It was 8am and I was rushing towards the hospital in my pyjamas all for Nandini. I really hope she's okay. I don't want that stupid news article to change anything between us! I soon reached the hospital and I rushed into the hospital once my car was parked. The receptionist saw me and called out to me!

"OMG! It's you Manik!" I heard her scream with excitement. I turned around towards her, she was the same receptionist from the last time I visited.

"Hey! I need to see Doctor Nandini, where can I find her?" I asked politely.

"So the news is true! You guys are together! I should've known when you came with her to the hospital the other day!" She said in shock.

"No it's not like that! She is my doctor of course, she did my treatment last time. It's common for people to go and see their doctors if they have any issues, right? So I'm doing just that!" I explained.

"Hmmm, so you two aren't dating?" She asked curiously. She's such a nosy nurse!

"Nope, we are not dating!" I replied calmly. She was starting to irritate me but I kept my cool.

"So you are single?" She asked once again.

"Pretty much!" I replied.

"I'm also single!" She exclaimed.

"Good for you!" I said as I rolled my eyes.

"By the way, when I found out that you were dating Doctor Nandini, I was shocked! I mean she's such a boring person and you're so much fun!" She said.

"Are we done with gossiping Shreya? Now can we please get back to work! Why don't you make yourself useful and pass these files onto Doctor Sharma?" Nandini said sternly as she approached us both. She must've heard her.

"Sorry doctor, sure doctor!" Shreya said quietly as she took the files from Nandini and literally ran away from there.

"Hey!" I replied.

"My office, now!" She said sternly.

"Sure thing!" I said as I followed her.

"Who does she think she is? How can she say that about me?" Nandini said angrily as I shut the office door behind me.

"I know right! But how do you know it's a she? What if it's a he?" I asked.

"Tum andhay ho kya?" She questioned.

"What?" I replied. What does she mean?

"No tell me, are you blind?" She asked once again.

"No! What kind of a question is that?" I replied in disbelief.

"So can you not see the nurse you were talking to outside is a girl!" She stated.

"Oh you're talking about that!" I said.

"Yeah! What else will I be talking about? And why are you here early in the morning in your pyjamas?" She asked as she stared me and up and down in my pjs.

"Urm, woh, urm, did you read today's newspaper by any chance?" I asked hesitantly.

"No, actually I didn't get the time. I thought I'll read it after my shift ends." She replied casually.

"Have you got a copy by any chance?" I asked.

"Yeah it's here on the table. It jut got delivered to me half an hour ago." She said as she pointed to the newspaper.

"You may want to read the paper now!" I said quietly.

"Why? Is there an article on your amazing performance in yesterday's match!" She said with a giggle.

"Let's just say it's got something to do with yesterday's match!" I said hesitantly as I prepared myself for her outburst.

"Okay! Let me have a look!" She said with a smile as she picked up the newspaper and sat down on the chair. I too took a seat in front of her and waited for her reaction.

"Is this for real?" She said irritatedly, and the volcano has erupted.

"Yes?" I replied.

"What the hell? Mysterious girl! Really? Does the media have nothing better to do? They could've written about Rohit Sharma's century in yesterday's match, or yours and Virat's 50 but nope, they need gossip! This is ridiculous!" She said as she stood up from her chair and started pacing around the room.

"Nandini I understand but please don't get mad!" I said as I too stood up.

"No you do not understand Manik! I have been described as a nobody in this article. They've named me as the secret girl! Really? If you're gonna write an article on me then atleast make an effort to find out who I am and what my name is! And they've taken my picture without my consent, that is wrong!" She said as she ran her hand through her hair, she was clearly frustrated.

"I know but with celebrities this is common. They're continuously snapping celebs whenever they see them!" I explained.

"But I'm not a celebrity Manik! They do not have open permission to take my pictures and write nonsense about me! It says here, 'what has she done to woo Manik Malhotra?' Really? This is almost questioning my character Manik." She said angrily.

"Nandini I'm really sorry about this. You are not a nobody, you are an amazing and extremely talented doctor and a lovely girl!" I explained calmly.

"Really? Because according to this article I'm just a woman chasing behind a ridiculously rich sportsman!" She said in annoyance.

"Nandini it's not like that!" I said as I held her hands and made her sit down.

"Manik we both know what it's like. You may be used to this but I am not. Now can you please leave my office before the media reaches here and has another chance to create gossip." She said quietly.

"Nandini I'm not leaving without sorting this out!" I said sternly.

"Manik you can't sort this out! It's done! I just need sometime to myself to process this! Please Manik, its a request!" She almost pleaded and I had to listen to her.

"Okay, I will leave! But please ring me back once you've cooled down!" I requested.

"I'll see!" She said as she stared down at the floor.

"I guess that's good enough for me!" I replied as I left the office.

Nandini's P.O.V

He left my office and I too packed up my things and decided to head home. Once I had signed out of the hospital and walked out the main entrance, I was approached by a group of media.

