A/N : Hello readers, welcome for the last time. I am too overwhelmed to say anything more. I will let you guys do the talking today, after you finish reading!

Happy Reading!

***

The Taj Mahal Palace, Colaba, Mumbai circa 2020

(Reception : The Emerald & Jade Room)

Nandini Murthy

"Aaalllll! I cannot believe that you guys are finally doing this!! I have waited for so damn long!" I squealed in excitement, as I dashed into the gorgeous venue all deck up in hues of rose-gold & hugged her tightly. I was breathless in excitement as my bestie Aliya was finally tying the knot with her longtime beau, Dhruv; that too in India! I was home after so many damn years!

"Nandi, I am so damn nervous" she whispered, with happy dewy eyes and glanced at me for assurance. I laughed my heart out seeing her in distress & then turned to watch Manik who was standing with Harshad & Cabir and chatting jovially.

"Don't worry, take the plunge, Aal. They get a bit difficult over time, but they're a trainable specie" I winked and Aliya giggled hearing my remark.

"It's so good to be back together like this, just like how we did at your & Manik's wedding last time!" she reminisced cheerfully and I smiled at the memory. It had been a year & half now, since my Manik and I tied the knot, in a grand celebration with all our loved ones near us, but that was only our wedding 2.O i.e. the social wedding; what no one really knew was, Manik and I had secretly gotten our marriage registered a week before the actual celebratory day, hiding the real date from everyone! It was our little secret! No one would know the actual date of our wedding anniversary & that way we could always celebrate it privately with romantic getaways forever! Our little date of love was forever going to stay ours to cherish and the social date would be when we celebrated with everyone else! Romantic, right? It was my idea! Obviously! You think Manik Malhotra is capable of so much thinking? He's perpetually busy whining for basics like, "Nandu, where is my white tee? The one with Kung Fu Panda illustration on it? It's my favorite! I can't find it! Where'd you keep it?". This one and half years of marriage has been blissful to say the least; for starters, it was less complicated than we anticipated. Our family & friends have been more than supportive, and Manik? I think he has finally found the family he was looking for since childhood & to be honest, that is why I indulge him in all his childish demands - this is my way of giving him back some part of his lost childhood..

I looked around us, we all were here; Manik, me, Aaliya, Dhruv, Aryamann, Harshad, Navya, Cabir, Priyank, Soha and even Mukti! Mukti stayed with Appa now, after her divorce with Abhimanyu. It was a rocky end to their relationship but Mukti was moving on. I had suggested that Appa asked her to come stay with him so that she could be close to her family. I knew like Manik, with time Mukti would accept Appa too & maybe Manik & Mukti could reconcile too? With her we were on the right path for now, but it was a long way home. For starters, she didn't hold any animosity against me, considering I am Abhimanyu's sister, and I am just grateful for that.

"Nandini" I heard Aliya's solemn voice and turned to look at her. She was looking a bit anxious. She was having cold feet, I figured & instead of laughing this time, I smiled at her encouragingly.

"Babe, how'd you know this was the right time? I mean, to get married? I mean, how do you know? I love Dhruv and I want to be married to him, but you know right, Dhruv just started his enterprise, and there is a lot of pressure on him..are..are we doing this right? Should we have taken some time to tie the knot? We're not hurrying into this, right?" she finally voiced her fear and I looked at her understandingly. I could relate to it. I loved Manik, but even I had cold feet when we were about to be married - in my case, Manik himself talked me out of it & today I figured, my bestie needed it too.

"Aaal, after all the hustle life threw at us, that Christmas eve before our wedding, we'd figured out one thing and it was this, no matter how much we try, life will continue to pose complications towards us, and we can either batter ourselves fighting them and wait for one perfect day without trouble to greet us in the future, or you know..just decide to dance in the storm while it lasts and enjoy it too! That's how Manik and I had realized it was the right time" I whispered to her.

"You..you mean there is no right time?" she asked, surprised.

"I mean, every moment is the right time, when you are with the right person, Aal. You guys are good, try not to worry...plus there are photographers everywhere clicking your photos, you don't want to look grumpy in those!" I laughed at her warmly & she looked finally relaxed.

