A/N : Dear Readers, first & foremost, I am SORRY. I am sorry for writing this chapter. I wept while writing & I know it is HEAVY. If it wasn't absolutely necessary to propel the story, I wouldn't have written it.

Also, it is one of my MOST favourite chapters of this story.

It is HUGE, and I just hope there is someone around to hug you tight, after reading this. If not, here's a mama hug from me. :*

On that note, let's begin. (I can't get myself to write, Happy Reading this time!)

Oh, and papps* is a colloquial term used to refer to the paparazzi's (press for the media folks).

***

There were splashes of blood smeared across Nandini's neck, face and dress, as she stared horrified and stunned at the same time. For the first ten seconds, no one reacted, such was the impact of the gun shot. Manik had forgotten to breathe and the capability to move. However, after the first impact, in a matter of another ten seconds, he heard a soft thud on the ground next to him and strangely, it wasn't Nandini that hit the ground. Manik had momentarily lost the ability to even move his muscle and see what fell, but a small part of him breathed in relief seeing it wasn't Nandini. In fact, Nandini was staring at something on the ground with an expression of aghast and hysteria.

"Manikkk.." Nandini screamed in the next instant and that pulled Manik out of his temporarily stunned state.

"Nandini, are you.." Manik snapped back to reality and was beginning to enquire about her safety as the world around them slowly tuned back into life, with a rising cacophony of terror and alarm, around him. However, before he could say more, he heard Nandini finally shriek.

"Abhimanyu...!! Oh my God, Manik, what do we do?!"

Manik finally tore his eyes away from Nandini and looked down at the ground beside him to see the bloody motionless body of his security in charge Abhimanyu, on the ground, lying spread-eagled. He gasped in shock as he immediately bent over him to notice blood gushing out of the region where his neck met his shoulder. He immediately pressed his fingers on the wound to stop the bleeding as he shouted for Cabir & medical support.

As the moments passed there on, Manik couldn't clearly remember the order of events, but at some point he remembered Nandini bending down over them and patting Abhimanyu with her tear stricken face to revive him. He kept trying to read his pulse from below his ears, but it was very faint.

Cabir along with a bunch of other security folks had immediately rushed towards them, and even amidst all this chaos, Manik remembered clearly instructing Cabir to ensure Abhimanyu is immediately taken for treatment and the police be informed. He then dashed towards Nandini, who by then was stupefied in shock, as she sat next to Abhimanyu, clutching his hand tightly. Manik was losing focus, the shock, the impact, the sight of Abhimanyu's blood strewn body had shaken him to the core, yet he knew he couldn't fall short. He took a deep breath and almost crawled towards Nandini, who was sitting on Abhimanyu's otherside on the grass and pulled her into his arms. Nandini hadn't noticed him, she was sitting there weeping miserably. Manik cradled her head into his chest with one hand and held her stomach protectively with another, and taking all her weight on him, he staggered to stand up.

"Nandini, are you hurt?..Nandini? This is all his blood, right?" Manik asked her in a desperate voice as he looked down to inspect her body for any wound or damage.

"Manik, Abhimanyu..Manik please save him..Manik he will be okay, right?" Nandini kept repeating the same thing on a loop, as she shook like paper in his arms.

"Navya!" Manik called out for Navya who immediately came next to him. She looked as much in shock. He commanded her to be with Cabir and inform Zubin on the incident and asked her to come back to the penthouse, once Zubin had arrived to support Cabir. She nodded meekly before glancing at Nandini.

"Manik sir, I think you should take Nandini away from here. She is not in a state to..er.." she didn't complete the statement but looked at Nandini's belly and looked back at Manik implyingly. Manik realised, she was hinting that, in this state, they were in great risk of exposing Nandini's pregnancy drama too. Yes, he needed to take Nandini away from here right now.

Manik nodded and pulled Nandini away from the spot and as they took a few steps away from the scene of crime, a lot of paramedics, security folks, other people came in between and hid the sight of Abhimanyu's unconscious body lying on the grass. Nandini suddenly stopped, when she couldn't see him again.

"Manik, where are we going leaving Abhimanyu here? We can't leave him here to die, Manik!" she shrieked and immediately came out of Manik's grip and started running back towards Abhimanyu. Manik reflexively grabbed her wrist in the nick of time to stop her.

