Hello Fam :)

Do not miss the note at the end. 

Happy Reading...

"Where's Cabir?"

Manik had bordered the speed limit on his way home after dropping Mukti at hers. He needed to see Nandini but before that he needed to talk to his brother.

"Baba, Gym", replied the butler.

He might have startled him, going by the way he was staring at Manik's face. Ignoring the butler, he sprinted towards the gym.

"Cabir", muttered Manik, when he found him in the gym.

One look at him, his brother had understood something's wrong and the next moment, there were arms around Manik. "Bhai, what happened?", he whispered into his hair.

"Drugs", he managed to whisper. "They were giving her drugs." His brother's hands only went tighter, squeezing him into the hug as he blurted out whatever the doctor had told him. He was ruining Cabir's t-shirt with all the flowing tears but Manik didn't care, he needed it.

It was a really long time before Manik had calmed down enough to recognize his surroundings. Somewhere in between, Cabir had pulled them down onto the floor without breaking the hug. "I want to kill them", he whispered with wide eyes, like a dirty secret in the dark.

"Okay, Manik, Mom's trying to put them behind bars. Legally, we can't do anything except letting the court do its work", said Cabir, and gave him a minute to sink it in Manik's head.

"Rationally, though", his brother said again, "we could kill them. You are good at planning things. Do that. Read some books even. I will help you put the plan in action and also hide the bodies. I know a lot of forests far away from the city."

Manik felt himself relaxing at the idea. He could kill them if he wanted to and his brother would support him. He rested his head on his brother's shoulder and rubbed his eyes. "When?"

"A month after they are in jail. We could bribe a police officer and the police would even tell everyone that they died in an encounter while trying to escape. And since they are in jail, their neighbors or friends wouldn't suspect of anything out of the box or them missing", explained Cabir.

Manik nodded and almost squished his brother into a hug for being the most amazing one in the entire world. "Thank you, baby. I love you so damn much to even describe in any combination of words I have ever known during my entire life", he told, sincerely. Once he was sure, the message reached across, he went to find the girl who managed to both topple his world and keep him from drowning simultaneously.

XXX

Manik found Nandini staring at the photo frame near the bed. He didn't know what's extra special about it for her but he has seen her quite a number of times staring at it. It's almost as if she was fascinated by the picture. "Nandini", he whispered. When she turned to look at him, Manik sat opposite to her.

A huge frown appeared on her face on seeing him. "Were you crying?"

A fresh flood of tears pooled in his eyes as he grabbed her hand with both of his hands. "I am so sorry you have got them as your parents. So sorry you had to live with them. I am so so sorry I couldn't do anything earlier."

"Don't say sorry. Feels wrong", she muttered. The frown only got deeper on her face but otherwise, there wasn't much emotion.

Manik hugged her hand close to his. "Substance-induced anxiety disorder. They drugged you to make you obey them, Nandini."

"It only makes sense", she muttered.

While Manik was bursting with anger, he didn't know how she could be still without any reaction. "What?"

"I was always scared of them. Everyone. Tensed before meetings or any big deals. It reminded me of you before exams. It felt foreign. There were lapses sometimes. Things didn't connect. I know they haven't raised a hand. Yet, I was terrified", she muttered, her voice wasn't above a whisper but Manik was sitting close.

He shook his head, wiping his tears. "They had to resort to external force because they couldn't break in their usual way. You are the strongest person I have ever known."

Nandini didn't acknowledge his words, lost in her thoughts. He could say, she was thinking or at least connecting the missing dots in her life.

"Cabir said I could kill them and he would help me", he whispered.

Nandini snapped her head towards him and stared at him without a word. When Manik squirmed under her gaze, she gasped. She might have realized he was being serious and put her hand on his cheek. It was so tentative that Manik felt as if they were back in college, at their abandoned cabin when he confessed his fears and she was scared of hurting him. "Don't do that. You are a hundred times better person than they could ever be. Don't let them ruin anything of you."

"They did ruin your life, Nandini", he protested.

