Okay so, I don't really know how this one has turned out, if it's bad then please blame my fever and cold.😂
Do drop in your reviews.😘
Happy Reading! 💙

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They reached home after a great time while having dinner while the route back home was filled with nonsense talks, giggles and not-so-humorous jokes on which they ended up laughing crazily.

" Huff. I'm so so so.. I don't know." Nandini said in a funny tone as they plumped onto the the fluffy mattress of his room, making him laugh.

" It was a beautiful evening." She said with a smile looking at the ceiling.

" Indeed was." He replied as he turned towards her side with a smile.

" Manik, kya soch rahe ho?" She finally asked as she observed him staring at her, all quiet from the past couple of minutes.

" Nandini.." he uttered as he sat up making her sit upright beside him too.

" Manik, what's the matter? Batao mujhe?" She asked calmly as she held his hand in hers.

" I..I don't want to sound wrong. But all this..I mean us. I..I don't want you to feel that I'm physically using you because of our closeness." He said with a nervous expression just to find her sitting with a blank expression after which she immediately withdrew her hand from his hold.

" Kya meine tumhe kabhi yeh feel hone diya that you are using me? Kya meine tumhe kabhi wrong signals diye that I want to have some sort of a physical relationship with you? Manik Malhotra, you disgust me! How can you even think like that? I considered you my best friend and this is how low you think of me?! Before you assume things, the least you can do is fucking ask!" She wailed as a continuous stream of tears kept flowing down her eyes.

" Nandini.." he said as he moved close to her.

" No. No. Just..just stay away. I'm leaving back for home, I don't need my boss to afford my expenses, I can do that myself." She said with a forced smile as she roughly wiped off the tears from her cheeks and left after slamming the door behind while he stood there helpless, not knowing what to do. He never meant to hurt her or make her think that he was questioning her character. Hell. He could never do that, not even in his dreams. She was an extremely important person in his life, and he knew that he couldn't mend this misunderstanding anytime soon. He just didn't wanted to feel her uncomfortable and this is what it leaded too. He didn't want to lose her. He couldn't afford to lose her at any cost. Just the thought of her going away from him and his life made his heart go wild in a second. He immediately ran out towards her room just to find it locked.

" Nandini...Nandini. Please listen to me once. Please." He pleaded, rather almost begged as he knocked the door of her room continuously.

" Go away, Manik." Came her scream from behind the door which clearly conveyed her cries.

" Okay okay. Fine. I'm going. But please be okay, alright?" He said in a low voice and went back to his room after he slammed his room's door as he entered. He knew what he said was wrong, rather the way he said was wrong. He recalled how happy they were a while ago and how they are now. The tough night finally passed, with Nandini holding her cries and Manik cursing himself. Though amidst his anger he kept on checking on Nandini's door if she was okay or not but all he could hear was silence.

The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding.

~~~

A new morning, with the sun shining bright along with the huge fluffy clouds but all this didn't matter when there was no peace in the hearts and minds of the two distressed souls. Manik had slept sitting on the floor itself while thinking how things changed in an instant for him. But he new he had to fix it. He had to fix them. He woke up due to the bright sunlight piercing into his room from in between the curtains making him awake.

" Oh shit. Nandini." He ran towards her room without bothering about his bare feet. He checked her room and found it unlocked just to find it empty leaving him scared to wits. Did she leave? Did she really leave him? Was he back to being alone? Fighting through the scary thoughts he ran down the stairs while the servants looked at their master all distressed with disheveled hair, looking all broken.

" Nandini. Where is Nandini?" He hastily asked one of them.

" Sir.." the poor servant fumbled with words.

" Speak up, dammit!" He roared and immediately ran out of the house. Just when he was about to hop into his car to find her, he saw a petite figure watering the plants in the garden and within a second he was running like a mad man towards her because that's how it clicked his messy head. He immediately crashed himself into her tiny figure making her stumble a little due to the force.

" Nandini. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He kept mumbling the same thing over and over again while she stood unresponsive. His heart was almost at peace knowing that she still hadn't left. She was close to him. Close to his heart.

" Manik." She softly whispered as she tried turning around but his hold was extremely strong. She tried again to which he finally loosened his grip around her.

" Manik please." She said as she turned around to face him while he just stood still holding her close in his arms.

" Yeh kya halat bana rakhi hai apni tumne?" She asked in shock looking at him. She softly combed his hair with her fingers while he dug his face in her hair. She was his peace, and today was the day when he finally knew this.

" Manik, sit here first." She said as she pulled her along with her towards the wooden bench.

" I thought you left." He said with a blank face.

" Aise kaise chali jaati?" She replied with a smile.

" Nandini, I'm sorry, please forgive me. I didn't mean what I said. I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. Please believe me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I will do anything to make it up to you. Please." He blabbered as he hugged her again when suddenly she palmed his mouth softly with her hand.

" Shh. Bass. It's okay. I know you didn't mean all that you said at all. I know you. Jaanti hoon mein tumhe. Samajhti hoon tumhe. Isliye ye bhi pata hai ki tum kitne bade idiot ho. And I'm sorry too, I was angry, mujhe vo sab nahi kehna chahiye tha." She said in a low voice to which he nodded his head in negative, asking her not to apologize.

" I thought I lost you." He meekly whispered, loud enough for her to hear.

" Manik, always remember one thing. You are very, very special to me. No matter what happens, I will never leave your side. You will never lose me." She explained making him smile a little and cage her in his arms again to which she softly ruffled her hair making him smile against her neck.

" But you have to make it up to me. So your punishment is, that you have to give me a surprise." She said excitedly making him smile.

" Are you sure this is a punishment? Because if it is, I'd love to surprise you." He said as he softly kissed her hair.

" And please, go freshen up. You look like a zombie." She chortled as she ran her thumb over his dark circles after which she got up to leave when he tugged her hand from behind.

" Nandini, I'm really sorry." He said again.

" Manik, it's alright. I know you didn't mean it. Let's go." She said as she held out her hand towards him which he grabbed instantly.

