Later that evening, Manik & Nandini decided to go for a short drive. Nandini pouted as she stood outside waiting for Manik.

"Kya hua jaan?" Manik asked.

"Hum sirf ek drive ke liye jaa rahe hai....itni saari kabab mein haddis ko bhi aana hai!" Nandini motioned to Rehan & the 3 other bodyguards.

"Woh log alag gadi mein aa rahe hai....its for your safety."

"Bhabhi dont worry.....we will stay far enough to not disturb you but close enough to help if needed." Rehan assured her.

"Lekin mujhe toh paata hai na ke tum log saath mein ho? Manik...I want privacy toh tum bol do inko ki yeh nahi aa sakte varna Im not coming!" Nandini insisted.

"Acha ok..ok...Rehan, tu yahi ghar pe rukh and tell the others." Manik said.

"Are you sure??"

"Haan...its fine." Manik nodded. Nandini smiled happily & they left.

"Manik ice cream!" Nandini yelled out as she saw a stall by the side of the road.

"What? NOW?" Manik asked. "Kaafi raat ho gayi hai Nandini...."

Nandini started to frown & Manik felt bad.

"Ok Ok...Ill go get it. Tum gadi mein rukho." 

He got out of the car & crossed the road. Meanwhile, Nandini started playing a game on her phone. A few moments later, Nandini looked up wondering what was taking Manik so long but she didnt see him by the ice cream stall.

"Yeh...Manik kaha gaya?" Nandini looked around but the street was basically empty. Getting worried, she got out and crossed the road. She walked over to the man at the stall. "Bhaiyya...mera pati yahan aaye they abhi. Kaha gaya?"

"Woh lamba aadmi?"

"Ji...wahi." Nandini nodded.

"Unko toh kuch log pakad ke uss taraf le gaye." The man pointed in the opposite direction.

"KYA!?" Nandini panicked. "Manik....yeh....oh god!"

She took her phone out and tried calling Rehan but nobody answered. She then called her brothers but again nobody answered.

"Koi phone kyun nahi utha raha hai?!" Nandini started crying. "I have to do something....."

She decided to go in the direction that the man had pointed towards. but the street was completely empty. While walking, she saw some dragging marks on the ground that led off the main road into a forest. Nandini followed the marks while trying to call her brothers and Rehaan. Finally she saw the other end of the forest which led to a cliff. She could hear voices and quietly hid behind a tree, peaking out. Near the edge of the cliff was Manik who was being held by two men and infront of him stood Raghav.

"Tere itni himmat.....Raghav Sharma, tune mujhe pakad ke khud apne mauth ko invititation diya hai." Manik said in a dangerous tone.

"Manik....oh no....main kya karun? Koi phone bhi nahi utha raha hai...." Nandini panicked.

"Hahaha!" Raghav laughed. "Manik Malhotra....you know, agar kuch waqt pehle ki baat hoti toh main shayad darr bhi jaata. But not now.....kyunki sabko paata hai that you went soft after marrying that Nandini."

"AYE! MERE BIWI KA NAAM BHI LIYA TOH-"

"Toh kya huh?" Raghav taunted. "You are powerful because of your men....lekin ab yahan koi nahi hai. Tune khud sabko manna kiya hai...tere biwi ke kehne pe."

Nandini teared up as she felt guilty. At that moment she felt her phone vibrate as it was on silent and she saw Rehaan was calling her. Going a bit more into the forest so nobody could hear her, Nandini answered the call.

Phonecall

R: Bhabhi? Kya hua? Aapne itni baar call kiya....

N: Rehaan.....woh Raghav.....Raghav ne Manik ko pakad ke rakha hai. Uske saath do gunde bhi hai.

R: What? Bhabhi....where are you guys? Main abhi aata hoon kuch aadmiyon ko leke.

N: Main location pin bhejti hoon. Pls jaldi aao.

R: Haan...Ill be there bhabhi. Aap chinta mat kijiye.

Phonecall Ends

Nandini looked back and saw Raghav was pointing a gun at Manik. 

"Manik! Oh no....main Rehaan ka intezaar nahi kar sakti. Mujhe hi Manik ko bachana hoga."

Nandini started to think what she could do when she remembered Abhi giving her a gun before leaving.

Flashback

"Bhai...yeh?" Nandini asked, holding the small pistol that Abhi handed her.