"Nandini, we can't be there. It's not safe. I promise you Abhimanyu will be taken care of. You just need to come with me!" Manik tried to hold her back patiently.

"Have you lost it Manik!? Abhimanyu is shot!! How can I leave him?" she screamed in desperation. Manik was losing his shit himself, yet he tried to hold on for her sake. He sighed and gently cupped her face.

"Nandini, you are at risk right now. So am I. We all are. We need to go out of this place right now, to some place secure. Trust me, Abhimanyu will be taken care of, the ambulance is on the way."

"Oh my God, Manik, Nandini! I was inside for a bit & then I heard the gunshot! Abhimanyu is shot?! What the hell! What are you two doing here, get in the car and leave right now!" Nyonica's frantic voice distracted them. Manik looked at his mother and cursed himself. How could he forget his own mother was also here in the same venue? How did he not think of reaching her?

"Mom, we are leaving, you come with us too." Manik immediately responded.

"Mom but Abhimanyu, he is badly shot, he.." Nandini tried intervening but Nyonica wasn't in a mood to indulge.

"That's enough Nandini, nothing is more critical than the safety of you both. I have already sent my security in charge to be with Cabir and the rest will be taken care of by the team. We will be heading home now."

"..mom Abhimanyu is my..." Nandini tried helplessly, as she kept struggling to free herself from Manik's grip to go back to him.

"I understand Nandu, and hence I can tell, he'd want you to be at home too, right now for your safety." Nyonica replied curtly, then she looked at Manik and whispered, "There's a lot of press here, Nandini isn't in a state to keep up with the charade, take her away immediately." Manik nodded and gently guided his hand across Nandini's back and pulled her away.

"I promise you Nandini, Abhimanyu will be fine. Once he is taken to the hospital and the place is secured, I will take you there myself. Please trust me?" he whispered gently, pulling her away.

There was this hollow inside Nandini's heart that was ripping wider every second and no matter what Manik promised, she knew it wasn't going to be okay. After a lot of coaxing, she finally nodded and agreed to go home and wait & pray for Abhimanyu's recovery.

As Manik held her protectively and guided her to the car, a lot of papps who were made to leave the premises after the gunshot, spotted them and rushed to them for bytes. Nandini felt blinded with flashlights and bile rose to her mouth. She held her palm on her mouth to stop herself from throwing up, and sensing her discomfort, Manik snapped at the papps to give them some space, as he pushed her into his car and soon they were driving away from the nightmare.

Ten minutes into the drive, the only sound heard was of Nandini sniffing. Manik shut his eyes for a moment to breathe. Everything happened in such a rush that he could literally feel his heart throb out of his mouth. He first made a quick few calls to ensure his mother had boarded her car and driven off; then he called to check Alia was okay or not, since she was as close to the incident as they were. In another few minutes, Cabir had called to inform, Abhimanyu was taken into an ambulance and they were on their way to the hospital. Manik sighed in relief.

Now that the first line of things were taken care of, his mind wandered to more pressing matters. He had seen Abhimanyu running towards them, looking frantically at Nandini when he was shot, did that mean someone was aiming to hit Nandini? Who'd want Nandini dead? Did she even have such a deadly nemesis? He knew Soha was a threat to her, but was she really a death threat to Nandini even now after all these months? The way Abhimanyu came to protect her, it seemed like someone had tipped him off on what was about to happen; who'd have done that? He shuddered to think what would've happened had he not come in between the shooter & Nandini. It would be Nandini in place of him lying like a bloody mess on the ground today.

"No!" Manik spoke out aloud, gaining Nandini's attention.

"What happened, Manik?" Nandini's naive, innocent face caught his attention. He had started feeling differently towards Nandini from some time now. He hadn't ever felt that way about her earlier, but now that these strange feelings cropped up, he was in no way ready to take any risk with her life. Not that he would have taken any risk, if he didn't feel for her, but now the mere thought of losing her terrified him much more than it ever had so far in his life.

"Nandini, once we get an update on Abhimanyu's improved health condition, we will be flying out of Mumbai for a while." he replied, thinking deeply.

"What, why?" she asked him, sounding a bit defiant. The idea of leaving an ailing Abhimanyu behind didn't please her.