~~~

" Manik, what the hell is this?" Nandini said as she saw the things of his room scattered everywhere.

" Voh, I.." he tried finding words.

" Cheezon pe gussa nikalna is not a good thing na." She said calmly as she asked the caretaker to clean the room.

" You freshen up in my room." She said.

" What about you?" He asked as he fetched his towel and clothes.

" Tum naha ke aajao, I'll have bath then." She said with a smile as she moved down towards the kitchen.

Nandini came back to her room after a while as she checked the preparations for their breakfast, she was about to sit back on the bed, when she noticed his phone ringing, the caller ID displayed 'Mom' with Nyonika's picture as the background. After a couple of seconds of fighting with herself whether she should pick up the call or not, she decided to talk.

" Hello aunty, good morning." Nandini said happily as she picked up the call.

" Hello beta. How are you? How are you liking New York?" Nyonika answered warmly from the other side. For a second she was shocked to know that it was Nandini who had picked up the call, and not Manik since it was very unusual of him to hand over his phone to someone.

" I'm completely alright, aunty. New York is gorgeous. Jitna bhi ghumo, kam hi lagta hai. Its so beautiful." Nandini replied.

" I'm sure you're enjoying. Beta, where is Manik?" Nyonika finally asked.

" Aunty actually he's in the shower. I'll make him talk to you when he's back, if that is okay?" She asked.

" No problem, darling. Mera beta vaise hi nalayak hai, its almost 11 in New York and he's having bath now." Nyonika said making Nandini giggle heartily unaware of the fact that the person both the ladies were talking about from miles apart, was standing right behind her listening to all their talks and seeing her giggle happily.

" Sure aunty, bye. Take care." Nandini said as she hung up the call with a smile, just as she turned around she collided with something hard, yet soft while he held her closely yet safely by her waist making her shiver a little. She looked up just to find him staring at her with his most charming smile ever, she moved her eyes a little when she noticed his well carved bare chest and his perfectly chiseled abs while a white towel remained wrapping his lower body which clearly didn't hide his under construction V-line making all sorts of dirty thoughts pop into her head which she had to shoo away. His intimidating eyes making him look prepossessing as ever, with the tiny water droplets running down the bumps of his chest, making her gulp inaudibly. While, her fingers unconsciously decided to trace down his muscular abs. The plains of his chest were smooth and unscathed which felt soft and warm under her hands as her brain decided to explore it further. She tried peeling off her gaze from him, but it was alas, of no use with his intense brown orbs piercing through her soul. Just when she was about to move away, she noticed his devilishly handsome features turn into a knowing grin as he caught her drooling over him.

" Who was it?" he asked making her snap out of her reverie as she pulled her hand away nervously.

" Mom." she said. " I mean, your mom." she corrected herself.

" You can stare at me as long as you want to, haq banta hai tumhara." he whispered huskily as he nuzzled his nose on her ed cheek making her close her anticipation making him giggle inaudibly to which he lightly pecked her tiny nose.

" You're so adorable." he said making her blush as she ran inside the bathroom. At this point she didn't know what she felt for him, she handed over the entire control to her heart because she knew that her heart knows everything , that was when she decided to let things be the way the are. Because she knew that being close to him gave her happiness. He was her favorite feeling.

