Humesha~ #1 MaNan FanFiction. Thank you to all of you for all the love and support that you've been showing, it means the world. Please do continue loving this story and do not hesitate to point any moment you feel it's becoming boring.

Just wanted to tell I love you all and I'm very grateful to each and everyone.

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*unedited*

Protectors or Destroyers?

M A N I K

"Manik! Manik!," The shouts from outside just got louder and I sighed sipping my red wine. It was so early in the morning and I knew the only man who would be running inside any moment from now, turning my silent graveyard like house into a houseful circus.

"Good Morning to you as well Cabir. Thank you for returning back from the dead after dying in an accident last night," I rolled my eyes as he landed on the couch in front of me, panting hard, with a set of papers in his hand.

"Sorry buddy, you know how much sleep means to me na, and if I would have got up and not got sufficient sleep then I would have got ill and not come to the office for the next two weeks also and wouldn't be able to handle the Australian project which would have given so much loss to the company and the company belongs to you so I didn't get up from sleep for you...," he battled his eye lashes innocently and I shook my head in disbelief- he and his fucking excuses.

"So what brought your lazy ass to my place so early in the morning, Cabir Dhawan?" I rolled my eyes and he gave me a cheeky smile. "Your news in the newspaper...," he smiled dryly and I gave a bored yawn.

"What's new in that, hmm? I'm in the news every second day. They must have spotted me talking to some girl or leaving from office or again the same old, 'Manik Malhotra destroys another deal for Aryamman Khurrana', or probably another link up. That same old things, every day. What's new?" I shrugged, sipping in my red wine. People like coffee in the morning, I prefer red wine; the blood of a devil.

"What's new is.... the destroyer, just turned into a protector. From page 3, you're on page 1, the most controversial news of the town," he smiled sarcastically and my eyes snapped back to him, as I gave him a confused look before snatching away the lame piece of paper from him and reading the whole fucking article.

PROTECTORS?

Manik Malhotra, a name so well known in this country and beyond, is known for his power of destroying people's business with bare hands.
The king of the business and music world, was spotted out mid night, without his guards, enjoying the weather with a girl.
Well, having flings and link ups for him isn't new at all, but what's different this time is, Manik chose to 'protect' instead of 'destroy'.
He saved his date from an attack of goons by brutally beating them away for touching 'his girl' and was also seen hugging her and making her wear his jacket before they walked away.
We never knew the destroyer has a romantic side too; but that's just not it.
Later at night around dawn, we spotted Manik Malhotra in a police jeep. And yes, that's true. The devil was carried away by the police and the same girl walked in a few minutes later, after which they both walked out.
Our sources tell us, Manik had been inside for trespassing a private property and could only think of the mystery girl to save him.
The mystery girl, as reported is Nandini Murthy, the daughter of the late industrialist.
What's cooking, Manik and Nandini?
Is this just another fling? Or has Manik Malhotra finally found his knight in shining armour?
We surely don't know what's between them, but we hope to see Manik finally settled.
To know more, keep reading, The Daily Mail.

Throwing away the paper from my sight, I crushed it under my foot, anger creeping in my veins. Media and their ducking over reactive sources, always make my personal life a discussion and that's the only thing about being a celebrity that I dislike and rather prefer being a reserved person. My furious eyes met Cabir's amused ones, "what's cooking, haa?" He teased.

"Come on Cabir, this is just so common for me. Why're you reacting like an old gossipy aunty?" I looked away. "Yes, it is indeed common for you, but to destroy, to overtake, to rule.... to protect is something new I guess..," he scratched his eyebrows, pretending to think and I rolled my eyes at him.

"She's a girl Cabir, it was her self respect. If there would have been any girl in place of her, I would have still helped, so don't just be hyper, okay?" I mockingly smiled and he nodded sarcastically.

"No Manik, you're wrong. It's not common for you to go around saving girls because as much I have known, you're no hero. It's not common for you to go to a party, and that too at Aryamman's house, just to see a girl whom you hadn't seen over the weekend. It's not common for you to spy over a random girl. It's not common for you to sit at four am in the night with a girl on the beach and talk about chaos and stars. You can't see, but I can Manik, nothing here is common. Unknowingly, your life is getting bound around this same 'common' girl, and I can see your walls breaking down in your eyes, I can see you missing your father a little less, being guilty about your past a little less and smiling a bit more. Even if this is in bits Manik, you are changing, and it's just like she's some kind of wind that's not going to fly away, she's here to stay...," every word he spoke irritated me to no extent.

