I know I'm late, but please blame my shitty exams for this.🙄

So as a compensation, a longggg update of 4800 words.💙

Warning : Proceed at your own risk, this update is utter crap. Writers block. I'm sorry in advance.😭

Ignore the mistakes, if any.🐶

Happy Reading! 🌈

_________

Things were finally getting back to normal. Nandini was recovering from that horrendous event slowly. All thanks to Manik's constant care. When Nandini joined back office after two days of that incident, what surprised her the most was the strong support she had from all the employees and thats what made the healing process easier. It was just a normal day at work, with both Manik and Nandini being extremely busy, while Manik was having continuous meetings with the foreign delegates and Nandini was busy analysing the new project which they had under their company for the building of a multi speciality hospital for people who cannot afford expenses. They were so tied up that they didn't even get enough time to talk or see each other properly. After almost five hours of continuous toiling, they could finally breathe freely. After Nandini had a good mug of warm coffee, she finally sighed and moved towards Manik's cabin, she was about to knock the door but then she remembered that he wouldn't like it if she did that. She slowly opened the door, just to see him resting on the huge chair with his eyes closed making her smile a little. She tip-toed towards him and delicately massaged his forehead making him sigh audibly in relief.

" Nandini.." He whispered with his eyes still closed.

" Tumhe kaise pata ki mein hun?" Nandini asked with a grumpy face to which he slowly opened his eyes.

" Bas pata hai." He said plainly with a small smile and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.

" Bohot zyada thak gaye?" She asked as she brushed his forehead with her hand which he just 'hmm'd'.

" Manik, utho." she said making him make a weird face.

" Chalo bedroom mein." she asked as he stood up stretching.

" Bedrooommm?" he said with his eyes twinkling in mischief making Nandini blush like a tomato in embarrassment.

" Shut up, idiot. Chalo abhi." She held his hand and took him to the small bedroom inside his cabin.

" Nandini, hum kya karne waale hain?" he said excitedly while rubbing his hands to which she made a bad face.

" Baitho yahan pe." she said to which he sat down quietly with a grin still plastered on his face while Nandini moved towards the mini kitchen. She came back after a couple of minutes with a glass in her hand and handed it over to him -

" Yeh kya hai?" he said without looking at the glass.

" Zehar. Ab pii lo." She said with a forced smile to which he made a bad face making her chuckle mentally at his tantrums.

" Lemonade hai baba. Piyo. You'll feel better." she said with a smile to which he gulped down the whole glass in a sip.

" Ab lie down and rest for some time." she said making him shocked.

" Nandini, are you mad? How can I rest? I've got so much work to do. And what will the employees think? Ki unka boss rest kar raha hai? No Nandini. This isn't possible. Mein jaa raha hoon." he blabbered endlessly and got up from the bed just when Nandini held his shoulders and made him sit again.

" Kyun nahi kar sakte tum rest? Machine ho tum? Aur agar ho bhi toh let me tell you, Mr. Boss that even machines need rest. Chup chaap yahan lait jaao. Yahan se uthe toh trust me, Manik Malhotra, I'm not talking to you." she said angrily with her finger pointing at him to which his face changed from puppy dog to a horrified one.

" Okay. But sirf 30 minutes." He said making her mouth an 'okay' to him. She immediately called up Samrat, his personal secreatary that there shouldn't be any disturbance for Manik for 45 minutes. Just as she kept the phone down, she found Manik's accusing eyes since she had very convieniently change thirty minutes to forty-five. And yes, Manik finally got rid of his previous bimbo secrartary. :')

" Ab so jaao chup chaap." Nandini said sternly to which he made a grumpy child like face making her put her hand over his eyes.

" Matt jaao." he whispered, almost asleep because of the tiredness when Nandini was about to move away from him. She sighed with a smile and sat beside her. She ran her fingers through his silky, black hair while he had a constant look of peace on his face and soon the forty-five minutes passed in a blur and the alarm on Manik's phone rang, making him snap out of his peaceful slumber.

"Feeling better?" Nandini asked as she brushed away his hair from his forehead.

" Best." he said with a smile and sat up.

" Manik, vohh. I wanted to talk to you about something." she said nervously while they walked inside his cabin and settled down.

"What's wrong, Nandini? Is everything alright?" he asked in a voice laced with concern.

" Manik, voh..I need to go to Bangalore for three days." she muttered hurriedly with her eyes closed. She slowly opened her one eye, just to see Manik sitting with a blank expression.

