1 week ago

Manik's pov:

40 days!! 40 days since i have realized my love for Nandini..God! It seems i have been in love with her since forever..its just tht i realized it 40 days ago, when she shared her and Anjika's relation with Abhi. It was so heart wrenching to know what all she had to suffer at such a young age. Yet she is standing with all her strength n courage, facing this world with all her might. It makes my chest swell with pride to love her, and why not..not everyone living on earth get a chance to meet and fall in love with an Angel from heaven. Yes..Nandini is an Angel. She isnt an Angel only in my life..but in Abhi's life too. The pure bond which they share is something i have never witnessed in my life. Their love is so pure that it makes me feel no other love of their kind could reach to their level. The way this Angel held on to Abhi's hand when he was going, first time i got a glance of that little girl who is scared to be left alone in this big world. Her innocence is something that i m willing to look at my entire life. She potrays to be a tough girl, but in reality she is a little innocent girl with the purest heart and soul. I dnt knw what else is stored in her past, i dnt knw why she still gets those nightmares, but i really hope that Abhi gets to know the reason soon.

The looks she has been giving me since last few days, since i took care of her in her "those" days, i dont knw why i see adoration in them. Does tht mean she adores me? Her looks sometimes give me the feel of being loved. The way she looks at me, it feels as if she is seeing her entire world, her entire life in me. How do i know this? Well, cause i have been looking at her with same looks. But today, when i saw her fainting in my arms, i felt for a second my heart stopped beating. All that was surrounding me was numbness..that numbness where u cant see or hear or feel anything. Nandini was lying in my arms like a lifeless soul. It felt as if my soul was lying there lifeless. I got scared..scared to death to see her like that. N when she wasnt responding to me, i felt i will loose my sanity soon. Thats when i realized i need this Angel for my sanity. I badly wanted to know the reason why she fainted. Doctor has said it was due to some shock, but all of a sudden what shock could she get in the middle of the class? Whatever it is, i wont push Nandini to tell me. I know one day she wud definitely tell me everything, and though it seems impossible to wait till that day, i will wait. For now, this feeling of holding her tight in my arms, wrapping her up in my embrace with her head in the crook of my neck is more than enough for me to breathe normally. I know this might seem to b wrong, she is disturbed and yet i requested her to allow me to sleep next to her, but i couldnt help it. I need her, i need her next to me, in my arms, to assure me of her presence, to assure my heart beats again, to assure I m alive. I just want to wrap myself on her to shield her from any pain that even thinks to cross its way with my love. And when she allowed me to hold her tight, I understood that somewhere even she needs me close to her, to hold her, to be with her. N i m more than ready to hold her, tonight and every night, forever.

Its always a beautiful night when i get to spend with Nandini. But i dont get it, she fainted yesterday and today here she is, standing in the living room talking with mom dad. God, couldnt she rest for a little more? Whats the need to go to college today? But no, Ms. Topper has to attend all the classes. Coming down the stairs, i wished mom n dad good morning and asked about everyone's whereabouts. Thats when we got to know that Navya has gone to Nandini's penthouse to collect her assignment and her and Nandini's clothes. Everyone was busy in teasing Cabir, n come on, who would want to miss this chance of teasing THE Cabir Guru.. but Nandini seems to be off. She is spacing out. I nudged her n asked her whether she was ok, but she just took a deep breath and said she wants to tell us something..n i dont knw why i m getting this feeling that she might tell us the reason why she fainted yesterday. I was desperately waiting for her to say, but then she said she wants Navya to b present too, n so she would talk in college. Well, i wont blame her for waiting for Navya, her n Navya's friendship is something we all look in awe. The trust, the faith they have for each each other, in each other, thats simply an extraordinary example in this selfish world. I m sure if anyone of them even gets full proof against the other, they wud still not believe in those proofs. N i think thats what true friendship is. So here we r, in the fab5 jam room in college, waiting for Navya. Its been 2 hrs already n yet there is no news from her side. We all r trying to call her but she isnt answering any of our calls. Nandini n Cabir r hell worried and thats clear from their faces. To be honest, even i m getting worried now. I mean i know its peak traffic time, yet it shouldnt take her so long to reach the college, especially when Nandini said her watchman told her Navya has already left the penthouse.

A sudden beep of Cabir's mobile drew our attention towards him. It was a message.

Cab: what the hell!

Cabir was furious as well as shocked on reading the message. What could be the message?

Dhr: kya huwa Cabir?

Cab: wo..

