Manik was shocked would be an understatement. As soon as his eyes fell on Nandini, he found her comfortably seated on the bed, staring right into his eyes. Her face held a blank expression, giving nothing away about what lay ahead for Manik. Taking small steps, Manik started to walk towards Nandini, still unconvinced at what he was seeing. Silently, Dr. Arohi left the room to give them their privacy. Manik was just about to touch Nandini's cheek to check whether he was hallucinating yet again or not but Nandini put her palm up in the air, signalling him to stop. Manik's hand stopped mid-air as his doubts proved to be untrue and tears welled up in his eyes.
Nandini : Mujhe nahi pata tha ki London se hospital aane mei sirf..(she glanced towards the clock on the right wall)..15 minutes lagte hai Manik.
She spoke in a dangerously calm tone. The calm that hinted towards a storm. Manik's eyeballs widened as realization dawned on his face.
Manik : Ye-Yeh sab ek jhooth tha?
He asked disbelievingly.
Nandini : Haan.
This was all Nandini said as an answer, her face devoid of emotions. Manik gaped at her.
Manik : Kyu?
Anger shone in Nandini's eyes at his question. Was he seriously asking her that?
Nandini : Aur koi option choda tha tumne mere paas Manik? Pichle ek hafte se bahar khade saare log mujhse jhooth bol rahe hai. Chachi tak mujhse jhooth bol rahi hai. Jabhi mei tumhare baare mei puchti hu, sabke chehro ka rang aise udd jaata hai jaise pata nahi maine kya puch lia ho. Aisa lagta hai jaise woh log jaante hi nahi hai ki tum kaha ho. Aur aaj? Kya laga tha tumhe Manik? Tum woh noodles Mukti ke haathon mere liye bhejoge aur mujhe pata bhi nahi chalega ki woh tumne banaye hai? Manik, mei sab kuch bhul sakti hu lekin tumhare banaye hue noodles ka taste mei marne ke baad bhi nahi bhul sakti hu.
Nandini affirmed. Manik turned his gaze away, guilt wrapping around his heart. Tears had started to flow down her cheeks as she lashed out on Manik. She was tired of hearing the lies. She was tired of being away from him. But most of all, she was tired of assuming the reasons behind his behavior. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. So, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand, ready to take all the anguish that would come along with the answers to her questions.
Nandini : Mei jhooth sun sunkar thak gayi hu Manik. Ab mujhe sirf sach sunn na hai. Isliye please mujhpar ek ehsaan kar do aur mere sawaalon ka jawaab de do. Aur sirf sach bolna. Please Manik. Uske baad agar tum chaho toh mei tumhe apni shakal kabhi nahi dikhaungi.
Nandini put a stone on her heart as she made the last statement while Manik's head shot up at it. His heart broke at the agony laced in her voice. With emotions clogged up in his throat, he found it difficult to speak. So, he meekly nodded his head, indicating Nandini to go ahead.
Nandini : Tumne sabse kaha tha ki mujhse jhooth bole?
Manik shook his head in affirmation. Nandini sucked in a deep breath to control the tears that threatened to fall at his answer.
Nandini : Jis raat mujhe hosh aaya tha, uss raat tum mujhse milne aaye the na?
He bobbed his head. A small smile formed across Nandini's face but faded away as she contemplated her next question.
Nandini : Tum Mumbai mei hi the na?
Manik nodded his head again. A stream of tears trickled down Nandini's cheek. She knew the answers to all these questions but Manik's confirmations were still like stabs in her heart. All this while, Manik's head was lowered, the remorse making it impossible for him to face Nandini.
Nandini : Kya tum sach mei kabhi bhi meri shakal nahi dekh-dekhna chahte ho?
Nandini stuttered as she let a fresh set of tears flow freely. Even the mere thought of it being true was enough to tear her world apart. Being away from him has been the most difficult time that Nandini had to go through. She had been through that phase once and survived. But she wasn't sure if she could go through it again and come out alive.
Manik : Nahi.
Manik spoke after what felt like a century. One word out of Manik's mouth and Nandini's heart broke into a million pieces. More tears pooled in her eyes. She focused her gaze on her lap so that Manik couldn't see the amount of torment that she felt.
Manik : Mei apni shakal tumhe nahi dikhana chahta tha. Kyunki tumhari jo haalat hai, woh meri wajah se hai.
Nandini's head shot up at his words. Her mind wandered back to the day she had heard about Manik's accident and fallen unconscious. Was that the reason why Manik was blaming himself?
Nandini : Manik ismei tumhari koi galti nahi hai. Apne aap ko blame karna bandh karo. It was all just a misunderstanding. Aur ab mei thik hu Manik. Mujhe kuch nahi hua hai. Please, stop beating yourself up for something that isn't your fault.
