"Because I loved you Manik Malhotra.."saying this Nandini burst into tears. "I loved you..."

"How can you break my trust so easily Manik.."Tears were streaming down her eyes as she finally uttered those words out loud. "Why Manik Why.."

"Why didn't you thought about US..Manik"

"Why Manik..kyu..kyu tumne ek baar bhi nahi socha mere bare me.."

"..ki mai kya feel karti hu...mujhe kaisa lagega..not even for once.."

She shook her head as she continued to speak"Tumhe lagta hai tum sab jante ho..you are God na...baki sare toh bewakoof hai. You can never be wrong right."

"Just because Dhruv told you that he loves me..toh you thought ki chalo lets pass Nandini to Dhruv..as if I am a toy...ek khillona..you would be a better friend..and apni nazaro mei tum aur great ho jaoge.."

"..but Manik"Nandini finally looked at him. "Mera kya..how can you decide this all alone"

"I know you love Dhruv..you owe your life to him..toh why didn't you share this me.."

"Hum dono ki life ka faisla tumne akele kaise kar liya...you chose this..tumhari marzi thi..but Manik..mera kya...where is my right to choose bolo.."

"You simply didn't trust me.."

"You didn't consider me worthy enough to share your thoughts and issues.."

"You simply chose to break my heart rather than pouring your heart out in front of me.."

"You broke my heart by not trusting me.."

"...and you crumpled my soul into zillion pieces by not even bothering to love me back.."

"You just didn't..."Nandini couldn't say anything more as she couldn't hold it back for any longer than she already had and the very next moment she broke down into tears.

On the other hand there was Mr.Manik Malhotra who didn't say a single word as he himself was in a state of shock.

Of course he knew Nandini had feelings for him...

...just like he had feelings for her.

He knew back then Nandini felt something for him..

...as that "kiss" which they both shared was anything but casual.

It wasn't lust...

It wasn't fling...

And it definitely wasn't some sort of senseless spree of carnal desire which both of them had for each other.

It wasn't his first kiss as he had made out of with Alia on numerous times..

...but...

...this "kiss" that he shared with "her" was something which he had never experienced before..

...because it was something different...

It was something fulfilling...

It was something deep.

And Manik knew even "she" felt the same too.
But what made this "kiss" more memorable and special for him was the fact that "she" trusted "him".

She trusted him with all her heart.

He knew this because..

...it was not only "her" first kiss with "him"

...rather...

...it was "her"first kiss ever.

Manik knew that Nandini trusted him with all her heart...

...otherwise Nandini wasn't that kind of a girl who will end up making out with guys just for fun..

...No...

...Of Course Not.

He knew how much it meant to Nandini.

But still...

...she chose him.

He knew how big of a deal it was for Nandini..

...but still she took that leap of faith..

...just for him.

That's why when that day when he did all those drama in front of her he used their kiss as weapon because he knew that it was the only way through which he could end things with her.

But of course he himself had no idea how difficult it would actually be to say those words out loud to her which he didn't even meant at all..

...it almost killed him too.

He still remember the pain with absolute clarity when he was saying all those words to her...

...as if someone has shoved a hot iron rod across his body and it was twisting it with full force.

He so wanted "her" to stop him.

He so wanted "her" to punch him again for saying all those lies to her.

But beyond everything else he only wanted one thing..

...he wanted Nandini not to believe "his" words.

Because somewhere down the line he was holding on to this hope..

...but unfortunately Nandini did believe his words.

And she believed it way too quickly and easily.

Of course she wasn't to be blamed for this but somewhere down even he was disappointed.
But till then he didn't understood the extent of damage his words had done until Dhruv informed him that Nandini had left Mumbai forever.

However something else happened too that he didn't realised back then.

Manik always thought that Nandini left him because he broke her trust because of which her heart got broken resulting in her leaving Mumbai forever.

But he didn't realised the real reason until..

..."today"

Nandini was in love with "him".

She left him..

...because she believed that "he" doesn't love her.

His words affected her so much that she left everything behind because of it.

He couldn't believe it..

...that someone could actually love "him" so much.

She "loves" him.

