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Sorry for being little late for the update, but you know how lockdown days keeps girls busy

Haha 😂 enjoy the update

The impact of the blast was not very huge, thankfully. Manik and Nandini couldn't feel any impact of the blast but they were taken aback by the sound they had just heard. Manik was worried about Karan. He screamed his name and entered the room again. Nandini held his hand and gestured him not to go but Manik gave her an assuring look, slipping out his hand from hers.
Manik ran inside the room. He saw Karan lying on the floor, panting. Blood was smeared on his face. Karan looked up at Manik and smiled slightly. Manik felt relieved to see his friend was well. His eyes now travelled towards Gaurav who was in a very bad state. His left leg was completely burnt and he was groaning in pain. One of the officers came in and looked around. Looking at the atmosphere around, he became tense and called an ambulance right away.

* * *

|Manik's POV|

I was relieved that Karan was alright. Gaurav's condition seemed worse. Ambulance arrived in fifteen minutes and Karan and Gaurav were taken to hospital. Gaurav's men were arrested and Nandini was also feeling well. Thankfully, she didn't have any injuries. I made Nandini sit in my car and drove her off to her house.

I parked my car before the gate of her house. She exited my car and stood before the gate. I exited my car too and went up to her.

'I..I was...really scared. Th...thank you for s..saving me.' Nandini said, looking at me with her teary eyes.
'No, Nandini. You don't have to thank me. Actually, I should apologize to you for not finding you out earlier.' I said, my head hung low.

'It's alright, Manik. Everything is fine now.' She said, sobbing.
I went closer to her. Her breath was getting hitched. She looked into my eyes. At that moment, I felt electricity passing through me. I grabbed her by her waist and smashed my lips into hers.

* * *

Two days later:

'How are you, buddy?' I asked.
I was in a hospital, sitting on a chair besides a bed on which Karan was lying. He was recovering fast. He had a few internal injuries and he had cracked one of his ribs too. Gaurav, on the other hand, was in a serious state. He was shifted to ICU the previous day. Doctors had said that he wouldn't be able to walk properly since he had lost his leg.

'I am good.' Karan replied.

I smiled at him.

'What type of explosives was in that drum, anyway?

Any idea?' I asked.

'It was some sort of fire cracker. So, that's why the impact of the blast wasn't that huge.' Karan explained.

'Oh. Thank god, it wasn't anything serious.'

'Yeah, we were fortunate.'

'Yeah.'

'How is Nandini?'

'She hasn't been to the office yet. I told her to take as much rest as she wanted. I suppose she is alright.'

'Yeah. She does need rest. She was in that shithole for around a month. I can't even think what she must have gone through.'
I smiled.

'I am happy that you guys are together again.' Karan said.

'What? Who said that we are together? I'm still pretty much pissed off by my past. I can't forget it just like that.' I said.
'You'll never change, Manik. Never. Isn't it?' Karan said, shaking his head.

I just smirked.

* * *

|Nandini's POV|

I was happy that I was back home but at the same time, the thought that I had been kidnapped for almost a month haunted me. I wondered if I ever would be normal again. My belief in humanity has vanished into thin smoke now.

My brother and Navya couldn't control their emotions when they saw me. They had thought that I wasn't coming back but thanks to Manik, or else I would probably be dead by now. Manik had come like a superhero and had rescued me. I knew I could never be back to normal again. This trauma would haunt me forever.

After three days, I decided to go to the office. I couldn't just sit in my house and try to move on from whatever that happened. I had to get out and prepare myself for whatever was coming for me even though I wasn't entirely ready.

As I entered the office, everyone turned their heads towards me as if they had seen an alien creature. I was feeling embarrassed. I just gave a wry smile. I went straight to my table and got to work. After around fifteen minutes, I saw Manik coming out of his cabin. This was the moment I had been waiting for. A smile crept on to my lips as soon as I saw him.

'How are you, Miss Nandini?' He asked, without any emotion on his face.

'I...I am fine.' I said, stuttering.
He nodded.

'Hope you can cope up with the work.' He said and left.

I wished he would haven't addressed me so formally. I wished he wasn't so emotionless. I wanted the Manik from that night when he rescued me but it seemed like he was back to his old self. He still thought that whatever that had happened in the past was my fault. I had to let him know somehow the actual truth about the past. I wanted Manik back in my life.

* * *

So, how was the chapter?

Sorry about the short chapter and late update but due pandemic period mind get stuck .

What do you think will happen next?

Comment down below and don't forget to vote.