Hiii! It's so early in the morning my vision is literally blurry! :P Just along the lines-I'm super ecstatic about the response! So many of you are loving it, which makes me want to write so much :') That's why I'm up this early :* Thank you for all the support. I just cannot thank you all enough!

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Manik

I got an alert from my team that one of the main documents of our project was corrupted. It was the source code Aashika was responsible for. Our program tester accidentally left the source code window open in another window while running the code, causing it to crash. I had to do something about it.

Before that, I needed to let Nandini know. We didn't have enough time to recreate the code before she'd come to check on us. She would perhaps scream and yell at me for being irresponsible even if I informed her, but it would be better if she heard it from me. I was used to her screams.

I pulled the drawer of my desk and deprived the phone of the charger. Her number dialed but there was no answer. I called once again, to receive only the same response. Where was she? I reconsidered dealing with her over the phone. She must be outraged-she didn't need a reason-she always knew exactly which chord to play with when it came to me.

I left my baby with Navya's friend, who wanted to play with her, and went to manage her enraged Mommy and maybe entertain her with some delightful news. I ensured I was doing the right thing by hunting for her. She wouldn't be pleased to know I went chasing for her while she was trying to be away from me. After all, I was the one who asked her to move on the previous night. Hell, yeah!

I hit the roads with my black Honda City, burning the rubber off my car tires. I couldn't even care. I didn't like how much she affected me, even when she wasn't physically present around me. In fact, I had a problem either way! I scampered into her office, invading it. She wasn't to be found in her cabin. Where the hell was she on a working day? I drew closer to the receptionist, the next familiar face I saw in the building.

"Nandini... Where's she?" The exhaustion on my face was a clear indication of how much I'd been running in those premises. What a lavish office! The centralized AC seemed to help me relax a tad though.

"She is out with the CEO, Manik. Do you need something?" But where? Then she'll again scold me for not telling her on time. What the hell could I do?

"Can you tell me where she is?" The lady shrugged her shoulders sadly, after throwing in an apology. I sighed, turned around and ran my fingers through my hair. This Nandini can never stay in one place, can she?

I circled the nearby streets, and went on rounds. I was stupid if I was thinking she'd be senselessly walking on the footpaths of those roads. I didn't know where to look for, and she wasn't responding to my damn calls!

On the third round along Carter Road, one of our favorite hangout spots in the city, I found a small figure scurrying away, moving her arms around in distress. It didn't take me long to narrow down my search results. I looked delighted, that I'd noticed only when I took a momentary look into the rear-view mirror. Stupid me!

As I inched my car closely behind her, she jumped in fright. I seemed like a stalker maybe, but she was one tough nut to crack. She glared at me and then after some conversation, she butted in, still blazing. God knew what she was doing on that road. I was going to ask, but I kept the question to myself. I didn't want to hear another taunt.

The drive was relaxing to me at least, and the reason was to my left. We spoke a couple of sentences and then shut up, listening to the radio tunes. Even the radio had to play a song, emphasizing on 'moving on'. Hell, I can't move on!

Talking about moving on, saying things is easier than actually doing them. I was just truly in love with her. She hurt me so much that I'd reached the saturation point of pain she could cause me. I was numb to her inflictions. I lost every part of strength left in me to fight her. I needed a break too.  

I was driving to the extreme end of the road, along the side of the Juhu Beach. Through the corner of my eyes, I observed Nandini peeking out of the window to the beach waves, embracing them with serenity. Her agitation seemed to calm down. Was that where she hung out when she got uncontrollably angry? What made her so pissed off? Maybe it was just me.

I slowed down the car, allowing her to enjoy the view. I didn't want to deprive her of it. In a way, that calmness would help me break the news off manageably. Who am I kidding? I didn't know why I always had a soft corner for her after all she'd done to me.

I bumped the blinker of the car, bringing it to a halt. She noticed I'd stopped, gave me a grateful look and then got off, standing on the edge of the footpath close to the beach. Something was bothering her. It couldn't be what I said in the morning because if that was what she was sad or upset about, in her defense, she didn't love me for who I was, she loved me for who she thought I was.  

I moved out too, beeping the car locked and standing beside her. The scorching noon sun rays beamed over our heads, while the cool breeze of the salty wind hit us. I turned to my side dreamily, looking at her smiling with her eyes closed.

"We're back here, after 4 whole months." She intended to whisper, but I caught onto it. She remembered. An admirable smile escaped my lips. Why did she have to say the right things at the right times, all the time? In the end, it was me who was going to be hurt. She'll move on. I held myself back again. Diverting myself from her, I found myself staring yet again.

"Nandini, our source file's corrupted. We need to redo the work." Her eyes fluttered open. She wasn't expecting that. Neither was I expecting her silence.

