My only wish with this story is that on the first read, no reader should easily be able to predict what's happening but as a re-reader, if at all you pick this book one day... you should see exactly what piece of information was introduced for what purpose, and everything should make sense from the get-go :") <3

It's definitely a tough one to pull off, but that motivation keeps me going, as does your support <3

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Navya gaped at him, narrowly judging him for the sporadic coughs that emerged from nowhere. "Are you okay now?" She wondered if she should prepare another glass as she saw him gulp down the last sip.

His hands encircled the empty glass, churning it. "Hmm... Sorry, you were saying something about Harshad earlier?"

"I don't even remember what I said two seconds ago... but how did you meet him?"

"I was one of his... clients... and then became a close personal friend. I knew he came for a project in Mangalore some months ago but I didn't know this... was the project he banked." He waved at her, grinning.  That time it was obvious that Cabir had been teasing her, but she was not the object of his mockery like before. "Do you know where he might be now? I was thinking I could meet him before he went back home."

"I'm... not really sure, but I have faith in my Matarani that he's safe and sound wherever he is. Hoping these letters will be a regular thing too." She touched the circular locket that hung around her neck, where her family deity sat, and Cabir linked some similarities between her and her best friend – an Aiyappa devotee.

That would explain Manik's search history to some extent, but why had the man searched up Aiyappa temples in Ahmedabad out of all places? There were far more straightforward ways to go about a woman hunt, perhaps his friend had not been experienced in the department of stalking.

What else was Cabir for? 

"I better get going then, it's nice to meet you. In case you do get in touch with him, please don't mention our meeting." He rubbed his palms on his knees while standing up and extended his hand for a shake. The woman had been confused at the odd request. Usually, don't people convey their best regards on behalf of a person's absence? "It's more fun to surprise the guy at the right chance!" 

She nodded and let him leave the room.

"Beta, khaana khaake jaao na?" came Mrs. Naveli's voice as he crossed the kitchen.

"Nahi Aunty, mujhe jaana hoga. Pranaam." His palms joined together gracefully.

Mrs. Naveli made her way to the balcony where her husband was plucking some weeds. "Bada hi pyaara ladka mila hai humaare Navya ko," At her statement, he glanced at the departing man. His dressing sense was cultured, he was respectful when he said his goodbyes, and had politely spent time in the living room before meeting their daughter. "Nahi?" She urged, and seeking her husband's approval, she beamed.

Navya rolled her eyes as she came back from the kitchen with her piping hot cup of tea, "MAA!"

Cabir hurried down the staircase and galloped to the car as quickly as he could.

"Bro, that woman is vile! Good thing you didn't come inside..." He shut the door and took heavy breaths to compose himself.

Manik started the engine and turned with a crunch on his forehead, "What? What happened? Did you find anything?"

"She's sworn on her Matarani and cursed your flesh to the rats for what you did to Nandini..." He gasped like a dying sea horse, yet caught a glimpse of his partner through the corner of his eye.

Manik was the most puzzled Cabir had seen, and in the way he was staring into some void, Cabir almost regretted what he was about to do. He had decided to execute his personal plan on the way down from Navya's house to stir the pot, just a little but was it a good idea, given the photo he saw upstairs of Manik's girl?

Then again, at the rate at which Manik was taking charge of his love life, Cabir would not live long enough to see their wedding, let alone mini versions of his friend running around and playing with Adira. Even if it was momentarily a painful task, someone had to catalyse the romance and Cabir took upon himself to do the needful. "...and that if at all you come anywhere close to the same air that Nandini Murthy is breathing, your soul will forever be captivated by Nandini's spirit for all seven births in the name of love."

"WHAT the...?! I didn't even –" Manik impulsively stopped midway through, biting the words in his mouth.

Cabir pursed his lips. "You didn't even... what? You didn't even sleep with her?" Why was Manik not responding when it was absolutely essential? Instead, he had shifted gears and thrown an arm onto the passenger headrest to reverse out of the spot.

"Oh! OH!" Cabir enunciated at the plot twist that nearly pulled the earth from under his feet. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that he had – perhaps for the very first time in his life – lost a challenge? If it brought him closer to being in love, then it definitely had to be a good thing.

