*unedited*

N A N D I N I

"our end!" I said with a heavy heart as I got up and left. I didn't have the power to face him anymore and neither did he.

I had just moved a few steps away when I saw Cabir and Aryamman standing there with their hands folded, their eyes red and so many emotions written all over their face which showed me clearly that they both had listened to all our talks.

I looked back at Manik who was looking at the pond intently. He took a stone and threw it in the water with a dry laugh. "Aa gaye iske karan-arjun!" He laughed.

I shook my head in disappointment. Can he ever change?

I looked at them and walked away inside my own room, in the balcony of my room but I kept the door open because deep down my heart I knew that Cabir and Aryamman and heard the truth and atleast one of them would follow me despite the fact that I wanted to be left alone for some time.

"Nandini!" Cabir called as he sat by me and placed his jacket over my bare shoulders. He cared for me so much, can't I marry him?

"I heard everything....", he sighed and I nodded weakly leaning my head on his chest as he wrapped his hand around me.

"Kya tumhe lagta hai meri galti hai? I shouldn't have left him and gone away? Am I the reason he's suffering Cabir.....", I sobbed and he consoled me.

"Aao mein tumhe ek secret batata hu!" He said holding me and I looked at him intently, waiting for him to say ahead. Can he tell me that this is all a nightmare and that I am going to get up in my bed the next morning?

"Manik, one and a half year pehle, he did not sleep with Soha!" He said and my eyes bulged out. Why did Manik lie then?

"He did not fuck Soha, in his language. After seeing you kiss, mein Manik ke paas gaya tha! And I saw that Soha had spiked his water, he was swaying here and there. But not for once he touched her, he passed out completely with Soha throwing herself on him. And the next morning, Soha made it look like they were together on the bed. She convinced him that it was his ego who didn't let him stop and that they had a night, they got laid...", Cabir's voice faded and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"But that video with which Manik was threatened.....?", I asked curiously. My heart heated faster with every passing second and I held the jacket tightly.

Please tell me that Manik had not broken the promise, that Manik hadn't cheated, that Manik was innocent.

"It was a blue print video, it was edited. This was a full proof plan by Soha because she wanted to get back to Manik's life, she wanted to trap Manik again since he'd become a billionaire now and she needed money. And the first step to her success was to throw you out which she did. Manik fell into her trap but her plan backfired because she didn't know that this was love, sweetheart. Manik loves you, and he destroyed her with his own hands for trying to even lay a finger on your self respect...", Cabir concluded and my eyes were wide open in shock.

I was sobbing hard by the end holding Cabir. My Manik is innocent! He isn't guilty!

He hadn't broken his promise, he loves me! I and Manik still have a chance, a hope.

"But tumne usse bataya kyu nahi? Cabir, you-... you are his friend, you should have saved him. Tumhe usse batana chahiye, he's living in Di much pain Cabir, meine uske aakhon mein dekha hai!" I said frantically as I got up to leave to tell Manik the truth.

"No Nandini!" Cabir said as he held my hand and pulled me back.

"I know he is suffering with no mistake of his, I know that!" He shouted, "but that's what he did to you, right? He punished you with no mistake of yours!"

"But Cabir, he didn't do anything. He's innocent! Yes, he has made a few mistakes,  but he owns up to them Cabir! It's human to make mistakes and he's made them too, but what's the best about it is that he owns them, accepts them and apologises for them....", i explained to him.

"Don't you think yeh sab mujhe tumhe bolna chahiye, yaha toh ulta ho raha hai!" Cabir laughed and I giggled with him.

I was crying and laughing at the same time and this was the best feeling. It felt like the ground was returned back underneath my feet, like a huge burden was off my chest. My Manik was innocent! And that was the truth, for which our hearts were beating with distance since the last years.

The truth was out, and MY, yes MY Manik wasn't the culprit, he's innocent, it wasn't his mistake. I felt so so so happy, so relieved, as if someone had returned my life back to me.

"But I did this to make him realise his mistakes, his love for you! I did this for both of you...", he said ruffling my hair and I closed my eyes tightly smiling.

I loved my friends, I loved my family, I loved my life, I loved my Manik! There was so much happiness, much more than what I deserve.

"But that duffer, nahi samajh paya voh isse! He.. he thought that he'd start hating you for leaving him, for the fact that you didn't wait for him!" He shouted and my smile disappeared a bit.

"Right hi toh hai, Cabir! I say I love him, but aisa love thodi hota hai, jahan there's no trust. I think he's right, for once I should have talked to him, I should have trust him, I should have waited for him. But mein toh chali gayi Cabir, he's right and he has all the reason to hate me!" I sobbed. This was a role reversal, till last night it was me who had all the reasons to hate him, and now it was him.

"No Nandini, we've all heard that not all that glitters is gold, no all we see is reality. But it's still human to trust what we see. You saw Manik betray you with your own eyes, and plus Manik ne aisa koi kaam kiya bhi nahi tha tabhi to win your trust! Tumne vahi believe kiya jo tumne dekha, and that's human, you can't blame yourself for no fault of yours!" He smiled at me.

"Then who's fault was it Cabir?" I asked slowly.

"None but Destiny. It was not you both who played, it was destiny who played you both. Ab jab tum dono ko sach pata hai, toh ruk jao thoda. Give each other time, give your relation some time to develop, some trust to develop. Become friends again, and give your love time to blossom. Aur phir dekhna, my princess will find her Prince Charming in that monster!" He winked and I giggled as I pulled his cheeks.

A second chance? Will I be able to give Manik a second chance, 'we' a second chance? Will Manik be able to give me a second chance?