Cabir was interrupted by another beep sound, but this time from Nandini's mobile. Nandini opened her mobile n frowned on reading the message. Her frown turned into shock when she looked at Cabir. Ye bhai behen aaj kya shock shock expressions khel rahe hai? But next what Nandini told transferred her shocked expression to all of us.

Nan(shocked): Navya Patna chali gayi?!

Fab4: what??

I was going mad now. Was this the message that Cabir received few seconds ago? But how is it possible. I dont get it.
"Nandini..kya bol rahi ho tum? Aur ye message kya hai?"

I took the mobile from Nandini's hand n read the message aloud.

Humare papa ko heart attack aaya hai. Humari maa waha akeli hai isliye hume turant Patna wapis jaana padh raha hai. Hum jaante hai tum log pareshaan ho lekin hum bilkul theek hai. Hum tumhara phone nahi uthaa sake kyunki hum nahi chahte the k tum humare saath aao. Exams aarahe hai aur hum chahte hai k tum unpe focus karo. Humne train ki ticket le li hai aur ab hum train me beth chuke hai. Patna me humara phone nahi chalega isliye hum tumse contact nahi kerpaayenge. Jaldi wapis aane ki koshish karenge. Apna khayal rakhna.
Navya

Al: oh God! Navya k father ko heart attack huwa hai.

Nan: haan lekin wo hume phone pe b to bata sakti thi na. Ye kya baat huwi. Me use akele nahi jaane deti.

Muk: shayad isliye usne phone nahi kiya. Coz use pata tha hum use akele nahi jaane dete.

What the hell is this? I mean..ye koi tareeka hai kya? Tabse itne calls ker rahe hai..couldnt she just answer one n inform us? Gussa mujhe b aaraha hai..lekin agar ab kuch bolunga to ye all time joker Cabir furious Cabir ban jaayga. N let me tell u, Furious Cabir is not at all good. I need to do something.

"No worries..hum flight se patna jaa sakte hai. All we need is her address. Nandini, Cabir..do u have her address?"
I asked both of them, to which both shook their heads in a no. Lo..gayi bhais paani me. Now what?

Nan: aise kaise chali gayi? Me use call kerti hu.

Cab (angry): koi faayda nahi hai. Uska mobile already switched off hai. Guys..agar wo yehi chahti hai k hum exams pe focus kare aur uspe nahi then be it. Lets go n attend next lecture. Waise hee pehla lecture miss kerdiya. Come on..lets go.

Lo..hogaya jiska dar tha. He is furious now. Actually i won't blame him. No doubt he is the joker of our group, but we all know how serious he gets when it comes to relationships. Yuhi use Guru ka khitaab nahi diya humne. N not to forget, he really loves Navya alot. God, i need to stop him.

"Cab..Cabir yaar..ruk to.."

I and fab3 rushed behind him.  Today he is not at all in the mood to listen to anyone of us. He is just rushing towards the class. I know, wo class pe kuch b focus nahi karpaayega. Wo kya, none of us would b able to focus. No doubt we used to call Navya Madhubala, but now she is a dear friend of ours. N aise wo bina bataay chali gayi..it has effected all of us. I knw she had to rush, being the only child of her parents, her mother definitely needs her in this difficult time. I just wish she could have told us, we would have been there for her. Afterall what are friends for then?

"Cabir, yaar ruk to. Sun to le pehle"

"Kya sunu Manik? Hai tere paas koi reason jo Navya ki is bachkaani harkat ko justify ker sake? Tujhe lagta hai kya usne jo kiya wo sai kiya?"

"Nai..i m not here to justify her action. I know use aise hume inform kiye bagair nahi jaana chahiye tha. Lekin.."

"Just a message! 1 dam message n she is gone! Kya lagta hai use, ek message bhej diya to bas..hogaya kaam? Kitne calls kiye hum sab ne use..ek ka to uthaa ti..kisi ka b..bas ek baar uthaa k bol deti."

"Cabir yaar..i know this is difficult..but yaar uske dad ko heart attack aaya. She must have been disturbed. Kuch samaj nahi aaraha hoga use us waqt..jald se jald apne dad k paas pohochne ki tension me shayad humare phone answer kerna uske dimag me nahi aaya hoga. It must have been difficult for her too"

"I know Manik. I know kitna mushkil hoga uske liye. Bola tha usne mujhe she is very much attached to her dad. Isliye to aur gussa hai usper. Ek call ker deti. She knows we wouldnt have left her alone. Me tha, behna thi..aise to har baat share kerti hai.."

