~Love or Hate, you always check with your Heart's desires~

-Affu-

In India

Murthy's Mansion

"Sooraj. Stop eating like a Rhino." Vandana scolded, when she saw her husband coughing, who was having his evening tea and biscuits. "And why the hell are you talking on Phone, while you eat? Doctor kisne banaya tumko?" she added, while snatching the mobile from Sooraj and keeping it on the table.

"Oh *cough* Ma ki Rabji *cough*" Sooraj panted before drinking a glass of water and took his mobile again to check the number, which obviously proved the call was made from India.

"Phir se mobile?" Vandana kept her hand on her hips, while the youngsters watched the drama going on, with too much of interest. Sooraj-Vandana are the tom-and-jerry couple of Murthys.

"Vandana!" Sooraj yelled and stood up and held onto her shoulders, who stared at him aghast. "Wo yah----" he trailed off when he remembered her saying Aur haan, kisiko bathana math..mere barein mein. Teek hain? and he gulped with a sad face.

"Sooraj! Hua kya hai?" Vandana shook his shoulders, who stared at his wife with a horrified look on his face. "I might die." he said and turned around to leave, when he came across his father's suspicious gaze.

"Suna tha ki daughters bring happiness, lekin meri beti tho heart attack saath mein laayi hain yar. (But my daughter has brought heart attack with her.)" Sooraj muttered to himself, who looked like he would cry buckets.

"Whose call was that?" Yashjeet asked, and Sooraj gulped before trying to smile sweetly.

"Uh..Papa ji, wo...it was a call from..Hospital. They just..wanted to meet me." Sooraj grinned, and Asad raised his left eyebrow at it.

"Chote Papa! Why are you sweating?" Viren asked, who walked towards Sooraj to stand beside him, and got to see his neck filled with sweat.

"Uh..k-kuch nahi. Bas, tand nahi lag raha hain, isiliye sweating." Sooraj replied sheepishly, and then turned to give a sheepish smile to his father, who still had that rigid look on his face.

"Hain? Tand nahi lag rahe hai tho sweating? Ye kya ice-factory hai ki ek baar temperature thoda change kar tho melting shuru?!" Sidharth commented confusedly, and Sooraj shot him a glare.

How on Earth is he supposed to get rid of this situation?!

"Nahi! Ye Lava factory hain ki Air conditioning chalu nahi hoga yaha!" Sooraj retorted, and Sidharth widened his eyes.

"Aap ne joke maara! Wah! I thought, you had lost your brain." Sidharth grinned, while Sooraj turned to Asad, who nodded at him.

"Sid!" Asad glared at Sidharth, who started to crib. "Hadd hothi hai! I was having time of my life." 

"Sooraj!" Yashjeet raised his eyebrows at his son, totally ignoring the drama going on.

"Papa..sach mein, I really got a call from my Hospital, and it seems urgent, isiliye I was coughing." Sooraj explained himself, and Yashjeet nodded at him.

"Tho phir sweat kyu kar rahe the aap?" Rudr chimed in this time, and Sooraj let out a frustrated groan.

"Kyunki mein insaan hun. Tere jaise jaanwar ki aulad nahi." Sooraj spoke out, all frustrated.

"Yaani aap khudko janwar bula rahe hain." Vandana rolled her eyes, and Sooraj stared at her confusedly before it clicked him. Rudr is his son!

"Can someone let this topic go?" Sooraj cried out, annoyingly.

"Um..Sooraj Chachu, it's fine if you really have some work." Mukti, who was a silent spectator for a while spoke out, and Sooraj gave her a smile filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, beta." and he sprinted towards upstairs, while Vandana kept staring at his retreating figure.

"Call tho hospital se bilkul bhi nahi hai." Karan whispered, while standing beside Vandana, and she looked at him.

"Mein bhi tho wahi soch rahi hun." she replied, while thinking about her husband's behavior.

"Kya patha! Call shayad Lady Department se hi hoga." Rudr, stood on her right, and Vandana stared at him confusedly.