*** 

My baby was crying for almost 10 minutes and I couldn't do anything to silence her cries. I changed her, fed her, and rocked her but nothing seemed to work. I had even called Navya over to help me out, all in vain. Navya was holding my daughter and I tried to put a pacifier into her mouth.

"Baby, please shh!" I whispered against her face as she began sucking the tool vigorously. Sonali, who was passing by, peeked in to see Navya and me together. From that distance, it seemed like my face and Navya's were touching. Her heart almost broke seeing us together. She covered her mouth in shock and escaped the cabin. I gave my daughter a kiss along the side of her head. Her hands reached out to me and I carried her from Navya, thanking Navya a zillion times.

"Really, you're a savior. Trust me, if you ever need anything in your life na, I'm always there." She had been a lot of help to me since the beginning of time. She was pleased at the offering; she touched my baby's head with motherly affection and then left the room. I began talking to my daughter, actually scolding her for troubling me. Meanwhile, Sonali went crying to Mr. Mehta.

"Dad! Manik..." Mr. Mehta was astounded by his daughter's tears. My name scared him even further. He stood up and walked over to her, in an attempt to console her. "Manik and that other girl... they were kissing!" Her makeup was leaking with her tears and her father couldn't watch. I guess all single fathers were like that. Another reason he favors me.

"Which girl? Who?" He was bolting in fury, considering I was his favorite employee. He had greater expectations from me, and bigger dreams.

"That woman who walked in on us when Manik and I were together." Mr. Mehta tried recollecting the incident. He didn't seem to remember though. He probably wasn't even present in the scene. He shook his head, abstaining from his assumptions and regarded her feelings instead.

"Honey, show me who?"

Later that evening, I was filing my printed codes and their outputs from screenshots for solid evidence of my portion of the work, after uploading it on the cloud. I hadn't seen Navya after her immense help and so I decided to finish my work quickly and go see her. I unhooked the pen-drive from my system and headed to the printer room. I handed my daughter over to Cabir, to feed her while I was gone. I passed by Navya's cabin and decided to just check in.

I stepped inside to see her in a mess. She was crying for long perhaps. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks had faint tear stains. As soon as she saw me, she burst into tears, running into my arms.

"Manik..." Her voice was muffled by hiccups. I held her tightly, with my hand over her head, cupping it. She was the one who always held me together and seeing her breakdown wasn't something I was prepared for. She was like my elder sister.

"Batao mujhe kya hua hai, please? Don't cry..." (Tell me what's wrong, please?) I was on the verge of crying too. I took a few deep breaths, hoping everything was okay.

"I've... lost my job." I couldn't believe my ears. My jaw fell as the news. It couldn't be true. Why? Cabir had made his way in too, worried about my concern for my daughter. I pat Navya's head softly, hopefully consoling her. Losing a job was a pretty emotional phase. I couldn't even imagine that happening with me. None of us had seen it coming and she didn't seem to take it very well too.

"But why? Like koi toh reason honi chahiye na? Aise hi kaise nikaal sakte hai tumko?" (Like there should be a reason, right? How can they just fire you like that?) I cupped her cheeks in my hands and wiped the tears away. It was unreasonable to fire her from her job. It meant a lot to her and to her family that she was working in HyLyte. She was the first woman in her family who was working for an IT company. She was emotionally attached to her job. Losing it was like a heartbreak for her and I knew what a heartbreak felt like.

I asked her to show me the mail she'd received. It seemed like a general letter, with no specific purpose of termination. It seemed wrong. I was missing something. I had to look into it. "Suno, main hoon na? Don't worry. Pakka koi confusion hoga. I will sort this out." (Listen, I'm here right? Don't worry. I'm sure there must've been a confusion.) I headed out to Mr. Mehta's workplace, despite Navya's protests. I was fuming with anger. That termination letter was outrageous. He never had a problem with Navya, on both professional and personal terms.

"Mr. Mehta, I'd like to seek clarity on Navya's termination letter!" I was loud and clear. I had to defend my friend. Never had I spoken to him like that before. He seemed irked at my confidence, and probably attitude.

"Manik, I was informed that she was getting into other personal commitments at work, which is intolerable behavior in the professional space." He said with confidence. Personal commitments? What does that mean? I looked at him with suspicion. Was he playing games with me?

"What commitments?"

"I believe I'm not entitled to give out that information to you." He said with a grunt. There was definitely something else I was missing. I coated my temper with compassion. I figured that worked with him most of the times.

"Sir, there must've been a misunderstanding. Navya's job means so much to her, please."

"Well, if that was the case, she should've thought twice before 'canoodling' you this morning! Besides, you've got to be punished for that too, but I'm sparing you this time." I scrutinized at the information. Navya and I, this morning? Wait, what?

