~ One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls ~

Khaled Hosseini

N A N D I N I

In spite of all the commotions going around, all I could hear was the sound of my heart beating and my shallow breaths. Was it so wrong of me for wanting to run away and never see him because he was giving all those jitters to me which were starting scare. It felt like I would faint anytime considering the dizziness and whiplashes to my sanity.

Both of my worlds were breathing the times of their lives. The rush in the adrenaline, the dryness on my lips, the beads of sweats upon my forehead, the goosebumps.... it was all your gift, Manik Malhotra and I could hug a thousand deaths only to be born again to be there to see you just for once. Only you.

"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you, the man of the ladies' and the envy of every gentlemen present over here. Let's welcome the one who has not only won millions of hearts but inscribed his name there forever. The man who's said to be made of dreams is going to be right here amidst us. Please welcome Manikkkk Malhotraaaa" the anchor shouted on the mic the loudest she could and Navya covered both of her ears cursing the girl.

Seeing your superstar who you only have seen in movies or read about in newspapers, not just that but you kept stalking him on all the social networking sites, becoming member of his fanclubs, cry whenever there's a news about him dating someone, spend night after night watching his videos, smile like an idiot while reading an article in some magazine or listen to his voice on radio during the promotion of his movies....it's not a little thing. It matters. So damn much. And, no novel in the world can describe this feeling. Poppers were busted and smoke made the welcome all the more special. I frowned little deeper at the entrance but he wasn't there. Pushing and shoving began excessively, some girl stumped my feet but all I cared then was seeing him live. Do heartbeats go this havoc like this when you're about to see the man of your dreams?

It was nearly some seconds later that the hooting roared up calling his name and I thought I'd faint as my pulses rushed under my skin. I saw a man as nicely tall as the mountain entering but all thanks to that stupid smoke that it teased my eyes badly. Squeezing my eyes a little, I fixed my gaze on that man who was wearing a black V-necked t-shirt coupled with a pricey black leather jacket and dark blue denim. It was him.... Manik Malhotra. I opened my mouth to catch my breath keeping one hand on my chest and I won't be lying if I say I took few steps back completely turning deaf to my surroundings.

My heart murmured, 'So, he exists huh?'

His features are exactly the same as he looks in movies. He is just the same. One can never justify a fangirl as she's meant to have copyright over any stupidity which involves her celebrity obsession. He was so tall...so fair...so masculine.. so dreamlike. He had shoulders like that of a titan and the chest that could be felt well through his tight t-shirt was so well built just as hard as a rock. His soft black hair...his creamy complexion...his dreamy eyes which reminded me that those are the most beautifully captivating eyes I've ever seen.

Navya moved my jaw up which was hanging close to the floor. He smiled breathtakingly and waved his fans and the jumping girls around started throwing him kisses. Well, I hated that and I purposely stubbed some girl's foot. Well, that's how a life of a fangirl is, you will have to share your love with thousand others. I never understood should I be happy about his popularity or be sad about my commonness? But whatever it was, he's a man of dreams. How on earth could someone be so perfect?

"Hey" Damn, that voice.

Manik tried to speak but the crowd wasn't letting him speak any as it was hooting his name. Bitches!

"Damn these girls. They have almost ruptured my eardrums" Navya hissed rubbing both her ears but I was beyond everything then. I couldn't react to anything as my eyes were glued badly on him even though I was pushed countlessly.

Some of the lucky fans got the chance to sing with him, maybe 'for him', shower him with gifts, take his autograph, and dance with him. I should've envied those girls whose hands Manik held and twirled them in the rhythm but I wasn't. I never thought I could be one of them. Seeing him from a distance was everything I always wanted and who knows maybe, if I would've gone near him I might have fainted on the stage itself. I knew I was meant to watch my dream only from a distance. This day in my life was a blessing and I was never ever going to forget this night in my life.

Manik bent down from the stage to shake his hands with his fans and it was the beginning of disaster. God, I was almost like hanging on the bouncer because all of those pushes from everywhere around. Automatically enough, my hand went up slowly towards the stage and my world stood still when his hand touched mine lightly for two seconds. He wasn't looking at me when our hands touched as his hand was basically grabbed by five girls at a time but I was living this dream of mine. Staring blankly at my hand which still feels his aura, I pecked the spot closing my eyes but when my eyes opened, he was gone.

❀

Navya and I stood on a little bridge over the lake and with moony eyes I was staring at Manik's huge poster on the other side of the street; an endorsement of some big luxury car.

"He touched me... Navya." My voice turned more feeble.

