the very familiar walk towards the apartment seemed longer than usual for manik as a certain cold eyes kept revolving at the back of his mind. " the deal " as she liked to call it was very simple. very much advantageous to him. he would have a place to stay, he could wholeheartedly concentrate on his music and the cherry on top he would 24/7 be together with that lil star.

But still there was some kind of apprehension in his nerves. that along with the kiddo he would come across her too. quite often at that. and for the first time manik malhotra wasn't sure if that might be good for him.

nest residence...

study room

nandini was leaning against her chair while listening to Shane's daily report. after another hour of dealing with the company matters she heard her personal phone ring, she gestured Shane to stay while heading towards the attached balcony answering the call. as soon as the call was connected she could clearly hear that low husky voice from the day.

" hello? " nandini asked in her usual tone and waited for the other to reply.

" today's deal...." manik paused his jaw tense. " i am ready " he spoke with a finality in his tone while nandini replied with a cold " okay " . although there wasn't much difference in her expression but the corner of her lip arched upward showing the faintest of smile.

after asking him to be prepared tomorrow morning she hung up and walked inside. seeing her secretary looking at her with a my-cold-aloof-boss-just-got-a-personal-call expression she voiced out " is there anything else? ". this sentence managed to bring Shane back from his bewilderment. he forcefully suppressed his gossip curiosity and uttered " nothing mam ". he turned around to leave when he heard her " wait "

he turned around waiting for her further instructions. nandini fiddled with her pen contemplating for a while before speaking " ask the head butler to clean up the room in east wing...and tomorrow i need you to go pick him up ". Shane widened his eyes listening to her. the east wing was the place where most of the high profile people used to stay when they came over to discuss business. the last time someone was eligible to stay in that part was the president of y city who flew over a few days ago. that person must be someone highly important as for who it was he naturally knew.

" also order someone to build a music room on the third floor. i need it fully furnished in two days with sound proof walls. " nandini going through murthy's annual financial report. " right away mam " Shane spoke bowing his head and then quickly left the room.

" there will be a good show tomorrow " nandini thought.

next morning....

rakesh's apartment

the whole living room was filled with tension. rakesh looked hell angry while a tensed nyonika tried to calm him down. while for the first time manik looked indifferent to them with a few bags of his luggage and his guitar.

" rakesh please calm down...vaise bhi tumhara bp high hai. please itna stress mat lo " niyonika tried to reason while rakesh cut her off " what do you mean stress na loon. ye joh tumhara beta hai na wo mujhe shaanti se jeene thodi dega. aur tum...upar se mujhe bol rahi ho...apne bete ko tho kuch nahi kiya...tumhe pata hai tumhare iss bete ne kya kiya? itni mehnat ke baad main iss keliye ek accha sa job dundke laya tha aur ye janaab interview ke liye gaye hi nahi " he spoke pointing at manik while niyonika too glared at manik with hatread.

" what is your problem manik? interview ke liye kyu nahi gaye? why are you behaving like this manik...tumhe pata hai tumhari vajah se humari family main kitne fights ho rahi hai? " niyonika spoke feeling ashamed of him.

with this the final straw of manik's patience also broke. he clenched his jaw as he uttered " family ". the idea itself sounded so poisonous to him. indeed a family like this was a disguised poison. the mere idea of it may sound sweet but by the time you realise the reality you will already be dying.

" ye meri family nahi hai mrs.sharma...ye aap ki family hai. kuch samay ke liye main shayad bhul gaya tha ki ye mere family nahi hai. infact bula nahi that apne aap ko behlane ki koshish kar raha tha. sach se door bhag ne ki kosish kar raha tha " manik spoke sadly.

" lekin ab nahi.." he spoke looking straight at her while niyonika unknowingly shivered looking at his eyes which were so similar to her dead husband. the same intensity and determination. the kind of finality with an air of authority in them. the same ones which she hated at one point of time.

" aur kya kaha tha aapne mr.sharma...kitni mushkil se aap mere liye job leke aye right? if you have forgotten let me remind you...main ne apni MBA Harvard university main ki hai and on top of that i have also been the managing director of malhotra industries. isliye agar mujhe job karni hogi tho bhi aap ki iss reham ki zaroorat nahi padegi...so please stop this ehsaan drama of your's " he continued looking at rakesh while rakesh grew angrier with every word of his.

" ooh tho itni hi ghamand hai tho abhi yaha kya kar rahe ho...the manik malhotra hona tum ek ghar tho dhund hi liya hoga na tumne. " rakesh spoke smirking knowing too well that manik had nowhere to go.

" aur ye bags...bohot sare hai na. main madat kar doon. " he spoke waking a few steps before pausing and turning around " lekin tumhe tho mera ehsaan nahi chahiye tha. aur vaise bhi koi servant tho dhoond hi liya hoga apne new home keliye " he spoke sarcastically while manik clenched his fist knowing too well that it was best to ignore these provoking words. but they still managed to anger him. who wouldn't be angry?

before he could react a group of 5 guards walked inside in black. they were being lead by a seemingly old man who was wearing an English butler outfit. before he could react a group of 5 guards walked inside in black. the old man bowed his head in front of manik " good morning sir, my name is Rupert i have been ordered by the young madam to escort you to the mansion. if you please " he spoke courteously looking at the young man in front of him. he gave him a sense of familiarity making his face soften into a kind smile.

manik too offered him a smile after a moment of daze. he knew who must have ordered him to come here and for what reason. and seeing himself getting protected after so long made him feel warm. she might have done this just for the deal but it was her sincerity nothing less and he felt grateful. he made up his mind to show her the same sincerity in the future.

seeing the silent interaction between them rakesh's face turned pale. he had an omnious premotion in his heart. before he could voice it out he saw the old butler giving orders to the bodyguards  who each carried manik's luggage out of the flat.it felt like a slap to his face. he never knew that the words he spoke mockingly would turn out to be true. but how did this happen?

" shall we leave sir " the buttler spoke while manik looked at the pale faces of the others and managed to nod at rupert and went out still feeling a bit overwhelmed with how things turned out.

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so...how was it guys?

what did you like the most?

how is the face slapping?

is manik's character improvement satisfying?

1400+ words....

sorry for being on this huge break. i had just completed my last exam today and am now completely free. no more studying. so you can expect lots of updates these days. but you have to equally show your interest by commenting. deal?

if i get 50+ comments on this one you can expect another update by tomorrow.

do share the story with your friends so that our family continues to grow everyday.

with love

Devil's_symphony