Nandini was taking interest in everything but the biggest distraction on her side. They had been walking silently since past five minutes and hadn't unttered a word to each other. Why had he come outside if he didn't want to talk? Nandini thought angrily, but then remebered that Manik hadn't suggested this. He was obeying chachi. Great, so he didn't want to talk. That was the truth! Oh well, in that case he could eat up his offer to drop her home tomorrow and shove it up his...

"Something wrong?"

Nandini nearly jumped out of her skin. "Huh?"

Manik gestured at the lines between her eyebrows. "You were having that famous angry frown of yours. So"

"Angry, frown?" Nandini touched the lines and realized she had been frowning hard indeed. "Oh" she smoothened her expression and smiled nervously "It's nothing." While she had been thinking of vicious plots to turn him down, he had been watching her.

Amused, Manik stepped closer. "Sure?"

"Of course!" Nandini stepped back immediately, not realizing that they had reached at the end of foyer near the stairs. Her foot did not get the support. "Aaaa!"

Her hand was held in a firm grasp. With an obtuse view of her eyes she saw Manik looking at her. Her fear vanished instantly. Slowly, he pulled her closer and Nandini, in a trance, didn't even blink. The fresh scent of his cologne was intoxicating. This man, this tall and handsome man was the man of her dreams and she would never be able to change this fact. For an eternity, they stared in each other's eyes.

"We should go" Manik said quietly.

"Huh?" Nandini felt like she had woken up from a dream. She looked around. They were at the end of the foyer. Downstairs was the entrance gate of the garden. She looked back at their joined hands then at him. He was right. They should go. Anyone could see them here, like this. Yet, neither did Manik make any move to leave, nor did Nandini. When she made a feeble attempt to free her hand, the grip on it tightened.

The first bud of happiness bloomed in her heart.

"Nandini?"

Scared to look up, Nandini closed her eyes. There was something different about the way he had spoken her name. Something ... sensual about the way he had asked for her. She felt herself being taken into a warm embrace. Her heart melted. Sighing, Nandini raised her head and let her heart take over her body. The warm breath on her neck was doing wonders to her chilled spine. Gradually, she let herself become comfortable and after a few minutes, it was her arms which were wrapping around the love of her life.

"Nandini" Manik said in a painful whisper. Her breath got caught in her throat when he hugged her tighter. "I missed you so much" With the heart wrenching confession, he placed a warm kiss in the crook of her neck.

Wham! And she was back to reality! Horrified at what she was doing, Nandini let go and pushed him away at the same time. Shivering uncontrollably, she was shocked to find Manik looking shaken too.

"No" she whispered with quivering lips and turning on her heels, ran away from him as fast as her legs could carry her.

Manik looked at the retreating figure with a mixture of anger, hurt and longing. He couldn't do this anymore. He had run out of patience. He had been walking on eggshells since weeks and God knew what toll it had taken on him. All those times when she had refused to acknowledge his presence, looked at him with those beautiful accusatory eyes, been unapproachable and had tried to stay away from him as far as possible had done nothing but made his insides burn more and more. What did she think? Was she the only one who had got hurt, who had nearly died out of the misery of missing that one person you hadn't known was your life? He alone was not responsible for what she had gone through, what he had gone through, for god's sake what they had gone through! Then how could she hold it all against him? How could she be angry with him when she hadn't stopped him from leaving? She hadn't even come to the airport to say goodbye. She had no right to blame him for the silence for all these years when despite every means of communication she herself hadn't bothered to send even a text.

No, he was done being the considerate one. If Nandini Murthy thought that she could have everything her way, then she was in for a big surprise. She had robbed him of his relief the moment she had cut him off her life. He had been living in the king of all countries for god's sake and yet he hadn't had a moment's peace. All the friends he had made, they had been more like acquaintances. He had always held Nandini as the measuring scale and none of those people had managed to reach even half of what she was to him as a friend ... and as someone who he wanted to be with forever. Hadn't he had Cabir and Riddhima with him as his both cousins and best friends, he was sure he wouldn't have been able to cope.

He had been putting off the inevitable conversation because he had wanted to give her time to heal, to come to terms with the reality that the main reason he was back was her, because he couldn't handle that insanity anymore. He wanted to be with her, he needed her.

With steely eyes, Manik looked back at the way Nandini had run to. She was not getting away from him, not before knowing that he too, along with her, had burnt in hell. Determined, he strode in her direction.

She was going to listen to him today.

