Manik's POV :

I had almost reached Delhi when I received Cabir's text - " Found your JMD. She's great. ;) " . I was extremely happy. Finally we had a Junior Managing Director for our company because that post has been vacant since long. Okay. Wait. MY JMD IS A GIRL! I read his text again a couple of times just to confirm what I'm reading. I'm kinda happy though. Women empowerment is the motto! So, Miss JMD, let's see what you've got.
The meeting went pretty well with the Singhania's. I got the deal for my company. I had a flight back home in fifteen minutes and I'll be back home.

Location : Mumbai Airport -

I had reached the airport on time and I was home. In the past couple of years I've grown so attached to this town that I don't feel like leaving this place even for a day and above that, my family. I'm nothing without them. I've always believed that nothing is more important than your family. When no one's there to support you, you'll always have your family by your side. My thoughts were interrupted by the continuous honking of car horns due to the traffic jam. Traffic jam's were quite common in Mumbai and I had very conveniently got used to of them because I know that this was something which could not be fixed so easily. I looked out of the window just to see the most mesmerizing sight. A girl having thick long black hair wearing a blue and white floral dress along with pencil heels was standing on a road side street food stall having pani puri. I could easily make out that she was wearing designer clothes  and belonged to a good household. But, standing on the road side and eating unhygienic food was something. She was making all sorts of cute faces while eating. In today's time, I've seen girls being so health conscious including Alya and Mukti and this girl was eating all sorts of oily and spicy food. She was different. She was beautiful. Her smile was pure. Her eyes were magical. I didn't realize how I was smiling while looking at her. I wish I see her again soon.

My trance was broken when the driver started the car and glided through the busy streets of Mumbai towards my house,  Malhotra Mansion ~ [Media box]

While we were about to reach, Mom called and asked me to pick up dad and my favorite, Grey Tea from the departmental store. We reached the store while my driver's phone rang. It was his daughter's phone. The driver, Ramesh Kaka has been with us from the past six years. He was a man of late fifties and me and my family respected him alot. While he was talking, I moved inside the store and started looking for what I had come for. I picked up some Swiss chocolates for Mukti. While i was moving towards the other counter, I collided with something. Rather someone. Her hair were coming all over her face and I immediately gripped her waist to prevent her from falling. She had her eyes closed due the fear of falling. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes and looked towards me. Her hazel orbs were so captivating. While I was busy absorbing her facial features, I didn't realize that it was HER. The roadside beauty. My beautiful stranger. We were lost in each other's eyes forgetting about the hundred eyes gawking at us as if we were aliens. I immediately made her stand while she looked down in embarrassment. She looked even more beautiful while blushing.

I hesitantly asked her, " Um. Are you okay?" to which she looked up to me and said with a shy smile,  " Yes. I'm fine. Thankyou so much."

Her voice was music.

Suddenly someone from across the passage said, "Nandini, hurry up!" Maybe it was her friend. She looked back at me with a small smile and ran away.

Nandini. I whispered to myself with a smile.

After billing for the stuff I bought, we reached home in a couple of minutes.

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by my overly worried mother and my superhero, my father.

I moved towards my room to freshen up when I received a call from Cabir.

" Saaley! Aagaya vapas tu? " He said.

" Well, hello to you too Cabir! " I said sarcastically.

" Ye sab chodh. What about the deal? Did we get it or did we get it? " He said.

" You already know the answer man." I said with a smile.

" Wohoo! Congratulations brother. Chal issi baat pe party toh banti hai! " He said enthusiastically.

" Sure Cabir. You guys should come over. We'll party then." I said.

" Not today bro. The party is on me. Come home for dinner at 7. As it is I want you to meet someone. " He said.

" Who? " I asked in confusion.

" Someone. She's Navya's best friend and my sister. She's beautiful. " He said teasingly. But as soon as he said beautiful, there was only one face infront of my eyes. Her. Nandini. My beautiful stranger.

" Back to earth. Back to earth. Kahan kho gaya tu? " He asked.

" Um. Nothing. Anyway, I'll see you there." I said.

" Okay then. See you. Bye." He said and hung up.

I quickly had a shower and got dressed in a light blue V-neck tee and a navy blue blazer along with my favorite mustard colored pants.

I picked up my Audi R8's keys from the key stand, picked up Mukti's chocolates and made my way out of the house leaving mom cribbing about me not taking proper care of myself. Typical Mother!

I drove to Cabir's place. He and Navya had this small warm yet luxurious house. I entered just to see Mukti sleeping on Abhimanyu's shoulder. Haha. Time for some fun. I slowly moved towards her and covered her mouth with my palm leaving her screaming and Abhi laughing. She came forward and started hitting me.

" Arrey Mukti, bass. Lag rahi hai." I said between my laughter.

" Haan. Tujhe lag rahi hai. Mein mar jaati toh? " She said .

" Mukti, you're saying this for the last time. I don't want to hear about death from your mouth ever again. " I said with a stern expression. Mukti was way too important to me and her talking about dying was the last thing I wanted to hear.

She immediately held her ears and apologized with a cute expression. Aah! She knows my weakness that I can't stay angry with her for long. I immediately took her in hug.

" I missed you." She mumbled.

" Mukti,we met day before yesterday" I said while giggling.

She slapped my shoulder and said, " Toh? Kisi ko miss days se nahi dil se karte hai. Time doesn't matter when it comes to your family."

I ruffled her hair and said, " My baby Mukti has grown up. "

I broke the hug and moved towards Cabir and took him in a hug.

" Congrats bro. I'm proud of you." He said and patted my back.

I hugged Navya and Alya together and greeted Dhruv with brotherly hug.

We settled ourselves on the couches with required snacks and drinks.

" Cabir, who did you want me to meet? " I said curiously.

" Oh yes! A very important person of my life. Just a minute. " He said and moved towards his room. I looked around to see my friends smiling. Seems as if they've met her already. Strange.

After a couple of minutes, he came out of his room with a girl dressed in simple denims and a crop top. I was sitting on the other side of the couch which made my back face Cabir's room. I turned around to receive the biggest shock. Déjà vu!

~*~*~*~

Do tell me how it was! Thanks for reading. Reviews are more than welcome.💛

*NOT PROOF READ* 😂

If you wanna see Manik and Nandini's outfits- her floral dress and Manik's outfit which he wore to Cabir's place. Please DM me, I'll send them to you as my Wattpad has still not got access to the multimedia feature which is annoying af. 🙈

#okthanksbye

~Vasudha