"Yaani koi ladki ka call hi hoga, Choti Ma." Sidharth spoke, standing beside Rudr, and Vandana widened her eyes.

"Aye! Aapko kaha wo Shah rukh Khan dikh raha hai ki ladki milega old age mein bhi? Aurath bol, aurath." Karan remarked, and Sidharth nodded in understanding.

"But nowadays girls do date old men as well, and oldies like young girls' attention." Rudr added, and that was it for Vandana to sprint towards upstairs, while the boys grinned evilly.

"Hayeee! I so wish Cutie was here to witness it." Rudr spoke excitingly, and the rest two nodded at him equally dejected with the fact that their sister was not here to be a part of their evil plan.

Little did they know that it was their sister, who took all the initiatives in this Plan!

***

"No! No! You can't be here. You are kidding, right?" Sooraj spoke over phone, while pacing throughout his bedroom.

"Oh yes! I am kidding. I mean, I'm talking through an Indian registered mobile number, to my dearest Chote Papa, from London. I am totally kidding." Nandini said, and Sooraj sighed in relief, inattentive of the humor in her statement.

"Mathlab! Just tell me one thing. Did your University allow plagiarism or copying in exams?" Nandini asked in a casual tone, and Sooraj frowned for being asked about his University rules, which had happened to him some--two decades ago, at the moment. "Nahi! Aapko Doctor banne mein thodi tho brain chahiye na and brain is not so essential for people who are indulged in plagiarism, aur yun hi MBBS degree bhi milega." she completed, and Sooraj groaned at it.

"You are insulting your father, Nandini Murthy." he said, and Nandini frowned. "How come stating facts become an insult?" she asked, and Sooraj groaned again.

"So you weren't kidding." he gasped, and then started to pace again. "Yar pari, samjha kar. Why are you here?" Sooraj sat on the bed, tiredly and Nandini sat up on her bed, excitingly.

"To teach some heart morals to Yashjeet Murthy." she replied.

"What? Heart morals?" he asked, confusedly.

"Offo Papa! Heart morals yaani, thoda heart related decision lene mein coaching. Naa ki hamesha, mind ke hisaab se jeena." Nandini explained, and Sooraj sighed out loud.

"Pari! You are talking about Yashjeet Murthy. You are in Yashjeet Murthy's place." Sooraj gasped again, thinking of the consequences.

"According to my information, India still follows democracy, and still not planning to change into Monarchy, that the Prime Minister or President would give the crown to Mr. Yashjeet Murthy. I don't think if Yashjeet Murthy can have enough money to buy the entire country India, as well." she concluded with a sigh, and Sooraj slapped on his face.

"Who the hell is she?" Vandana barged inside the room, and Sooraj stood up immediately, rushing towards the door.

"Vandana, shh. Don't shout." he whispered, before closing the door.

"Of course! After all, you don't want anyone to listen your conversations with your girlfriend." Vandana mocked, and Sooraj stared at her blankly.

"Excuse..me? Girlfriend..aur iss umar mein? Yaar, tu kaafi nahi hai kya dimaag khane keliye ki ek aur leke aaun zindagi mein ab?!" he asked, and she stared at him wide-eyed.

"Mein aapka dimaag khathi hun?" she asked, angrily and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Not literally, though. Uskeliye zombie banna padega tujhe." he said, and Vandana gritted her teeth angrily, when her gaze fell on his mobile.

"Usseeka call hain na. The one who called you, when you were downstairs." Vandana stated, and Sooraj widened his eyes.

"How did you know?" he asked, aghast and she snatched the mobile from him.

"Mein bath karthi hun apki Laila se." Vandana muttered before clamping the mobile to her ear. "Ughhh! Zaroor uss naalayakon ke kaam hoga. (This must be done by those unworthy boys.)" Sooraj cursed out loud.

"Laila nahi balki Majnu aur Laila ki beti hain." Nandini giggled, from the other side, and Vandana's anger flew away.

"Pariiii!" she screamed out of joy, and Sooraj palmed her mouth.

