(A/N: Ah. Though I've been saying this for a long time now, I just can't stop writing. This story is so close to my heart and I really hope I did justice to this part though I wrote it in a hurry. Thanks for all your support guys. Love you all loads. Stay blessed and please vote and comment if you liked it.)

<<< Status : Edited >>>

Navya: Nandu, need to talk.

I saw Navya's message. I excused myself, telling Manik some stupid reason which perhaps he wasn't convinced with, either. I stepped out of the hall and went to a corner in the compound.

"Yeah tell." I turned around to look if anyone was watching and then shifted my focus to Navya.

"Are you seriously in love with him?" Navya asked and her question confused me at first. Who him? Madhyam? Or Manik?

"Who?" I asked, fidgeting with my attire and hoping nobody would see me there. The bride going missing in the middle of an engagement ceremony was the last thing I wanted to hear after all this mess.

"I mean, how can you fall for someone after Madhyam?" Navya looked confused and her expressions said that. Okay. So she did mean Manik.

"What do you mean?" I asked, just for the heck of it.

"Nandini Murthy has learnt to lie also. You are seriously not the Nandini I was best friends with. I bloody saw you kissing Madhyam." My gaze shifted to Navya after I heard her say I kissed him. It hurt me to actually think of that. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get that moment out of my head. I saw Navya in tears. It must've hurt her so much to see her friend kissing her love.

"Voh... Navya, I love Manik." I tried to sound strong. I tried to make her feel better. But I couldn't. She looked at me with hatred. I'd realized I'd lost my last friend.

"Oh really? Gosh, you're such an attention seeker, Nandini. You faked your love for Madhyam and played with his feelings. How could you do that? And just as you saw a hotter, more handsome..." I couldn't take it anymore. How could she think like that of me? I couldn't stand it.

"Navya, please. I don't wanna talk about it. You won't understand me. I have to go now. Bye." I said, trying hard to control my tears. I couldn't face 500 people with a dull face. Especially not because of crying. I immediately walked away and straight to the washroom. I went into one of the stalls and stood behind the door of a stall.

I began to cry. I was in pain. I lost two important people around who my life revolved. Will I ever be able to trust my own judgements ever again? Perhaps this marriage is for my betterment. I'm getting married to someone I don't know, someone I have no preconceptions of. This time, it isn't your judgement. My subconscious reminded and I smiled. This could be the start of a new life. I chuckled to myself and stepped out.

"Nandu..." I closed my eyes and fisted my hand. I had to do what I didn't do the other day. The day he kissed me and ditched me. I raised my hand and punched him right across his face. His face experienced a massive blow and he held his jaw tight.

"Don't you dare come close to me, ever again. And dare you call me that anymore. You have no right to call me that." I screamed and stormed out of the washroom.

***

"Nah, I'm not doing anything of that sort. See dude, it's clear that I don't like her. She's just going to..." Manik was talking to Cabir, sitting in one corner of the hall with his beer.

"Jiju, Nandini is crying." My cousin approached Manik. Obviously, it had to be something suspicious. Me crying during my own engagement ceremony.

"Haan so?" He raised his eyebrows. "Wait... Did she like, reject the wedding?" He stood up and grinned.

"What?" My sister was confused. Manik immediately corrected his expressions and looked sympathetic and worried.

"I mean, is she okay? What happened? She doesn't want to reject the wedding, does she?" He made innocent expressions and my sister fell for it.

"Manik..." I screamed across the room. He looked at me. It was the first time I called him this entire evening. He didn't know how to react to me. I couldn't make out if he was faking his confusion. He blankly gaped at me, not knowing what to do with his hands. I paced towards him steadily, wiping my cheeks off every couple of seconds.

When I was at an arm's distance from him, I threw my arms around his neck tightly and began to sob. Somewhere, I knew Manik was anticipating that. He did lean forward to help me a little with the height difference. Even then, perhaps that was an involuntary action. Manik cringed his eyebrows at Cabir while he pressed his smile, framing a few teases in his head. Manik passed deadly glares to Cabir and made faces at him while I placed my ear on his muscular chest, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Nandini... Kanna, are you okay? Kya hua? Manik ne kuch kiya?" (Nandini... Honey, are you okay? What happened? Did Manik do something?) I shook my head as I was made to sit. Tears still rolled down my cheeks though I tried to get rid of them. Every tear I shed just made the pain increase.

"Beta, Manik said he loves you. That's why we agreed to this wedding. Are you not okay with it?" Amma was extremely worried. I looked at her dumbfounded, unable to believe a gentleman like him would toss around the word 'love' so casually.

Amma though was deeply hurt, seeing me sob during a period I had to be joyous in. I knew she feared my answer. If I rejected this wedding, it would mean a heavy loss to my family economically as well in terms of respect.

For men, rejecting a wedding isn't a difficult thing, at least in Indian families nobody blames them. But for women, if an alliance gets rejected, her family is questioned, their morals are questioned. The whole family suffers. Their respect is at stake. I couldn't let that happen to my family. I couldn't afford to lose them like my friends for an impulsive decision.

"Amma, aisa kuch nahi hai. I love Manik. Yes, I do. I will never go against this wedding." I didn't really mean anything I said, but anything for my parents. There was a tiny ray of hope in my life, to have a companion who would be there for me whenever I needed someone.

"Are you sure, Kanna?" Appa sat beside me. I nodded and wiped my tears.

"I love Manik. I really do." I said as I walked out of the room. I stood outside my room and spotted Manik. There was a very small gathering in the hall. I had to prove it to my parents that I was okay and Manik, having said himself, that he loved me, gave me all the strength. I screamed his name.

Manik waited for a moment for me to let go but I pushed myself into him further. I found a weird kind of solace. It felt good being close to him; inhaling a man's perfume makes you feel protected. I felt safe in those arms.

He was put in a tough spot. He looked at my sister, who put her hands on her waist and looked at us suspiciously to figure out what was happening. Our of sheer terror, he put an arm around my waist. I snuggled closer, finding a positive response, while he plastered a fake smile and pretended that he was enjoying the moment. My sister smiled back widely and looked at us like we were the best couple in the world.

"Nandini, kya hua?" (Nandini, what happened?) He whispered into my hair, gently yet hesitantly patting my skin with his fingers. That was when I realized how close I was to him. I let go and looked up into his eyes. He was indeed extremely tall and as I looked at him with teary eyes, I lost myself in the moment. He was only charming.

"Ahem ahem..." Cabir coughed and Manik shot a glare. Perhaps the only reason he was spared was because Mukti deflected the heat.

"Cabir, idhar aa." (Cabir, come here.) Mukti called out for him to help her carry the luggage upstairs. Cabir smirked at the two of us and walked away.

Manik was having a hard time. He looked at my sister through the corner of his eyes, who still hadn't left. He smiled at me and wiped my tears.

"Kya hua? Are you okay?" (What happened? Are you okay?) He sounded like he cared and I actually fell for it.

"Manik, I love you." I said, and cupped his face.

<<<>>>

(How was it? I hope it ain't too pathetic. Cause lately, all my updates have been written in a rush and I really cannot tell whether I actually did enough. Anyways, uske liye toh aap ho na? So tell me how it was. Thanks.)