"Nommy, nommy da-da said I could have ice cream only if you permitted me to" I heard my Roo running towards me with a cute pout on her face. Aliya laughed hearing her & I bent down to match her height and peer into her cute cherubic face.

"Didn't Roo just have an ice cream half an hour back, with Abir?" I asked, hiding a smile and my little girl smiled at me coyly for having gotten caught.

"..but..but Mommy had told me I could have that time!" she tried again & I giggled this time, seeing her naughtiness; as she was growing older, she was becoming Manik's clone in mischievousness!

"Acha, so why don't you go ask mommy if she's okay with you having a second one?" I teased back, and her face fell immediately! She knew Soha wouldn't allow her a second one hence she was trying her luck with Manik & I; now her plan fell through, her Nandini Mommy a.k.a Nommy had seen through her sinister plan!

"Last one, nommy" she pleaded, trying her best to look cute, and just like that my angel won my heart. "Okay fine. One last ice-cream & no more after this, okay? No more asking for a third one from mommy or da-da, promise?" I asked her, playfully & she gave me her widest toothy grin and kissed me on the cheeks and dashed from there. I smiled seeing her run, as I called after her, "Baby slow down, don't run in a lehenga, or you will fa.." but she tripped even before I could complete my sentence and just as she was about to fall Manik caught her. She looked up at Manik with so much pride and admiration that I smiled warmly seeing the duo. Rooh truly looked at Manik like she was his only hero & Manik I'd seen, would do anything to live by that image! Every time I see Manik & Roo together, my heart fills up with overwhelm. To think Soha and I were going to separate these two, I shudder to think, how life would be for them, if we did. Roo was such a child, you cannot not love her! You think after the last one and half years, I can live without her? Manik and I both always look for reasons to call her back early, whenever she goes to stay with Soha for a couple of days, as we begin to miss her mischiefs terribly & Soha? She keeps teasing us that we'd never have time to make more babies, if we kept Rooh so close!

"She convinced you for a second ice cream already didn't she?" I heard Soha's voice & turned around to see her walking towards me with a smile on her face. I can't say we are besties, Soha & I; but we are each other's well wishers now. I suppose over time Soha realized, I mean no harm to her, Manik and I realized, Soha wasn't a threat to Manik & my relationship in any way! We both have grown to accept each other & share Manik and not share Manik between us in a strange, workable, cohesive and positive way. We all made a family and Rooh was our glue and guess what, we worked!

"How can I say no to that face?" I laughed & she joined me. "Now I bet she will find a way to convince Manik for a third too, that minion!" she sighed and we both laughed a little.

"Don't worry, I will keep an eye on her, you focus on other things" I replied with a small smirk & she raised her eyebrows at me mouthing, "Like?"

"Umm..Arya? You know he has the hugest crush on you, right?" I replied, with a tease in my voice & she blushed a little before hiding it.

"Oh come on Nandini! You know, I'm not looking for any relationship" she rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm not asking you to either, just maybe one date?" I tried pitching hard for Arya! Truth be told, over time Arya had moved on from me & and found his love in Soha..er..but the problem was the same! All our poor guy's feelings were always one sided, Soha was not into it! I always tried to play matchmaker between them because I was probably the only person who knew both up close & I was convinced they had chemistry! I knew someday they'd be together too, so I kept nudging them. Why wait when love was such a beautiful thing to experience? Both Arya & Soha deserved the love they gave others.

"Nope, not falling for that one! First you will say one date, then..." but she stopped hearing Manik's voice. When did he join us? Eavesdropping much?

"Soh, please. I beg you. I'm desperate. Please date this desperate step-brother of mine. I know he isn't as amazing as me, but you can teach him a thing or two, can't you?" Manik's jestful voice came from behind us & we both turned to him laughing, as he stood there with Arya beside him.

"Arya I tried!" I whispered to him meaningfully and Arya laughed back, replying, "It's okay Nandini, I'm still saving my heart for you. I haven't given up hope" he winked flirtatiously at me, holding his palm over this heart! While both Soha & I laughed heartily at his blatant flirting, Manik scowled!

"See Soh, this is why. Just date this guy & keep him away from my wife!" he retorted irritably to which we all laughed harder at his expense!

"Aww! Arya, stop bugging Manik. Baby I am all yours" I said and hugged Manik tight & he smiled at me like a cute baby while Arya rolled his eyes.