"Shh, dheere bol. Papa ji sunn saktha hai abhi bhi. Unke kaan ko koi problem nahi hai, unfortunately though." he breathed out horrified, at the end and Vandana smacked in his head, while Nandini giggled.

"Ye baath unke saamne jaake boliye, Chote Papa." Nandini encouraged, and Sooraj just sighed.

"Wo sab chod. Meri beti kaisi hain?" Vandana asked, smilingly and Nandini smiled.

"Bindass. Aur ekdum Indian bhi lag rahi hai ab." Nandini chirped, and Vandhana stared at Sooraj confusedly.

"Mathlab?" Vandana asked.

"Mathlab yahi ki usko iss umer mein mujhe heart attack dhena hain. India aa chuki hai madam." Sooraj said, and Vandana widened her eyes.

"FYI! Heart attack kisi bhi umar mein aa sakthe hain, aur aapke umar kaafi hai uskeliye. Also, jithna cholesterol filled food khathe hain na aap, usse tho apko mere bagair heart attack mil sakthe hain." Nandini remarked, making Vandana to giggle, but then she remembered Nandini is in India.

"Pari, tu India mein hain?" Vandana asked, worriedly.

"Why does everyone has got a problem with me being in India, Daadi ki Rabb ji!" Nandini sighed, almost sadly.

"It's not that, Pari. Tu janthi hai na Papa ji ko? If he gets to know that you are Shekhar Bhai's daughter, then.." Vandhana reasoned, worriedly when Nandini cut her off.

"Phir tho mera plan gayi! I mean, if the Hitler 2.0 gets to know about him having a granddaughter, that too given birth by that woman whom he despises, then there's no going back. Tornado, earthquake, tsunami aur phir jo kuch bhi aapko soch sakthe hai, sabko lao Bhai! Ithna dramatic hai DJ ki horror drama leke ayenge saab ji saath mein." Nandini spoke dramatically, and Vandana stared at Sooraj helplessly, who concluded that Nandini Murthy has taken her decision.

"Pari! Shekhar Bhai and Sooraj are really Yashjeet Murthy's sons, lekin they don't have anything common with their father. They're a lot like their mother. Isiliye, tujhe expect karna hai..haar bhi." Vandana warned, emotionally. She would love to know how it will be to have Shekhar and Shamishti at their home, but not at the cost of Yashjeet Murthy's hatred for her daughter. His hatred could make a person to believe to an extent that, there won't be anyone in the world who could hate you more than Yashjeet Murthy.

"And why do you think Nandini Murthy is here, Choti Ma? If Yashjeet Murthy was anything like Shekhar Murthy or Sooraj Murthy, then all I would have to do is to smile at him, and he would accept me and my mother. Lekin bath aise hai ki, he's the Yashjeet Murthy, who believes in his own right and wrong. Ab ye unko sikhana hai ki wo bhi galath ho sakthe hain." Nandini stated, rigidly and Vandana smiled at it.

"Tho kab mil sakthe hai, madam?" Vandana asked, and Sooraj sighed. He now knew, Vandana is joining the plan as well.

"Aye Ma beti! FYI, this is a suicide-plan." Sooraj remarked, and Vandana shot a glare towards him.

"Philhaal suicide aap karne wale hain, by introducing Nandini Murthy to Yashjeet Murthy." Nandini said to Sooraj, when Vandana kept the mobile on speaker.

"Whaaaat?" Sooraj shouted, in shock. "Shh. Dheere bol, Sooraj. Papa ji's ears are still working." Vandana taunted, and Sooraj glared at her.

"Oh for heaven's sake, you both! Why do you want to see my ashes this soon?" Sooraj cribbed, and the duo giggled.

"Awe, Chote Papa. You know, we love you." Nandini said, and Sooraj sighed before taking Vandana in his embrace and then staring at the mobile.

"Kab miloge apne Raja ko, Raja ki Pari?" Sooraj asked, and Nandini smiled widely, while Vandana smiled watching the father in her husband.

