A/N: Firstly, my apologies for missing out on wishing you guys on Eid Ul Adha, so here is my belated yet best wishes for each one of you readers. 

May Allah accept (Qubool) all your sacrifices for Him and help you in strengthening your faith in Him. May the holy one light up all your lives with countless blessings and virtues. May love, harmony and peace be in the hearts of all! I believe in white Eid, so I sacrificed a date fruit instead of livestock. I also want to teach my children that all the children of God/Allah are pure (Paak) irrespective of gender, so I made the sacrifice myself. Eid Mubarak!AlhamdulillahNow, coming to the story, a lot awaits & I cannot tell you how excited I am to present this chapter before you!Happy Reading!***

Manik was sitting with a few of his clients that they had invited, they were discussing their next project for quite some time now, he was so wrapped in discussion that he didn't pay heed to the time. They were interrupted by his father.

"My God Manik, take a break. You have invited these gentlemen here for your sister's engagement, not a conference! Let them enjoy themselves!" Manik agreed with a smile, he then looked at the time, was he actually sitting there for an hour. He looked around and his eyes fell on the stage, Mukti and Abhimanyu were talking to each other; he looked around as the guests were now scattered between the lawn and the banquet hall, having food. Where was Nandini? he thought to himself, he hadn't seen her ever since he left her near the stage. He quickly excused himself from the table and ran to the banquet, maybe she was there, but she wasn't; he came back to the lawn to check again, he scanned around but she wasn't there; for a second he looked around for Parth, but thankfully he was around, she wasn't with him lurking in some corner, with him trying his luck. He laughed away the idea. Nandini was now his. He quickly thought of checking with Abhimanyu, maybe he sent her for an errand?

"Hey Abhimanyu, where is Nandini?" he asked as he walked up to them.

"Thank-God you came Manik, I was going to ask you the same thing! I haven't seen her since the ring ceremony" he replied.

Manik scowled, "What are you saying, I left her with you guys an hour and half ago, wasn't she with you when all the guests were crowding over here to congratulate you guys?"

Abhimanyu and Mukti both looked surprised. "No bro, she wasn't here then, I was in fact looking for someone and then Navya, Abhimanyu's friend helped me out" replied Mukti, surprised. Manik was surprised too.

"But when I brought her back here from the banquet, she left saying.." he muttered to himself. "Okay, never mind, she must be around, I will call and check" he said quickly and left. Manik was feeling a bit strange now; of course there was nothing to be worried about, where would she go? Restroom? out for a smoke at most? he'd call her and find out; but why wasn't she answering her phone? He was contemplating whether he should check the ladies room first, but then he decided to check outside once, maybe she had gone for a smoke? Wasn't she saying she needed one when he was talking to her sometime back?

He rushed near the gate but there was no one there, he asked the guards but they were unsure, there were lots of women who went in and out, they couldn't confirm. Now he was starting to feel anxious, coming to think of it, she did look a bit pale and disturbed even in the banquet hall; he remembered how she had shrieked; but she had said she was okay, did he miss out on something? He was wondering where he should go looking for her, when he heard a phone ring; he looked around, there was no one there, where was the noise coming from? He followed the ringtone and that led him further into the driveway towards the parking area, then he spotted it; it was lying on the road before a car, he picked it up and looked at it, the name of the caller flashed, "Abhimanyu". Manik looked surprised for a second and then he realised it was Nandini's phone! An unknown panic suddenly gripped him but he didn't take long after that, as he took one step ahead, he froze on his spot, Nandini was lying there next to the car, unconscious; she was lying on her back, face up, arms spread and she was chalk white...

As the vision before him hit him, he felt incapacitated for a moment, he couldn't move, he couldn't even make a sound; all he could do was stare in incomprehension at the almost lifeless form of Nandini lying on the ground.

"Nandini!" he finally found his voice and as adrenaline kicked in, he rushed towards her and crashed next to her; held up her upper torso close to him and patted her on the cheeks and kept calling her name, but she was limp and her eyes shut, and no amount of patting her cheeks or shaking her was waking her up; she was out cold. Hospital, he needed to take her to the hospital, he thought and immediately lifted her in his arms and ran straight for his car. He thought of not informing anyone right then, lest it hampered the event, he was going to take care of it. Before driving off, he texted Abhimanyu.