As the car drifted away, a woman wearing two braids shifted some curtains and caught the black Honda City that left their premises. The familiarity of that vehicle struck a chord within her. Hadn't Nandini talked of the same modelled car before?

There was no coincidence to it, the most likely deduction was that the guy who introduced himself as Cabir had been either involved in or aided the sinner that ruined her best friend's life. She narrowed her eyes into slits and then fumed steadily, wondering what to do with the newest tidbit of information.

Meanwhile, by the time the black car hit the main road, the eerie exchange of breaths instead of words tensed the awkwardness.

"Okay... you need to tell me everything, bro!" Cabir clapped once in a sassy motion and rubbed his palms evilly, as if preparing himself for all the tea that was about to be spilled.

Manik completely ignored his statement and asked indifferently, "Did you find anything about Harshad?"

"He wrote her a love letter,"

"And?"

He had no significant information from the meeting with Navya, there was barely anything worth sharing. A whole week of searching for clues and they were right where they started. In fact, it seemed like no matter which hints they picked and prodded on, it either led to disappointment or another irrelevant clue, continuing the endless loop of making no progress on the Harshad case.

Cabir was on the verge of forfeiting the quest; it was not proving to be worth the hassle but because Manik had initiated it in the hopes of solving Cabir's problem, it did not feel right to bail on his friend.

Yet, if he could play it off like he was withholding information from Navya's interaction, maybe... just maybe... he could get some vital truths out of his dear friend and find a solution to Manik's problem.

Smirking, he relaxed in his seat, rolling his kurta sleeves nonchalantly. "Nandini now works at an army camp, that was why you were searching up stuff about the Indian Army... now I understand,"

A hand with a kada dragged across Manik's features in mild distress. "There's far more important things to focus on,"

"This is important too. At least for me," He snapped. "Besides if you answer me honestly, I'll tell you what I found," He blackmailed, as Manik scrutinised him.

Oh, is that so? Manik internally interrogated as he rose an eyebrow.

Cabir maintained his expressions, refusing to give in this time. Yes, my friend, this is how the game is played.

"Urgh, FINE!" Manik's hand that held a banded finger slammed the steering wheel, as his movements became haphazard in the restrictive space. "Two questions, that's it." 

"Why were you searching things up on Google instead of using our contacts to trace her? It's such a counter-intuitive strategy that seems like such a waste of time when you could have..." Studying Manik's restlessness, Cabir tried to put two and two together.

Where was that coming from? And why was talking about the girl he was falling for so distressing for him? "Unless... you don't want anyone knowing about her..." He claimed, putting forth his assumption. Manik momentarily passed him a look that advised him to back off. "Ah... You don't want to involve anyone else because..."

"It's just not safe." He answered, the ticking of the indicator overlapping his words. The car swerved into a side road.

"Aha, that doesn't count because I found the answer myself!"

In saying that, Cabir also thoughtfully blinked. "You care for her, that has to stem from somewhere." He wore a meek smile that he hadn't been aware of because the sweet revelation from his friend was not only unexpected, but it was also new to see Manik outrightly admit to something instead of dodging the topic.

Somewhere deep down, Cabir could also tie the smile to his initial impression of the girl and his friend making a cute couple. He had not manifested it, but maybe those gears were being greased for the right journey. Nothing would make Cabir happier.

The driver of the car had not objected to any of those conclusions, because on some levels, for once Cabir had been right. He was not sending his deluded brain on overdrive, he was actually voicing out facts that Manik had not deeply thought about, and in a way, listening to those affirmations from someone more neutral to the situation had been comforting. Maybe he too would find some answers through their uncomfortable conversation.

"I may not be a genius in other things but I do what it's like to have feelings for someone. What you're doing is finding all these roundabout ways to reach her without reaching her yourself, and I understand why you're doing it – I get that you want to keep her from danger – but it's not right." How was it that his friend, who could usually see things crystal clear for what they were, had come to the worst possible decisions when it surrounded a woman – that particular woman?