Nandini stopped against a tree and started breathing heavily. Her legs felt shaky and she had to hold the tree's trunk for support. Her heart was running a mile a minute and it was not because of the running. Her skin was tingling. The spot where Manik's lips had touched her was burning itself into her flesh. What had happened back there? What had come over her for letting him do this? What had come over him to do this?

Yes, she did not deny that she was in love with him, had always been in love with him, but that did not mean that he felt the same. And even if by mistake for some mysterious, unbelievably unknown reason Manik was attracted to her then too he shouldn't be behaving this way. They were family friends since childhood which automatically complicated things further. Then why had he done this? It had been wrong, yet it had felt so right, one of the biggest drawbacks of being in love. You lose the sense of right and wrong. Both change their meanings. Right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right. If only she could...

"I missed you so much, so much"

The breathless voice broke Nandini's train of thoughts. Surprised, she covered her mouth so that the sound of her breathing did not alert whoever was nearby.

"I love you so much!"

Shocked, Nandini dared a peek. The voice belonged to Riddhima.

"Not more than me"

She nearly shouted. Aryaman? This time Nandini couldn't help herself and dared to sneak a peek in the direction of the voices. To her astonishment, the scene was mind-boggling.

Aryaman and Riddhima were wrapped in each other's arms and were kissing incessantly. They were all over each other and looking at them anybody could say that they were making up for some sort of lost time. Like, Nandini guessed, for the time they had stayed away from each other. Had Aryaman and Riddhima been in a long distance relationship? If they had, that explained Aryaman's sudden interest in shifting his business to USA. He was going there to be with Riddhima because unlike Manik, she had no plans of staying in India for long. She was happy and satisfied with the life she had built there and Aryaman wanted to be a part of it. Since how long had they been dating each other? As far as Nandini knew, Aryaman had never gone to US. And Riddhima hadn't come to India either. Then how had they...? Nandini's head was spinning. Too many questions, no answers.

"I can't stay away from you anymore. I just can't" Aryaman said in a voice burning with passion and pulled down Riddhima's top's strap to place a hot kiss on her shoulder.

Quietly, Nandini hid behind the tree and turned in the opposite direction.

"Me neither. Come with me" whispered Riddhima.

"I'm trying sweetheart. Trust me I am. I just need some more time and I promsie we will be together."

"I don't understand this Aryaman. Tum chacha-chachi se humaare baare mein baat kyu nahi karte? We are grown up now and if we will get married to hume aise chhup-chhup ke nahi milna padega."

"Tumhe shaadi ki itni kya jaldi hai Ridz?"

"Jaldi? Are you serious? Aryaman pichhle 5 saal se we have been seeing each other. Tum use jaldi kaise keh sakte ho? I'm twenty four and you are twenty five. This is the perfect time to get married. Why are you putting it off?"

"Ridz..."

"Aryaman, tum mujhse shaadi to karnaa chaahte ho na?"

Nandini held the trunk for support again after detecting the hint of fear in Riddhima's voice. It was a fear she was well familiar with even though her reasons were different.

"O...Of course I want to marry you Ridz. You know how much I love you."

"Then why are you not telling anyone about us? Tumhe andaaza bhi hai ki uncle, aunty and especially Manik aur Cabir se mujhe humaare baare mein chhupaate hue kitna guilty feel hota hai? But still for you, for us, I have been lying to them since past five years."

"What lying Ridz?" Aryaman's voice was getting slightly louder and Nandini knew her brother's temper had started rising. "Tumne bas unhe humaare baare mein bataaya hi to nahi hai. How can you call it lying?"

"Silence is equivalent to lying if you are hiding something huge from your family Aryaman. But tum ye baat nahi samjhoge kyunki tumhaare liye jhooth bolna bahut aasaan hai. Kisi aur per tumhaare jhooth se kya farak pad saktaa hai is baat se tumhe koi fark nahi padtaa."

"Oh really? Is that what you think of me? That I'm a bloody liar?"

"Aryaman..."

"Yes. I am a huge liar Riddhima. After all, I have lied countless times to my family. All those trips to USA which I made just to meet you, just to see you smile, just to hold you in my arms for sometime and kiss you to make myself believe that we are together, none of that matters. Right?"

"Aryaman you know I didn't mean it that way...."

"Oh yeah? After everything I did for you, this is what you think about me? That I'm nothing but a liar?"

