Hello Family :)

A/N - I have noticed people don't even trust me. Read the chapter and make your conclusions. Looking at the previous comments, this track of plot hasn't crossed your mind yet (Again, my conclusion is based on the comments.) 

Happy Reading...

Manik was a little surprised when Nyonika asked him to call the driver. Over the years, he had improved his driving. When asked, she informed him that their destination was on the outskirts of the city. Even during the ride, Nyonika was silent whereas Manik was busy sending back and forth text messages to the people he had hired to track Nandini and Meera, who was handling the office for the day all alone but his mother didn't make any effort to start a conversation. It would have been normal years back but now just strange. He didn't give it much thought when his head was already overloaded by his thoughts. It was the second consecutive day that he had trouble sleeping and this time it was Nandini instead of Cabir.

Two hours later, the car halted in front of an isolated Villa. There wasn't a single house around it. Cabir would have been gone mad just by looking at the place. "Mom, what's this meeting about?", he asked when they reached the door.

"We are here to see their daughter for you", she told.

Before Manik could protest, a butler at the door ushered them in. He wasn't about to disrespect his mother by walking away but he could at least explain to the girl about his possible reasons not to marry her. During the past few years, Manik had control over his life. He took his decisions, both personal or professional, and if Nyonika had a suggestion, they would sit and talk generally. He wondered what was different today?

His questions were answered when he found the owner of the house, greeting them, in the form of the person he disliked the most in the world, Mr. Murthy. Manik glanced at Nyonika. She gave a light pat to the middle of Manik's back to alert him as she smiled at Mr. Murthy. Manik put on his facade of a businessman and shook his hand with the man in front of him. Maybe he might obtain his answers right here at this meeting.

With every passing minute, the house was making Manik uneasy. Beside him, Nyonika was filling up the gaps in the conversation. "Why don't you bring the girl in?", she asked.

His heartbeat was already skyrocketing. He wondered if it was audible to Nyonika too because she had her hand on top of his as she squeezed it before withdrawing. He thought he was reliving the last four years in the last five minutes. The girl who had occupied the whole of his brain for the last twenty-four hours and his heart for the past four years appeared and Manik felt his breath stuck in his throat. Nandini hadn't noticed him yet, head bent down, eyes on the floor as she let her mother lead her into the living room, Manik realized the girl in front of him wasn't his head girl.

"It's so nice of you to forward your proposal regarding our daughter's alliance, Mrs. Malhotra", said Mr. Murthy, breaking Manik's concentration on Nandini. "We are honored."

Nandini had shot her head up when she heard Nyonika speaking but just as soon she lowered her head. Manik noticed Mrs. Murthy's hand on her shoulder as she squeezed it. She was grounding Nandini's emotions, thought Manik, or controlling her. Manik frowned at second thought.

He trusted his mother to keep the conversation going as Manik wandered his gaze all around the house. Details were important, small or big. Mr. Murthy was blabbering about how lucky he was. Mrs. Murthy was tense. Both of them were nervous for some reason. Even though the villa had a very good outer ambiance, the inside of the house was too artificial. There wasn't a single personal touch to anything, no photographs, or books, or any other memos.

Nandini was lightly bouncing her leg. In their entire friendship of two years, he hasn't seen her in traditional attire, a loose Anarkali dress. It might be because she was about to meet her prospective groom but for some reason, Manik thought she was restless. His frown deepened when Nandini's calm demeanor only cracked after she noticed the Malhotras at her place. Was that because it was Manik?

"So, Manik, son, when are you free?", asked Mr. Murthy.

"What?", he replied. He had completely missed their conversation.

"We were talking about fixing your marriage dates", he told.

"Can I please talk to your daughter before that, Mr. Murthy?", asked Manik, keeping his tone as polite as he could. He glanced at Nyonika if she had any objection and relaxed when she had none.

But Mr. Murthy chuckled. "I thought he was obedient enough to follow your word blindly", he teased.

"Mr. Murthy, you should know about the kids of this generation. They act as if they listen to our every word", she joked. "Let them talk. We can decide on the dates once they are happy. Who knows, if we deny them, what all the tantrums we would have to bear."

Mr. Murthy let out a laugh agreeing with her but Manik knew it was fake. For some reason, Murthy didn't want him to have a talk with Nandini, concluded Manik. He really wanted to talk to Nandini now.

"Nandini, love, why don't you take Manik to your room?", he told.