"Uggh.. too much mush" Arya teased, making a face & spoke to Soha, "Listen, come with me. Let's give these folks some space before they begin their PDA" they both laughed and went towards the seats.

"Good riddance" mumbled Manik, clutching my waist possessively as he eyed Arya's retreating figure.

"So, is Mr. Malhotra, a little jealous?" I smirked, eyeing him.

"Jealous of whom? AK. Ha-ha-ha" he retorted, rolling his eyes & I giggled. "Jealous, my foot! Like he has a chance!" he added grumpily and I held back my laughter seeing his childishness! "Why does he always have to flirt with you?" he asked crossly and this time I couldn't help laughing, and he glared at me for laughing at him.

"Arya flirts with me to piss you off, baby! You know it!" I replied, as I rubbed my hands on his back, like I was pacifying a child & he pouted like a brat kid. I couldn't help laughing seeing his possessive nature, "..and Appa wants me to give him another grandchild! Like I have less kids in the house" I muttered to myself.

"Actually, Mrs. Malhotra, about that, I think we should go ahead & make that baby now! You see we are slightly on the older side of age now, so we might need to try many many many times before succeeding you see" he said holding a smirk.

"Oh you just want to keep trying! That's what you're excited about" I teased back, this time, and his eyes turned dark in desire. "You have a problem trying, Mrs. Malhotra?" he asked, huskily. I gulped. He was such a brat! He knew his husky voice always turns me on, and he wasn't allowed to use it on me publicly, but he'd do just that to win any argument with me. Jerk!

"Manik, not now!" I glared at him & he couldn't hold onto his sexy voice any longer as he broke into laughter, seeing my discomfort! "..okay but you gotta promise me a hot night tonight, baby" he tried speaking huskily again amidst his teasing laughter & I smacked him on his biceps in return.

"Jerk" I mouthed.

"Yours truly" he replied, and then after a few moment, added, "..also I was serious about the baby thing"

"Excuse me?" I turned around surprised. I mean both Manik & I wanted more kids but we both were in no hurry, so I knew my husband was definitely upto some mischief, only I didn't know what!

"Yeah,..I mean your cheeks & lips are round and puffy anyway, add the tummy to the list, it won't hurt" he replied with a poker face & my eyes became round like saucers! "Manikkk" I grumbled and he laughed and playfully kissed my cheeks to cool my temper!

"Da-da kiss nommy, da-da kiss me!!" We heard Roo's voice from a little distance & turned around to see the little one running towards us with a helpless Soha, apologetically smiling at us. I laughed seeing her run to us and possessively hug Manik. Roo was Manik's carbon-copy, she hated sharing her da-da with anyone & even though she loved mommy & nommy, even they were not allowed to be too close to her da-da. Her da-da was her precious!

Manik laughed wholeheartedly and picked up the child in his arms and placed numerous pecks on her cheeks, eyes & forehead and yet Roo hadn't had enough, she used her chubby fingers to point towards her chin, a spot her da-da had clearly missed to peck & Manik smiled hopelessly before abiding and walked away with Roo in his arms towards the seats. It was always so endearing to see the two together, lost in their father-daughter world; I loved Manik and Roo together, they were my peace.

"Would you be as mesmerized, if the child barged in the same way to take Manik away, if he was kissing your & Manik's own child instead of you, right now?" a strong voice broke my chain of thoughts. Mrs.N, who else could it be? I didn't even turn around to check. Who else had such a twisted mind?

"If you actually spent some time in raising me & Mukti together, you'd know that sibling rivalry over, sharing parents, is quite common in children & that's not why people stop planning a second child!" it was Manik who replied on my behalf. He was back. He must have seen his mother approach me and like always he never trusted her with me, ever since that Christmas eve when she spilled out about Abhimanyu & Mukti's divorce which had taken me by shock.

"Now you answer for her too?" Mrs. N asked, politely, looking at Manik. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I do. She is my wife, remember?" Manik replied politely with a fake smile before pulling me away.

"How healthy!" she replied, with a mild smile as she saw Manik dragging me with him. I saw judgment for Manik in her eyes, and I couldn't stand it. I stopped moving. Manik turned back to look & I gestured to him to wait.

