4:30 am, Bangalore-Goa Highway.

How? How could she be so careless?! I had warned her! I had warned her not to run! Obviously, she didn't listen! She's just so obstinate! What if something had happened to her? Making a run for it when she had no money, at 4:00 in the morning, when it's still pitch dark is the dumbest move she could have made! I had threatened to tie her up just to frighten her, but looks like she'll actually drive me to it! At least she'd be safe that way and no harm would come to her!

I looked at Nandini walking submissively beside me. She had a neutral expression on her face but I knew she wasn't over the incident completely. Was I too tough on her? Maybe I should have helped her sooner! No! She had to be taught to fend for herself! After all when I'm not around to watch over her, what will she do then?

Manik, what are you thinking?! You're not her personal bodyguard! She's your abductee! You just need her to get the recording from the Singhanias! You've probably already convinced Mukesh Singhania to make the trade. It's just a matter of a few days...after that you'll never see her again.

Why did this sadden me so much?

When we finally reached our table at the dhaba and took our seats, I was determined to give her a good scolding.

"What the hell were you thinking running off like that? Don't you know how unsafe it is at this time!! Where would you even go at this hour? How stupid can you be!" I yelled.

"Haha...I think you're the last person who should be worried about my safety!" She snorted. "You're just a shade better than the people who tried to rape me back there!"

She had rendered me absolutely speechless. Her words pierced me like a dagger! How dare she compare me with those low-lives?! I was beyond angry! My blood was boiling!

"Really, that's what you think of me?!!" I shouted.

It looked a little like she regretted her words but she refused to budge.

"Of course! You kidnap me and bring me here by force and then expect me to have a good opinion of you! You certainly have very high hopes!" She stated sarcastically.

I couldn't even defend my own character because of what I'd done! Didn't she realize that I was desperate? That I wouldn't do this to her if I had another option? Screw it! I didn't have to explain myself to her anyway!

"Just get this in your head! The next time you try something like this, I will tie you up! Understood?!" I shouted grabbing her hand tightly.

"Fine!" she said as she jerked her hand out of mine.

The waiter had arrived with our order by that time. As he laid out our order in front of us, my spirits lifted immediately. I was ravenous!

I immediately dug into my food without wasting even a second. I finished all three dishes in a matter of minutes. Only when I was done, did I look at Nandini. She looked nervous and jittery. She had hardly eaten a bite or two of her idli and kept staring at her plate.

"Why aren't you eating?" I asked her.

She looked up when she heard me and her nervousness disappeared completely. She pointed a finger at my face and started laughing like a maniac!

I couldn't help but admire the sweet sound of her laughter. It brought a smile to my face instantly! It took me a few seconds to realize what she was laughing at...my entire face was covered in food! Being this hungry, all my etiquette had flown out the window! I realized how ridiculous I must be looking and immediately made an effort to wipe my face with a tissue. I guess I was unsuccessful because the laughter ceased to stop.

Before I knew it, Nandini was holding my hand back and cleaning it all herself. I could only stare at her as her hands gently caressed my face and removed the food particles. Her touch...why did it feel so heavenly?

When she was finally done, her fingers lingered for a few seconds near my lips as she looked into my eyes, smiling. I had an uncontrollable urge to brush my lips against her fingers and place a soft kiss there. However, before I could fulfil my desire, she moved her fingers away with an awkward jerk.

Thank God! I was about to do something really stupid!

Within minutes, her plate was wiped clean. I left a five hundred rupee note on the table and stood up.

"Are you done? Should we leave?" I asked.

She gave me an incredulous look and said, "Aren't you going to wait for the change?"

My family was stinking rich! I never waited for change! I shook my head and gestured in the negative before I started walking towards the car. When I had walked a few steps, I turned around to see her rooted to her spot. She had a nervous expression on her face once again. She kept looking at the entrance like she was waiting for someone to arrive...but who?

I walked up to her, but before I could ask her anything I heard footsteps at the door. I turned around to spot a police team at the entrance to the dhaba.

Oh shit! Not again! Why didn't I see this coming? She must have called the police! That explained her strange behavior!

Before I could react, Nandini ran and immediately stood behind one of the police men.

"Sir, please arrest him!" she screamed.

There were five policemen in total and four of them moved forward to apprehend me! Hadn't they had enough?!

I removed my blazer and immediately sprang into action. I wacked one of the cops in the chest and kicked the other in the crotch. When another tried to attack, I picked up a chair and smashed it on his head. When the fourth cop tried to punch me, I ducked and pushed him down on the ground. I stood up and kicked him in the gut multiple times. Finally, I looked up to see that Nandini and the fifth cop had disappeared!

Fuck! I couldn't let them return her to her family! I immediately ran out of the dhaba to find them.

What I saw shocked me a great deal!

I could hear Nandini screaming from a distance, "Where are you taking me? I want to go to the station right now and wait for my Chacha-Chachi!! Let me go!"

I followed the sound of her voice and found the police man dragging her along in the dark, manhandling her in the process!

"My boss would like a word with you and until she does you are not going anywhere!" He said.

Boss? What was he talking about? Nandini seemed just as confused as me!

"What boss? I asked Chacha-Chachi to send you here! Why aren't you taking me to them?" she said, her voice filled with fear.

"Nyonika! She's my boss! After your aunt and uncle gave us your location, I got a call from her! She said she'd give me a five lakh rupees if I brought you to her instead of letting you go back to your family! I would be a fool to refuse such a deal! With that kind of money, do you know how easy it will be to support my family?" He explained.