She pulled her hands onto her lap and stared at them as she spoke. "I don't care. Right now, I don't care about whatever has already happened. It's too much to process and my brain is close to exploding. Probably I could never free myself from them if I go on that path. But you", she said and raised her head to glance at him, "you give me hope, Manik. I have always been around them ever since I was a child. I am used to their plans but you were always out of context. You are the opposite of everything they are. That's what brought me close to you. The fact that you could never be them. Don't let them change you."

If Manik wasn't completely off the mark, she was almost pleading him and he promised as eagerly. "I apologize. I thought about it but I don't have the courage to kill them. It's freaking me out."

"You have the courage to be the best person, to choose the right path every time even if it hurts you, and to love everyone around you. You don't need the courage to kill someone. I went away from you, I rejected the idea of marrying you because I know they would change you and I didn't want to lose my hope in humanity. You restore it every time they break it", she explained.

By the time Nandini had finished talking, they both were in tears. She was getting more restless and had cupped Manik's face with both her hands as she tried to somehow insert her words into his head. He leaned further in to wrap his hands around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I promise I wouldn't let them change me", he whispered.

They didn't notice the time until a butler called them for dinner. Manik went to wash his face. Nyonika Malhotra would ground both her sons if she had any idea about their little homicidal plan. He came back to find Nandini thinking something. "Do I need to give some written proof that I wouldn't kill anyone?", he asked.

Nandini shook her head. "How much more time do I have?"

"You think you are dying?"

"Why would you react like this if I am not?", she asked.

He sighed before sitting down to entwine their fingers. "Forever. You have forever to live." When she frowned, he raised an eyebrow. "If I can't do anything to them, I could at least try making you the happiest girl alive. It would be the perfect revenge for someone who doesn't want you to be happy."

"Your deals are always twisted", muttered Nandini.

XXX

After dinner, to refresh their moods, Manik played out some Disney movies. They were hunched over Manik's laptop as some evil Queen of the Barbie princess tortured her. They cursed the queen and held their breaths when the princess escaped from the castle. The Queen didn't stop but they hooted when the prince charming made his presence felt. The princess fought even away from the castle but when finally, the queen died, she lived happily ever after in the woods with her new friends and her charming prince.

"I never knew you were into Disney princess movies?", said Nandini, after the movie was completed.

"They are stress-busters and they have happily ever afters", said Manik, grinning.

Nandini shook her head but the smile she had on her face was a win. "Is there any major change in you that I don't know about?", she asked casually.

Manik thought about all the changes he had and chose the major one. "I can drive on Mumbai roads without a GPS now." It was one of his proudest achievements. He initially stopped using the GPS because it was the same road he went to his office. He was on the road when he realized he didn't use it for almost all of his trips, Manik halted the car abruptly causing a mild traffic-jam on the road. After apologizing to them, he announced to his family and his mom ordered a pizza celebration.

Right now, Nandini whined. "I can't confuse you now. It's not fair."

It only made him laugh brighter.

XXX

After Manik went to sleep, Nandini sneaked out of the room. The house was pitch dark, everyone was sleeping, except for the light from the room beside her which was her destination. She peeked into the room and found the empty room but there was someone inside, talking. Hence, she welcomed herself in.

Ten minutes later, while Nandini started regretting her decision to leave her room, Cabir walked in with a sweet smile on his face. It turned into a maniac grin before he frowned. "Is something wrong? Are you okay? Where's Bhai?"

"Sleeping", she informed. It had at least shut his questionnaire.

"Okay", said Cabir, and sat down in front of Nandini. "Do you need something? Or talk to me?"

Nandini nodded. Cabir was anything but sweet. He blurted things out but right now his cautious tone was annoying her. And she had a very genuine reason for it.

"Nandini, don't think too much. You can tell me anything", he told.

"Anything? Promise?"

"Anything, Nandini, promise", he said.

Nandini took a deep breath before looking at Cabir. "Manik said you would help him in killing my parents."

The boy looked surprised at the topic but he didn't deny it. "Manik wanted to kill them. I said I would help him if he wanted to."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You might think it's cute to support everything your brother does but that just makes you stupid. If that were true, you would have ended up dead a long time back for everything you do."

"Manik defends me every single time in front of mom", protested Cabir.