"Come on Mrs. N" I replied back, eyeing her meaningfully. She looked into my eyes and something flickered there for a second; yes, she remembered our secret deal.

"Manik, you are a good father, I'm sure you will manage" she said after a few seconds and then moved from there.

"Like I needed her affirmation" reverted Manik, after Mrs. N had gone out of earshot. Still looking at her walk away. I smiled. I knew this affirmation mattered to him, very deep down. It made him confident.

As Manik & I busied ourselves in the wedding preps, my mind diverted back to the early days of our marriage, when I had expressed my desire to meet Mrs. N in person, alone. She had agreed too.

Flashback to the time when Nandini & Nyonica met right in the initial few months of Manik & Nandini's wedding

I was waiting for her in her living room; Manik and I had been married for a couple of weeks now and everything was going great between us, but something from one of our conversations in the past between Manik and me hung up in my head and it had to do with his mum, Nyonica. Manik, when he had decided to send Rooh to Soha had justified his actions telling me how important he felt mother's were & had expressed to me how deep down he was hollow because he loved his mum and she had let him down always - from that moment I knew, I'd confront Mrs. N oneday and try & fix whatever that could be fixed between them & that day I was meeting her was the first step to this goal.

Mrs. N had greeted me politely & kept the conversation light mostly; I had realized that Arya was right, she was happier, warmer after her wedding with Arya's father. It gave me hope. Maybe she'd be open to mending her past too?

"Mrs. N, I notice that you asked me about how I'm doing, how's the marriage treating me, if the Malhotra's are welcoming to me, if Soha is giving me a hard time & basically everything to do with me. I didn't hear you enquire even once about your son. Does Manik really mean nothing to you?" I had asked her.

Nyonica looked at me thoughtfully for a couple of seconds before smiling and replying, "Oh, so that's why you wanted to meet me today. I am not meeting Nandini Murthy right now, am I? I am meeting Mrs. Nandini Manik Malhotra, my daughter-in-law"

"Would you behave differently with the two?" I asked her.

"Of course. I am fond of Nandini Murthy, but I don't owe her answers!..and I am indifferent to Mrs. Nandini Manik Malhotra, but I do owe her answers!" she replied curtly. Woah. Talk of manipulation.

"..also to answer your question, you are right, he means nothing to me. Your Manik" she replied, upfront, shocking me. How can a mother be so damn evil?

"Just because he didn't turn out as per your expectation?" I asked incredulously, vaguely remembering a conversation I had eavesdropped on between Appa & her during Abhimanyu's wedding at Maldives.

She looked at me curiously. Probably wondering how I knew that, but she didn't question me, instead she replied to my question, "That too, but mostly because, they were a mistake. Both of them. Mukti & Manik. In fact Mukti was the mistake..and Manik a decision, to save the life of our first mistake. I never wanted either of them; but I did think of raising them right, because I had given birth to them, didn't I? Then they turned out so damn stupid & disappointing.." she whispered in a hard voice. Her words were so harsh, that my eyes pricked with tears. I knew that day, Manik couldn't ever have his mother, he didn't have one, but I would protect him from her harshness for life. I had had enough, I was disgusted and I didn't want to hear more. How could a mother be so selfish & judgemental? What did Manik & Mukti do to deserve such an evil woman? I didn't have answers to these and after hearing her bitter truth, somehow I didn't want to know more either!

