It was currently 2pm and I was waiting for Manik in the coffee shop. We were supposed to be meeting up earlier but we both got home so late last night that neither of us could wake up early. Hence we decided to meet at 2 instead. After waiting for around 5 minutes, Manik eventually came. He searched around the coffee shop and gave me a big smile as he spotted me in the corner.

"Hey beautiful!" He said as he took a seat opposite me.

"You're late!" I stated.

"I'm 5 minutes late, what's the big deal?" He said casually.

"Of course it's a big deal! In five minutes a lot can be done!" I said as I took a sip of the water.

"Okay chill, I was actually here early but then I got caught up with fans asking for autographs." He explained.

"That's why I chose this corner seat. Many people won't be able to see you from here!" I explained.

"Wise thinking Doctor!" He said as he picked up the menu.

"Wise toh mai hoon!" I said with a smirk.

"Anyways let's order!" He said as he opened the menu.

"Yup!" I said as I grabbed myself a menu too.

We placed our order and our food was soon served.

"So what's the plan?" Manik asked as he took a bite of his pancakes.

"What plan?" I asked as I sipped my coffee.

"Well we need to tell our families that we don't want to marry each other, right? Or have you changed your mind doctor?" Manik said with a smirk. He's such a flirt.

"Of course we do! I've not changed my mind and nothing can change my mind either! Got that? I still have no plans to get married!" I clarified, but I felt as if I was convincing myself that I don't want to get married rather than Manik.

"Okay okay, but I do! So jab tumsai chutkara parega, tab hi toh I can find another girl!" Manik said with a smirk.

"Hawww Manik you want to get rid of me? That's so mean! So after today you won't ever contact me?" I asked sadly. He didn't want to see me after this! But then again, why would he want to see me? We have no reason to stay in contact. We weren't exactly friends.

"Give me one reason Nandini, just one reason to stay and I promise I'll happily stay!" Manik said as he looked in to my eyes.

"What... what do you mean?" I said as I tried to stop myself from getting lost in his beautiful eyes.

"Urm what I mean to say is that give me one reason why I should contact you. We aren't exactly friends. Forget friends, we're always fighting with each other." He said as he broke eye contact and leaned back in his chair.

"Hmmm, I guess you're right. We don't have a reason to stay in touch!" I said quietly.

"Unless we create one!" Manik said with hopeful eyes.

"Food is getting cold, I think we should concentrate on eating our food!" I tried to change the conversation and it worked. Everything was just getting super awkward and that was not what I wanted.

"Yeah, the food!" He said as he started to eat his food again.

The next 10 minutes passed by in complete silence. Neither Manik nor me talked. The awkwardness was really getting to me so I decided to break the ice.

"Food was nice!" I said blankly. Seriously Nandini, aur kuch nahi milaa?

"Yeahh, it was lovely!" He said with a slight smile.

"So what are the plans now? I mean your leg is fully recovered so will you be back to playing cricket soon?" I asked in an attempt to initiate a conversation.

"Yeah the England tour begins in 2 months time. So the next two months are going to be full of practice sessions." He explained.

"That's amazing. All the best with that!" I said with a smile.

"Thank you! What about you?" He asked.

"Nothing different! Just doing what I do at the hospital." I said.

"Yeah, nice!" He exclaimed.

"So are you coming down to mine then? To tell them?" I said as I took another sip of my coffee.

"Yeah, I guess!" He replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay so shall we?" I asked.

"Yeah of course! I'll just pay the bill." He said as he looked around for a waiter.

"We'll pay the bill. We're sharing it. I'm not letting you pay the full bill." I stated.

"It's fine, I'll do it!" He said with a smile but I was not having it.

"Nope we're sharing! Excuse me can we please have the bill!" I said as I called a waiter towards us. He came with the bill and I put my share of money in it whilst Manik did the same. He didn't bother to argue with me because he knew how stubborn I was. We both had come in our separate cars so we drove to my house separately too. Once we reached my house, we stood outside in the garden and mentally prepared ourselves for what was to come. I was thinking of the best way to speak to my grandparents about rejecting the proposal when I heard Manik call out to me.