[Hey, found her, we are smoking outside; you carry on, we will be back in sometime]

***

"Relax Mr. Malhotra, you really need to relax; how do you expect my team to diagnose the patient if you keep hovering over her?" the doctor in the emergency room tried pacifying an extremely agitated Manik; he tried to calm down as he shot another quick glance at Nandini and walked to the waiting area, it had been almost forty minutes now, from the moment he saw her lying near the engagement venue gate, up till now; she was still unconscious, and no amount of shaking, spraying water, jerking and calling her had come in handy. There was something seriously wrong with her, it couldn't be a bout of 'fainting from exhaustion' this much he knew for sure. Standing outside the emergency room Manik tormented himself imagining the worst of the worst, what could have happened, did she hit her head, did she eat or drink something that reacted badly, or worse was she molested or something? Nowadays one can't be sure of anything he thought to himself savagely.

Meanwhile, he kept getting impatient text messages from his father, Mukti and Abhimanyu, all asking about his sudden disappearance; what could he tell them? He wanted Abhimanyu and Mukti to have this day, he was sure Nandini wanted the same too, but if he told them about her condition, he was sure, they would drop everything to be here; no he had to hold fort, and right now, being cryptic with them was the best available option.

[Dad, I had to step out with a few guests, they weren't able to find any commute back to the hotel. I will be late, you carry on]

[Abhimanyu, you and Mukti enjoy, I just dropped Nandini home, now going to meet Alia to discuss our thing; I will see you tomorrow]

There, he thought to himself, this should keep them happy for another couple of hours.

***

He had been waiting for another hour and half now, still no news from the emergency ward, he was trying to stay calm, but somehow the pale lifeless form of Nandini fallen on the ground, that image was not leaving his mind; every time it played in his mind, he found it hard to breathe. What if he hadn't gone looking for her until much later, would she still be lying there? Manik shuddered at the possibility.

"Mr. Malhotra, the doctor is ready to see you now, please follow me" a nurse approached Manik; he immediately got up and followed her.

"Is everything alright doctor? Has Nandini come around?" Manik asked, the moment he entered the doctors chamber, he was panicking, and it was evident from his voice. The doctor looked up, but his face was grim; this cannot be good news, Manik thought to himself as his heart was hammering inside him in anticipation.

"I'm afraid Mr. Malhotra, it is too early to comment, although we can rule out physical injuries like cuts, infections, burns, even organ disorders. She doesn't have a concussion either and scan reports confirm no internal head injury or haemorrhage; no eating lapses either, she clears all the USG tests too. However..." the doctor paused for a moment, he looked like he was thinking hard.

"However?" Manik nudged him.

"Mr. Malhotra, the echocardiogram reports do show some signs of irregularities.." he spoke looking concerned.

"What do you think, this is heart related? Did she have a heart attack?" Manik's head reeled in shock; he was at a loss of words, what was happening, was this for real!?

"Calm down Mr. Malhotra, let's not jump to conclusions here. No, it doesn't seem like a heart attack, but yes maybe an angina pain, it is not very uncommon for your age group actually – unhealthy lifestyle, work pressure etc. are common causes – but question is what was the patients' trigger? Unless we find the cause, it is difficult to progress with a holistic treatment plan" he concluded, massaging his temple.

"But doctor, how do we do that? How do we figure out that? So we can't treat her now? So when will she gain consciousness, all this is too confusing" Manik continued to bombard the doctor with questions; here he thought the doctor would help clarify his questions but on the contrary he threw a few more oddballs at him.

"For now all the parameters that reacted adversely triggering the heart condition need to be brought under control; namely her blood pressure, stress levels, pulse and blood sugar; we will start those medications; once they are under control, and she has had a good nights' rest, she will regain consciousness. But remember Mr. Malhotra, these are reactive medicines, they will solve her issue now, they won't confirm that such a thing won't happen again, to ensure that, we need to talk to her to understand what had actually happened to her, to begin her permanent treatment plan."