"That can barely be called a touching." She rolled her eyes.

"He..touched me f-for the first time ever." I still was dazed.

"God, I can't believe you drool over a man who's far from your reality and most definitely, doesn't even know that in some corner of the world you exist. Care for the ones whom you can hold close to you whenever you want rather than fangirling some moron!" She frowned.

"Always! Always you have to say things which make me mad." Stomping on, I began to leave after throwing a kiss at Manik in the poster.

Navya, as usual helplessly sighed before following me.

❀

Sneaking in, I tiptoed to my room muttering prayers so that I don't finding a glaring mother on the way. Much to my relief, nobody was there but much to my discontentment, tomorrow will be a bad day. Throwing my boots at the corner, I crashed over my bed pulling a duvet over. Posts if tonight's concert were all over internet which delayed my sleeping schedule lot more as the scrolling never stopped.

❀

Is it too necessary to say how awkward the next morning was at the breakfast table when both of my parents were giving me silent treatment? Father kept turning pages of his favourite newspaper while mother was flickering his eyes from me to the bread she was buttering.

"Alright," I snapped putting my fork down on the plate. "I'm sorry that I was as late as 2 in the night that I had to sneak in but you people can really talk to me, you know. It's not that Manik Malhotra infected when he touched my hand."

It irked me more when they silently eyed each other and carried on with whatever they were doing. Here, I was all jumpy in my heart to tell them about the best night of my life and they chose this day to shower upon their cold treatment.

"Seriously?" I lifted my shoulder for a light shrug in disbelief. My parents were my best friends and there was nothing that stopped me from behaving with them like a buddy.

Mother took my empty plate to get it to the kitchen sink and when she returned and stood beside father's table, I grew a slight anxious because of how serious their faces appeared.

"Wh-what is it?" My eyes concentrated on their faces.

"You will have to look for a new residence." My jaw dropped as my father announced, poised.

"What? You guys are kicking me out just because I returned home late from a concert? Trust me, I wasn't stoned or anything. This doesn't happen often, c'mon?" They glanced over one another and back at me with that same stony look on their faces.

"Um," I gulped. "Can't it be redeemed?"

I was jobless and the only thing surrounding my brain was, if my parents literally threw me out then how would I manage a home and why would I even? Oh crap, I had a bigger trouble up my sleeve. What about Manik's posters? What about the wifi connections? What about my fangirling?

"But I'm afraid if you want redemption then who's supposed to look for your new place in Mumbai?" Father answered folding the newspaper.

"No but I.. wait-what?" My brows cringed and settled over the white envelope in mother's hand. "I'm not leaving you guys."

Mother pushed the envelope on the table my way. "You might have a change of heart after reading this."

Father stifled a laughter until mother pinched his arm and puzzled, I grabbed the envelope tearing it in no time. My narrowed eyes turned broader as my lips were reading its contents swiftly and before I reached the last line, I jumped up the chair, dancing weirdly.

The letter was one successful appointment letter out of my last six failed interviews which read that Ms.Nandini Murthy has been hired as the Marketing Executive at Grey Petals Production Ltd, Mumbai.

Grey Petals. The place where everyone's dreams come true.

Grey Petals. Manik Malhotra's own production house.

❀

Narrator's POV

J.W.Marriot, Mumbai.
12pm

"Sir, can you kindly tell us something about your upcoming film?" The journalist sitting in the third row at the press conference questioned Manik who sat on the other side of the table being accompanied by his director, a hot chic and the producer himself.

"It's a good romantic movie which is scheduled to have a Christmas release. I'm sure everyone will love it." Poised, Manik replied.

"Sir through some hidden sources we've got to know that your role was first offered to Aryaman Sir but then how did you bag this role? Did he say no?" Manik's eyes sprang up sternly at the journalist. His jaw hardened and palms balled under the table. The producer held his fisted palm eyeing him to cool off and within a moment, Manik was as calm as before the storm.

"I guess you aren't paying your sources well." His eyes were fixed on the girl. "The information is a piece of crap."

"Sir, you have done a number of epic romantic movies and a good number of them have bagged multiple national and international titles, my question to you is, do you yourself believe in love?" Manik squeezed his eyes to see the girl standing against the light.

"Most definitely I do. Love is.. beautiful. Imagine, looking at someone and never getting bored of it. It's ethereal when someone with just one look skips the beat of your heart or..or, with one smile takes your breath away. Yeah, I think it's wonderful." His eyes were dreamy and lost off into the distance at nowhere in particular. Claps and hooting cheered him up causing him to beam.

