"..and apna khayal rakhna kanna.."Kishori's words only made her smile even more so she repeated the same thing for the zillionth time "Ji Amms...for the zillionth time...yes I will take care of myself..pakka promise

"Good girl.."Kishori replied which only made Nandini smile even wide. She thought Kishori was about to cut the call that's why her next words took Nandini by surprise. "Waise kanna...how is Manik"

Nandini got shocked for a moment but of course then she remembered that Abhimanyu was talking to her just few moments ago. As soon as she remembered this she realised the real reason why Kishori went so easy on her even after almost getting lost in a complete new city...

..courstsey of Manik Malhotra.

Kishori knew that Manik was with her that's why she chose not to grill Nandini with her typical grandmother lecture.

Since there was no point in denying that's why Nandini chose to go ahead with the truth. "I don't know Amms...meri Abhi ussey thik se baat nahi hui."

"You guys were together for almost 4 hours...and that too lost in a jungle together...with no one around..and still you expect me to believe that "ki tum dono ko baat karne ka mauka nahi mila.." aisa Kya kar rahe the tum dono.."Kishori's words only made Nandini's eyes widened in horror as she realised what her grandmother was referring to.

"Amms..are you serious..."she shook her head in disbelief "..did you seriously ask me that.."

"Arey what did I say.."Kishori asked too innocently "..yahi pucha na ki tum log 4 hours jungle me akele the...toh agar baat nahi ki..toh aur Kya kiya..itna simple question tha...then why are you reacting like this Kanna."

"Let it be Amms.."Nandini rolled her eyes "I know you too well to understand what you actually meant...so please no need to lie...and seriously Amms...please stop hanging around with Navya and Aryaman...unke sath rahkar aapka brain bhi affect ho raha hai.."

"Tum aajkal ki generation ka kuch nahi ho sakta...arey log taraste hai aisi grandmother pane ke liye jo itni cool ho..and look at you...tum complain kar rahi ho..seriously kanna..you are impossible.."Kishori's words only annoyed her even more "I am impossible..are you serious Amms..."

"You are the one who is saying double meaning dialogues and ulta you are accusing.."

"Duniya ki aap paheli aisi Grandmother hai jo apni granddaughter ki love life me itni interested hai.."

Nandini's words caught Kishori' s attention "chalo at least you agree ki love toh hai...kam se kam.."

"Amms please na...stop it.."Nandini couldn't believe it "..as it is Navya-aryaman and Madhyam ne mera dimag kharab kar diya hai...please Amms I am begging you..please spare me.."

"Yeah they are annoying you because just like me even they know that you can't get someone like Manik...who loves you more than his own life.."Nandini was about to say something but Kishori cut her off as she continued "i know that you think that I am pulling your leg just for fun but the thing that you can't see is that I want the best for you..kanna"

"Nandini..i have seen this world...and trust me Kanna I know the difference between infatuation and true love..".

"You really think that I send you all the way to Mumbai just because I like to annoy you.."

"..but the fact is that I don't want you to miss out on the oppurtunity of experiencing true love Kanna.."

"You are one of the few people who got someone who would go to any extent to being smile on your face.."

"Yes you are correct..I am biased towards Manik..only because he is biased towards you.."

"From the life experiences that I have gone through I know how to differentiate between right and wrong Nandini.."

"..and I can very clearly say that Manik is absolutely correct for you."

"I don't and I won't force you into anything as you are a big girl Nandini.."

"You are mature enough to make your own choices.."

"But jo bhi decide karna just remember that you are the one who is supposed to live with it...so choose wisely Kanna"

Finally Kishori's words touched Nandini's heart as her eyes got filled with tears.

"Amms I know that you can never make any wrong choice for me..but.."

Closing her eyes she finally said her fears out loud "..I am scared Amms.."

"..of Manik.."Kishori asked straightaway to which even Nandini replied directly "..yes Amms..i am scared of him.."

" I am scared of his impatience.."

"I am scared of him because I know how easily he can make rash decisions.."

"..I don't want to hurt him Amms.."

"..but even I can't let his actions hurt me."

"Amms I have left everything on destiny..if we are not meant to be then no matter how hard we try we won't be together.."

"..but if we are destined to be together then we will definitely find our way back to each other"

"..I just need time Amms.."

"..in fact we both do.."

Nandini was feeling extremely light as she finally confessed her fear to her grandmother.
Though Nandini couldn't see her but she knew that indeed Kishori was smiling on the other side of the phone.

In that moment Nandini knew she had finally made Kishori understand her point of view and the next moment Kishori's words cleared it that whatever Nandini was thinking was indeed correct.

"I know that even you are correct in your place as you don't want to rush into anything but even I am not wrong because I don't want you to miss out on oppurtunity of getting true love just because you waited too long.."

"Take all the time you need Nandini but itna bhi time mat lena ki you loose over beautiful oppurtunity of experiencing true love Kanna.."

Nandini smiled as well "..I promise Amms I will take care of everything."

"I know you will..after all you are my responsible child..my Nandu."Kishori's words only made her eyes even more teary. "I miss you Amms.."

"I miss you too kanna..chalo now you go to sleep as tommorow is a big day for you all..so now go off to bed and sleep..it's already 9.00 P.M."Kishori reminded her.

"Yes Amms..by the way did you took your medicine on time..and how's Rishab..zyada pareshan toh nahi kiya na usne"Nandini questioned.

"Yes I took my medicine on time as Rama gave it to me..as per your instructions..and Rishab
..he was a little difficult to handle..but nothing to worry as he was missing you so he was a little restless..but now he is fine..so stop worrying about him..and concentrate on the things for which you have gone to Mumbai."

Nandini could easily sense the double meanings of her words but for the moment she chose to avoid getting into any sort of arguments so she simply replied "I will Amms..now please go and take rest as you have  your class at 4.30 A.M"

"Your wish my command Kanna."Kishori smiled as well. "..I will talk to you tommorow. Good Night Kanna."

"Good night Amms.."Nandini replied and the next moment the call ended.

Nandini was about to back into her room when out of nowhere something happened...

...someone grabbed her from back and covered her mouth too so that she couldn't scream or shout.

She tried her best but she couldn't do anything.

————————————————————————