She tried to pacify him. But she wasn't aware of the storm that Manik had hidden in some corner of his heart. The storm that he had been hiding from the world. The storm that was soon going to blow them away.
Manik : Yeh sab meri hi galti hai Nandini. No matter how much you try to deny it, it is my fault. Agar mei kabhi tumhari life mei nahi aata toh Nyonika Malhotra bhi nahi aati. Aur agar woh tumhari life mei nahi aati toh aaj tum yaha nahi hoti.
Manik spoke in circles. Nandini's brows furrowed in confusion as she couldn't comprehend the meaning behind Manik's words.
Nandini : Tum kehna kya chahte ho Manik? Saaf saaf baato.
She proded him. After what felt like eternity, Manik lifted his face to look at Nandini. Nandini's heart cracked as she caught sight of Manik's tear-stricken face. She wanted to hide him in his arms and take all his sufferings away but Manik stood far beyond her reach and the needles stuck to her hands didn't allow her to cover that distance. Little did she know that this was just the start of the distress that they both were going to face as Manik started to narrate the incident that led to the toppling of their lives.
*Flashback*
Manik's phone started to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Manik's eyes widened as he looked at the name of the caller.
Cabir : Kaun hai?
Cabir queried as he saw the change in Manik's expressions.
Manik : Inspector Deshmukh.
All of them became alert as Manik mentioned the name of the caller.
Mukti : Manik, speaker.
Manik nodded his head. He received the call and put it on speaker.
Inspector : Hello, Mr. Malhotra?
Manik : Yes, Inspector. Kuch pata chala?
Inspector : Haa, Mr. Malhotra. Jo body aapki gaadi ke paas se mili thi, uss insaan ki death accident waali raat se do din pehle hi ho chuki thi. Woh body ek morgue se churayi gayi thi. Uske aage piche koi nahi hai isliye kisine bhi body claim nahi ki thi. Aur ek baat pata chali hai. Kisine badi safaai se petrol tank kholkar usse leak hone ke liye chod dia tha. Taaki aisa lage ki aag accidentally lagi hai.
Manik, Cabir, Mukti, Dhruv and Alya, all of them were stunned at the piece of news that the Inspector just shared. Who could have been so cruel?
Inspector : Hello? Mr. Malhotra? Are you there?
Manik reeled out of the shock and composed himself.
Manik : Yes. Yes Inspector.
Inspector : Kya aapko kisi par shak hai? Koi hai jo aisa kar sakta hai?
The Inspector asked but Manik's mind had refused to think after Inspector Deshmukh's revelation.
Manik : No.
This was all he could utter.
Inspector : Okay. But if you think there's anything that I need to know about the case, please give me a call.
Manik : Okay. Thank you Inspector.
Manik managed to say and disconnected the call. Horror covered their features as a name fleeted through their minds. Only one question circled around their brains, 'How could she stoop so low?' As Manik came out of the initial shock, his face hardened. His blood started to boil. He slammed his fist on the nearby wall. Fab 4's heads shot up in the direction of the noise. Blood oozed out of his knuckles. Before any of them could react, they heard Manik's threatening voice.
Manik : I won't spare her this time.
He seethed in anger and stormed out of his room. Alya, Dhruv, Mukti and Cabir exchanged worried glances and rushed behind him. They knew Manik's anger when it came to Nandini. His rage would burn everything in its way. As Manik came to the hall and was about to scream, he heard her talking on the phone in the drawing room. Manik was going to barge inside when he heard something that stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Itne time se mei Manik aur Nandini ko alag karne ki koshish kar rahi thi. Aur finally mere saare efforts work kar gaye."
Cabir, Alya, Dhruv and Mukti had reached and heard those words.
"Nyonika Malhotra jo chahti hai, usse paa kar hi rehti hai. Manik ko pata bhi nahi chala aur ek hi jhatke mei maine uski Nandini ko maut ka darwaza dikha dia. Lekin afsoos woh bach gayi. But not an issue. Coma se bahar aayegi bhi ya nahi, uski koi guarantee nahi hai. Aur Manik toh already apne aap ko blame kar raha hai. Usse lagta hai ki yeh sab uski wajah se hua hai. Isliye woh definitely Nandini se nahi milega. Aur agar woh Nandini se milna bhi chahe toh Nandini ke Chacha usse Nandini se milne nahi denge. Woh itne bhole hai ki Manik aur uske doston ke baare mei maine unse do-teen jhooth kya bole diye, woh toh unn sab se nafrat karne lage hai. I'm sure woh unnlogo ko Nandini ke aas paas bhi nahi aane denge. Aur agar yeh plan work nahi karega toh mere paas dusre plans bhi ready hai. I'll make sure ki Manik aur Nandini ek doosre ke paas kabhi nahi aa paaye."