"Jaldh hi! Aur haan, I was kidding. You don't need to introduce me to Yashjeet Murthy saab. Philhaal uskeliye bhi plan on hai. Ab tata. Mein jaa rahi hun. Appa ka call aa raha hai." Nandini said, excitingly.

"Huh? Chote ka call? Wait..he knows that you are in India?" Sooraj screamed again, and Nandini palmed her face.

"Manthi hun apki bhi beti hun, lekin genes sirf aapka nahi. Internet app calling such as Skype, bhi helpful hai, to talk." Nandini stated, and Sooraj glared at the mobile.

"Jaa. Bath math kar mujhse." Sooraj whined.

"Okay. Bye!" Nandini replied and hung up, leaving Sooraj to gape at the mobile, while Vandana rolled her eyes.

"She's not among those cute daughters, but mere type ki daughter." Vandana said, and Sooraj sighed.

"She's risking everything, Vandana. Papa ke gussa ithne saalon baad bhi kam nahi hua. Tujhe lagtha hai Pari wo sab kar paegi?" Sooraj asked, worriedly.

"Sooraj! It's our daughter, we are talking about. Haa, thoda hatke hai, naughty hai, chatterbox hain, lekin hamari pari hai na. Uske dil kaafi hain, kisiko bhi pyar hojaega. Yashjeet Murthy saab ko bhi." she winked at the end, and Sooraj smiled at her.

"I hope so." they stood in each others' arms, hoping for the best. Hoping for a beautiful reunited family.

***

Next morning..

"Good morning, Manik." Rudr and Karan greeted loudly, while staying at the gate of their house, ready to get inside their respective vehicles.

"Good morning, guys." Manik replied, while sighing who was ready to get in his car, standing by his house's gate. Instead of greeting like sane people, Karan and Rudr were barking greetings.

"Where to?" Rudr asked, and Manik gave him a look.

"Where usually to, Rudy? The same place." Manik replied, grinning sarcastically.

"Oh, you mean your boring business place." Rudr stated, and Manik glanced at him.

"Excuse me? If you don't remember, you are a businessman as well, Rudy." Manik stated and Rudr frowned.

"We take care of the Murthys' Educational institutions, bud. That business doesn't fall under akdu businessmen activities list." Karan chimed in. "Yup. That's too refreshing. We are more in the institutions taking care of the activities happening in there, rather than any closed cabins." Rudr added, and Manik ignored them.

"Such gone cases, you both are." Manik added.

"Such boring case, you are." both Rudr and Karan commented, and Manik glared at them.

"Morning, Manik." soon enough, Manik was greeted by the rest of the Murthy brothers.

"Morning, Bhai." Manik smiled at them, which was returned to him, except from Asad and Shivaay. They don't smile, like literally no smiling at people until they crack some really, really, really good joke or if it's their mothers or sister.

"Where is Mukti?" Rithvik asked, smilingly and Manik turned to face him.

"She's gone with Shravan today. Uski ek early class tha." Manik informed, while smiling. Among the Murthy brothers, its Rithvik whom Manik likes the most. Although, Manik also has an introverted personality, he would like to receive pleasant gestures from his family, and he does take Murthys as his family. Rithvik is the most friendliest among the brothers, and that's why Manik prefers him over anyone else. Well, Rudr and Karan are exceptions, though.

"She's still that one bright student." Rithvik said. "Medical student jo hain." Rithvik spoke and turned to his brothers, who stared at each other, smilingly, in remembrance of their little sister.

"Chal. Hum chalthe hain." Om said, and Manik bade them byes, before getting in his car, and zoomed off to his work place.

"Rudy, Princess ne call uthaya?" Asad asked, once Manik left and got inside his car.

"Nahi, Bhai. I wonder where she is. It's the second day, since she has talked to us." Rudr spoke sadly, while getting inside the car, in the passenger seat, beside Karan.

"We need to trace her location. Kya patha, koi problem mein hai tho?" Shivaay said, while sitting beside Asad, in the passenger seat, who nodded in approval.

"Lekin, Angel ko gussa aaegi tho? You know, she hates our bodyguard wagera stuffs." Viren voiced out, in concern.