"You're just an over thinker, stop being with your writer girlfriend, you're going mad. I went to the party to show Aryamman, not for her. I made the detectives spy on her since she was shelterless because of me, and I didn't want a girl to sleep on streets. Meeting her at the beach was just a co-incidence and talking to her and dropping her home was because there is a human inside this monster too, and it comes out sometimes before sleeping again. If there's anything changing, it's your fucking brains, you're losing them. Get a grip over yourself before I have to admit you in the mental hospital," I looked away.

"And also, you don't call any common girl as princess, and be behind their life and soul like you are behind hers," he mocked back.

"I call her that because she's indeed lived her a life of a princess, her father's always gifted her that. And I'm not 'behind' her, I'm just fulfilling some promises that I made to her father. And before you start with another logic, I fulfil this promise because I have had a father too, and I have lost him as well, just like she's lost hers," I wore my hoodie back, leaving the glass of red wine as I moved out, walking away on him.

"You can walk away from me Manik, but you can't walk away from yourself, your own life. This is no mere coincidence that wherever you go, you just see her. You wound her, but you also call for the medicines. She has started affecting you in a manner that you're unaware about, but I can see it all so clearly. You and her are like autumn, gloriously beautiful to look upon, but destructive and dying every second, piece by piece-........," his words dried in my ears as I escaped, leaving me walking some with my own thoughts.

But one thing was for sure here, I was never falling in love with her, I wasn't allowing her to stay around any longer, because I'm nothing but poison to her sweetness; I'm an ocean and she's used to swimming on shallow ends, and if two opposites try colliding, sparks are lit, miracles happen-.... but the destruction is guaranteed.

And I was too destroyed already to destroy myself any further.

And I was not allowing anyone to destroy her, even if that is myself.

❆

N A N D I N I

"Yes, she's sleeping," I heard someone whisper as I glued my eyes close, pretending to be asleep. Zubin, I knew, talking on the phone.

"Hmm, i've picked it up,"

"No, don't worry, she'd never find it there"

"I wouldn't let her hands on it,"

"Trust me, she wouldn't. I've hidden it enough,"

"Promise", the voice faded slowly.

Promise. The only word that sounds so normal and intoxicating but is completely the opposite. Promises are destructive. Some promises break a relation, others make them. We all make promises, don't we? But when was the last time you put efforts to keep your promises? I'm sure you didn't. No one does. No one puts efforts to keep the many promises they make. We make promises, and we forget about them, almost forgetting what could be the consequences of a small word, 'promise'.

There was sunlight peeping inside my room as I stared with barely open eyes at his disappearing figure and then my closed room door, tears almost merging into my eyes as I felt an unsettling lump in my throat, my head bursting loud and my body was tired having no sleep at all all night. And yet, there was something heavy in my heart, in my stomach that was poking me bad.

Every day, something new about their past opens to me, and I always know I'd never be the same again. Every morning that I get up, I feel a part of myself missing, a part of my heart broken, a part of my trust breaking that shouts to me that I'm never going to be the same, my relations with anyone will never be the same, this truth revealing was slowly changing me so much. I felt a little more empty every day. And I feared that now. Was I becoming like them? Would I also become a monster with no heart and no mercy?

And that's the thing about broken trust. Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the single person whom you thought would never hurt you. It's like getting a sip of the heaven and then getting thrown back to hell, like seeing the glimpse of light before being left in darkness, like feeling loved all the while and then realising it was all just so fake.

Had I lost Zubin as well?

Was he a liar too?

Was he hiding a lot of things from me as well?

Looking at my own face in the mirror, I splashed water upon it, but the moment I tried closing my eyes, Manik's vulnerable face flashed right in front of me. Though I hadn't seen it yet, I could feel it. I could feel that he's not the bad person he shows, he's vulnerable, trying to throw people away, afraid of letting anyone in.

And I didn't know what to do ahead. Walking down the stairs like an aimless person, I saw Zubin practically running here and there with waffles in his one hand. Waffle freak, like always. When he saw me, his eyes glittered as he walked towards me, taking me in a side hug and kissing my temple. Was all the love and concern fake as well?

"You look so lost, everything okay right?" He asked cupping my face and I just stared back in return, lost. "You know you can tell me anything, right? Anything, even if it's something I don't like...", he paused, as if expecting an answer from me, "You and I are a team okay? It's going to be you and me against the entire world, and nothing-... nothing will affect our friendship. I would let no harm reach you, okay? Just trust me," he whispered kissing my forehead and I didn't realise how a lone tear flowed away.