After answering few more questions, his bodyguards excused him out of there. Although the press along with some adamant fans mobbed him his car but his guards were excellent at their jobs. Waving a bye to all of them, he slid into the backseat of his dark filmed white Audi.

"So how's it?" Cabir, the man who had the biggest hand in designing his mogul career asked. Cabir Dhawan owned not only one of the biggest PR companies of this industry but was Manik's only friend.

"Manik?" Getting no reaction out of his friend who was drawing circles on his forehead keeping eyes closed, Cabir nudged.

"Can't I have two minutes to myself, Cabir?" Manik roared.

"Something happened and I'm about to ask you what that is." Cabir wasn't afraid of Manik because he was the last person Manik would ever hurt.

"Where should I start from, huh? There, those stupid journalists never gave me a break from their stupid mushy questions and here, you're doing no different." Cabir sighed rolling his eyes.

"This press conference was much needed considering how you we're dodging the media since the past few months and not to forget, you have a movie release ahead. So if you're ruling the water, you can't really be enemy with the crocodile now, can you?" Cabir uttered nonchalantly.

"Fuck the promotions!" Seeing Manik clench his jaw and act all immature all over again, Cabir sighed putting on his sunglasses looking into the passing streets. He knew Manik being Manik would tell it himself because there was nobody else with who he could share.

"Tell me something," Manik began. "Was that jerk ever approached for this role? Am I taking something that he rejected?" Manik stressed upon the term 'he'.

"I... look, I have no idea." Cabir tried being discreet whilst Manik snickered nodding his head.

"At least, lie better if you plan to do it next time." Rolling his eyes, Manik lit a cigarette.

"Okay see, let me put it this way, this film was very important for your career. You left three movies in the middle in the last two months, all because of some petty lame things. Directors are skeptic to offer you roles because producers are fearing about their money going down the drain and as your PR, I, like always, couldn't sit back and see you ruin things for yourself. He might have been offered this role but it was never his. I thought this movie is important for networking your brand and now, that's a completely different thing how I made you do that." Manik put his earplugs on which blasted music refusing to hear anymore. Cabir always had way with his words, knew Manik.

✿

2am:

Manik lied on his rounded deluxe bed shirtless having a black satin sheet covering his vital parts; looking at the dead ceiling scribbling things in his head. When his eyes fell on the pretty girl sleeping peacefully beside him with her hand on his chest, he had to free himself from her lock and stand by the window smoking weed. It made him high and he like how it made him feel afterwards.

The night sky was his muse. Especially, the darkness. He kept looking at the bleak sky up till he felt two soft arms wrapped him from behind and he felt a light weight of someone's head on his back. Turning his head, he saw how the girl he had a crazy sex with two hours ago was smiling holding him close. Puffing out in irritation, he moved her hands off his body and distanced himself.

"I know you can never feel anything for me but can't I even hold you close for sometime?" Manik, as a reply, offered her a drink paying no heed and she sighed holding the glass. Seeing her wrap the gown lying at the end of the bed around her body, he quietly watched her swirling the drink in his glass.

"You'll only end up hurting yourself, Soha" Manik faced the window.

Soha Khurana, one of this industry's successful actresses and Manik Malhotra's fading obsession.

"Isn't it so weird that Manik Malhotra who makes the entire world believe in love himself doesn't have a heart to feel any such thing?" Manik smirked tilting his glass at her remark. She was hurt as she not only had let him get into her pants but also her heart long time ago when they walked on the ramp as showstoppers.

"Someday, somewhere you're gonna be in love with someone then why can't that someone be me, Manik?" A tear rolled down her cheek as she was picking up her articles.

"Love to me is a commodity Soha. A business. I sell it and people buy. Trust me when I say, I really don't give two fucks about this feeling called love." Little did he know how his words stabbed her heart for the millionth time.

She stopped in her track, "Love is bliss, Manik."

"Maybe," Sipping on his drink, he smirked. "But to me, bliss equals to two things in life. A, money and B, sex." Winking hard, he broke her dream of a happily ever after.

"How conveniently you do lie before the cameras." She smiled, brokenheartedly.

"I get paid for that, sweetheart." Manik and his smirks could weaken the strongest of lady on earth.

"Of course, you do." Nodding feebly, she wiped her tears which weren't even noticed by the man for whom they shed.

"You know, Manik, I really shouldn't let torment myself every time you're kissing every inch of my body and like a stupid teenage girl, I force myself to believe that one day, you will love me back." Her voice started trembling and he turned his face, looking into her eyes.

"Then I suggest you to get over with it, Soha. Because all I do is damage people and seek perfection."