"Haa tho, uske balai keliye hain." Siddharth pointed out. "Bhai, trace her." he added, while staring at Shivaay.

"No!" Rithvik said, and Asad stared at him.

"Bhai, not again." Shivaay muttered, while Rithvik glared at him.

"Jaan doesn't like it, so we wont do it." Rithvik said. "I agree with Bhai. Choti ko jo pasand nahi hai, wo kyun karenge hum?" Om stated, truthfully.

"But..what if she's in..need of us?" Karan said. He wouldn't even dare to say the word "trouble" when it comes to his sister.

"Then Gorgi Mamma will let us know about it. I'm sure, she wouldn't hide anything from us." Rithvik said, and then stared at Asad.

"Asad. You're not going to listen to Shivaay." Rithvik said. "Let's listen to Rithvik, Asad." Viren too agreed, and Asad rolled his eyes.

"You're really not supposed to be our brother." Asad said pointing at himself and Shivaay who nodded in approval, making Rithvik to chuckle lightly.

"Jaan says the same." he said, and this made others to smile. Soon, they drove to their respective workplaces.

***

"Appa! You shouldn't miss me this much. You know, I was hiccuping a lot, in the morning." Nandini complained, while driving. Her Bluetooth hands-free speakerphone was on, for she needs to speak to someone while driving, or else she gets bored. Music might slow down her driving, hence speaking to her father.

"What am I supposed to do? You left me alone." Shekhar complained, from other side and Nandini sighed out loud.

"Seriously? I mean, I just gave you a chance to romance with your wife." she reasoned.

"Yeah right. Your mother has become a mess. Jabse tu gayi hai tabse madam tensed hain. She's behaving somewhat like me." Shekhar rolled his eyes, while Nandini knew the reason.

Her mother was worried about her tashan with Yashjeet Murthy!

"Oh! She's just making excuses. Aap kyun Amrish Puri ki tarah hamesha ache mauke keliye intezar karthe rehthe ho? Be a Shahrukh Khan, and do some initiatives na. Like..take her for a date." Nandini said, and Shekhar palmed his face.

"Shona! Mujhe romance math sikha tu. Mein jantha hun apni beewi ko kaise khush karun. Philhaal, mujhe apka tension hai. (I know how to make my wife happy. For now, I'm tensed for you.)" he said, smilingly.

"Kyun tension?" Nandini asked, while shrugging.

"Tension because, my Shona loves to be unhealthy that she might not even drink her daily juices in my absence." Shekhar said, sternly.

"Kya Appa! Mujhe apke Orange juices chutkara tho mil rahe hai ab. Jeene dho, aur khud jee bhi lo." Nandini pouted, and Shekhar chuckled.

"Mein jee lunga, orange juices ke saath aur apko bhi jeena hain. Patha hai, orange juices make your skin glow. Tujhe kya koi prince charming wagera nahi chahiye?" Shekhar asked, tiredly.

"I don't need any Prince charming. For now, I need to concentrate on dearest old-man charming." Nandini said, before parking her car.

"Old man charming?" Shekhar asked confusedly.

"Ji! Aur mein apko mathlab nahi bathane wali, kyunki mein apna workplace pohanch chuki hun." Nandini said, and stopped her car's engine.

"Shona! Is it necessary to work along with studying? That will be hectic, beta. I am there for you, right?" Shekhar asked, while sighing and Nandini's face fell, almost guiltily.

"Uh..Appa, its mandatory. Mein..jaun ab?" she asked, avoiding the topic and Shekhar sighed again.

"Teek! Kab phone karoge?" Shekhar asked, making Nandini to smile.

"Jab aap chahoge, your highness." Nandini said, and the duo chuckled before bidding bye to each other.

"Daadi ki rab ji, maaf kar." Nandini got out of the car, and looked up in the sky while smiling apologetically, before looking down in her file and walking towards the entrance of her workplace.

"My certificates-check. My internship proof- check. My work experience-check." she smiled at herself, before keeping the file in her bag and then sliding it onto her shoulder, but before she could walk more, she was bumped into something.