Somebody must've told him that Navya and I were doing something inappropriate. But who? I recollected an image of Nandini running into the two of us, while changing my baby the other day. Of course! It's her! The whole 'move on' sequence must've pushed her off the edge. She must've assumed something, like she always did. The project code corruption must've added to her worries, making her believe that people in my team didn't work but spent their time elsewhere. I had convinced myself enough that it was her. I left abruptly to deal with Nandini.

I took two steps at a time to reach her floor. She was doing something on her phone when I saw her in the corridor. Without any prior notice, I grabbed her arm and yanked her all the way to the discreet divider behind the elevators, our old hiding spot.

"Manik, what are you doing?" She tried pulling herself out of my grip, but I'd dug my fingers into her skin, unintentionally hurting her.

"Wah! Kya natak kar leti ho tum?! Tumko toh Oscar award milna chahiye, nahi? Ms. Nandini Murthy, Oscar winner of 2017!" (Wow! What an act that was?! You deserve an Oscar award, don't you?) I animated, drawing a banner across her forehead. I shot her a forced smile but she didn't seem to budge. Her face was blank, with confusion all over.

"Mujhe kuch samajh nahi aa raha hai, kya bol r..." (I don't understand, what are you saying...) She was worried about the way I was behaving with her and her reaction bothered me. How could she pretend that nothing had happened? Maybe because she really didn't know.

"Haan haan, samajh main toh tumko aata nahi hai, but when it comes to assuming, nobody can beat you, huh?" (Yeah right, you don't understand anything, but when it comes to assuming, nobody can beat you, huh?) I pulled her closer by her forearms, forcing her onto me. I was never that aggressive with her but she'd crossed all lines, or so I thought. She stared at me with fear-stricken eyes.

"Manik, tumhe ho kya gaya hai?" (Manik, what is wrong with you?) She shook me, pushing my chest to guard herself. I pounced again.

"Listen to me very carefully. Agar Navya ko kuch hua, toh trust me, I won't even think twice that you were the only woman I..." (If something happens to Navya, then trust me...) I pointed at her nose dangerously. Navya had done so much for me. She was there for me when Nandini wasn't. I had to defend her. Nandini stared at me with glistening eyes as her focus shifted to her waist. I didn't realize that in a fit of anger, I'd grabbed onto her, trying to secure my lost possession. I dropped the arm that wrapped her, distancing myself from her. An air of awkwardness filled the space between us. Cutting the tension, I waved my pointer finger at her in warning. "You can't imagine."

***

Nandini

I was emotionally disturbed after that encounter with him. Flashes of Manik saying mean things to me played in my head. I was restless and panicked. What did I do to Navya? She was none of my business. I couldn't comprehend what was going on. Why was he behaving like that with me? He never behaved like that with anyone for me. Did he start feeling for her? No no. Manik, he doesn't have his eyes on anyone else. Then the 'move on' part?

Somebody please tell me what does it mean to move on in a legal marriage!

We weren't together, and that was enough pain to deal with. There was no need for a divorce. We had emotionally cut off each other, though that wasn't really the case. I still felt for him, even if he didn't. I was not prepared to handle Manik earlier that day, and for some reason, that bothered me and sprung my insecurities up a notch. Somebody familiar walked in. I touched my eyes to clear my tears and blinked a couple of times to appear presentable. "Mrs. Malhotra..." I nodded, acting professional and he sat down. I wanted to correct him and say 'Murthy' but I figured he wasn't really wrong. Also, he already knew about us, Cabir Dhawan. "About Manik..." He narrated the incident that he'd gathered from his peers and some assembling of the puzzle himself. Ahh, that bitch Sonali! I told you I hated her.

"So could you please... talk to Mr. Mehta? Please? For Manik?" I gave it a little thought. If I did that for Manik, maybe I could have him back but if I did, everyone would know about us and that wouldn't be good for either for us. It would cause more problems to him than me.

Couples do not work in the same project or division, for professional reasons, unless they're powerful enough to not be questioned about it. If anyone got to know about Manik and I, that would be the end for him, even if I could escape as the MD. He'd be fired perhaps and he'll just hate me more. Plus, he wanted me to move on, didn't he? The more I reiterated it to myself, the more it affected me.

"I can't reveal myself, I... just can't do that." I was trying to make a practical decision for the first time, more so because it concerned Manik. For the first time in a long while, I was thinking and looking out for someone apart from me. Cabir gave me a hopeful look.

"Mr. Mehta will listen to you; you're his client, Ma'am. For Manik..." I took a deep breath. Somehow, the Manik card seemed to work. I had to figure out how to convince Mr. Mehta. I was already afraid Manik was parting from me and by any means if I could reassure myself otherwise, it was to treat him better than I usually did, to pay back for my mistakes. I mentally prepared myself.

"I'll try."