"Manik?" she shook his shoulder lightly making him snap out of his trance.

" Huh? Kya?" he asked again to assure himself.

" I'm going to Bangalore for three days." she said softly.

" Three days?! 72 hours? Are you crazy? This is not happening! No way! Mein kya karunga teen din? Nahi. Tum nahi jaaogi. I don't care." he ranted.

" Manik, meri baat suno. Mera vahan jaana boho zaruri hai. Amms ka birthday hai aur har saal voh puja rakhti hain uss din. Mom aur dad bohot kam aate hain but she always expects me and Rishabh bhai to be there. Please Manik. I need to go. Its just three days." she pleaded.

" Just three days? You've got to be kidding me." he said with a bad face and stood with his hands resting on his waist.

" I'll try calling you naa." she pleaded again with a cute face.

"What do you mean by try?! " he asked her with a horrified expression.

" Jahan amms ka ghar hai naa, vahan network connectivity ke bohot issues hote hain. Isliye." she finished while Manik kept glaring at her. He sat down with his palms covering his face.

" But Manik, I'm taking my portable wifi hotspot with me so I'll call you on FaceTime as many times you wish to. Okay? Ab sad matt ho naa. I promise that these three days will pass away in no time." she said and held his hand making him sigh.

" Jaana zaruri hai? I mean, birthday toh sirf ek din hota hai. Three days ki kya zarurat hai?" he put forth his another kiddish question making her smile a little.

" Manik, my grandmom and my elder brother are going to be there. I can't just go and come back in a day's time. Unhe accha nahi lagega." she explained patiently to which he just nodded silently.

" Kab jaana hai?" he asked while he fiddled with her infinity bracelet on her wrist.

" Aaj raat ko 9 baje flight hai." she said making him snap his head at her with wide eyes.

" Itni jaldi chali jaaogi?" he asked in a sad voice.

"Manik, jaldi ho ya der se kya farak padhta hai. I promise ki mein tumhe mujhe miss karne ka chance hi nahi dungi. You can call me or text me whenever you wish to. Mujhe please jaane do?" she whispered while he kept drinking her beauty.

" I have something..for your brother." he said ignoring her previous statement, making her confused. He fished out a box like thing with a Ferrari logo on top of it.

" You've always wanted to gift your brother the same cologne that I use, so here." He said with a smile as he handed over the box to her making her sigh. She kept the box back on the table, making him confused.

" Exactly. Its your fragrance, I don't want anyone else to share it." she said with a smile making him embrace her in a bear hug, making both of them sigh in content.

" Miss karogi mujhe?" he asked as he broke the hug, while she was still in his arms.

" Bilkul nahi." she said ligtly kissed his cheek making him chuckle mentally at her tactics.

" See you." she waved to him and moved out of the cabin.

"Nandini.." he called out her name from behind making her turn around.

"I'll be dropping you to the airport. Be ready." he said with a smile which she reciprocated.

~•~

It was 7 PM when Manik reached Nandini's place to drop her off at the airport and texted her that he's waiting for her. After a couple of minutes, Nandini descended down the stairs and moved towards his car, where he stood, leaning with a smile on his face. She had worn a basic grey tee shirt and skinny black jeans, still making her look as beautiful as always.

" Chalein?" Manik asked with a smile as he held her hand to which she just nodded gently.

The ride was a silent one, with Nandini looking out at the busy streets of Mumbai while Manik kept glancing at her from time to time, with his one hand locked with hers. Manik tried driving as slow as possible, so that he could get some 'extra time' with her, which Nandini was very well aware of. She knew what she meant to him. And even she didn't knew that how would she get through three days straight without looking at this man face to face. She inaudibly sighed just to realise that they had reached the airport. Manik halted his car a little away from the parking lot just to avoid paparazzi around. They kept sitting in silence for minutes that seemed like hours, with their fingers still tightly laced with each other.

" Manik.." she whispered and immediately he hugged her tightly. Holding onto her as if his life depended on it.

" Manik, it's just three days. I promise I'll be back in no time. Yeh kaisi cry baby jaisi shakal banayi hui hai. I don't like this face of yours." She said while laughing a little as she cupped his face in her tiny palms.

" Meri Nandini ka bohot khayaal rakhna." He whispered softly as he caressed her cheek lovingly and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, making her eyes a little moist.