"Dekh, it's a sunrise", he said pointing to the sun which was rising to the horizon, "just like your lives, your love story! The dark night is over, let the sun rise again!" He said looking into my eyes and I knew the hidden meaning behind his words.

"I love you jaan-e-mann", I shouted as I snuggled into him.

"Today is really a role reversal...", he laughed and I joined giggling as we watched the sun rise, ending the darkness of our lives painting it with a beautiful blue and yellow.

M A N I K' S    P O V

Fuck.

Double Fuck.

Fuck Fuck Fuck.

God! Why was this Gay staring at me this way?

I looked at him again and he was still smiling at me. I gave him a fake smile and looked away from him again.

It's been ten minutes Nandini and Cabir left and this gay was staring at me.

"You're creeping me out Aryamman, stop smiling or I'd break your teeth!" I finally shouted irritated and he started laughing, why the hell was nobody scared of me these days?

"So, you love her?" He asked me rolling his eyes and I looked at him.

"Who?" I asked confused and he gave me an alien look, as if he'd just kill me or something and I shrugged it away.

"Navya!" He said in a mocking tone.

"Oh yes, I do. I never thought I and Navya would get along but when I met her for the first time I knew she's just perfect for my buddy, she's just beautiful in and out and she understands Cabir and she's independent and she knows-.....", I began.

"SHUT UP MANIK MALHOTRA!" He screamed making me stop.

"I meant Nandini, yes! Do you love Nandini?" He reframed.

I? Love? Nandini?

"No, no way!" I immediately shouted back.

"That's great, you better keep your eyes off her dude. I'm proposing her tomorrow!" He said proudly.

What? What the fuck did this gay just say?

Before I could realise, I was on my toes, leaning onto Aryamman, my hands gritting his collar and my eyes staring into his scaring the shit out of him.

"How dare you? What part of this don't you get that she's not yours!" I threatened.

"Oh really, and why is that so?" He asked calmly removing my hands from his collar. This boy has got some fucking guts!

"Because she's mine!" I roared and he looked at me with a bored tone.

"Yes, and I'm Barack Obama", he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"I am serious." I announced and he stopped laughing.

"You. Are. Serious? Whom are you kidding? Yahi toh teri problem hai Saale, you are never serious! What did you just say- she's yours right? When did this happen?" He laughed again.

I moved away from him in my own corner looking away. He was right, when did this happen?

"She fucking hates you!" He growled and I looked at him with anger.

But then again, he wasn't wrong. She should hate me!

"And I deserve this!" I laughed sarcastically.

"No you don't. You're the purest soul I've met Manik. Yes, you make mistakes, but you've also owned up to them. You don't deserve her hate, but you don't deserve her love either...", his voice faded and I didn't protest this time, because I knew he was fucking right.

"So, what should I do?" I asked. I don't even believe I'm fucking asking advice from this boy I've hated so much over the years.

Or maybe he wasn't just as bad as I thought he was? Abhi Nandini counts him as a best friend, kuch toh hoga na iss gay mein!

"Own it! Just like you've owned your mistakes, own her forgiveness, earn it! Show her you've changed, show her that change in you, show her that you care for her, you understand her and that you wouldn't repeat you mistakes again. Everyone deserves a second chance buddy, you too do. Show her that you love her and she'd melt...." he smiled.

"I love her?" I asked him with a frown on my face and he banged his head to the wall.

"Oh no, I don't love her, I mean, I just like her! Yes, it's infatuation!" I declared and he rolled his eyes again, looking more like a girl.

"Yes, and a few seconds back you hated her, didn't you?" He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I did.", I agreed truthfully, "because she left me, Aryamman. Since childhood, people in my life have kept leaving me and I've got no constant in my life crept my friends, my Fab5. So, since I met her, I had been begging her, not to leave me. I had begged her that whatever it was, she should ask me, talk to me, punch me, do whatever she likes, even kill me with her own hands but never leave me! I know i had made mistakes and she wasn't even being able to stand me anymore, but don't I have a heart too, feelings too?" I questioned, vulnerable.

These were things I never told myself, and now I was speaking in front of him, the man I was supposed to hate.

"You're right Manik, but also, you are forgetting that she is a girl, and it was her self respect that was questioned, her dignity. You didn't expect her to wait for an explanation when the entire county slammed her as a slut, did you?" He growled.

"I know, I know what she'd been going through-....", he cut me off.

"No you don't Manik! It disgusts us to even talk about this, and it happened with her Manik. None of us know what she's been through, but she's stronger than all of us because she caught through it. She's not a baby anymore Manik! She's a strong woman now, who wouldn't keep quiet, who knows how to fight back. But also, it wasn't your fault or hers.", he concluded and I kept quiet this time, waiting for him to continue.

"She believed what she saw, and she did what was right on her place. You believed what you saw, and you were right on your place. You are both right and you both have made your own mistakes. Yours of not telling her anything, not being able to confide in her, and hers to maybe not trust you and to leave you! But you both have fought through it Manik, your love won!" He announced.

"Look, the darkness is over, the night is done with! It's a new morning, new hopes, everything new!" He said and we watched the sun rising.

It's been a tough and a dark night and looking at the sun rise spreading hope after such a dark night was surreal.

"It's a new start, a new start of your love!" He said patting my shoulder and the sun spread its colours in the night sky, looking magnificent.

"Do I love her?" I asked him confused and he kept quiet smirking, as he looked away, making me more confused.

DO I LOVE HER?

~the best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what I hope for us to be, forever~

-The Notebook

~•~