"Hello Mr. Malhotra, nice to meet you
" Ansh, who was coming out after meeting doctor noticed Manik and wished. Manik smiled at him.

"Hello Mr. Murthy. Nice to meet you too. How's NM now?" Manik asked.

"She's fine. Resting. Come, I'll show you the way to her room." Ansh said giving him smile. Manik nodded and walked with him.

They entered inside her room and Ansh spoke-

"Nandi, look someone is here to meet you." Nandini opened her eyes and looked at him. Then her eyes fell on Manik who was standing beside him. Manik gave her faint smile and greeted.

"Hello NM, how are you doing now?" Nandini gave him faint smile and replied.

"I'm fine, Mr. Malhotra. Thank you." Manik nodded at her smiling.

"But what happened to you suddenly. You were fine till yesterday noon, right?" Manik asked. Ansh looked at her who avoided his gaze.

"It's because of weakness and workload. My blood pressure dropped." She faked a reason.

"Ohh. Take care. And I wanted to apologize to you." Manik said with a guilt. Ansh frowned but kept mum.

"Apologize? For what?" Nandini asked  all confused.

"Uhm, yesterday in office, I got angry at you. Sorry for that. I have temper issues but I dint mean to hurt you." Manik apologized sincerely. Nandini smiled at him. Ansh looked shock.

She's smiling at Manik though he got angry at her yesterday and on the top of that she's giving him a smile. A SMILE!!!

"That's completely alright Mr. Malhotra. I understand. You weren't wrong but I was." She replied calmly. Manik nodded in no.

"You helped her so much. She met me in corridor. Her father is admitted over here only. She only told me. Otherwise I thought-" realising what he was going to say, he smiled sheepishly rubbing the side of his neck. Seeing his cute antic Nandini chuckled. Both Ansh and Manik looked at her surprised. The NM chuckled.

"You are behaving all cute Mr. Malhotra. Just like a kid." She said shaking her head. Manik made face. Ansh was looking at them all amused.

"Call me anything NM but cute! I have such a hot, dashing, cool personality. Girls die for my one look and here you are insulting me calling cute. Not fair." Manik said dramatically to which Nandini raised her brow at him while Ansh chuckled.

"Acting all dramebaaz, are we?" Manik grinned at her.

"By the way, you were thinking right. I'm heartless." Nandini confessed calmly looking at him. He stared at her seriously.

"No, you aren't. I'm sorry for my harsh words. I mean.. I shouldn't have brought your parents in between. I- I don't know, I just lost it seeing you behaving so coldly and calm in that situation." Nandini's face turned blank. Both Manik and Ansh noticed it.

"We should always keep personal and professional life different." Nandini voiced out her thought. Manik nodded at her.

"I guess, I should leave now. You need to take rest." He said looking at her. She nodded.

"Take care. And get well soon." Nandini nodded while replying.

"Thank you, Mr. Malho-"

"Ah- Can you please, call me Manik? I mean we are almost of same age and also I feel too old hearing Mr. Malhotra." Manik said frowning.

"But-"

"Please, I insist." He pleaded. Nandini sighed in defeat.

"Okay."

Manik grinned at her. Ansh was a silent spectator all the time.

"So that means, I can call you-"

"Nandini! You can call me that." Nandini replied him cutting his sentence.

Dhina dhin dhaa! Manik did a quick monkey dance in mind.

"Okay Nandini. See you soon. Bye." He said waving his hand at her.

She widened her eyes a little and looked at her brother who was already looking at her having teasing look.

The nerve of this guy! He was behaving so freely infront of her brother. Great!

"Bye." Nandini replied stammering a bit.

Manik then bid bye to Ansh and left.

"So Manik Malhotra, The Manik Malhotra got angry on you?" Ansh asked her. She rolled her eyes before replying.

"So?"

"And you dint shouted at him back?" Ansh teased again.

"So?"

"And The Manik Malhotra, apologized to you!"

"So?"

"And The NM, The NM smiled at him?"

"So?"

"And The NM accepted her fault."

"So?"

"And the Manik Malhotra behaved like a dramebaaz infront of The NM?"

Nandini just closed her eyes and opened again.

"So?"

