Manik was upset that his relationship was not only taking a toll on him, but it was also affecting his loved ones.
Cabir : "Aren't you happy in your relationship with Alya?"
Manik : "It feels like less of a relationship and more of a restraint which is stopping me from doing what I want to do."
Cabir : "Why are you saying so? Don't you love her anymore?"
Manik : "I don't think I ever loved her. She was a friend and I was attracted to her. I thought I was in love and I asked her to be my girlfriend. Dad was right, I was so immature. Nandini is younger than I was then, but she thinks way ahead even for an alliance that she wants to get rejected. Mukti and Abhi also waited till they were sure of their feelings. I just plunged into the relationship without thinking of the future like a fool. If I would have been a little thoughtful, I wouldn't have been trapped in this situation."
Cabir : "Don't be so hard on yourself. You just did what guys of that age do. You were brought up in an environment where you saw only positive aspects of life and were shielded from the negative. You were used to getting what you wanted immediately when you wanted. You didn't have any constraints to stop you."
Cabir : "We all came to know Alya through Mukti and accepted her as a friend. You didn't know that Alya would turn out to be such a possessive girlfriend when you asked her out. We were also immature and encouraged you to go ahead, when you told us about it. None of us thought as to where it will lead you to in the future."
Cabir : "In case of Mukti and Abhi, they didn't know each other when they felt the attraction. We were protective about Mukti, so we didn't let her go ahead till we felt that Abhi was trustworthy. Abhi also had a reason to not proceed further. Probably Nandini is more mature because she was forced to face the harsh reality of life at a very young age. You only told us that she had to face a lot of obstacles to reach where she is now."
Manik continued to express how he felt.
Manik : "By the time I started analyzing and realized that I don't love her, it was already a few years. I was the one who asked her out, so it didn't seem right for me to back out. I have been trying to uphold the relationship since then. Her possessive nature didn't bother me much earlier since I never felt the need to keep in touch with anyone outside Fab6."
Manik : "I thought she will understand and change with time, but instead of getting better, it is getting worse. Now, I have realized how her possessive nature can effect me and the people I care about. I can't continue like this for the rest of my life. I am thinking of talking to her about it and clearing up the matter once and for all. It is going to be my last attempt..."
Manik : "What do you think will happen to our group if I breakup with Alya?"
Cabir : "Are you seriously thinking of breaking up with her?"
Manik : "I should have ended the relationship the same day she uttered those words at the hospital. It clearly showed that she doesn't trust me. What is the point in continuing the relationship when I don't love her and she doesn't trust me? But considering the state she was in, I had to stop myself."
Cabir : "That day, she wasn't in the right frame of mind. It wouldn't be right to decide based on that. You seemed to be okay after that. You agreed to stay away from Nandini for her, then what happened now?"
Manik : "That's the reason I am trying one last time, but I doubt it is going to change anything. Maybe she wasn't in the right frame of mind then, but things don't pop up out of nowhere. She must have had that in her mind all along, and it just came out that day. How do you expect me to be fine after hearing what she said? She was accusing me of cheating her."
Manik : "She was in the hospital and everyone was worried that she will stress herself. Stress wasn't good for her recovery, so I kept quiet and agreed to stay away from Nandini. That doesn't mean that I have forgotten what she said or I am going to continue like this. Now, she has recovered completely. If she isn't ready to let go of her possessiveness or insecurity, then I don't want to bear the burden of this relationship any more. The only thing bothering me now is how it will impact Fab6?"
Cabir : "What according to you will happen?"
Manik : "I know you and Dhruv will support me. If it was earlier, there were chances that Mukti would be upset with me for breaking up with her close friend. Now, since she herself is in a relationship, I am hoping that she as well as Abhi will understand my situation. Alya has the habit of making a mountain out of an ant hill, so I have no idea as to what extremes she will go. If she had her way, she would probably literally turn the world upside down. I didn't want to be the reason for a rift in our group, but I can't live like this for the rest of my life."
Cabir : "Do what you think will keep you happy. If they don't understand, we will make them understand. When are you planning to talk to Alya?"
Manik : "As early as possible."
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The next day, Manik informed Alya that he wanted to meet her alone and talk to her later during the day. Alya asked Manik to come over to her house. After the accident, they hadn't spent any time on their own. Even before that, they used to be along with their group most of the time.