She laughed maliciously. All of them stood there, stupefied. Without a word, Manik left from there and out of the house, towards the only person whom he needed the most in that moment.
*Flashback ends*
Nandini stared at Manik, agape. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Neither did she realise when tears had started to stream down her cheeks. How could Manik's mom fall down to such a level? Was Nyonika Malhotra's hatred for her so profound? Her thoughts were interrupted when Manik started to speak.
Manik : Uss din mei tumhare paas aaya tha Nandini. Kyunki mujhe nahi pata tha ki mei kaha jaao. Aur ussi raat tumhe hosh aaya tha. Trust me, I had been the happiest in days. But as soon as I realized what Nyonika Malhotra was capable of, I backed off. Mei tumhe aur pain mei nahi dekh sakta tha Nandini. Especially meri wajah se. Aur jab tak mei tumhari life mei rehta, Nyonika tumhe har roz torture karti. Mera tumhari life se dur hona hi yeh guarantee thi ki woh tumhare aas paas bhi nahi aayegi. That is why..
Nandini : That is why you left? You lied and hurt me in the process? Without an explanation, you just chose to leave me alone again?
Manik guiltily peered at her through his glossy eyes. She had had enough of Manik having only one solution to all their problems : Leave her and it'll all be fine. Why does he not realize that while doing so, he punishes her along with himself? Why is staying away his only option always? Why can't he just sit down, talk to her and they work a solution out together? He is well aware of the grief that they both went through the first time he had decided to break up with her. And still his only solution was to drift away from her?
Nandini : Tumhari har problem ka ek hi solution kyu hota hai Manik? Jab bhi koi mushkil aati hai tum mujhe chodne ka faisla kaise kar lete ho? Hum dono bahut achi tarah se jaante hai ki last time jab aisa hua tha toh hum dono par kya biti thi. Phir bhi tumne wo hi cheez repeat ki? Iss relationship mei hum dono hai toh har baar, hum dono ke liye decision lene wale tum kaun hote ho Manik?
Nandini questioned accusatively. Manik's head hung low at her allegations. She wasn't wrong. He was always the one who made decisions for the both of them and regretted them later. And Nandini forgave him, every single time.
Nandini : Kya hua Manik? Jawaab do. Kyu karte ho tum aisa? Do you have any idea ki pichle ek hafte mei maine tumhara kitna wait kia hai? Jab bhi woh darwaza khulta tha, mei hope karti thi ki waha se tum aaoge. Har roz mei iss umeed ke saath uththi thi ki aaj tum mujhse milne aaoge. Lekin har roz mujhe sirf aur sirf disappointment milti thi. Sab yaha mujhse jhooth bol rahe the. Lekin mujhe tumpar pura bharosa tha Manik. Agar milne nahi aa sakte the toh at least ek phone ya message kar dete. Kuch nahi toh fake concern hi dikha dete Manik. At least itna hurt toh nahi hota.
Her voice dripped of the pain that her heart was filled with. Manik's heart punctured as he realized the amount of hurt he had put her through with just one decision. One repetitive decision.
Nandini : You know what Manik, jitna mujhe aaj hurt hua hai utna toh tabhi nahi hua tha jab tumne mujhse break up kia tha.
She let her tears down and turned her gaze away. Her words pierced through Manik's heart like a thousand knives as remorse gushed through his veins. He wanted to cocoon her in his arms and take all her pain away but his guilt was too heavy to allow his feet to move towards her.
Nandini : Manik, please yaha se chale jaao. Please just leave me alone.
Nandini managed to plead through her tears, her eyes still not meeting Manik's. But Manik didn't move an inch and stayed rooted to his position. When Nandini didn't sense any movement, she turned her face towards Manik and found him staring right at her. His face crumpled into tears as soon as their eyes met. Sadness, pain, longing, desperation, love. A thousand emotions fleeted through their eyes. Nandini knew exactly what Manik needed and that is what she would give him. She spread her arms out for him. No matter what he did, Nandini could never see him in pain. Without wasting another second, Manik jumped right into her arms, careful of not messing with the tubes or hurting her in the process. They both cried their hearts out in each other's embrace as they found their peace after what felt like an unending amount of time. After a while, Manik broke apart. He wiped off the tears on her cheeks and peppered her face with kisses with all the love he could muster. He stared at her for a bit and wound his arms around her neck, pulling her in for yet another hug. Nandini wrapped her hands around his torso as she hid her face in the nape of his neck and he placed a chaste kiss on her temple. But this time around, their hug didn't last long.
"Manikkkk!"
Someone yelled and they both pulled away from each other. As they came face to face with the owner of the voice, horror covered Manik's features.