"What's your relation with Manik Malhotra?" A woman shouted.

"Are you the new girl in his life?" A man said as he shoved his microphone near my face.

"How did you both meet?" Another woman shouted.

"There is news that you both are planning to get married soon!" The man said as he pushed his camera further towards me. They were invading my personal space and I was not liking this one bit.

They were asking me non stop questions and I was only getting more and more irritated. I felt like screaming and shouting that there is nothing between us, but I knew it wouldn't help. In fact it would only make matters worse. So I took a deep breath, composed myself, and spoke in an ever so calm voice.

"It's funny how if a girl and boy are spotted together then it automatically means they are dating each other. Wow! For your kind information, Manik Malhotra is my patient. We both met when I treated him a few months ago, before that I had no idea who he was. Sounds silly right? But I'm the type of girl who never took any interest in cricket. Now you all must be thinking that if I'm not interested in cricket then what was I doing at the stadium yesterday? Well it was a formal invitation from a patient to their doctor. Simple as that! He simply wanted me to come and watch a live match because I've never watched cricket before. And then once the match was over, he kindly dropped me off to the exit. He was just being a gentleman, that does not mean we are dating. You all need to realise that a girl and boy hanging out together does not mean that they are in a romantic relationship. What is between me and Manik, it's professional. Nothing more than that! Now if you can please excuse me, I do have a family and home to go to. Thank you!" I said calmly with a confident smile on my face. Once I was done talking, they had nothing more to say. I felt proud for speaking up and not ignoring. I walked over to my car, put my seat belt on, turned the engine, and drove off. It took a lot of courage to do that. I have never had to experience this before but I am so glad I did not run away from the situation.

Few hours later:

Manik's P.O.V

I had just watched Nandini's interview on one of the news channels and she handled it pretty well. I'm so proud of her, but there is one thing that really annoyed me. She said our relationship was merely a professional one. Was it really though? Surely what we share is beyond a professional relationship. My thoughts and feelings were all over the place and I decided it was best to call up my best friend.

"Hey Virat!" I said as he picked up my face time video in merely a few seconds.

"Hey, I was waiting for your call!" He replied with a smile.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I knew you would need to speak to your best friend after everything that has happened today!" He replied.

"This is why I love you so much! Virat I went to see her before she gave that interview and she was really pissed. And why wouldn't she be? The media described her in such a horrible manner. Virat, I kept trying to assure her that everything would be fine. She just told me to leave and give her some space. I respect that and so I left. I didn't know the media was going to come down to the hospital. She handled the situation really well but Virat she called our relationship 'professional'. I mean, what does that even mean? Because it isn't professional, it's more than that!" I ranted to him and he patiently listened.

"Manik, I understand what you're trying to say! But see it from her perspective, she was targeted by the media asking all these stupid questions. This was the best way to deal with this. She couldn't say outright in front of the media that we're really good friends, or there's a connection between us that we aren't aware of! Manik what she says does not matter because you know and she knows that the relation you both share is so much more than any of this. You guys have a genuine connection and you should give each other some time, get to know each other, and the connection will build stronger. The media just needs gossip, it was the same when me and Anushka started to get to know each other. Whenever we were spotted together they would ask the same question and we would always reply that it's professional. This does not mean it was professional because we both knew the real truth. So please don't hold Nandini against this and give her some time to process all this. She'll come around, I promise." He explained and I automatically felt calm listening to his words. He really knows how to make me feel better.

"I guess you're right! Thanks man for everything!" I replied with a slight smile.

"You're welcome! Now stop sulking like Romeo and freshen up! We have practice in a few hours and we need one of our best players match ready for the game this weekend!" He said with a giggle.

"Yes captain! You're the best!" I said as I saluted him.

"Woh to hu! Chal I'll see you later!" He said as he waved me a goodbye.

"Bye!" I replied as I disconnected the call.

I then decided to leave Nandini a message. I really wanted to ring her but I decided it was best to message incase she did not want to talk.

"Hey! Super proud of the interview you gave! You handle the matters so well. I hope this 'professional' relationship carries on between us! I would love to get to know you more Doctor! 😉" I sent her a cheeky message and waited for her to reply. I was not expecting her to reply immediately but I was wrong. My phone beeped in the next minute.

"Hey there VC, thanks for that! Of course, I maintain my 'professional relations' very well. After all, a good doctor has to make sure she shares a good relation with her patient! 😉 Will see you soon, Happy cricketing! 🏏"

I smiled at her message and then decided to freshen up and get ready for practice. I'm glad this media fiasco didn't change things between us. There's still so much I need to find out about Nandini, and I cannot wait to solve the puzzle she is.

A/N: Chapter 20 updated! Hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry this is late, I'm trying my best to upload regularly but something or the other comes up. Thank you for waiting patiently and understanding. 😊❤️ Hope you all have a lovely week ahead. Lots of love xxx