"After everything YOU did for ME?" Riddhima was flaring up as well. "Really Aryaman? Tum to aise baat kar rahe ho jaise maine kabhi tumhaare liye kuch kiya hi nahi. How many times did I lie to everyone about going on trips with my friends jab main tumse milne India aati thi? You just remember your sacrifices. What about mine?"

"Main jo bhi kartaa tha humaare liye kartaa tha. Aur karke bhi tumhe jataata nahi tha."

"Baat to aise kar rahe ho jaise maine tumhe humesha ginaaya hai ki maine tumhaare liye kya-kya kiya hai. Earlier this hidden love was fun. But Aryaman at that time we had just become adults. Now we are mature people who are capable of taking our own decisions."

"That's why I took the decision to shift to US, because I'm mature. Isn't that enough for you?"

"I just need you to come out in the open about our relationship. I don't understand tum ab kyun sabse humaare baare mein chhupaana chaahte ho. Look" Riddhima took a deep breath "I'm not forcing you for marriage. Mujhe shaadi ki koi jaldi nahi hai. But agar sabko bataa dete to..."

"You know very well ki agar ek bar amms aur chachi ko humaare baare mein pataa lag gayaa to they'll be after our lives to get married. So ultimately, you will get what you want, Riddhima Dhawan."

Shocked at her brother's words, Nandini took a step back. How could Aryaman say this? She couldn't imagine the amount of hurt he must have inflicted on Riddhima with this attitude. Till now she had been thinking that Aryaman was a playboy but his long distance relation with Riddhima was news to her. She had never thought that out of all people Aryaman was capable of pulling it off. But after hearing this conversation, all his efforts seemed useless. What was the point in promising a forever if one didn't intend to spend it? She was lucky in this at least. Manik had never promised her anything, definitely not a forever.

A sharp tug on her arm pulled Nandini backwards and she stumbled against a hard body. She was startled but somehow managed to stop herself from screaming as she did not wish to disturb Aryaman and Riddhima.

"We have to talk" The warm breath on her ear made her insides curl with longing.

"Manik? Tum..." But Nandini's next words died in her throat when suddenly she was swept off her feet. "Manik! What are you doing? Put me down! Manik!"

Manik was looking straight ahead as he walked effortlessly towards a secluded corner. Nandini gritted her teeth. Did he have to act so macho again and again? What did he want to prove? That she weighed nothing? Oh well, she had to let him know that just because she was petite did not mean she could not save herself. And she had to listen more of Aryaman and Riddhima's conversation. She knew it was not her place but she simply could not let her idiot of a brother to commit the stupid mistake of losing the love of his life especially when it was such a nice girl like Riddhima.

"Manik I'm warning you" she said angrily. "Put me down or else I will..."

"What will you do?" Manik still was not looking at her. "Run away? Forget it Nandini, you're not doing it anymore, not from me, never again."

"I was not running away!"

"Oh yeah? Then I guess what you did up there was a warm-up for some marathon"

"Don't go sarcastic on me!" Nandini said acidly.

"Then you stop being ridiculous and everything will fall into place."

"Now we will add insults!" He had to stop or else the mixed emotions rising in her chest would choke her! Nandini forced herself to rationalize. "Okay Manik" after sometime she said in a much calmer voice. "You want to talk, we will talk. But not like this. I have two feet of my own which by God's grace are capable of functioning perfectly thank you very much. So put me down and we can talk normally"

"There is nothing normal about us" Manik said in a low voice. "There never was."

Nandini heard it but was too scared to ask the meaning behind his words. Thankfully, Manik put her down and as soon as her body lost his touch her heart revolted at once.

"Oh shut up!" she muttered to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing" She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again. "What do you want to talk about?"

The intense look on Manik's face almost made her want to run again but she knew it was pointless. He would only catch her and this time he wouldn't let go. And as much as she had loved being in his arms, she knew that she could not have a civil conversation with him when they were in such a close proximity with each other.

"I don't know. You tell me" said Manik. "What happened back there?"

You mean when you kissed me like you meant it. Happiness happened back there. Love happened back there. But if he could not understand it and was asking her what it meant, then there was no hope for them. So Nandini hardened her heart and said in a frigid voice. "What happened back there was a mistake."

Manik looked like he had been shot. "Mistake?" The pain in his voice made Nandini feel like slapping herself for eternity. "Do you really believe that?"

But she had to do this. She could not tolerate unanswered questions anymore. Mukti had asked her to go for it, and she had. Hadn't he understood that the reason why she let him drop her home every night was an approval on her part? If he couldn't understand that, then he couldn't understand anything.

