~•~

do not hate the light
since it can reveal the scars,
but do love the darkness,
since it reveals the stars.

M A N I K

I limped inside the darkness, with my head bursting as blood seeped out and I held it tighter to stop everything inside from falling.

It took every little might of mine to walk inside with a bleeding head and a body that was ready to give up any moment.

"Sir, you're bleeding. This is not the right time to come here, let me call the nursing!" The receptionist shouted upon seeing me.

"Oh shut up, who are you to tell me what to do?" I spoke in a whisper, but I saw her gulp with the intimidation. My dark eyes shone under the dim lights and the bruises of the hoarse skin bled. She gulped her saliva at my voice and I smirked.

Grabbing the hanging keys, I entered the locked room. The cold iron rods, the barred walls and the name plate with blood scratches on it brought me peace in an unknown way.

It was the darkest hour of the night and I was surprised seeing her away, drawing something on the walls with a stone in her hand. she picked her head to look at me.

"Manik Fucking Malhotra....!" She shouted crying as she lifted her blood filled nails from the wall, her furious eyes met my cold ones.

"Volume down, babe. Or else you can be down!" I smirked. Her hands hugged her chest tighter as she pushed herself away from me, as if trying to protect her from my evil glaze.

There was fear filled in her eyes and that could be depicted by the way she hid herself from me. But looking at her makes me feel peace. The way she shouts my name in disgust keeps reminding me that I was a monster, an evil person, the king of darkness.

I walked towards her and she walked away until her back touched the wall and her scared eyes looked up to be greeted with my ferocious smirk.

"Soha...", i whispered in a cold and rude voice and she avidly shivered. Her body was warm and when my cold hands touched her bruised arms, I could see her shaking.

Irritated, I closed my eyes and moved aback with a sigh.

Her beautiful face flashed in front of my eyes, her doe shaped eyes, that contagious smile and the breath taking laughter.

"Soha", I whispered again, this time a little more softly and with a lot more calmness in my voice.

She slightly nodded, still trying to hide herself in the darkness. But little did she know, no darkness would work when the ultimate epitome of darkness stood in front of her~ me.

"Had someone come here to meet you...", I said softly. I had to be calm, I had to be soft, for Nandini.

She thought for a while before nodding negatively and I knew she was lying. Her eyes roamed everywhere around the room except me and her hands tried clutching the wall, which had broken her nails and dried blood kept sticking everywhere.

"Soha, think again. Do you remember anyone coming to meet you?", I asked, slower this time. Her round eyes looked at me with keen and I knew my slow voice was helping me. "You want to be out of here, don't you? So tell me, who had come here?" I asked and she took a step closer to me.

Her eyes widened looking at my bruised face as one finger of hers touched my forehead, a small smile playing on her lips.

"She had come here...", Soha smiled slowly, pressing one of the bruises as it itched in pain. I wanted to push her away and throw her out, but I wouldn't do that anyway. Finding Nandini was way more important for me than handling this bitch.

"Who is this she?" I asked, trying to give her the smile back. But every time I look at her, I can only think of the things she has done to hurt Nandini. Every time I pity her, feel like leaving her from here, everything she has ever done to my girl comes to my mind and I let her be in this hospital, for a little more time.

"I knew her, she was my best friend. Beautiful girl, short hair, small eyes", she smiled in daze as she pulled away from me, sitting in a farther corner.

It didn't take me a long time. "Naira Saxena!" I gritted my teeth.

"you wanted to go to your best friend right? Then let's send you where she is, to that mental hospital", I remember the phone call I had in front of Naira.

{a/n- to those who don't remember who's Naira, re read turning tables (chapter four)}

I was so occupied with the Nandini kissing Harshad thing that I had forgotten to take care of Naira after releasing such things to her. But she's forgetting whom she's tangling her fate with.

I turned to leave, to crush the entire nation, turn the entire world upside down if she had dared to lay a single finger on my girl.

"Manik...", her soft voice stopped me and I turned back to face her.

"You love Nandini a lot, don't you?" She asked, her innocent smile shining in the darkness. Maybe she had actually improved, maybe it was now time to leave her.

"Do you like her?" I asked slowly, as I sat besides her, still maintain my distance.

She slightly nodded, her eyes retreating back to the wall as she clutched the stone kept aside and started drawing on the wall.

"She's beautiful", she smiled sadly. "I like her...."

"She's too innocent. Keep her safe from the world," she whispered as a tear flowed off her eye. "I just wish to apologise to her, please bring her here to me once," she requested and my muscles tightened.

She might be recovering but I can't trust Nandini with her. She can still be dangerous and I don't want to let a single finger touch my girl. I want to give her all the love she deserves, instead of keep pushing her into the darkness I wanted to get myself out of.

"What were you drawing when I got inside?" I asked, diverting the topic.

She slowly shifted her body to the other side to reveal the picture she had been scratching. It was messy drawing, more like a weird face, something like a beast.