" I promise." She said with a smile as she rubbed his cheek with her thumb softly and moved out of the car, making emptiness creep into his system. Just when he was in deep thoughts, he heard a knock on his side of the window, he immediately rolled it down–

" Take care." She said lovingly as she tenderly kissed him on his cheek making him close his eyes to absorb the moment in his heart. He opened his eyes, just to see her waving at him while moving ahead to which he just waved back with smile.

~•~

Three days in Bangalore for Nandini passed away in a blur. She was meeting her grandmother and brother after almost a year. The bond between Rishabh and Nandini was very unique. Even though he was two years elder than Nandini, they still behaved like long lost best friends and not siblings. While her grandmother, since she was growing old, she wanted to spend the maximum time with her grandchildren and the Murthy siblings made sure of that. Since Rishabh was pursuing law in Bangalore itself, he made it a point to visit his darling grandmother as frequently as possible. And now was finally the time to get back to The City Of Dreams and bid adieu to her home town. After long 72 hours, she's gonna be back to place which felt like home. His arms. While on the other hand, Mr. Manik Malhotra chose to engross himself in heaps of files and presentations to keep him busy just so his mind would stop wondering about what she would be doing and how she was all the time. But who was he kidding? He knew that this tiny little girl was locked in his head forever and there was no going back now. He talked to her a couple of times in the day on FaceTime just to make sure if she was doing okay or not. He used to wake up in the middle of the night, pick up his phone to call her but always ended up keeping it back because he didn't want to look like an annoying snob who was trying to intrude into her privacy. With constant sighs and mental debates, the longest three days of his life finally went by and that was when he knew that even while being at home, he could be homesick, for people, for her. Because ultimately distance teaches you to cherish the days you've spent together and the power of patience. Distance was just a test to see how far could love travel.

~•~

Nandini's flight was supposed to land at 10 PM while Manik was already there at the airport an hour before, he just couldn't contain the fact that he would be seeing her after three long days. It was 10.05 PM according to his watch, when Peter called him saying that the flight had landed already. He rubbed his hands a little and contained his heavy breathing as he closed his eyes down for a couple of minutes. Just when he had started to breathe at a normal pace, there was (again) a knock on the window. And there she was, standing there with her brightest smile. It was amazing how a simple curve on her face reflected his too. She sat down on the passenger seat as Manik started the engine after giving her a warm smile. But something was different. She knew that he wasn't okay. She knew that something was bugging him. She had expected him to crush down her bones while hugging her, but that didn't happen. And she knew. She kept looking at him from the corner of her eye - how his grip kept getting tight on the poor steering wheel of his car and how after every minute he decided to take a deep breathe and exhale a sigh. Her thoughts were abruptly put to a halt when he suddenly jerked the car and stepped out of it. She immediately noticed his phone rigging, it was Peter. She picked up the call and told him that everything was alright and stepped out to see him standing at the corner of the road, seeing and listening to the lights and sounds of the city that never slept, with the wind brushing away his thick black locks. She sighed inaudibly and softly kept her hand on his shoulder and before she could realise, she was crushed in his warm, muscular arms, his arms shielding around her, like the shields of love which could protect both of them. His arms wrapped around her shoulder, as he kept pulling her frail body closer to his chest as he gently rubbed her arm. Despite the fluttering and heaviness in the pit of her stomach feeling his body pressed against her, she softly put her tiny arms around him and rubbed his back a little, making him finally sigh in content. Her hand reached his soft hair as she ran her fingers softly through them making him snuggle more into her hair making her smile. Just when she heard his hoarse whisper in her ear~

" I missed you. I missed you so much." He said making her close her eyes with a smile.

" I missed you too, Manik." She whispered back. True, it was just three mere days but the place both of them held in each other's lives made it look like a lifetime for them. Nandini didn't show or tell him how much she missed him, but only she knew that right before sleeping and the first thing in the morning for the past three days the only thought that crossed her mind was him. She knew what importance and place Manik held in her life, and now she had no qualms in accepting it.

" You are never ever going away from me like this, am I clear, Nandini Murthy?" He said in a composed voice while she stood steady between his huge arms.

" Yes sir. Clear." She said as she giggled a little.

" And if you do, provided it's something way too urgent, then I'm coming with you too. No questions on this." He ordered making her smile in response.

" Let's head back home now?" She asked with a smile as she got out of his grip and moved towards the car just to be pulled back again. She turned towards him while he gently placed a long, beautiful kiss on her forehead making her sigh in beatitude as she closed her eyes to let it sink in.

" Let's go home." He said as he held her hand and made her sit down.