"Yes I do"

Manik flinched visibly.

I'm sorry Manik, but I have to do this. I guess this is the end. Let me be the vamp, then both of us can move on. Or at least, you can. Ignoring the pain of a thousand knives piercing her heart, Nandini forced herself to laugh harshly. "Come on Manik. Isn't it a girl's job to dream of a fairy tale?"

She could see him drawing in some strength from somewhere, though she had no idea where was it from. "I'm not following you" he said coldly.

"Oh come on" with a careless wave of her hand Nandini turned away from him just as tears spilled out of her eyes. "A girl and boy are best buddies since childhood. But then the boy leaves and they don't stay in touch. When he returns, it's obvious that they are not friends anymore. End of story" She looked back at him. "Were you expecting me to harbor some sort of feelings for you when you came back? Tumhe kya lagaa? Tum aaoge and sab kuch pehle jaisaa ho jaayega? Just like how it happens in a fairy tale. That's the funniest thing I ever heard. We were friend Manik! Surely you were not expecting any kind of hidden love for you from my side. I never took you for a believer in impossible love stories."

Despite the cold eyes, Nandini could see that he had gone pale. Please God finish this now. I can't stand straight for long.

"Then I guess it's my mistake that I hoped for..."

For?

"But it doesn't matter now, does it?" Manik bit out in a rough voice. "Thank you so much for clearing things out for me Nandini. I have to say, you are a true friend indeed. You have a knack for showing the reality. No wonder you became a professor for current affairs, because they show today's reality no matter how it is."

Never in her whole life had she been slapped so hard.

The voice which said the next words certainly did not belong to Nandini. "My pleasure"

"In that case I would like to take your leave, ma'am. Thank you so much for being kind enough to help me out so far. I will never forget it."

Don't go Manik. Please don't go. Don't leave me, please. "Just doing my job."

"Like I said, you are excellent at your job." Manik turned away from her and this time Nandini knew he would never look back. "Oh and by the way" he turned back "Thank you for all the extra classes as well, ma'am. Won't be needing them anymore."

He walked away from the only girl he had ever loved, and the only girl who broke his heart. And when he did, he never saw her falling on her knees, crying her heart out to the heavens for putting her in hell.

Dead on her feet, Nandini walked towards the house. The worst was done, and it had taken away her will to smile, laugh, be happy. She didn't care about anything anymore. She had broken her best friend's heart, and she was ready to accept the punishment for it which she knew would be a lifelong of unhappiness and suffering. What could she say for that? There was no justification except that she had been to scared of saying what was in her heart since all these years. She had tolerated his silence and somehow would cope with it in future, but no power in the world could save her from scattering into a million pieces if he rejected her. He was attracted to her, but he did not love her. And after what she had done tonight, he never would.

A slight movement on her side caught her eye. Nandini looked aside and saw Cabir holding Navya's hand. It was dark as they were standing under a tree but the dim white light of the moon was enough for her to recognize them. Rishabh and Dhruv were nowhere in sight. Navya was looking down with her eyes closed and the expression on her face was that of pain. Cabir was saying something and he looked close to desperation. Apparently whatever he was saying to Navya, she was not ready to hear it. And Cabir, it appeared he had to say what he was saying.

Nandini stopped. Should she go and take Navya away? But then she remembered the conversation between Aryaman and Riddhima. She hadn't liked it one bit and all the bitchy attitude in front of Manik had taken its toll on her. Besides it was Navya's personal matter and she would not appreciate if Nandini interfered. She wanted to be there for her sister but sometimes, being there meant letting the person you care for fighting its own battles. And Navya was more than capable of doing that.

With a heavy heart, Nandini turned away from them.

Fate loved playing cruel jokes. She was not the only one who had been cursed to fall in love with a member from the Malhotra family.

Her brother and sister hadn't been spared either.

Sorry for the delay guys and grrrrr, again I was unable to finish the story in this chapter. But I have decided, enough is enough! I'm wrapping up the story in the next chapter no matter what so you can expect it to be quite long. I'm hardly left with any time to write which is causing such a huge delay in updates that is why I thought I should finish this story first as it is nearly over. Apart from that, there were several things about which I wanted to talk you guys. There are certain issues which need to be addressed. Off late, they have started bothering me. I will talk about them when I update the next chapter which will hopefully be next week. I promise I will try my level best. Until then, take care. Hope you liked this part. God bless. Cheers! :-)