The loneliest moment in your life is when you watch the most important people leaving away slowly, your world falling apart and you can do nothing but stare blankly. And that's how helpless I was.

"Trust?," I laughed dryly and he seemed taken aback as I suddenly pulled away from him, my furious eyes meeting his confused ones, my anger colliding with his and when two similar stars collide, there can be nothing but a blast, and I knew that was what was happening here. I was going to lose my best friend for a lifetime and I wish I wouldn't have let my anger overpower my decisions, but I did.

"How can I trust you Zubin, when I don't know you at all. Who are you? This is definitely not the Zubin I've known, because the man I knew didn't hide things from me, didn't lie to me, he was just simply him and he allowed me to be me. It's just as if I don't know you anymore, you're a liar too...," the tears broke free one by one but I refused to break down.

I could see his expressions change gradually and hurt covered his face but I bothered the least because I was so into my own pain and breaking heart. When I got Zubin back that night, I thought I had my life back; I thought I got back my everything but how wrong was I. They're all nothing but liars.

"Liar?..," he gave a dry laugh and I stared at him, "What has Manik even fed you hmm? Once again, some of his old stories which must have got you a lot of sympathy for him...," he accused. "But so much sympathy that you question your best friend of ten years for a boy you hardly know since ten months?"

"What else should I do? Trust you three blindly as y'all play games with me?" I shouted back. "Do you ever think I can play games with you, Nandini? I'm Zubin, your best friend...," he whispered coming close as he tried holding the almost breaking down me by my arms and I pushed him away.

"You're not my best friend, Zubin. You're just another liar. I'm sorry but I don't want you to protect me anymore, I don't want Aryamman or Manik to protect me anymore which y'all claim to keep doing all the time. I just want to be myself. Let me make mistakes, let me learn for myself, don't play with me... please," I begged and he seemed so taken aback.

"The last time I allowed someone to deal with her things her way, I ended up losing her completely to a game of hatred; I ended up seeing Mukti getting killed by Manik in front of my own eyes and I couldn't do anything, I saw the trap, the trap that Manik had made to kill me, and instead it was Mukti who died. I couldn't even tell her a goodbye one last time, I couldn't tell her how much I loved her, I wish I could have just met her one last time and if nothing, just apologised but I couldn't. And I just wanted to protect you before losing you to Manik as well, and thats all what I've been doing. I'm sorry if you're hurt, but that wasn't my intentions. I'm sorry," His voice was cold and his eyes didn't meet mine as he turned away and left slowly, leaving me alone once again with my own vulnerability, insecurities and a broken relation.

Wiping my face, I slowly walked away from there, to wherever the roads took me. I didn't look back, I didn't look ahead, I just walked away, with a mixed feeling of anger and regret and I had no idea which one to allow to over power me. I just wanted to let everything go.

I just wanted to give up on this silly game called life.

God never listens to anyone so quickly but it did to me. I think was too determined to give up on everything, give up on myself, give up on my life and God did listen. Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't realise as I felt someone shouting behind me. Confused, I turned behind only to see two flashing lights of a heavy truck in front of my eyes before a long pain down my spine, as if my body was almost torn apart into two parts.

I could see blood in front of my eyes, something piercing my head as a lot of people surrounded me. There was some kind of pain that threatened to take over me, not in just a place, it was everywhere and I wanted to scream but no voice came out. My eyes were heavy, threatening to close any moment. It was like feeling a thousand people stamp over my body with me being silent and helpless.

I gulped down hard and it pricked as my eyes almost closed, and I just wished to see three familiar faces in the crowd, to say one final goodbye to them. I'd want to tell Zubin that I'm sorry, to Manik that I've always loved him and he deserves all the love in the world, and to Aryamman to take care and forgive his brother if possible, but I knew I had no time when no oxygen reached my lungs and I begged for air, feeling claustrophobic but too dead to even speak a word.

There was only one thing I feared until now, and that was death. And maybe just one more sacrifice was required to end the game of hatred between the three people who matter the most to me. If one death can give some senses to the three of them, then I don't mind it to be me. I'd die happily, to make them happy.

And if the darkness surrounding me with the increasing pain was called death, then I was dying and I had no regrets.

~Death and love are actually very similar. Death leaves a heartbreak no one can heal, love leaves the memories that no one can steal.~

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