"Cabir..she loves u alot. She loves us alot. Mayb she ddnt want us to leave our finals n go after her. I know thts wrong of her to think like that. .but ab jo huwa so huwa. All we can do is wait for her."
Mukti explained to Cabir. Must say, Mukti has become quite matured now.

"As if we have any other option. Ddnt u hear, her mobile wont work in Patna. I mean seriously, aaj kal to almost har village me b mobiles chalte hai. N her father would b admitted in hospital in a city right, yet she cant call us?"
Cabir was being really difficult today. He was always the guy who would b the first one to get convinced, but today... well..i guess thats what love does to u.

"Come on Cabir. We all know how Navya is. Yes she is dramaqueen but she loves u the most. And when u love someone..u want the best for them. Like how u wanted to b with her in these times, the same way she wants u to focus on ur studies amd complete your second year. Dont keep a grudge against her now"
Wow! Such a sweet speech by Aliya. Seriously love does change a person for good.

"Chal na Cabir. Lets go to canteen. We ddnt have our breakfast too"
Dhruv tried cheering him up..n thankfully it worked, coz Cabir agreed to go to the canteen. Jo b ho..Cabir's love for food will never change. Chalo..ek to set huwa..now Nandini. But where is she? I thought she was coming behind us when we left the jam room. May b she is still there.
"guys..u all go ahead..i will fetch Nandini n come. Mayb she is still in the jam room"

I went back to the jam room to look for her but she isn't there. Now where did Nandini go? Looking left and right, i started looking for her. I looked into almost all rooms and corridors, God where is she? I think she might have gone to the canteen. Turning back, i was leaving for the canteen when something, rather someone caught my attention. I retrieved my steps only to get a shock with the scene in front of me. I cant believe what i m seeing. My Nandini..my love..my life was lying in the arms of some other man. This is not possible. No..i knw..my Nandini isnt like this. She must have tripped n the guy must have helped her. But who is this guy? I can only see his back from here. But why is Nandini looking at him like this...as if she knows him. N why isnt he straightening her back to her feet? Why isnt Nandini saying anything to him? God..i cant see her in someone else's arms. Who the hell is this guy?

Finally..like finally the guy left her. Why is Nandini standing so quiet there? What is the guy telling him? I cant listen anything from here. I just hope the guy turns around. Come on come on..turn around..turn around.

What?!

He is the one who was holding my Nandini? Professor Harshad!

Professor Harshad! Yesterday was his first day..for the first time we came face to face in tht class..the same class in which Nandini passed out. Everyone was freaking out, except for him. He said she must have passed out due to stress..n doctor later on confirmed it too. Are these all mere coincidences or...is there something else lying under it? Do Nandini and Professor Harshad knw each other from before? Is he by any chance related to her past?
The way he is getting cozy with Nandini shows he must be knowing her from before. But..y dont i like this guy? Why m i getting strong negative vibes from him? Why do i feel a lot is going to change between me and Nandini, because of him?
I will ask Nandini about all this. Yes..i will. Guess Nandini is going towards the canteen. I will ask her there only. And as it is, she was going to tell us something today. Might b related to what i saw.

There she is, sitting on our usual spot. But she is looking lost. What is she thinking? Sitting beside her, I nudge her with my shoulder..
"U okay?"

Nan: huh? Hmmm

"U were planning to tell us something right? What is it?"
I asked her..coz now i m dam desperate to knw. But why is she all of a sudden sweating.

Nan: ah..wo...wo nothing special. Actually..i..i wanted to .. thank u all.. for being there and standing next to me yesterday. Thank u

What?! Thank u?! Impossible!! This cant be what she was planning to tell us. I can bet on that. I have come to know her this much at least that i know when she lies and when not. N ryt now..Nandini is lying. But why? I know she is feeling my gaze on her..yet she is avoiding me. Mayb because she knows she wont b able to lie to me on my face. But again..why does she need to lie? I thought today we might get a step closer to her past,  her past which still bothers her. But here we are, getting entangled in a web of lies. Why r u doing this Nandini?