"Security protocol" Manik replied crisply. He knew his voice was cold & sharp, but he kept it that way, purposely. He didn't want Nandini to have an idea that this decision was debatable.

Nandini seemed like she was about to argue, but before she could, Manik received a text. He quickly opened his phone; it was a message from Cabir.

[Manik, Abhimanyu arrested on the way to the hospital. He has lost a lot of blood, chances look bleak.]

Manik frowned as he silently reread the message. Something about his facial expression alerted Nandini.

"Manik, is Abhimanyu fine?" she asked with bated breath.

"He..er..he has arrested on the way, Nandini; but they have managed to revive him. Have faith" Manik replied, trying to sound very casual about it.

"..cardiac arrest.." Nandini murmured to herself as more tears started pooling near her eyes. Manik looked at her helplessly. Damn him for being so tactless. She was still on her belt & she was already under so much stress. Why'd he have to tell her this?

"Hey, hey, Nandini, don't cry now. You've got to be strong okay? Abhimanyu is fine, he will heal in no time. We will then visit him okay? Have you thought of what you're going to tell him, when you go to visit him?" Manik tried to divert her mind to happy thoughts, as he moved closer towards her, and side hugged her close.

"He will be alright, right, Manik?" she asked in a shaken voice.

"Of course he will be. He has to be! I can't trust anyone else with your security! I trust him to even shoot a bullet through my head, should he think I'm hurting you! I need him; we need him" he whispered, holding her tighter against his arm. Manik's vivid imagination of Nandini lying smeared in blood on the grass had shaken him for good.

"Promise me, you will make him okay.." Nandini mumbled childishly, as her head rested on his chest. It had been a long morning & she was emotionally too exhausted to see how she was behaving with Manik.

"I promise, Nandini." Manik whispered, pecking her on her head.

"Sir, we've arrived. There's a lot of press at the gate, usually Cabir sir handles them outside the gate so they don't enter the premises when we drive in, but it looks like the security won't be able to hold them back today." Manik's chauffeur expressed his concern. Manik nodded in agreement and after a second thought, he decided to step out and handle the press as the car drove in taking Nandini.

"Wait, I will get out at the gate and handle them, you take maám in" he replied.

"Sir, but without Cabir or Abhimanyu sir, that's too risky."

"I will handle it." Manik replied, and was pulling away from Nandini to step out, when Nandini stopped him.

"No Manik, you are not getting out without security." she sounded panicked.

"Nandini, it's fine..I ca.." he began, only to be cut short again.

"No means no, Manik. You are at risk here. I cannot afford another shock right now. You stay in, I will go and handle them. We just have to say no comments, right? I will manage" she replied with renewed force. For a moment Manik staggered seeing her coming to protect him. It was an odd moment of bliss amidst a lot of darkness. She cared, he thought. He glanced at her petite frame, with a belly that was supposed to home his fiction child, looking frail and weak; yet her eyes were determined to protect him from harm. Manik had never felt more at home; he had never felt more protected.

"Absolutely not, Nandini. I cannot let you go, in this state" he replied, eyeing her belly, protectively.

"For God's sake, Manik, I am not really..." she looked at him implying, not saying it out loud before the chauffeur. "I'm not the celebrity here either. It's perfectly okay for me to go out there and handle them."

"Nandini you are pregnant" Manik snapped, "for the world at least" he added softly for only her to hear, "How do you think I will let you deal with all this?" he argued back, he was irritated then.

"Fine we both will go then. You are not going alone" Nandini put forward the final verdict. Manik thought about it. It seemed okay. With him around, Nandini was safe anyway. He nodded.

As Manik stepped out amidst the press and held out his hand for Nandni, he received another text. As Nandini took his hand and stepped out of the car, Manik read the message, it was from Cabir.

[Manik, we lost him. Too much bleeding. Abhimanyu is declared dead on arrival]

Manik staggered as the enormity of the news hit him. Meanwhile Nandini stood next to him, facing the papps. Manik chided himself. He was an actor for crying out loud and this was the most critical acting moment in his life. He had to pretend before the papps and Nandini that all was okay.

"Manik sir, how did this happen? Do you suspect anyone?"