Manik looked at the doctor blankly, if he understood correctly, there is basically nothing much they could do right now, other than wait for her to regain her senses; he felt helpless, how can that be, there must be some way he can help her. How could he sit here idly, without even knowing what's wrong with Nandini while she fought 'God knows what'. The doctor seemed to comprehend his disconnect and helplessness, he gave him a small reassuring smile and pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Mr. Malhotra, we are admitting her now, she will be in the ICU under observation all night. Once she is shifted in, you can see her; we need someone from the patient's family to stay the night anyway; you can do that; but I request you on behalf of the health interest of the rest of the patients, please stay calm, quiet and maintain decorum"

"Thank you so much doctor" that was all he could say. At least because of this kind man, he could be with Nandini all this time; maybe he can't help her, but at least he could be there for her.

***

An hour later, in the ICU

Manik slowly approached her bed, he had just returned after finishing all the admission formalities. The nurse showed him her bed; they had told him that he could meet her and then step out and stay the night in the private rooms available in the waiting area outside; he'd be comfortable there, they had beds there, but he declined the offer. He had no intentions of being in another room whilst Nandini suffered here, they had finally arranged for a steel stool next to her bed, that was going to be his spot for the night.

Nandini was lying on the bed; the air was thick with the stench of antiseptics and disinfectants, the nurse was drawing the curtains around her bed, making a makeshift room so that the light from the nurse station within the ICU didn't disturb her; she showed Manik his seating spot and told him to call her if there was any trouble and then she moved the curtain and left. It was only him and Nandini now.

He slowly sat down and bent his face forward towards her face, he was very close to her face now; she was lying with eyes shut, she looked pale and very fragile, her eyes had sunken in, there were dark circles underneath. He gently touched her dark circles. There was an oxygen mask clipped to her face, hiding her soft lips. Manik bent forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, he let out a dry sob at the same time.

"Nandini, what's wrong with you? Tell me na, please!" he barely whispered, she didn't move.

He noticed her hand twitch a little though, the one that had a needle on, it was attached to her drip. He had taken a drip before, he knew how painful that needle could get, so he gently massaged the skin around the drip, she seemed to relax her hand a bit. Manik kept looking at her, he couldn't take his eyes off her; he realised he had tears in his eyes. He knew he had fallen in love with Nandini but not until this moment did he realise her true significance in his life. The mere idea that there was a slight possibility of things turning really bad today clutched onto his heart. What if she was really serious right now, could he live through the night in anticipation? But he controlled himself, he couldn't fall weak now, he couldn't let his insecurities creep in. He had to be strong for her, she had always been his rock; it was time he stood tall for her.

"Sir, please step aside, it's time for her insulin" the voice of a nurse broke his reverie; he got up from his seat and obediently stepped aside. The nurse pulled down her duvet and started to pull up the top of her night suit to access her stomach; in the process she pushed her 'hand-with-the-drip' and she whimpered in her state.

"What are you doing nurse, be careful, can't you see she is hurting?" snapped a paranoid Manik as he carefully put aside Nandini's arm and gently massaged the area around the needle, a couple of more times to soothe her; then he came forward and carefully lifted her shirt to bare her stomach for the nurse.

The nurse quickly apologised and started pushing the insulin into the injection by turning the other way round; Manik's eyes fell on her bare stomach, there was a faint mark of his hickey from just the last night, he smiled remembering it. It felt like another lifetime. He gently hid it with his palm as the nurse turned around to push the insulin into her. He saw the needle pierce into her with knitted brows; how much pain did she need to endure before it's over, he wondered. The nurse was about to pull her top down and tuck her back in the duvet, when Manik motioned for her to leave, indicating he'd take care of it, the nurse left.

He moved his face close to the spot where she wore his hickey, he kissed it gently and then touched the spot where the insulin pierced through her; he rubbed the skin there to ensure it didn't hurt her later and then he pulled her top down and tucked her in. He moved back and looked at her face once more, she was lying there oblivious to all his affection; Manik sighed once more and softly lay his head down on her bed, while sitting on the stool. He didn't know if all the tension could let him sleep, but he definitely felt calmer being so close to Nandini.

***

A/N : Too harsh, is it? ;)

Do share your thoughts on MaNan and what you think of how the story will propel hereon.

Are you excited?

Did you like the MaNan moments at the end?

Please share your thoughts, waiting to hear from you guys.

Next update will be on 24th July (Sunday)

Until then,

A.