As I got up from my seat to leave in disgust, her voice stopped me. "Shri and I started off well, you know? Like most couples in love; but it didn't take long for me to realize, a relationship is only successful when both partners are equals in it. It took me a couple of years to get rid of my naiveness in my marriage but I realized quite soon that Shri and I weren't equals. You know Nandini I wanted a destination wedding, the one where I would call only my close family, peers & associates. I dreamt of a happy, open ambience with nice music, dance & wine. Like my recent wedding? You see, my mum was catholic and I liked it that way!..but you know what we had instead? A big fat Punjabi wedding..it had loud music, herds of relatives I never met before or after, loud colors..in short everything I detested..but I didn't understand at that point that I was probably only going to get married once & I deserved to live my dream as much as Shri..but we did what Shri's family wanted... Even with kids, I never wanted it, neither did Shri actually, but his mum wanted them. My pregnancy with Mutki was an accident, Nandini & I was ready to abort her, but guess who stopped me by emotionally blackmailing me? Shri. He didn't want a kid, but his mum wanted one and he wanted to keep her happy. He needed his father to fund his first startup..that's why it was important to keep mother dearest happy. What exactly was I getting out of it, other than another burden of responsibility? I was educated and as ambitious as Shri, wasn't that why he fell in love with me? Then why was I expected to compromise on the very same career and have children because that was the only way he could get money to take his career forward? Was it fair? Anyway, I had Mukti & guess who died of a f*cking heart attack in a couple of years, thereby abandoning all promises of raising our children for us? Yes, that's right, Shri's mother passed away! Now we had a kid she wanted and she was off to la-la land leaving the burden of her wish on me. Anyway, I was still struggling, trying to live my dreams and not compromise them and raise Mukti but then she fell ill and saving her seemed like a human thing to do, even if I didn't want her in the first place..but how do we save her? By planning our second mistake, your husband Manik Malhotra! You'd think Manik would be a nice kid, easy to deal with? But nope. He was hell's special gift for me! Angry, arrogant, stubborn & just about everything a child needed to be to trap their mother at home. Manik was the neediest kid I knew and if I gave in to his demands, I'd be stuck home forever and not move out because Manik Malhotra needed the person he loved always before his eyes. You will feel claustrophobic too my girl, give it time. Anyway, I wasn't ready to give up on a flashy career for the whim of a kid, Nandini; was I so wrong? Despite that, when we separated, I decided to take Manik with me, because I knew he needed me; but now he needed Mukti too! Why should I have to take the responsibilities of the two kids I never wanted and let Shri walk free and claim his dreams? How was that fair? But, even Shri had the same argument, why'd he take the burden of both unwanted kids and let me walk free? Then what was the way out? We parted the kids...so in many ways Nandini that marriage, those kids, were nothing more than a bad dream for me..I may not be justified, call me a selfish woman for all I care..but it took me years of effort to be where I am and this is not a bad place. I have my career & guess what I found love too! The easy, breezy kinda love. I am ready for love now that I've accomplished my dreams & I met an amazing man! I am finally ready to be a mother too, Nandini & I have found Aryamann right here for that..why should I then be asking about Manik's well-being then Nandini? When he and his sister & his father had my doom planned and sealed for me?" she whispered.

I stared at my mother-in-law. This was probably the longest conversation she had with anyone of the Malhotras, ever! I was shocked, repelled and amazed at the same time..I didn't know what to say. I agree she had been wronged in life but to take it out on children? I felt muddled, confused, and I didn't know if she was right or wrong & at the point I figured I didn't care..whatever she was, she was Manik's past & from what I had learnt, she had no plans of ever redeeming herself for Manik. I was stunned to see how different people behaved differently to the same situation of an unwanted child. Mrs. N and Soha were on the same boat weren't they - both gave birth to an unwanted child, but look at the difference! Soha learned to adore Rooh and Mrs. N couldn't ever look beyond herself.

"Is that why you hate Soha, Mrs. N?" I couldn't help myself from asking.

"Excuse me?" she replied, confused.

"...because under similar circumstances, she turned out to be such a better person than you! She is successful & a loving mother..and you? You can't even be bothered to mend ways with a son, who is still willing to give you a chance if you try hard enough" I threw at her, she stiffened hearing me.

"Manik will give me a chance? Yeah right!" she laughed harshly.

"Doesn't look like you want a chance either...so it doesn't matter if he will or not" I replied sharply. My hate for this woman was increasing in multiple folds. Suddenly I remembered Manik's warning from Nyonica's wedding, he had told me she was nothing like my Amma, I'd be disappointed if I put my faith in her - he was right, Nyonica was a monumental disappointment indeed!

"I will be a mother for Manik for once and give you this advice, Mrs. Nandini Manik Malhotra. After a lot of turmoil your husband has found happiness in life, let him be happy. Don't challenge his set of beliefs regarding me & try to bring him near me, because I won't go out of the way for him ever. It will hurt him further. Don't fix what can't be fixed darling, just make sure you keep him happy & he forgets me; forgets to even hate me. That is the only closure he & I can ever have" spilled Nyonica with profound indifference and her voice shook me to my core!