They stood there pretending to be just friends when all the while everyone in the room could plainly see that they were existing only for each other.

~~~

After Nandini was back from a warm shower, she found the room empty. She was dressed in a simple black and white striped t-shirt paired with blue washed denim shorts, she pinned her hair up in a bun and moved downstairs with her bag just to find him leaning on the stairs looking perfect as always in a plain white tee and grey shorts. Just as she stepped down, he averted his gaze from his phone towards her, but as soon as he saw her, his jaw almost touched the floor looking at her looking sinfully stunning, not that he had never seen women in shorts, seeing her wearing such clothes was different. The good different.

" You look so different." he said still in daze.

" Thankyou, Manik." she replied with a wide smile.

" Carry a pair of spare clothes with you, it's time for your surprise." he said with a smirk as he moved out of the house.

She came back within a minute or so, just to find him standing leaning on the car.

" Shall we?" he asked as he opened the passenger door.

And within no time, they sped off towards their destination ~

" Manik, hum kahan jaa rahe hain?" she asked for the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes.

" Patience baba, we're about to reach." He calmly said as he turned around his car and finally stopped in front of a place, which had nothing but vast arrays of green trees making it look like a mini forest.

" Chalo." he said with a smile as he opened the door for her.

" Par Manik, yeh toh forest hai." she said with an innocent face.

" Wow, tum toh Einstein nikli." he said sarcastically making her pout angrily.

" Come, lets go." he said as he held her hand and moved inside the forest. After walking a bit, they reached a narrow wooden bridge completely surrounded with lush green trees with sunlight peeking through the green canopies.

" This is so beautiful." she said in awe as she looked around.

" Abhi toh surprise bacha hai. Tab kya kahogi?" he said while laughing.

" Can't wait to see it." She said.

" Almost there." he replied. And within a couple of minutes they had reached the destination.

" Manik, please let me see na." she cribbed as Manik had palmed her eyes from behind.

" Happy Surprise." he softly whispered in her ear from behind and removed his hands from her eyes. And the view infront was completely breathtaking, making her gape at the place open mouthed. The pond looked like a sheet of black sparkling glass with water flowing into it from a nearby waterfall, surrounded completely by trees, not a ray of sunlight entering the place.

" HOLY STRAWBERRIES, MANIK MALHOTRA." she exclaimed.

" This is so enchanting. So peaceful. So mesmerizing." She said as she pounced on him for a hug and inhaled a deep breath of the fresh, green air.

" Thank you for bringing me here." she said with her eyes closed, still in the hug.

" You're always welcome." he said as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her head lightly.

" I got this place built two years ago. Nobody knows about it, except you now. Not even Cabir. This place gives me immense peace and satisfaction, away from all the noise and chaos. Whenever I come here, I make it a point to come here. This is my safe haven. Yahan koi nahi aata." He breathed with a smile.

" I'm glad you told me this and got me here." she said with a smile.

" So, lets jump." He said as he peeled of his tee from his body and got rid of his shoes, once again exposing his chest to her.

" Manik, how deep is this?" she asked as she removed her shoes.

" Five or five and a half feet." he said to which she nodded and slowly got inside the water body.

" Oh my god. Why is this water so cold?" she said as she shivered a little as her warm body came in contact with the chilly water.

" Thats the best part, thodi der mein pata bhi nahi chalega." he said with a smile as he held her close to him to give her some warmth.

" Hold your breath, one, two and three." He said as he pulled her underwater for a dip.

They slowly opened their eyes under water just to see the entire pond surface illuminating with light and so many tiny plant species which they could clearly see. Within a couple of seconds, they were back up, breathing air.

" Whoa. That was something." she said as they swam a little together.

" This is so calm and still." she breathed as they stood by at the corner of the pond, resting their eyes, minds, souls and hearts with the sense of tranquility spreading all around. The feeling was different, there was a sense of contentment on their faces and bliss in their hearts as they heard the tiny birds chirping.

" You'll catch cold, lets go." he finally said, breaking the silence.

" Manik, yahin rehte hain na. Bohot accha lag raha hai yahan." she said with a puppy face.

" Not buying that, come on. We'll come here whenever you want. Its afternoon already." He said with a smile as he got out of water and gave her his hand.

" Manik..I.. my foot is stuck in something. A rock, maybe" she said with tension clearly visible on her face as she tried moving her feet.

" Don't move, okay? Just stay still." He said and immediately picked her up in his arms like a baby with his hands under her shoulders making her foot free.

" Dikhao idhar." he said as he made her sit on a chair.

" Its just a small cut. Wait. I'll bring the towel." He said as checked the cut and got a spare towel from the mini hut like compartment. He kneeled down in front of her, taking her foot on the towel which was placed in his lap. He softly dried her feet and stuck a band aid on the cut while she kept looking at him with a smile, seeing his care. Just to say, it was just a mere cut, it could've healed within a day or two but he made sure that she doesn't even feel the pain of a pinch.

" Done." he said with a smile.

" Go change, before you start sneezing." he said as he guided her towards the compartment to which she nodded warmly while he took the other compartment to change.

When someone makes you the happiest person and the saddest person at the same time, that's when it's real. It's worth something.

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Thanks for reading! 💕

[A/N ~ Okay so guys, I have a lot planned for the New York trip, so do you want me to end this track or continue with it? Just one or two updates are left of the New York trip. :) ]