She was getting pissed. Ansh controlled his laughter and again spoke-

"And The NM, found him cute?"

"Bhai!"

"And -----

"And finally the NM declares that her bhai has lost it totally due to no sleep of whole night. So I suggest him to leave the room and take rest to gain his senses and let me also rest before The NM's angry mode gets on!" She spoke strictly looking at him. Ansh laughed aloud. She just closed her eyes and put comforter on her face.

"Bhai go."

"Okay Okay my angry bird. Easy. I'm going. Take rest. Sleep." Saying this he pecked her forehead and left.

_________________

At night,
Malhotra Mansion-

"So how's your NM?" Cabir asked Manik who was sitting in his room doing something on his phone.

"Yeah. She's fine now. Just- wait! What? My NM?" Manik asked giving him narrow look on which he just gave teasing smile and winked at him.

"Chillax bro, I know everything. Kuch kuch hota hai, hai na?" He asked going near his ear to which he received a smack on his head.

"Shut up, Cabir! Aisa kuch nei hain." Manik said looking at another side after giving him death glare. Cabir laughed.

"Toh kaisa hai bhai? Jara hame bhi samjhaye." He teased.

"Cabir tu pitega!" Manik warned which cabir ignored as usual.

"Achcha tell me, isn't she bold and beautiful? Beauty with brain?" He asked Manik grinning. Manik get lost in her thought and smiled.

"Yes, she's." He muttered unknowingly. Cabir smirked.

"I so knew it. I so knew it that you are flat on her. I'm going to inform Mom." Cabir said running out of room. Manik came in his sense hearing him and ran after him.

"Cabir, no! Stop you idiot! Don't you dare tell anything to Mom." Manik shouted.

"She already smelled your blooming 'laal ishq' brother!" Cabir shouted back.

Manik just stopped on his track with widened eyes and his jaws dropped down in shock. His family is too fast.

"Cabirrrr, saley ruk!" Saying this he again ran after him.

__________________

"Bhaiyu, bhaiyu see na bhai is teasing me. I won't talk to him." Said little Nandini sitting on bed infront of Abhi with a pout. Abhi kept his study books aside and made her sit on his lap. She snuggled in his embrace.

"What happened to my doll, hmm? Why so saddy saddy?" He asked pecking her cheek. She pouted sadly and showed him empty wrapper of chocolate.

"Bhai ate my whole chocolate which you gave me yesterday." She said sadly clutching her doll near her chest. Abhi smiled at her sweet complaint.

"Achcha? Ansh ate my doll's chocolate? Koi baat nei. I'll bring new choco for you. And I'll scold him for troubling you, okay?" He said making her happy. She kissed his cheek and ran shouting happily. He worriedly shouted and ran behind her.

"Yayyy! I'll tell bhai! Yayyyy!!"

"Doll, don't run on stairs. Baby, wait you'll fall."

Suddenly her foot slipped on a step and she rolled down stairs and lied on floor surrounded by pool of blood. Abhi looked at her horrified and screamed his lungs out!

"Dollllllllllllllllll!!"

"Dolllllllllllllll"

Abhi screamed loudly and woke up from his sleep. He was breathing heavily and was drenched in sweat. He looked here and there as if searching Nandini. Amms came in his room hearing his shout and was shocked looking at him.

"Abhi!"

"Doll, doll where are you? Amms, amms doll, she- she's hurt. She na, she fell from stairs. Ba- bahut khoon beh raha tha. She needs me. We have to take her to doctor, Amms. Doll!" He kept blabbering all this still in effect of nightmare. Amms looked at him with pained expressions. And shook him holding his shoulder.

"Abhi, Abhi look at me. Get up from your dream. It was a dream Abhi. Look here. She's fine and is in hospital resting. Abhi, are you hearing me?" Amms said making him come back to reality.

"She's fine." Abhi whispered more to himself. Giving relief. Amms looked at him.

"Why don't you meet her if you are so much concerned for her?" She asked patting his head a little. Abhi's expression changed.

"I'm not concerned. It was just a nightmare." He spoke coldly. Amms sighed.

"Okay. You sleep now. It's 3 am only." Saying this she left adjusting comforter on him.

Abhi couldn't sleep but kept looking at ceiling with a blank face.

Screen freezes.