"Nandini maám, Abhimanyu Thakkar was your security in charge, right? Was the attack meant for you? Do you have any enemy you can think of?"

"Manik sir, do you think this is a film rivalry? Is someone targeting your wife or the target is your unborn child?"

"Manik sir, do you think there is any underworld connection to this case?"

"Nandini maám, were you getting extortion calls?"

As questions kept flooding in, Manik took a moment to digest the news. True Abhimanyu wasn't his best buddy, but he was important; more so in the last few months when he resumed his job as Nandini's bodyguard. He was one of his most trusted men and his fall hit him harder than he'd imagine it ever would.

"..Guys, no comments. We will soon release an official statement about this, until then please respect our privacy. As you can see, Nandini has been through a lot today, with her health condition, we request some privacy. About the incident, please be assured, a police case has been filed and after investigations, all your answers will be provided by them. For now, I request you to pray for Abhimanyu's speedy recovery. Thanks" Manik quickly gave the byte and gripped Nandini by her shoulder with one hand and shielded her belly with another, as he pulled her away from them towards his gate. He felt pathetic asking the papps to be praying for Abhimanyu. It was a lie, he was gone & he felt sick saying it, but how could he break the news this way? In fact he didn't know how to break the news to Nandini at all, much less here, amidst press.

As they walked into their premise, suddenly a reporter shouted out to them, "Manik sir, Nandini maám according to my field reporter from the hospital where he was taken, we have news that Abhimanyu Thakkar is no more! Please give us a byte on it. Are you both aware of it?" Manik's feet stalled. Shit. Not now. Not like this. How on earth will he handle Nandini now? However, before he could react, Nandini turned around and marched towards them, glaring at the papps.

"You guys think it's funny? Abhimanyu is suffering there and you guys would say anything for just a reaction?! You think his life is a funny joke? How dare you say such a pathetic thing!?" she screamed at the papps, breathing unevenly. Manik ran towards her in alarm and held her by the waist and pulled her back. The papps seemed to understand that Nandini hadn't heard the news yet & seemed to respect that; they didn't spill further, much to Manik's surprise. He gave them a grateful nod and the concerned reporter nodded back in understanding, as Manik murmured soothing sweet nothings into her ear, as he pulled her back into the car to drive into the porch.

Once inside, Nandini happlessly looked at Manik. He realised she was in denial. She had understood that Abhimanyu was no more, but she wouldn't believe it, till Manik ratified. "Manik, how can they say such nonsense? It was nonsense, right Manik? If such a thing would have happened, wouldn't Cabir inform you? Such crap these papps say, right?" she kept mumbling incoherently, as Manik clutched onto her shoulder, refraining saying anything further.

***

As Manik and a visibly distraught Nandini walked into their pent-house, he sighed in relief. They were safe now. However he was terrified too, because now he had to break the news of losing Abhimanyu to Nandini!

As Nandini started towards her bedroom, Manik followed her into her room. She slowly turned around to see him enter her room and she softly nodded her head in negative. She somewhere deep down, knew what Manik had come to tell her, but she was in denial, she didn't want to hear it. Maybe as long as it was not uttered from Manik's mouth, it wasn't going to be the truth. She was not ready for this.

"Go away, Manik. Please" she begged, softly.

"Nandini, we need to talk" he said gently, holding her from both her elbows.

"Not now, not ever. Please, Manik. Please don't say it?" she requested again, her breaths were getting shallow and tears were fast clogging her vision.

"Nandini, you have to accept it." Manik whispered, coming close to her and taking her into a soft embrace.

"No. I don't. Don't say it, Manik." Nandini whimpered, as he felt her trying to push him away from her. He held on, he knew how broken she was at this point, he couldn't let her be.

"Manik.." Nandini was about to say something, when she felt a tug on her tummy belt. She looked down to see Manik gently pulling it off her. "Relax first, Nandini" he whispered softly, as he finally removed the belt and set it aside. His hands were gripping her now belt free waist, and she could feel his fingers, softly caressing the skin of her stomach in a soothing pattern.

"Nandu, I am sorry, I failed you. I couldn't save Abhimanyu. We've lost him." he whispered, pulling her closer into his arms, cradling her head on his chest. Nandini shut her eyes in dismay. In her heart of hearts she knew this the moment the press person didn't retaliate to her snapping, but Manik acknowledging it made it more real.