Or someone...

She banged so hard to someone, that the person held her by waist, to prevent her from falling and hit her pretty face.

"Ouch!" Nandini winced, and looked up to see a handsome guy holding onto her waist, and staring at her face, with his jaws dropped down.

"Tch! How filmy!" Nandini muttered, while staring at him, her position, and then the surroundings.

"Oh hello, Mister! Ghoorne keliye jalebi nahi mili tho mujhse adjust karoge kya? Hato ab!" she pulled herself up, away from his hold.

"Er..I'm sorry. Are you hurt?" he asked, while rubbing onto his forehead.

"If I am? Will you apply the medicine?" she asked, rolling her eyes and then checking her bag to see whether she'd closed it properly before falling in the stranger's arms.

"Um..what? No. Maybe..I can.." he started to reply, and Nandini looked up at him.

"I forgot to complete my previous statement. Will you apply the medicine? If yes is your answer, then my pretty fist will taste your not-so-pretty jaws. If No is the answer, then today you woke up on the good side of your bed that you got to hold me in your arms, but received no bruises." she said, and left the guy, entering the building in front of her.

Manjeet Lifecare Hospital!

"She was..gorgeous." the guy spoke dreamily, and let out a sigh, ignoring the way she talked to him. He's whipped!

***

"Did you get him?" Nandini asked, over the phone while sitting on an empty chair in the hospital restaurant.

"Nope. He seems to be in some meeting. Zindagi mein aaj thak, I haven't waited for any damn guy, and this one is testing my patience." Mrunal cursed, from the other end.

"Haa tho! Be positive. What if this guy turns out to be your so-called prince charming." Nandini remarked, and Mrunal scowled.

"Hell no! I am not getting hitched with any damn Malhotra. Malhotras are friends with Uncle's old man, and I ain't getting in such troubles." Mrunal retorted, making Nandini to roll her eyes.

"Prince charming ko family dekh ke chun sakthe hai kya? Then, let me choose Dwayne Johnson to be my guy. He's from wrestlers' family, after all." Nandini pointed out, while taking a sip from her Orange juice, making faces. 

"He's married, and has kids." Mrunal said.

"So what! He's still hot!" Nandini replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Isn't a prince charming supposed to be "charming"? If not, prince charming kyun bologe? Prince akdu, Prince boring, Prince violent wagera wagera." Nandini said, and Mrunal let out a sigh.

"I am not talking to you. I'll just wait for the day you get married." Mrunal said, and Nandini bobbed her head.

"Sure. After 5 years. K--" her words got stuck in her throat, when she saw two guys entering the restaurant. She stared at them narrowing her eyes.

"Mruno! What were the names of younger Malhotras, again?" Nandini asked, and Mrunal frowned.

"If you wanna know the one's name, who I am waiting for, then it's Dhruv Malhotra." Mrunal said, and Nandini stared at the boys. "His appearance?" Nandini asked. "He's short heighted, with boyish kinda features." Mrunal replied, and Nandini bit onto her lips, in acknowledgement.

"Aur baaki dho?" Nandini pressed, while staring at the guys, who were now seated around a small table beside her's. She looked down in her juice and shifted the mobile from her left ear to right, so that she could eavesdrop the boys' conversation.

"Cabir Malhotra and Manik Malhotra. Cabir Malhotra is the one whom we're supposed to stalk tomorrow. While the one you planned to stalk for today evening is Manik Malhotra. Cabir Malhotra- Normal heighted, a funny face, actually he had a stupid grin plastered on all his faces. I wonder he's in need of me or not." Mrunal said, and then Nandini stared at one of the guy, who fits the description that Mrunal just gave her.

"Manik Malhotra- A Tall guy. Fair and you could call him good-looking, well not as good looking as my Prince charming, though. He had a stone face in most of the pictures. Asad Bhai aur Shivaay Bhai ke tarah." Mrunal said, and Nandini grinned staring at the second guy.