When Manik came to Alya's house, Alya took him to the terrace. She had made arrangements for a romantic evening. She had dressed up for the occasion too.
Manik : "What was the need of all these arrangements? I told you I just wanted to talk to you."
Alya : "Of course we will talk. We are spending time together after a long time, so I thought of making the evening special for us."
Alya came closer to Manik and put her hands around his neck, but Manik slowly took her hands off him.
Manik : "Let's talk first."
Alya : "What's the hurry? We have the whole evening, we can talk later too."
Alya tried to come closer to him once again, but Manik stopped her.
Manik : "I am here only to talk to you. I made it clear when I told you about it."
His tone was firm. Alya was upset with his behavior, but he didn't bother.
Manik : "It is important for me to get this cleared. All along, I have been putting up with your possessive nature, but I can't any longer. It is suffocating me. So if you want our relationship to continue, you will have to trust me and let go of your insecurities and possessiveness."
Alya : "What do you mean by 'if I want to'? Are you saying that you don't want to continue? Have you forgotten you were the one who took initiative and asked me out? After being in a relationship for more than three years, are you trying to back out now?"
Manik : "I remember very well. That was one of the reasons I had been trying to uphold our relationship. As you said, it is more than three years, even then you don't trust me. I don't find any point in me bearing with your possessive nature anymore, so I'll leave it to you. I don't guarantee anything, but I will give one last try to sustain the relationship if you are ready to change your attitude. Otherwise, let's breakup. I don't mind putting an end to this relationship right today, right now."
Alya hadn't expected that Manik would be ready to breakup with her immediately. She wasn't ready to let go of him. It was also the question of her image, so she had to do some damage control. She changed her strategy. She moved seductively towards him, intending to divert his mind.
Alya : "Baby, I am possessive of you, because I love you. If you feel that it is suffocating you, I will try to work on changing my nature. Don't get upset now. Let's not ruin the evening."
He wasn't the youngster who got attracted to her or the old Manik who would adjust with her to keep the relationship going. He stopped her before she could lay her hands on him.
Manik : "I am not in a mood for all this. Till I feel that you have really changed, I would prefer if you refrain from such gestures. I am done with what I was here for, so I will take leave now."
Manik left. Alya's thoughts were going elsewhere instead of thinking of how to change for the better.
Alya (to herself) : "Manik wasn't like this all these years. He has changed after Nandini became a part of the competition. He supported her going against me. She has cast a spell on him and she is taking him away from me. It is because of her he wants to breakup with me. I have to ensure that Nandini stays away from Manik in all ways, then he will come back to me."
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Raj was at college for trustee related work. He met Nandini while returning home. Nandini was also ready to leave. So Raj forced her to go home with him. He called Manik.
Raj : "I am going home now. I met Nandini, so I am taking her with me. You know how much your mom wants to meet her. Nandini was hesitating to come with me because she hadn't informed anyone at home. So, inform Abhi and let him know that I will drop her home later."
Manik informed Abhi about it.
Alya was also present there. She had distanced Fab5 from Nandini. She felt that Manik's parents' attachment with Nandini could bring Nandini back into their lives. So she began thinking of ways to keep Nandini from Manik's parents, especially Nyonika.
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When Alya met Nyonika next time, she tried to bad-mouth Nandini.
Alya : "Aunty, why are you getting close to Nandini? Her intentions aren't right. I don't know if you know, but she is responsible for my accident."
Alya didn't know that Nyonika knew Nandini from before. No one had updated her on how Manik and Nyonika knew Nandini.
Nyonika : "You are mistaken. She isn't someone who pushes you off the stairs, she is someone who saves you from falling off the stairs."
Nyonika knew about Alya's misunderstanding, but not about her actual evil deed.
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It was Nyonika and Raj's wedding anniversary. A lot of people were invited for the party, including Fab5 and Nandini. Since Alya knew Nandini would come for the party, she made a plan to create a bad impression of Nandini in front of Manik's parents.
Alya pretended to help by serving the drinks. She also came to Nandini and offered a drink. Nandini accepted the juice, not knowing that it was spiked. After giving juice to Nandini, Alya watched her till she finished the juice from a distance, then she went and joined Mukti. Alya was eagerly waiting for the drink to take effect, so that Nandini would start behaving weirdly.