"..but you promised me.." was all that escaped her, as she fisted Manik's shirt from behind, and she dug more into him.

"We tried, Nandu. We tried with all we had. The bullet went too deep and..." Manik couldn't continue without his voice cracking. Nandini whimpered in his arms and he held on, trying to give her as much strength to withstand this blow.

"I'm truly left with nobody to call my own, today.." she mumbled after sometime, still cradled to Manik's chest. Manik stopped breathing after hearing that. He slowly pulled back and cupped her face, as he ducked down to place a chaste kiss on her forehead, before speaking to her in a firm commanding tone. "Never ever say that again, Nandini. Never."

After sometime, while Manik was still hugging her to pacify her and she kept weeping on his chest, Nandini finally pulled herself together. There was a hollow in her heart that Abhimanyu left behind and Nandini knew, no matter how much she weeped, it would never fill up. No, her tears needed to wait. She was Abhimanyu's only family, right? Then it was time to do what a family did in times like this. She had to be strong now; she could break down later.

"Manik, I want to see Abhimanyu. I want to do his last rites. I am his family. His only family." she looked up with a determined face at Manik. He looked taken aback for a moment, but soon recovered, as he rubbed off the dry traces of tears from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb, as he nodded in affirmation.

"Okay, I will take you. Cabir is doing the formalities in the hospital now, once the body..err, once he is released, I will take you to the place of cremation for performing his rites, but until then, I request you Nandini, please get some rest." Manik pleaded. Nandini looked at his concerned face but she felt too weary to debate on the authenticity of his behaviour. She felt like she was drained off energy and that she'd fall apart if she didn't lie down for a bit. She slowly nodded as Manik gently tucked her into the bed and placed a soft kiss on her head before heading out of her room.

Manik knew he had promised Nandini that she could perform Abhimanyu's last rites, but he knew letting her do it wouldn't be as easy, it was another battle he needed to fight now, while she rested.

"Abhimanyu, you shall be missed" he whispered to himself as he walked into his study to begin the work.

***

Word Count: 3,842

A/N: Glass of water anyone? The emotional undercurrent, the realisation, and the sense of prolonged loss. Even though this is a comparatively shorter chapter, feels like it goes on forever, right?

So, readers, firstly thank you for the overwhelming response in my last chapter and now I'm greedy for more love! Do share your thoughts on the questions that follow, and if it was worth your time, please do vote! (Please don't punish me by not voting, just because it was a sad chapter! :P)

1. How many of you flipped when you read Nandini was not shot but Abhimanyu? Who do you think was targeting Nandini? Was Nandini the target at all? What are your thoughts?

2. Manik's reaction to the incident, his response to Nandini. What do you feel about it? Do you think there is something genuine there, or is it just an overwhelming moment for him too?

3. Now, addressing the elephant in the room. Abhimanyu is no more. What was your first reaction to this realisation? What are your thoughts? How do you think this will impact the plot?

4. What are your thoughts on MaNan as a couple in this chapter? What did you like, dislike, enjoy, abhor? I love your candid thoughts, so do fire away!

5. Any last thoughts about the chapter, any specific moment, whole plot? Any after thoughts? How do you feel right now? Has the chapter been able to deliver the angst to its full?

Readers, as you know, your votes, in-line comments & final comments mean the world to me. I know this is a heavy chapter, but such is life, right? Full of ups and downs? I'd specially like to thank those readers who read the whole chapter at one go, then answer all my qns & then re-read the chapter to leave in-line comments. You all make me the most satisfied writer on this forum!

Also, a special thank you to all the readers who vote, and even some of the silent ones, who are voting nowadays. I love you guys!

Last but not the least, here's a happy thought to end this chapter with. I can't let you guys off this sad, can I? So, I am already writing another MaNan story in parallel (won't publish it before this story is over, which is not anytime soon, as you can see!); but I'm done writing angst for now, so my next MaNan venture will be a fluffy, light hearted, cheery one, although it will address a serious social issue. I promise you laughter and awwies there, whenever it is published! There, leave happy now :)

On that note, looking forward to a lot of buzz here!

The next chapter will be published on 12th Feb (Sunday)

Until then, take care & stay good!

Your writer,

A.