"That's you, dark like the dark sky. And there is a bright star in it", she whispered, her eyes glued to the drawing. Though this wasn't a compliment, her words brought me some weird contentment. It felt good to know that I was still the beast people were scared off.

Her eyes were shaky and it seemed as if she was sleepy as she let her head fall to the wall, yawning. They gave her medicines to improve her mental health which often made her this sleepy.

"Star brings light to the dark sky...", she closed her eyes dazing, almost in sleep. "Just like-.....", her words faded as sleep overtook her completed.

"Just like a star Nandini that brings light to this monster Manik..." I gave a small smile to myself as I picked her up and put her in her bed, covering her with the blanket as I left.

It's weird because never had I thought that three in the morning, I will be sitting with Soha in the mental hospital and talking to her about how much I love Nandini. But life's strange and stranger in my case.

The world thought that monsters are no more. But they forgot that I still exist, I was just dormant all this while. But they had put their hands on the wrong person. They tried touching my girl, and now it's time they face my wrath.

They don't know what this monster is and what he can do. I can burn the world down yet never let a single flame touch her.

My phone vibrated in my pockets and I put it on as I got in the car, staring at the mental hospital card that fell off the van that took Nandini away. They were smart, but not smart enough to fled away with my girl. They had messed with the wrong person, and they'd regret every bit of it.

"Haa Cabir...", I spoke on the phone.

"Manik, all of us have reached your house but there's still no trace of Nandini, nor any call of the kidnapper for ransom. What can we do next?" He sounded worried and I could hear Mukti and Abhimanyu talking in the background.

"It isn't a ransom kidnap. It's a revenge", I sighed starting the car as I drove, my eyes locked at the road.

"Revenge? What revenge?" Cabir screamed through the phone and I took a sigh. It was time everyone knows everything.

~~~~~

I entered my house but halted in my tracks as something had landed on my cheek bone and my face tilted to the left as I could feel a seizing pain through my right side as I realised I had been punched.

"You are the reason my sister got kidnapped!" Abhimanyu screamed holding my collars. "One. Just one finger gets laid on her and your dead body will lay in front of us.", he threatened looking deep in my eyes and I wanted to yawn.

"Abhi!", Mukti held him back and he left my collar, retreating behind, but his eyes looked into mine. I wouldn't say he was wrong, it was because of me somewhere that she has got into trouble once again. Mukti is like a sister to me and I know how it feels when someone hurts her, and that's exactly how he must be feeling right now. I wouldn't argue with him or punch him back, because I deserve that. My love is toxic for Nandini, and no one can change the fact.

"Manik, aage kya karna hai?" Aryamman asked and for the first time, he seemed tenses and manly and he didn't look Gay and I was happy- or actually, super happy about that.

"Intezaar..", I sighed as Aliya and Navya cleaned up the wound on my head, taping it.

"Kiska intezaar? Ke kab voh meri behen ko kuch kar de?" Abhi mocked and I rolled my eyes looking away.

"There is not just revenge, there is something much more to this. And I know that Naira alone wouldn't do this, there's someone helping her. Because I know that she very well knows what I can do to her. So she wouldn't dare hurt Nandini. There is more to this, and we have to wait. There is nothing we can do, because we don't know where she is!", my voice screamed determination.

"Manik, we cant just sit here assuming things. You've lost it!" Aliya mocked.

"Aliya, Manik koi Bollywood movie ka super hero nahi that he will trust his instincts, find Nandini, and sab ghundo se ladke he will get her back. This is going to take some time and we can't do anything but wait...", Cabir explained in a calm tone and we all rolled our eyes at him. Even in such a situation, he couldn't think of a less humorous dialogue to explain his point?

"Yes, and we have an international meeting tomorrow morning, which is very beneficial to us. We need to freshen up till then, go and catch some sleep", I ordered as I left to my room.

"Manik has lost it completely. It's his Nandini who has got kidnapped, his princess. How is this monster so calm?" I heard Mukti sigh as I closed my room door, closing my eyes.

Whoever this is has some motive behind Nandini's kidnapping. If it would just be revenge, Naira knows where Soha is. She would have gotten Soha out before kidnapping Nandini. It is definitely not money, because there are no ransom calls yet, and she must know that I can give everything I have for that one girl. So, what can the reason be?

I stared blankly at the night sky at the brightest star in the sky, right in the middle of my view. Of course I knew the star.

"Hey Nandini Manik Malhotra!" I whispered looking at the star and it shined a little more brighter, as if understanding I was talking to it.

"Hold on a little more time, okay? Keep shining, don't let the darkness dim your light, I'd get you out of this soon!" I promised as a small smile took over my lips.

"I hate you Manik Malhotra. I will never marry you!"

I promise this monster will let nothing happen to you princess, just don't give up so soon and believe in me and our love. I promise you will be back in my arms soon.

I promise.

~ his world was deep and cruel, unlike hers, which was soft and gentle; she was a star, so he became the darkness she shone in ~

~•~