"I will do that, Nyonica. I will do it because Manik doesn't deserve a person like you in his life. He will forget you. That's what you want, right? Closure from being his mother? Then help me help you achieve that. Help me in getting him closure from you. If you keep hurting him, pinning him, he will not be able to move on. Be normal with him, treat him how you'd treat an acquaintance - cordially; slowly you will fade out of his life.. Can you do this much?" I asked, transactionally. I felt revolted in her presence right then, I wanted to run away, into my Manik's arm & hug him and weep at his misery for having a mother like this.

"Deal" she whispered, satisfied.

Cut to present day, Mrs. N was still keeping her end of the deal of nonchalance & politeness towards Manik. She occasionally forgets it, and in those times, like today, I remind her & she follows through. Manik is less bothered with his mother over time because she stopped giving him fresh wounds with her words. One thing that Mrs. N never understood was this, when I made the deal with her, I knew Manik would never forget her, Manik would always hurt deep within but he'd suffer silently..but atleast with the deal Nyonica was better to him on the face, even if that was fake; and that would heal Manik from inside. I could do anything for Manik's happiness, even be a diabolical b*tch to his mother!

"..but now that even the mother of all Evil herself has affirmed that I'd be a good dad, then maybe we should make that child!" came Manik's flirty voice and it broke through my reveries. I laughed hearing his soft voice first & then frowned at him.

"Mr. Malhotra, come on now! Out with it! You never insisted so much on having a baby! What hit you today?" I asked, this time & he looked like a deer caught on redlight! He smiled sheepishly and mumbled, "Once you're pregnant, this id*ot, AK would kill his hope of ever getting you!" he complained childishly & I was stumped at his juvenile behavior! I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or smack his head & I ended up doing both!

"Mr. Malhotra, you are unbelievable!" I whisper yelled at him!

"Mrs. Malhotra, you'd make one hell of a hot preggy mom!" he winked. I smiled at him indulgently and gently touched his face. His expression changed from naughty to calm and affectionate. He reveled at my touch. I could see it gave him peace even today.

"Do you really want a baby now, Manik?" I asked him softly. He lowered his eyes & I smiled. I was right, we were not ready yet. He was just being childish. I relaxed too, I wasn't sure I was ready either.

"Maybe when Roo is slightly older & finds it easier to share her da-da?" I laughed softly. He looked at me with smitten eyes that looked like its soaked in love and whispered, "Whenever you and Roo both are ready, love"

My eyes teared up a little, seeing his affectionate & understanding side. That's how he has always been in all these years of marriage - a loving, doting, affectionate & understanding husband.

There was never a moment of dullness in my life ever since that tall, handsome, yet monstrous fellow, with adorable chocolaty brown eyes from S.P.A.C.E. decided to bump into my life and change it forever..

"Just one thing! Whenever we have our child, I get to name him/her!" Manik spoke, suddenly clutching my waist.

"Do you have a name in mind?" I humored him. His eyes lit up in excitement, as he nodded.

"Manan Malhotra" he replied, promptly. "Boy or girl, this is the name. It has a little bit of Manik & a little bit of Nandini hidden in it" he replied with an adorably goofy smile.

Manan Malhotra.

I smiled. I loved the name too.

At that moment, I realized, happily ever after was never a conclusion to a story, it was a state of being one needs to eventually reach in life; and my husband Manik & I had finally arrived there.

Amen.

***

A/N : With this I shall end the long journey of Hustle for Love. I hope each one of you that gave this story a chance, has found an answer to all the questions they had...I know a couple of you didn't want a happy MaNan ending because of all the toxicity there was between the leads, but my thought about presenting the story was this : you may have a thousand reasons to leave the person you love but if you really love him, that one reason is bigger than all the thousand others, for staying back!

Guys, love is all about giving each other chances, even if they're straight unfair; who would you indulge and spoil if not the person you love?

Lastly I would appreciate it if everyone of you who read the story gave me a vote and left me a comment to say their final thoughts on my story, as a mark of closure from this book !

I'm going to now finally read this book as a reader, can't wait for it!

Also, I shall be back next week again I promise, starting another MaNan story! This story ends, but the MaNan journey continues..I promise!

Stay tuned, love always!
May the universe bless you all with abundance of love..

Signing off,
Aafrah