~•~

They reached her place while Manik just chose to fall straight on the bed with his eyes closed and mouth slightly open. Nandini freshened up and changed herself in a white tank top along with her fuzzy pink coloured panda pyjamas. She smiled a little looking at him as she pulled her hair up in a sloppy bun and lied down beside him as she switched on the table lamps from both the sides of the bed, making the room dark and lightly illuminated with yellow lights. Just as she covered herself with the duvet, she felt her being embraced warmly by him, with his breath fanning on her neck.

" I've never been so sleep deprived. I hardly slept in the past three days." He said with his eyes still closed as she ruffled his hair.

" How was your trip?" He asked.

" It was great. Me and bhai had loads of fun. Amms ka birthday bhi acche se hua. You know we even visited the beach aur hum Sundari ke paas bhi gaye. You know Sundari is mine and bhai' tree. When we were little, tab humne backyard mein plant kiya thaa and now it's soooo big and beautiful." She kept blabbering endlessly while Manik kept looking at her with a constant smile adorning his face.

" But you know, how I wish I would've met Kartik. You know jab hum chote the we used to have so much fun and voh mujhe bohot tang karta tha on everything but he's always been a great pers.." she was cut when Mr. Manik Jealous Malhotra hovered over her body, making her gulp audibly as she looked into his darkened eyes.

" Who is this guy?" He asked in a sharp voice.

" When I used to live in Bangalore, he was our neighbour." She replied meekly.

" Remember one thing Nandini Murthy, you are mine and only mine." He said possessively as he dipped his face in the crook of her neck and softly bit her there making her hiss a little.

" Whoa whoa Monster Manik. Hold your horses. Let me tell you something. Kartik is married. He has a baby too okay? Calm down." She said with a smile as she rubbed his back with one hand and ran her fingers in his hair with the other one making him exhale as he rested his head softly on her shoulder.

" Toh mein kya karun? Mujhe nahi pasand ki tum mere hisse ki attention kisi xyz insaan ko do. I hate it." And there he threw another babyish tantrum making her chuckle lightly.

" Manik, tum kitne cute hoooo." She said as she pulled his cheeks a little making him annoyed to no extent.

" Nandini mein baby nahi hoon jo tum mujhe cute bol rahi ho. Sirf babies cute hote hain." He said with a bad face while rubbing his cheeks.

" Usse kam bhi nahi ho vaise." She laughed making him all grumpy again.

" Vaise Kartik is coming to meet me at office tomorrow because he was here for some work. " she said to which Manik just 'hmm'd' . But actually, he was just mentally devising a plan to tell the guy that she was his. His for life. He didn't give two hoots to the fact that Kartik was married, all he cared was that HE was a man and he was Nandini's close friend since years. How could he let a man come close to her in his presence, when it was just HIS right?

" Good night baby girl." He whispered as his arm rested on her waist.

" Good night." She replied as she lightly pecked his cheek. And that's how the night ended, with both the falling-in-love birds catching up and feeling each other's presence.

~•~

Twilight melted away as majestic sun rays entered from the glass window of her room. The red, orange glow spreading wide over the horizon like a splutter of paint as the sunlight sharpened each green leaf and grass with birds finally flying and chirping around, as the morning painting session by the almighty was over. Nandini was the first one to wake up, but just when she tried to move, she felt the strongest possible yet the most gentle grip on her waist, and there he was sleeping like a baby with his mouth ajar making her giggle silently. She softly caressed the messy locks of hair on his forehead and brushed them away. Her fingers unknowingly traced down to his perfect facial features making him squirm a little with a smile, which made her snap out of her reverie. She sighed when she again tried to move a little, but no avail.

"Stop moving, Nandini." He said in his sleepy voice.

" Manik, tum jaag rahe ho?" She asked softly to which he just nodded a little.

" Vahi toh mein soch raha hoon that are you real or am I imagining?" He said in a low sleepy voice as he caressed her cheek and twirled around a brown lock of hers around his finger.

" All this is so perfect. So serene. Bass mann kar raha hai aise hi rahu humesha. I don't feel like going away from here." He softly said while staring deep into his eyes to which she just smiled.

" Manik, you need to leave." She said as she softly rubbed her fingers over his day old stubble making him nod understandingly.

" Good morning sunshine." He muttered with a sheepish grin as he softly pecked her cheek and sat up.

" Good morning, Manik. And now please get up, go home and reach office." Nandini said as she stood up stretching.