"Its for your protection." Abhi replied.

"Not that you need it. Kyunki, tere protection ke liye tere yeh dono bhai hai na?" Cabir added.

"AND Manik!" Abhi gave Cabir a look. "But still....just in case, you should keep this in your purse. Humne tujhe yeh chalana sikhaya tha na?"

"Haan...." Nandini nodded.

"Great....toh yeh apne paas humesha rakhna."

Flashback Ends

Nandini took out her pistol from her purse and pointed it at Raghav's hand. He hand shook a bit but she steadied it and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

"AAH!" Raghav yelled out in pain as his hand got shot. He dropped his gun and cursed loudly, holding his hand close to him. 

The two goons who were holding Manik looked shocked and was confused where the bullet came from since Nandini was still hidden behind the tree. Manik took this opportunity and got loose. He punched one goon in the face and then punched the other one in his gut. He started fighting both of them. Manik got one goon in a choke hold....the other one ran at him to attack but Manik saw him and kicked, making him fall off the cliff to his death. The other man tried to get free from Manik but couldnt breathe at all and in a matter of moments, he also died. Meanwhile, Raghav composed himself & reached for his gun with his other hand. Nandini saw that Manik had his back to him and didnt even see Raghav.

"MANIKKK!!" Nandini stepped out of the forest and yelled out to caution him. Manik turned and got worried seeing Nandini.

"Nandini! Vapas jao!" 

But it was too late. Raghav ran over and quickly grabbed Nandini from the back, holding his gun upto her head. Manik froze in horror.

"NO! Raghav dont you dare!" Manik yelled. "Im gonna kill you...I swear!"

Raghav laughed and held Nandini tighter. "Toh maar do...I dont care. Kyunki Nandini ke marne ke baad tum zindagi bhar dard mein rahoge!"

BANG!

"NANDINI!!!!!!!" Manik screamed out. Blood splattered all over Nandini's face and then.......Raghav fell to the ground dead. Nandini was shivering as she slowly looked down and saw Raghav had a bullet hole through his head. From behind her, Rehaan came out of the forest with some men. He had shot Raghav. Manik ran to Nandini and hugged her tightly, in tears. Then he held her face and looked at her. "Jaan...tum thik ho? You're fine na? Nandini kuch toh bolo....pls tell me you're ok."

"Manik....Bhabhi is in shock. Lets take her home." Rehaan suggested.

"Haan...Nandini chalo." Manik softly told Nandini who was still staring at Raghav and couldnt move. Manik then scooped Nandini up in his arms, bridal style and carried her to the car with the others following behind. When he got to the car, Rehaan opened the passenger door and Manik gently placed Nandini on the seat. He then opened the glove compartment and took out some tissue papers. He started to wipe Nandini's face as she just sat there silently. "Nandini...."

Nandini finally looked at Manik and burst out crying. She leaned forward and hugged Manik. "Manik...Im...Im sorry..Im so so sorry..."

"Sorry? Jaan tum kyun sorry bol rahi ho?" Manik asked. Rehaan stepped away to give them a bit more privacy and motioned for the others to also step away.

"Its my fault...agar main bodyguards ke saath aane ke liye manna nahi karti toh aisa kuch nahi hota." Nandini cried.

"Hey...its absolutely not your fault." Manik replied. He wiped her tears with his thumb. "Tumhe kaise paata hota that this would happen? Vaise bhi...I am The Manik Malhotra. Aise 20-15 logon ko akele handle kar sakta hoon....lekin TUM kyun bahar aayi? I know...woh pehli goli tumne chalai na? Tree ke piche se? That was smart...par uske baad bahar kyun aayi? Apne aap ko khatre mein kyun dala tumne?"

"Main darr gayi thi Manik....Raghav piche se gun utha raha tha aur tumne dekha bhi nahi. Tumhe agar kuch ho jaata toh main kaise jeeti?" Nandini replied.

"Arre mere buddhu biwi." Manik sighed and leaned foward to make their foreheads touch. "What did I JUST say? Manik Malhotra hoon main...mujhe kuch nahi hota. Vaise bhi....mere jaan toh tum ho na? Jab tak tum safe ho, I'll also be ok."

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Thoughts on this chapter?

Finally...no more villians. 

Pls leave your comments & feedback.