These past few days have been terribly bad for us..at least for me. We r no longer the same how we used to be. We still spend our time together, but there is something missing, some hollowness that we arent able to fill. Cabir has turned quiet, he is still mad at Navya and i really dont blame him. Though he still tries to be that joker of the group, but we know him enough to see pass that. Its been 6 days since Navya has gone, yet she hasnt called us. I know she had mentioned she wont b able to contact us..but we still kept our hopes. Cabir,Dhruv and I even tried to find out her address in patna..but everytime we came to a dead end. Sometimes i feel there is something fishy, how is it possible that we cant find an address in Patna? I even tried talking to mom to give us her address from the admission form, but our luck, someone by mistake had dropped a bottle of ink on that file which had her form, spoiling all the forms, including Navya's. Those students were given a new form to refill n since Navya was not here, Nandini n we filled her form. Nandini..! I dont know what is wrong with her. She isnt the same Nandini anymore. At times i feel she is someone else in the frame of Nandini. She doesnt talk much, neither she is attentive in the class. Mom dad too have noticed these changes in her. She is trying to push us away from her. I dont understand whats wrong. It feels everything is just getting scattered. She just spends her time alone. On insistence from Abhi, she had started using his car instead of her bike. Everyday after college, dont knw where she leaves in her car, saying she has some important work. I tried talking to her many times, many times i confronted her too, about avoiding us. But everytime she dismissed it saying she has some very important work to do. I tried following her many times, and every time i used to get surprised that she was going around some far off deserted areas..what for..i have no idea. She even stopped going to orphanage. N i dont knw why my sixth sense is saying tht Professor Harshad has something or the other to do with Nandini's changed behaviour. After that day, i kept an eye on Harshad. Whenever we had a class with him, i would have my focus on him and his actions rather than on his notes. But strangely i ddnt notice any such action or gesture that wud clear his motives. Yes i saw him looking at Nandini many times, but that gaze would b only for seconds before he would shift it to some other student. I know tht much is not enough to doubt him, but i just cant ignore the negativity that i feel from him. Today, again I saw Nandini and Harshad together, but this time, Nandini was hugging him. I felt as if someone put his hand into my heart n churned it raw. It was so difficult to see that. Thats it, i cant sit patiently anymore. I want answers, n i know only Nandini can give me those answers. N today not only me, but fab4 too want answers. Even they have been noticing Nandini's strange and weird behaviour. She hasnt been talking to any of us much. So here we r, waiting for Nandini in the jam room. Today was a half day so almost all students have already left. Remaining are in the library or in the garden preparing for the finals. We had told Nandini to come here as we needed to talk something very important. I m waiting impatiently for her. I dont knw why since morning my feelings are messing up with me. There is this continuous dull ache in my heart, which is very much disturbing. Its giving me a bad feeling, a very bad one. I just hope nothing turns out to b bad. I just have to keep forward my questions n m sure Nandini wud answer them honestly. I trust her. We were waiting for her when a peon came n called out my name.

P: wo kisi ne aapke liye lifafa bheja hai.

"Mere liye? Kisne?"

P: pata nai. Bahar koi chota ladka aaya tha..usne kaha ye Manik Malhotra aur uske dosto ko dena hai. To me le aaya.

"Thank u"

Strange! Why would someone courier me something in college? N wants me n fab 4 to have a look together?

Cab: Manik..kya aaya hai?

"I dont know. Its an envelope. It has a letter in it and..one more small envelope "

Dhr: read the letter first

I took out the letter but i don't know why, my gut feeling was saying i wont b liking whatever is inside it. I dnt knw since when i have become so superstitious..but its my inner feeling n i m simply not able to ignore it.

Muk: Manik..padh na. Kaha kho gaya?

I opened the letter n started reading it.

To
Manik Malhotra and Fab4.

I know getting a strange letter from a stranger is always weird and scary. But i couldnt help it anymore. I wanted to tell u everything the first time i saw u all. But i couldnt. I m here to tell u a truth..truth about one of ur dearest friend..NANDINI MURTHY. Nandini Murthy isnt the person whom she displays to b. There are many many secrets that she has kept hidden under her innocent look. I know, u guys wont believe me easily..because i m sure she must have wrapped u all in her beautiful web of friendship, which is nothing but a complete lie. Do u guys know who truly Nandini Murthy is? Have u guys heard about the FATHER OF TECHNOLOGY..MR. VENKATESH MURTHY? Nandini is their only daughter!

Muk+Al: what?

Their gasps made me stop from reading ahead. Nandini..daughter of Venkatesh Murthy! The one who comes in top 10 richest people in the world? The one who is known as Father of Technology? Nandini is his daughter? How is it possible?

Cab: how is it possible?

Dhr: is that the reason she knows so much about technology? At the mere age of 19, she is extremely rich and has the latest technologies installed at her penthouse and at orphanage? Not to forget that little device of hers which converts audio into notes!

I m numb. Nandini isnt some ordinary girl..but the only daughter of one of the richest men in the world!!

Cab: Manik..read ahead.