"You nearly caused catastrophic damage in trying to sort things out on your own before, I'm sure I don't have to remind you. That wound is still fairly fresh. Don't do that to her as well, Manik. Keep aside your hero complex and approach her with hone –"

"What will I tell her, huh? 'I'm sorry I had to leave because I'm a criminal and can't coexist with you?' 'I had to leave because being with me will put your life in danger?' And then what, her heart will magically be healed and she'll move on with her life?" Cabir let the statements uttered by his friend sink into his dense brain, and with every sentence, it was more apparent that Manik truly did not want to leave her at all... and why then, if that was what his heart wanted, did he deny himself the beautiful feeling people spent a lifetime finding?

"Trust me, I had thought of all possibilities before I did it..."

Did it?

God, the matter was getting more complicated by the minute. So he was not only going against his better judgment, he was also hurting himself in the process. What for?

Raking his fingers through his hair, Cabir sighed and asked, "What exactly did you do?"

"I... ripped the seam of her kurti and..."

He facepalmed with a loud smack on his own face. "Oh dear lord, she thinks you raped her!"

Manik gripped the wheel at the triggering word that stooped him to the same level as an animal that ruined Mukti's life. His head was starting to ache again, and he wasn't sure if it had to do with the exertion of a day-long journey, ruptured flesh from his bicep that was still healing, or the revolting feeling from within that was churning away his insides. 

Steeling his jaw, he mumbled sternly, "But it worked because she won't come back to me."

"And you're okay with that, with her having the worst possible image of you? You're okay with her never finding out how much you care about her?" Cabir shook his head, wondering how on earth that was a silver lining amidst all that chaos.

Manik cut in between, "Your two questions are up! Now out with it."

At the sudden static crackling of the radio system, Manik ripped his furious eyes off the road and haphazardly adjusted some sound system controls. "What the actual FUCK is wrong with this fucking radio?" He pounded the buttons recklessly to get the interference to stop. 

Cabir sadly shook his head.

"Manik, do you have any idea about the mess you've gotten yourself into? This is nuts! Even as a lie, you never take it that far with a woman, least of all a woman you're in love with! I would have expected you to know this! No wonder that crazy girl – what was her name again, haan, Navya – exercised her witchcraft on you!"

As if that was the apex of the volcano waiting to erupt, Manik sharply bit, "No, I seriously don't know what's going on with me, and I fucking hate it, happy?! Do you know, the night I spent with her, I didn't consume at all... and that was the best sleep I've had in fucking forever! Now I snort four a day and still don't relish the high... but you have better ideas hai na, so enlighten me. What do I do about this situation, huh? How do I save myself from this?"

Cabir had nothing to say. He had not expected an honest outburst of that magnitude, but he was glad Manik was talking at last. The aggression in his tone was a reflection of how the matter had been bubbling under the surface for days, if not weeks. At least, he had an outlet and felt safe disclosing details on the topic with him.

Finding a safe spot off the road, Manik disengaged the clutch and brought the car to a standstill, clutching his hair in a vexed manner. "Do you want to know how much I hate this maddening obsession I have with her? It's like no matter what I do, where I go, usse toh chutkara hi nahi hai!" His hand flapped in the air once, before violently striking his own thighs. Staring at the humanised form Manik's irritation was taking, Cabir remained put.

Manik snapped his fingers twice in succession. "Like even right now, you're sitting next to me and talking to me and all I could think of was how she tuned out the radio one time because she preferred the silence with me. How do you explain this, hmm? How... how can I get these thoughts to stop?" 

"Tu chup kyoon hai, Cabir? Bata na, I want to know: what the actual hell is this? I'm going insane thinking about the whats, whys, and hows... I thoroughly regret swiping on her in the first place, I really do... and the only conclusion I can come up with is: that life was so normal and dangerous before her, and I was fine with that; now every step of the way, all I can think about is her!"

After a prolonged moment of silence, Manik quipped softly, almost inaudibly, "Why – why did she have to come into my life and destroy everything for us?"

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I feel like the most complex thing to write is a man falling in love, but Manik makes the process so easy :") I am not sure if you sense how a lot of Manik's inner turmoil mirrors the Musicana love and breakup sequence (the lies he told her as he left her, Nandini utterly devastated as she loses trust in her judgments, and Cabir – of course, our first MaNan shipper!).

But I hope it's worth the read <3 I know I thoroughly enjoy writing every scene in this book, even if it's taking me a while to get to the MaNan bits (which I'm impatient to write about at this point)!

Please don't forget to share your votes, comments and please share with your friends :")