"Bingo!" Nandini's grin grew wider. "And that means..?" Mrunal asked.

"That means, Malhotras are already in love with Nandini Murthy, that they have come to meet me before I could go meet them." Nandini replied, while smirking.

"Whaaat?" Mrunal asked, aghast.

"Tere description dekhun tho, its Cabir Malhotra and Manik Malhotra, sitting in front of me and sipping something." Nandini said, and Mrunal jumped in her seat.

"Damn! That makes our work easy." Mrunal said. "Ab rakho phone, and concentrate in the boys, while I'll try not to break that guy's face if I have to wait more." she added, and Nandini nodded.

"RIP." Nandini said, and hung up the call, before staring at the guys, and then looking down, shifting her chair more closer to their table, without their notice. She also switched on the Phone-recorder so that Mrunal could hear it all, later at home.

"Yar Cabir! You need to help me to tackle Anju Ma. She's bugging me to wear all kind of weird colors, to my office and I'm becoming a laughing stock for my employees." Manik spoke, in a pissed tone.

"All you got to do is, find a suitable girl for yourself, and then they will be fine." Cabir said, rolling his eyes. "Bath tho aise kar rahe hai, jaise ki Ma ne inse ladki nahi kidney maanga hai." he added.

"Ye batha, apko kiss type ke ladki chahiye? I'll get one for you. Slim or chubby or zero-calorie or curvy? Beautiful or average or simple looking or model-lookalike? Tall or short or average heighted? Talkative or silent treatment dhene wali?" Cabir asked, opening the notepad of his mobile, excitingly and Nandini stared at him blankly.

"Cad ke information ke hisaab se, he's a photographer. Marriage bureau kab khola isne?" Nandini frowned at Cabir's overly grinning face.

"Tu ek marriage bureau kyu nahi kholtha?" Manik asked sarcastically, and this time Nandini stared at Manik blankly.

"The fwuck!" she scrunched up her face, in distaste. Nobody messes with her dialogues!

"I was planning on it, you know. In fact, mein aur Shravan iske barein mein bath bhi ki, after all we are cupids for many of our friends' love stories." Cabir said, grinning. 

"Yaha mein ithna pareshan hun, aur tujhe ladki dundna hain? Nahi chahiye mujhe koi ladki." Manik retorted angrily.

"Tho ladka chahiye? Arey koi nahi, Bhai. Mom-Dad will understand your situation. Lekin, aapne bathaya kyun nahi ki apko ladkon mein interest tha?" Cabir asked, faking sadness in his tone. "You broke my heart, Bhai. Ithna hi vishwas that apna chota Bhai pe apko?" he asked, dramatically and Nandini ran her fingers through her hair.

"Nope! I am not gonna befriend this drama company." she said, and then concentrated in Manik.

"Shut up! I don't understand how you are a photographer. Jo bhi ho, bakwas bandh kar aur ek plan batha, to tackle Anju Mom." Manik retorted angrily, and Nandini stared at him in displeasure.

"How am I supposed to be benefited in befriending an akdu?!" she asked herself, while palming her face. "All he's been doing is, shouting like a crazy chimpanzee." she added.

"You can always tackle her with some sweet talks." Cabir said, shrugging.

"That's not working. I have tried. Kuch aur bol, warna tere girlfriend ke saath tere date cancel aaj rath." said Manik, and Cabir stared at him wide-eyed.

"You can't do this to me, Bhai." Cabir cried out, and Manik rolled his eyes.

"I can. Now, do something before I lose my temper." said Manik before standing on his toes, and moving out of the Restaurant, followed by a cribbing Cabir behind, on his trails.

"A family guy!" Nandini muttered to herself, and somehow she didn't want to befriend him, for she knew using a guy who's so fond of family would be similar to breaking his heart.

And she hoped for the rest of the two Malhotras to be different from the ones she met!

//////////////

How was the chapter?

Finally, Nandini met Manik. How was it? Did you like it?

Manik still has to meet Nandini, and you know I wouldn't make it any casual meet. Wait for it!

Love,

Affu.