"Defending in front of your practically harmless mother is different than keeping you away from prison or alive", she muttered. "As an ideal brother, Manik supports you but not when you are about to take a wrong step. He disagrees with you too, right?"

"Did you come here in the middle of the night to scold me about my brother?", he asked.

"Manik isn't capable of hating someone, let alone killing one. And if you fuel his homicidal tendencies when he isn't in the right state of mind, I would throw you out from your balcony."

Cabir gaped at her and Nandini took a step back. Now that she had said whatever she had wanted, she thought she would be safer with Manik beside her. Before she could escape, the boy had pulled her up into a hug and twirled her around. She squeezed her eyes as she held onto him for her dear life.

What's going on?

It wasn't until she heard Manik's voice that she had opened her eyes and Cabir had put her down.

"Bhai, she threatened me to throw me out of my room's balcony", said Cabir, flashing his teeth at his brother.

Manik shook his head at his brother and reached out to take Nandini's hand in a loose grip. "Are you okay? I woke up but didn't find you in the room."

Nandini stared at him. He looked panicked. "I am sorry. Cabir. I wouldn't hurt him." Manik shouldn't think that she would ever harm his baby brother.

Manik rolled his eyes. "Don't think about him. He is close to cracking his head. Sometimes, not a single word makes sense."

"'He' is standing right here", grumbled Cabir. He grinned when Manik ruffled his hair.

"Why aren't you two sleeping? You know, the sun sets so we could sleep. The sun rises to wake us up. You two are changing the definition of that", teased Manik.

"Nandini's safe, bhai. Leave now. I will drop your wife safely whenever she wants to sleep", told Cabir and pushed Manik out of his room. Once they were alone, Cabir pushed Nandini to sit down. "I missed you. Did you miss me?"

"I didn't want to miss anyone", she told. "But you are diverting the topic."

Cabir rolled his eyes. "Okay, listen. Manik would never think of killing someone. But if he does, that person deserves it."

Nandini felt that's a really stupid logic but she didn't comment. If the whole world goes wrong and Manik chose to do something completely opposite, she would believe him because that's what Manik was to her. The rainbow through the storm, the music amidst discorded noise, and the sun fighting through an eclipse. And if she's being desperate to hold onto him, she didn't want to think much about it.

"Earth to, Nandini", said Cabir. "Don't look like that. Okay? I won't fuel Manik's anger again."

"Thank you", muttered Nandini. Now that the topic was over, there was an awkward silence between them. "I will go and sleep."

"Nandini, wait", he said, holding her wrist. "Thank you for coming back."

"I should be the one thanking you. Manik actually, but in an extension you."

"True but you took away a part of us when you left all of us. Now that you are back, it feels complete."

Nandini was surprised at the honesty. Even if they were friends, there was hardly any sweet talk between them. "I feel empty though", she confessed.

He smiled at her. "Then let us help you to fill in the gaps. Let us help you so that we could bring back our Nandini."

She didn't know if the Nandini they all knew would come back or not but she nodded. If not anything, she could allow them to try. She didn't have anything else to lose, if not to gain.

So many things happened here:

1. The best part of Nandini? She fights. She's holding on to Manik to recover from her parents. She has done it since childhood, she would do it again. 

2. Manik had been strong and accepting ever since Nandini returned (and before that too) but this was too much evil for him. He broke down but he's Manik. He would pick his pieces and help Nandini too. 

3. Cabir would take up his new responsibilities. The cupid. Since they are already married, who's even going to stop the younger twin. 

PLEASE READ

A/N - I hope this isn't a cliffhanger. Nandini's past is over. There is no other reason. If you have any questions, you can drop it in the comments or message me. 

Coming to the actual part, I am putting this book on hold. I have an important exam next month. I don't know if I will write it or not since I have to go back to my college for writing it and I am still at home. But I would regret it if I don't try it at least. I am sorry for leaving. I will be back by December. My college is trying to bring us back, so everything is hectic right now and we are confused. Let's just meet after a month. Stay safe and keep smiling. :)

Also, I might uninstall wattpad from my mobile but I have my laptop so, I will be lurking around. In case, you have any questions regarding anything.