Before leaving, as Mrs. Murthy gave a squeeze to Nandini's wrist, Manik's frown only got deeper.

XXX

As soon as Manik locked the door of Nandini's room, she crashed on his chest. Four years back, they parted ways with the same hug and the irony didn't get lost on him. They both cried on that day but today when he heard Nandini crying in his arms, he held her tight. Something was going inside the house and he wanted one hint from her to take any further action. Nandini's room was devoid of any photograph. Her old room was full of pictures with Mukti or Abhimanyu. It didn't even have the bookshelves which she had used to avoid unwanted people.

When the girl was calm enough to have a conversation, Manik pulled her towards the couch and made her sit. Neither did she break the silence nor did she look at him. "I never thought, you as an arranged marriage type, Nandini", he teased to strike a conversation.

She shot her head up with a fresh stream of tears in her eyes. Manik panicked and knelt in front of her to wipe them away. "Hey, I know you don't want to get married to me. I promise I didn't know about this alliance but don't worry, Nandini. I can go and tell them no. No one would force you, okay?"

"Marry me, please?"

If Manik wasn't right in front of her, he would have convinced himself of mishearing the words. Despite hearing it properly, he had to reconfirm. "What?"

She was close to a panic attack as she grabbed his hand. "I am sorry, I am using you but Manik, if not you, they would get me married to someone else. Please, take me away from here, please."

"What happened, Nandini?", asked Manik.

Their conversation was cut short when someone knocked on their door and suddenly Nandini's face was again devoid of any emotion. Manik made a mental note to it before he went to open the door. The butler informed him about their parents calling them. Manik wondered what the Murthy was hiding to not leave them alone for more than fifteen minutes.

When they went to the living room, both the Murthy couple were still tense and it only increased when they noticed Manik. He took his place beside Nyonika, who was indulging both of them with her conversations.

"What's your decision, son?", asked Mr. Murthy.

Manik took one glance at Nandini and nodded his head in a yes. His decision brought relief to the Murthy couple. If his observation skills were really good as pointed out by his head girl, Manik saw the relief on Nandini's face too.

The meeting was over soon. Nyonika took care of the formalities and told Mr. Murthy about meeting for the engagement after fixing the dates. Their return journey to home was silent too. Manik replied to his calls and emails and Nyonika left him to be.

After reaching home, Manik went straight up to his room. A shower would do wonders to disentangle his thoughts.

XXX

An hour later when Manik knocked on Nyonika's room, she was flipping through a magazine.

"I was waiting for you, Manik", she told.

He gave her a smile before sitting beside her. He had so many questions and struggled to start the conversation. His mother helped him by taking his hand into hers.

"I am sorry, Manik, for taking you there without your permission", she said.

Manik shook his head. "You don't have to apologize to me but you really caught me off guard. I don't understand many things here, mom."

"How about one question at a time?", she suggested.

"You don't want any alliance with the Murthys but he said, you forwarded the proposal. Why?", asked Manik. He was unable to wrap his head around the fact that it was Nyonika who had made the first move.

"Manik, you still love Nandini, right?", she asked.

He was taken aback. No one knew about Nandini except Cabir. Did Cabir tell her about Nandini?, thought Manik but shook his head. He wouldn't do that. "How do you know about Nandini?", asked Manik instead.

She sighed. For all his complaints, Manik loved his banters with his mother, and hence when he saw her going into her serious businesswoman mode, he braced himself. There wasn't another option. He needed answers and his mother might clear some of them.

"When you returned from your college farewell, I accidentally heard your conversation with Cabir. I came to check if you have returned or not but you really had surprised me, Manik. Of course, I have noticed changes in you. Didn't guess it was Nandini all along. The maturity with which you have handled your breakup has impressed me and you consoled Cabir too. To be frank, I expected you to break down. I gave you one day, one week, a year but you were strong, stronger than before. I thought you had moved on but I was wrong, right?", she said.

Manik nodded. His mom has known about his not-breakup with Nandini all these years. Who was he kidding? She could be the almighty and he wouldn't be surprised even. "Why now?", he asked.

"Last month I took your laptop, remember? I came across a folder full of pictures of her", she informed.

"There were pictures of Abhimanyu and Mukti too. It was a folder of all my friends and there isn't a single picture of Nandini alone", he pointed out. His friends never took pictures when they hung out. In fact, all the pictures he had of them were either from the college functions or the bonfire night.