Shocked?! Well i m sure u ddnt know about it. How would she tell u about all this? If she tells u who she is,she would have to tell u why she was living alone. N by no means she would be able to tell u that she was thrown out of her house by her parents. Want to know why? Coz being a girl herself, she did such an heinous crime that no one could forgive her for that, not even her own parents. She got her best friend..Anjika Mathur raped!

"What the hell is this? I dont believe in this crap n shit!"
I crumbled the letter as i was getting angry. How could anyone write such crap about my Nandini?

Muk: how does this sender know about Anjika? Nandini had told tht Anjika refused to file a complaint..then how come anyone else knew about it?

Al: Manik..plz continue. Mayb we would come to knw what is the truth.

No..i dont believe this. Meri Nandini aisa kabhi nahi kar sakti. But i want to see..i want to read what else is written in this crap of a letter.

Again shocked that how come anyone knows about Anjika being raped when she refused to even file a case? Here, i would want to confess my crime. Yes, it was me who raped Anjika. I did it cause Nandini paid me a huge amount of money to rape her. I was a young man with needs. I couldnt say no. N since then..i m regretting. I know u must b all thinking that why would Nandini get her best friend raped. Thats because Nandini got to know about Anjika's feelings. Her feelings for..NANDINI'S HERO.

Hero? I have heard Nandini mentioning hero unintentionally. It felt as if she has a deep connection with him. But who is he?

I m sure u dont even know who Hero is. Hero was that guy whom Nandini LOVED dearly. He was the most charismatic and most wanted guy among girls in the school. Nandini not only loved him but was obsessed with him. And when she got to know that Anjika had developed feelings for her hero, she got her raped by me so that she wouldnt b able to stand a chance in front of her hero.

The girls gasped whereas i was shocked. Shocked to read that Nandini loved someone. Shocked to read that she was obsessed with someone. Hero..i have heard her talking about Hero. As if he is someone still associated with her life.

This is not yet. They say right Karma is a bitch. Well it really is. The person for whom Nandini got an innocent girl raped, her Hero, got to know about her this cheap and disgusting move. He even confronted her..but that confrontation..it led to something extremely bad. It led to another heinous crime by Nandini.Her parents got to know about this and they threw her out. Since they have money and power, they were able to hide her crimes. I know it wud still b difficult for u all to trust me, and thats why i have sent u some pictures as proof. I wanted to warn u guys against her. I had become her prawn and i dont wish anyone else to become that.

Your well wisher.

Crap..bull shit. This is..this is all wrong. This cant be true. I knw it cant be.
"This is utter rubbish"

Al: lets see the pics.

"Why do we need to see the pics? I dont believe a word written in this piece of shit"

Muk: lets just see the pics Manik.

I was looking at them in shock. I mean do u really need to see these pics? Of course we dont need to.  But when i saw doubts in everyone's eyes..i gave in. I wanted to prove it to them tht my Nandini can never do anything of this sort. I opened the small envelope to remove the pics from it. There were around 5 pics. But the pictures shook my core. Every pic wounded me worse than the  one before. Every pic worked like a sword dipped in venom which was piercing my heart.There was a pic where Nandini was kissing a handsome guy on his cheek deeply. The other one showed how she was taking a piggyride on the same guy's back. 2 more pics showed them walking hand in hand and the guy kissing her on her cheek. I wouldn't have believed that this could b Nandini..but the smile and the twinkle in her eyes forced me to believe that she was extremely happy in these pics. For a while i forgot everything, i forgot what was written in the letter, i forgot what all lies or truths were hidden from me, all i could see is Nandini's smile, her laughter, her twinkling and shining eyes, everything depicted her innocence, everything reflected how happy and contended she was with her life..her innocent smile brought a small smile on my lips too. This was the second time i got to see the glance of this pure innocent Nandini..first time was when Abhi showed us the video recording. I had always wished to see this smile on her face..this was what i wanted to give her..but always failed. Was this the reason? Was it because she had HERO with her? But where is her Hero now? A gasp from the girls made me look at them. Horror was what i saw on their faces. Dhruv n Cabir were no different. It looked as if they had seen a ghost in front of them. I was looking at them but their gaze was fixed on a particular picture. I approached them n took the picture in my hand only to get the biggest shock of my life.

Nan: Manik...

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Hello Angels
Hru all?
Sry again? Late comer?
Emmm..sholly.

I actually really wanted to complete Maniks pov in this single update..but God..itna lamba khich gaya..i couldnt write anymore. I knw its again a cliffhanger n m really really sorry for that..but i really couldnt help it. Next update wud show remaining part of Maniks pov.

Will try to update soon

Tc 😊