uncontrollably. Still his solace was no where. The bar manager asked him the address of his house and he gave the address of Malhotra Mansion. He was kind enough and asked a taxi man to drop him.
Despite all the drinking, Manik was still in the state to walk. The taxi driver left him on the door and he walked in. The door was open and he entered in. It was dark and with great difficulty he managed to walk two steps. But he stopped as soon as he saw a shadow figure in front of him. "Nandani.." He though it was her and began to pour his heart out. The shadow was none other then Mukti. "Nandani, it's hurting so much in here." He said pointing towards his heart. Mukti turned around but remained quite seeing Manik in that condition. Manik looked at her face but couldn't differentiate between them and continued. Mean while Nandani heard Manik's voice and come out of her room. But she hid behind the door as she saw Mukti. "You know,...I am angry! I am angry at all of you!" He said with anger in his drunken state. "Everyone claimed to love me...all of you. But none of you stood by me! None...! Mukti, she was the closest to me, she was more like my buddy then sister. But guess what, she asked me to go away..." He sarcastically chuckled. "Mom...my mom. She took care of all the things I needed in life, when I needed her the most, she told me she hates me..." He laughed out again. "And you....you were my everything but you took it all away in just a moment." He continued laughing but his eyes were reflecting the state of his heart in the form of tears. "My whole life I lived with the fact that I was an orphan whose parents threw in a dustbin. Whole life I suffered with this fact. But then mom, dad and Mukti never left me. These three people became the purpose of my living. Dad...dad passed away, as if that wasn't enough that he revealed a bitter truth of my life. Nandani..you tell me, should I hate dad for this or should I grieve about his death?" Manik was speaking his heart out which he had controlled all along. "What should I do?..You want me to come back...but when I see that....that thing in mom's eye...not hatred but....yeah...disgust for me, it scares me. But you won't understand Nandani....no one will understand." With this he fell on the sofa. "Nandani, you got me out of that darkness...then why did you send me back there....it's scary. I am so scared to go to the penthouse....I know the reason..." With this he got back up and moved in front of Mukti thinking it's Nandani. "You always said that you were cursed right..! But the fact is that I am cursed....that is why everyone leaves me. That is why I always hurt you...and today.......If anything would have happened to you then I don't know what I would do. Nandani....My life is lifeless without you." With this he fell onto Mukti's legs. "Nandani, I beg you...please don't leave me. I am scared of loneliness, I don't want to get back there....please forgive me."
"Manik.." Mukti tried to get Manik up but he kept crying and soon fell unconscious. Mukti was crying all along and feeling guilty at her actions. With a great difficulty she made him lie onto the sofa and made him sleep. "I am sorry. I know I am the worst sister but you are the best brother anyone could ever have. Then please forgive me for my stupidity. Please come back to us. I am so so sorry Manik." She said fixing his hair and ran inside her room.
Nandani's POV
Manik was speaking to Mukti thinking it to be me. I stopped and stood behind the door. Maybe Mukti could see and understand Manik's state. Maybe things could sort out between them. I collapsed onto the floor listening to his words. My cries were more of screams which I hid by putting my hands on my mouth. He was so hurt, so broken...The Manik Malhotra was ready to be on my feet because he feared that I would leave him. He made you his life and this is what I did in return. Nandani...you broke him. What have you done..! I promise Manik, I will do whatever you want. I will return back to the penthouse as soon as you wake up. Nothing else mattered to me and nothing else will matter. If things don't want to get solved now, they will get solved later. But not a single moment I am going to waste being away from you. I didn't hear a word from the past few minutes, so I went out and saw Manik lying onto the sofa.
I ran through the stairs and sat besides him onto the floor. His cheeks still had the marks of his dried tears. I wiped them off with my fingers and cried my heart out onto his chest. Don't know when my eyes closed as I was lost in the tune of his heart beat.
Hope I didn't make you cry...But how was the update? What will happen after Manik wakes up? Will things get back to normal or will it get worse? Please mention everything you liked in the update and all the things you hated. Except the late update part...Sorry guys. Have exams this week so was a little busy and please forgive me for this. I will try to update this story twice a week at least from next week. Not a promise though.