Nyonika smirked at him. He should have known, she would be waiting for a dramatic pause before revealing all the points. "The next day, I casually mentioned Murthy Industries and you have perked up. I got my answers."

"I still didn't understand the reason you chose her just because I love her. You openly avoided them all those years, mom. Are you even happy with the proposal?", he asked.

"You did say yes, kid. I thought you would at least look at me", she teased. When Manik was about to protest, she laughed it off. "First love is precious. Don't apologize now."

Manik frowned. "Mom, I haven't said yes because Nandini's my first love. I haven't moved on from her yet, I possibly would never but there's something fishy going on."

Nyonika raised an eyebrow in question and Manik explained to her everything about Nandini disappearing for four years, about breaking her friendship with her only friends or dropping out of the University. By the end of his confession, she had a frown on her head too. "It took me a month to trace her down. Nandini didn't strike me as someone who could hold her down in an isolated location. I know about the Murthy heir and her anonymity but I thought it was her choice. We were wrong, kid, and I still don't trust Murthys. If what you are saying is true, she might be in danger too."

"Exactly. Nandini was a fighter, mom. Cabir calls her that but today, she looked so defeated. That's not the girl I have known as the head girl or the person I have worked with for a year and a half", said Manik.

His mother nodded in agreement. "Hey, did I tell you I have met Nandini once in a party?", she told.

He shook his head. When did this happen?

"It was after she had helped to cancel our deal with the Singhal. I guessed it was her and we both had a conversation. That girl looked into my eyes and warned me to keep her name a secret because it might put many people at risk", she told.

"Her company workers. They shouldn't pay for the mistakes of the Murthys. That's what she told me", said Manik. He had a smile on his face as the conversation resurfaced his mind.

"I guessed as much and she has impressed me, Manik. Cabir said she wasn't like the other Murthys. On that day, I had seen that. I had seen a glimpse of her grandfather in her", said Nyonika.

Manik laughed at that. "That's Nandini but you, mom? Only you could be impressed by someone who would look into your eyes and warn you?", he teased.

Nyonika shrugged. "She is brave enough to put up a fight with me and she was a college student back then", she told but sighed. "We need to get her out of that place if that's what she wants, Manik. I don't trust them."

They were silent for a while. Manik's brain was overflowing with the thoughts. There would be legal issues. Nandini was the owner of Murthy Industries and he can't just kidnap her but he needed to talk to her properly without the Murthys breathing down his neck. He got startled when Nyonika exclaimed beside him.

"Kid, I got an idea. Why don't take her to shopping?", she said.

Manik chuckled. "Nandini hates shopping."

"You stupid nerd. Take her out giving an excuse for your wedding shopping tomorrow. Murthy couldn't refuse to her fiance, especially not if the said fiance is a Malhotra", she told. There was a smirk on her face. It was the boss speaking. "Anything else?"

"Are you really happy with this alliance?", he asked.

She ruffled his hair. "I have taken you there, I did all the proposal work, I surprised you. I even sat hours together pretending to be tensed beside you while you ignored me to call your assistant at the office. How else can I prove to you that I am happy?", she said, faking a sad pout. "I don't know what you would do, Manik. Plan a surprise for me too."

"I don't know if Cabir's spoiling you or it's the other way around", he said. "But mom, thank you for accepting."

When Nyonika cupped his face and kissed his forehead, Manik felt it was out of context especially when there was a teardrop in her eyes but the emotion felt so pure that he didn't have the heart to question it. "Baby, you are taking care of Cabir's love. It's only fair someone's there to look after yours too."

"You know about Navya too?", exclaimed Manik.

Nyonika grinned at him, wiping away the fake tear. "Ahan! Her name is Navya then. Details. Now."

"Please don't tell Cabir that I have leaked it to you. He would kill me for sure", he pleaded.

Nyonika smirked in reply. "I need a bribe. Tell me how did Nandini Murthy make my nerd fall in love with her? And we are talking about this Navya girl too after that."

For the third time in a row, Manik had missed his sleep. This time, the night-out wasn't that tiresome. It wasn't every day does one get to retell their love story to one's mother.

Nyonika is a Queen. Agree with me? Or are there any other people who still don't trust her?

People who said Cabir would come next, how could you? He is a diva. He is the last. 

Let's bet. Whose wedding is going to be first? Mukbhi or Manan? :P

Finally. Can I take the privilege of blowing your mind? No? Let's wait for another chapter. :P. (@vidzy_vidhu this doesn't include you. Don't reveal your guesses here. ;))