" Okayyyyy." He yawned and said in a sleepy voice.

" Manik uth jaao Nahi toh mein Nyonika aunty ko call kar rahi hoon." She said in a threatening tone making him immediately jump out of bed.

" Arrey jaa raha hun naa, dara kyun rahi ho?" He said with a bad face as he ran his fingers through his hair, making them look presentable.

" Ab jaao. Byeeee." Nandini said as she waved at him to which he moved out of the main door.

And within a couple of seconds he was back, "Tum mujhe apne ghar se bhaga rahi ho?" He said with a puppy dog face making her face palm herself.

" Manik, mein kyun nikaalungi tumhe? Late ho raha hai naa. Isliye. Ab tum jaao, I'll see you at office in an hour." She said with a smile as she blew a flying kiss to him making him jump and catch it dramatically making her laugh.

After an hour and a half, Nandini and Manik were already at the office, busy with work as an important project was coming up. Manik being the CEO, handled everything with ease when she was away, but now that she was back - she chose to divide the work so that it's less time consuming. They were continuously on calls and simultaneously working for hours straight and by the time it was lunch time, they were finally done and dusted with the entire thing. Manik and Nandini moved towards the cafeteria at the ground floor and moved inside the special sitting area which was made for guests and Manik, Nandini and Cabir respectively. Nandini knew that Kartik would be coming with his wife, Aradhana, so she had already told Samantha, the receptionist about the arrival of her guests. Manik and Nandini were having lunch together when Manik's phone rang and he excused himself to attend the call.
When he came back, he noticed Nandini talking to some man who was with a woman of the same age. Kartik and his wife, his brain prompted making him sigh. But what made him cringe was Nandini side hugging that man. How could he even touch what was his? He walked towards them and gave a warm smile to Nandini, making her come out of Kartik's grip much to Manik's relief.

" So Kartik, this is Manik, my boss." Nandini introduced with a smile while Manik and Kartik shook hands. For a couple of minutes they chose to talk about random topics while Nandini talked to Aradhana about their baby. And our darling Malhotra, he had firmly rested her hand on Nandini's waist, making her face palm mentally at his haq jataana session making Kartik chuckle inaudibly with amusement and making Nandini embarrassed at the same time.

" Um. Nandini, I'm in my cabin I need to talk to dad about something urgent." He said with a smile as exchanged pleasantries with Kartik and his wife before leaving.

" Manik..but" Nandini interrupted and was cut by something which was completely unexpected, at least at that point in time.

" Laters, baby." He whispered in his sexy throaty voice making something in her stomach, and Nandini, well she decided to turn into a cherry. She immediately covered her face with her palm while Kartik and his wife seemed to enjoy the show. After a couple of minutes, they chose to leave and Nandini Murthy was on a mission to hunt someone down. She immediately moved towards the elevator and kept muttering uncountable abuses to that someone for embarrassing her so much. Her abusing my boss session was halted by the ting of the lift, with which she walked at a fast pace and immediately barged into his cabin, startling him.

" Manik Malhotra, what the hell is wrong with you? How can you even do this?! Do you realise that we were in front of two people who were my guests, for gods sake?! " she shouted making him shrug, which in turn made her angrier.

" You need to stop acting so childish all the goddamn time! " she shouted again and turned to leave when she heard him talking.

" Nandini, I'm sorry okay? But I just couldn't stand the fact of you being close to someone else. I know I shouldn't have done that. I know that he's married and blah blah blah. But mujhe jo samajh aaya meine kiya." He explained in a low voice making Nandini exhale audibly.

" Manik Malhotra, listen to me very carefully. You don't have to be jealous or insecure of anybody. I repeat, nobody at all. I belong to you and only you, even you know that." She explained patiently making him nod.

" I know and I'm sorry but.." he said with a puppy dog face making her laugh a little.

" It's okay." She said making him engulf her in a soft, yet strong hug filled with affection.

" Thank you for being my shining star." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head to which she just smiled beautifully as a reply.

~•~•~•~

Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, inflames the great because absence makes your heart grow fonder.

________

Thanks for reading! Do drop in your reviews.☺️

Also, this story is solely about MaNan and their bonding. So I won't be including much of the scenes with Manik's friend, they will be there but that limelight will be on MaNan.

I'll try and post the next update asap. My schedule is pretty hectic.🙈

But before that, please drop in what YOU wish to see in the coming chapters of this story.😇

Till then, hasta la vista, babies.😉