***

Manik

I was in my cabin, whispering positive words to my child while changing her. I was trying hard to stay happy and unaffected by Navya's absence. I couldn't believe Nandini would do that. That was the most ridiculous thing I'd heard of. There were certain boundaries, even in jealousy and she'd crossed them all. What was there to be jealous of, anyways? She never really loved me, why did it bother her? I put on a tiny bit of lotion over my baby's arms and legs and rubbed it into her skin slowly, an activity she loved. I was back to talking to myself. You don't abandon someone you love. I'd never. My daughter was one of my escapes of frustration, since she was a part of Nandini too, and would laugh even at my bickering about her Mommy!

"Baby, why is your mother so damn difficult?!" I tugged down her little "Babies rock!" shirt that had risen to reveal her little tummy. She gave me a salivated smile and then began slapping my forearm with her hands, signifying the need to be lifted. I pulled her onto my chest, cuddling the little one as securely as possible. She was just tall enough to touch the elbow joints of the length of my arm if her head was cupped in my hands.

Just then, the cabin door flew open and Naina quivered in my arms at the sudden intrusion. The protective side of me was going to blast at whoever it was, but it was Navya. Exception.

"Manik, mera termination cancel ho gaya hai!" (Manik, my termination letter got cancelled!) She whisper-squealed, while seeing the baby clinging close to me, and assuming the child was asleep.

"Really?" I side-hugged her with my free arm and to not exclude the baby, both of us gave her some kisses! "Ahh... Navya, I'm so happy for you!" Her shoulders rose in excitement and she gave me a teary smile, terrified about the consequences of her departure. "But how?"

"Pata nahi, kisine recommend kiya hoga shayad, I thought you did..." (I don't know, somebody must've recommended...) That was when Cabir came into the picture. We shifted our attention to the actual 'intruder', who was nothing more than a friendly acquaintance to me.

"Nandini." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Some attitude he had, for being my peer. I gave him a confused look. "Nandini spoke to your boss." I huffed. Navya held the baby, wiping her dripping saliva with her dupatta. I resorted to give Cabir a sense of mine.

"What the hell, Cabir? It is because of..."

"Nope. In fact, Nandini is the one who's saved you. Like it or not." He snapped. Navya looked hopeful and grateful for the favor. 

"She is really an angel." Great! Even Navya had switched sides. Frankly speaking, I was pleased too that Nandini really considered talking to Mr. Mehta about someone concerning me, but I had other things to worry about.

"Then who did?" I bet I'll kill whoever it is.

"That doesn't matter but trust me, she didn't." He stared at my eyes, trying to read them. I was in a world of comprehension. How? Like... "Tumne bhi bina matlab ke Nandini pe chilla diya." (Without knowing, you just screamed at Nandini.) He added and the guilt struck me. The baby clung to Navya, the only stable woman idol she had. She read my dilemma and took charge of the situation.

"Thank you, Cabir." With that, Navya took my baby and went out with Cabir. I knew where they would be so I wasn't really worried. What bothered me was Nandini. I headed out of the room, making up my mind but as soon as I did, I bumped into a short girl so badly I fell over, with her over me. Typical us. "Like, kahin bhi shuru ho jaate hai!" was a comment we'd received so often. (Like, they can start getting cozy anywhere!)

The smell of her immediately struck a chord. I opened my eyes to see a Nandini meekly staring at me with a small smile of admiration. That heavenly smile. For the first time in four months, I'd seen that smile on her. I smiled back inadvertently, very subtlety and turned over, pinning her to the ground. Her breathing became uneven. Her eyes smoldered beautifully, and that looked so sexy. She didn't even have to try. I heard some footsteps and I sprung onto my feet immediately. I placed a hand over my face to somehow control the racing breaths. She tried to sit up but her hand automatically grabbed mine along a side of my body, securing grip as she stood up. I was pulled into the past-the old times. I'd forgotten what I was going to say. My eyes fell on the red nail marks on her arms, notching my guilt up a level. Oh yeah! Repayment for the kindness.

"Umm... do you... like... uhh... wannagooutwithmefortea?" I said, in one breath. She smiled again, this time both her hands holding our interlocked hands, as she placed her cheek on my bicep, adjusting her hair. Every couple had something between them that signified their uniqueness. For us, it was that subtle gesture-that remained personal to Manik and Nandini.

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So... Which part of this chapter was the best for you? I think Manik blasting at Nandini was mine :P for some reason, I adored the love-hate relationship they had, even on the show! Now giving you an update this early is going to be torturous for you :P but it's long and hopefully you liked it! I'll reply to you all by end of today.

Question: What do you think is the most important aspect of a relationship, to make it work successfully?

Yes, next update's going to be up on Monday! Thanks for the votes, babies! :* Tons of love to all the inline commenters and spammers, you guys make my heart so warm :')