"Nandini!" He mumbled.

"Hmmmm!" I said as I turned to look towards him.

"I just wanted to say that I'm gutted this didn't work out." He said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean us, this relation, I really wish it would have worked out because honestly you're such an amazing girl. You respect your elders, you're strong, independent, pretty, and caring! You're a lovely girl and any guy would be lucky to have you." He said softly as he stared into my eyes. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! This is what I was afraid of!

"Manik, I, you know how I, this is not right, I mean..." I tried to gather up words but I couldn't. I was just in too much shock.

"Please don't freak out! I know how you feel about all this, I know you don't want to get married anytime soon and I get that. I just wanted to tell you this because otherwise I would've regretted not telling you. I'm not saying that I love you because that would be silly. I haven't known you that long but I do like you. I really do like you. You've caught my eyes since the day I met you!" He said as he held my hands into his.

"Manik you're a lovely guy, you honestly are! And I'm sure you'll find an amazing girl but that girl can't be me Manik. I don't fit into the perfect view of marriage that you have. I'm sorry I..." I said as I pulled my hands away from him and started to pace up and down in panic. This cannot be happening. I looked away from him. I couldn't look into his eyes, they were hypnotising!

"No, no, no, please don't say sorry. I'm not asking you for anything, honestly. I just wanted to tell you this so I don't regret it later. I feel a lot better now that I've told you, but this doesn't change anything. You don't want to get married and I respect that. I really do!" He explained as he came and stood in front of me.

"Manik I..." I turned away from him once again and was about to speak when my phone rang. I pulled my phone out from my bag and received the call.

"Hello? Ji Maa, I'm nearly home! Why? What? When did it happen? Okay I'll come there as soon as possible!" I said in panic as I ran towards my car.

"Nandini! Nandini you can't just run away like that. Listen I didn't mean to scare you! I'm sorry yaar!" He shouted as he ran behind me.

"It's an emergency Manik!" I stated.

"Emergency? Phir se? Ab kiska accident hua?" He said in disbelief.

"Shut up Manik! It's my Amms, she's admitted in hospital." I explained.

"What? Why?" He asked in shock.

"I don't know! But I need to get to the hospital right now!" I said as I walked towards my car.

"I'll drive us!" He said as he went towards his car and unlocked it. I didn't bother to argue either and went and sat in the passenger seat. We soon reached the hospital and I went towards the emergency ward where my Amms was. I found my parents, granfather, and my brother waiting outside the ICU. I quickly ran up to them and enquired about my Amms whilst Manik greeted them and they too greeted him back with a smile. Nobody asked why he was at the hospital but then again that wasn't important right now.

"I don't know Nandini. They thought it was a heart attack but have now realised it was a panic attack. The doctors are saying that she was probably taking too much stress about something. Her blood pressure is very high too." My mum explained.

"But Mum Amms ko itna kya tension hai?" I questioned.

"I don't know beta, I don't know!" Mum said quietly as she sat on the chair nearby.

"But I do!" Dadu said quietly.

"What dadu?" I immediately questioned.

"Its you Nandini, your Amms is taking too much stress about your wedding! She thinks that you will never say yes to marriage. She really liked Manik and she was worried you might just say no to marrying him. But seeing you both come together at the hospital has given me some hope that maybe you won't reject him after all." Dadu said in a hopeful voice.

"Why is everybody taking stress about my wedding? Jab mujhe koi tension nahi hai, then why is everyone else so bothered?" I stated a little irritatedly. I didn't want to be the reason why any of my family memebers were in pain.

"Nandini yai kya bol rahi ho tum?" Mum asked in disbelief.

"Theek toh keh rahi hu Mum. Amms is in the hospital because she was taking stress about my wedding! I don't want to be the cause for anyone's worries!" I explained.

"Then get married, it's simple! I don't understand why you're so against marriage!" Mum said abruptly.

"Maa, I thought at least you would understand!" I said in shock. Out of all the people present, I thought my mum would at least understand my choices. But alas I was wrong.