Why? Why didn't I see this coming! Nyonika! She would never give up on catching me! And after the incident at the restaurant, that idiot Harshad must have told her about Nandini! Was it that obvious that I had a soft spot for her? Nyonika must be spying on Nandini's family and tapping their phones as well! Ugh! Nandini, why did you call the police? Nyonika ko toh bas mauka chahiye, to use something against me! I couldn't let the cop take her to Nyonika!

I immediately ran up to them and tackled the cop, knocking him down. When we were down on the ground I punched him multiple times in the face. By this point, my knuckles were bleeding badly! My strength was waning. When he finally appeared to have lost consciousness, I stood up and looked at Nandini. She seemed to look relieved for a moment, but in a split second, her expression changed.

"Manik, watch out!!" she screamed.

Before I could speak, I felt a sharp pain on my torso. I turned around to see the police officer back on his feet with a knife in his hand. I touched the side of my torso and found my t-shirt stained with blood. The bastard had slashed me on the side, just missing my liver! I didn't allow myself to feel the pain for more than a second. I immediately pounced on him and disarmed him as soon as I could. I got a hold of his neck and used a technique I had learned in my MMA class to render him unconscious.

The man dropped to the ground and I struggled to stand straight.

"Manik, are you okay??" Nandini immediately ran over to me and asked. She sounded like she had a lump in her throat.

I grabbed her arm and staggered towards the car.

"Manik, we have to go to the hospital! You're bleeding very badly!" She said, nearly in tears. I failed to understand her! She's the one who called the police and disobeyed me! What did she think the police would do anyway? Gift me a bouquet of flowers? Why was she so bothered about my injury?

We finally reached the car and I sat in the driver's seat.

"Manik what are you doing? We have to go to the hospital to get the wound dressed! You can't drive in this condition!" She screamed at me.

"We can't go to the hospital! I'll get arrested! And why are you so worried? You should be happy, right? You called the police! This is really your fault!" I said.

The pain had made me unreasonable. Of course I knew she wasn't at fault! She was just trying to save herself! However at this point, I wasn't willing to admit it!

"Fine! If you won't go to the hospital, I'll dress the wound right here!" She said in a stubborn voice.

What did she mean by that?

"Do you have an antiseptic lotion in the car?"she asked.

I gave her a confused look. She sighed and opened the boot of the car. "I guess I'll have to look for it myself!" she said in frustration.

I heard her rummaging about in the boot for a few minutes before she reappeared with a handkerchief, some scotch tape and a bottle of vodka.

I knew the scotch tape was in the boot, but had no idea about the alcohol! Mukti! She must have stashed it in my car and forgotten to tell me! The handkerchief was probably Nandini's. But what was she going to do with all this?

She stood in front of me and said, "Take off your shirt!"

"What? There's no need for all this!" I said in shock.

"Stop asking questions and do as I say!" She ordered.

I complied immediately and took my shirt off. For a moment, she seemed a little shy but she soon got over it and began her work.

She dipped the handkerchief in the vodka bottle and prepared to wipe my wound with it.

"Alcohol...a highly effective disinfectant." She said, addressing my confusion.

I winced in pain as she placed the cloth on the cut for the first time, and she immediately stopped to make sure I was okay. Why? Why was she helping me? I had done the most horrible things to her, yet here she was tending to my wounds! She was too good for this cruel world! She had one of the purest souls ever!

I watched her as she bandaged my wound with the help of the scotch tape and the handkerchief.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, out of genuine curiosity.

She thought for a moment and replied,"As you said, it's my fault you're hurt! I'm the one who called the police! And for your kind information, normal people do not enjoy seeing others in pain! It's not very pleasant you see! Of course, someone as selfish as you might not experience such feelings! Just consider it as a debt repaid- you helped me, so I'm helping you so that we're square!" she said.

When she was finally done with the dressing, I put my shirt back on. I felt a whole lot better! I guess science geeks were useful in the real world after all!

"Learn to accept others' help when you need it, Manik! It doesn't make you a weaker person!" She said with a finality in her voice.

She went to the other side of the car and took her seat. Before I started the car, she asked me something which had my blood boiling again.

"The police man said that his boss was Nyonika...was he talking about Nyonika Malhotra? As in your mother? I've seen her on T.V before but I don't understand...what does she want with me?" She asked.

I was about to start yelling when I controlled myself.

"Yes, he was talking about Nyonika Malhotra...and yes, she is my biological mother..." I gritted my teeth as I spoke.

She was about to ask me something more when I cut her off-"Nandini, I can't explain everything right now, but all I can say is Nyonika is bad news! She's after me and now that she knows I kidnapped you, she's after you too! You're not safe any longer! And if you try to contact your family they won't be safe either! She's probably keeping a watch on them as we speak."

"What?!" she said.

"Yes, believe me! I use only burner phones, so that she can't trace me. Think about it, how else would she know of our location? That's why, let's make a pact!" I said, as a new plan popped into my head.

"What pact?" she asked.

"Now that Nyonika is after you, I'll protect you and drop you off safely at the Singhania home in Goa as planned but you'll have to cooperate with me! That means, no phone calls or texts! And definitely no cries for help! You'll not try to get in touch with your Chacha-Chachi...if not for your sake, then at least for theirs'. Deal?" I asked extending my hand.

She thought for a moment and shook my hand giving me a flustered look.

"What other choice do I have?" she said in an exasperated voice.

I smirked immediately as I started the car.

"And one last condition, for our deal!" I said in a serious tone.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"Never ask me about Nyonika again!"

She gave me a puzzled look for a few moments, but finally nodded her head in agreement. Finally! I guess she wouldn't try to run away now! This made my job much easier.

I was extremely happy about this temporary truce. I couldn't help but wonder, what if it grew into something more?