"Understand? I can expect you to do the same! Why don't you understand Nandini, Manik jaisa ladka tumhe kahi nahi milega! He's such a lovely boy!" Mum said as she looked towards Manik. She wasn't wrong, Manik was a lovely boy. But the problem wasn't with Manik, the problem was to do with me! Why could they not understand?

"Jaanti hu mum, he's good! In fact he's amazing! But Maa I don't want to ruin his life by marrying him!" I said as I took a seat next to Mum and held her hands.

"Nandini that would never happen!" Manik stated.

"Manik please you don't understand what I'm trying to say. No one does!" I said as I threw my hands in disbelief.

"Then make us understand! Why don't you want to get married Nandini? Why?" My mum said with tearful eyes as she held onto my hands.

"Ask Nana and Nani Maa, maybe they'll tell you!" I said blankly which left everyone confused.

"What do you mean by that? What will my ma and paa know about this?" Mum questioned.

"Mum they know a lot I assure you! They understand why I don't want to get married! Do you know why? Because they always made an effort to understand me!" I said as I wiped the tears that were making their way down my cheeks.

"Acha! So now you're calling me a bad mom? Mai apni beti ko nahi samajhti?" Mum said dramatically. Why do mums make such a big deal out of such a small matter?

"Maa please! That's not what I'm trying to say! You and Dad have always given me what I wanted! You've always showered so much love on us all but there are some things which I have only shared with Nana and Nani because they have always listened to me without ever judging me." I tried to explain in the best manner possible.

"Toh ab batao naa Nandini! What is the reason you don't want to get married?" It was my dad this time who questioned.

"Leave it Dad, you all won't understand! In fact you all will just call me crazy and say that I'm over thinking things!" I said quietly.

"Nandini beta please batao!" Dadu finally said. All this time, my Dadu was in too much of a shock to even say a word so he simply sat there and stared at us all.

"No dadu! Somethings are better left unsaid." I said softly.

"No Nandini! You have to tell us today! Even I want to listen! What is the real reason behind my daughter not wanting to get married?" Mum said irritatedly. She really wanted answers today!

"I think I should leave!" Manik said as he realised the situation was just getting worse. He must've felt as if he was intruding in family matters so he decided to leave.

"No Manik! Stay! You should also listen to why Nandini doesn't want to marry you! After all this concerns you too!" Mum said a little loudly.

"You really want to know why I don't want to get married?" I said in disbelief.

"Yeah I want to know!" Mum exclaimed.

"Fine! It's you guys! Mum, dad, you two are the reason why I'm afraid of getting married! There you go I said it!" I said loudly.

"What? Tum paagal ho gayi ho? What do you mean?" Mum said immediately. That was exactly the reaction I was expecting.

"One minute Shreya! Let her speak!" My Dad exclaimed.

"This is the reason why I didn't want to say anything! You never want to listen to me fully! I don't think there's any point in explaining anything further! Dadu I need some time to myself. Please keep me updated on Amms!" I said irritatedly as I got up to leave.

"Nandini! Nandini you can't just walk off like that! You have to answer!" I heard my Maa shout but I carried on walking away.

"She doesn't have to do anything Shreya! Jaanay anjaanay mai we have really hurt her! We need to find out what we've done!" I heard my dad speak. Atleast somebody understood me.

"I'm worried about her! Who knows what she'll do in anger?" Mum said worriedly.

"I'll go after her!" Manik stated.

"Thank you Manik!" Maa said as Manik came to follow me.

"Life's too short to hide feelings, express how you feel. You never know if they have the same feelings."

~Anonymous

A/N: Chapter 13 updated! Hope you all enjoyed reading it! Sorry this is kind of late, but I hope the chapter was worth the wait. What was your favourite part? Do let me know! And thank you to each one of you for the love you show. Whether that's through your votes, comments, or simply just taking the time out to read my story, it all means a lot to me! 😊❤️

Here's a couple of questions for you all to answer:

~ Did you all like Manik's sudden confession?

Okay we wouldn't call it a proper confession because he didn't actually tell her he loves her, but he does like her and sees a possible future with her. He also knows Nandini doesn't want that, and he respects that!

~ What could be the reason why Nandini is so afraid of marriage?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. 😊 Have an awesome week ahead! ❤️

Lots of love xxx