Nandini "loves"him.

He could have never imagine to feel what he was feeling right now.

His heart was bursting with joy.

He was drowning in the pool of ecstasy.

He was so happy...

...and why he wouldn't be.

His shining star "loves"him.

So that's why he did something which he himself never expected to even thought of doing.

"Nyonika slept with Harshad"

...though his words were mere whisper but somehow those words caught Nandini's attention.

Her head snapped up only to find Manik kneeling in front of her on the ground. And the very next moment he freed her tied hand.

He stopped talking but continued to stare into Nandini's eyes expecting her to leave that very moment. But Nandini's eyes were fixed only of him as she continued to gaze at him with eyes filled curiosity and unanswered questions.

When she didn't leave and continue to stare back into his eyes for next 10 minutes that's when Manik realised that she was waiting for him to continue.

Sighing he closed his eyes and finally spoke the words out loud which had been chocking him for past three years.

"From the day I was born Nyonika had always used me like a blank cheque which she uses time and again to encash her desires from my mogul father.."

"Through out my childhood i had only craved that undivided love and attention from my parents that a child gets from his parents...but unfortunately I wasn't that blessed.."

"Though my father loved me..but he was never around to shower me with his love and care.My father was always busy in his business however Nyonika was also busy in finding opportunity to get free access to my father's unconditional wealth.."

"I was drowning in the pool of darkness Nandini.."

"..until I met FAB5.."

"They became my reason to smile.."

"They became my reason of happiness.."

"You know when we all met..we all were fighting our own battles against the world"

"..but then we realised that the only way we can win these battles only if we all stick together.."

"..only if..we all..fight together.."

"It became US VS THE REST OF THE WORLD"

"We all became each other's protectors.."

"We became FAB5"

"You used to ask na why we bully other so much..you want to know why we do that..we bully so that no one else could bully us ever.."

"As I was growing up Nyonika's hold on me started to loosen up. And one day I finally took the ULTIMATE CONTROL and stood up against her.."

"If it wasn't for my friends I wouldn't have found the guts to even raise my voice against her let standing up against her.."

"She realised that now she couldn't use me any more by threatening me so she found a total new way.."

"She started to instigate me so that I end up making mistakes and she could take advantage of that.."

Nandini could sense the change in Manik's tone. She knew it was taking a great loads of efforts from Manik's side to keep not only his rage in check but also his voice down. Nandini simply kept quiet and didn't do anything because she didn't wanted to end up doing anything stupid which would make the matter worse.

Opening his eyes up Manik looked up to find Nandini staring at him. He looked back into her eyes too and saw something that only encouraged him to proceed further.

So without breaking the eye contact he continued "Nyonika used to find ways so that I could get into trouble and she would bail me out of it. Of course in return I have to give a piece of myself to her by doing something that I didn't wanted to do.."

"...and in case she couldn't find any reason to instigate me she simply used to create one...like.."

Manik once again close his eyes and took deep breath to calm himself down. Without opening his eyes he finally spoke.."...sleeping with Harshad"

"You mean she..slept with Harshad..so that she could instigate you."Nandini's eyes widened in shock and she finally realised what Manik actually meant.

"She slept with a guy of your age so that whenever you find out about it you would go blind in rage and end up doing something terrible because of which once again she could use that opportunity to get anything that she desires of.."

Manik's eyes snapped open only to find Nandini gawking at her with eyes wide open. He knew that she understood exactly what he wanted to say that's why he simply nodded.

"Did she..still.."though Nandini didn't finished her sentence but Manik understood exactly what she meant. So he answered her unspoken question "No..she doesn't..not any more.."

"Sleeping with Harshad wasn't the biggest mistake of her life..letting me know was.."Manik snickered in disgust. "She never expected me to react so violently. For the first time in my life she was actually scared of me."

"For the first time in my life I got the upper hand over her. She knew that one wrong move from her side and I will take her down."

"And that was the day when I got my freedom from her."

"Though it sickens me to the core that I had to use "her bedding time with Harshad" as my TRUMP CARD..but at that point of time..that was the biggest opportunity of my life to get my freedom from NYONIKA."

"Nyonika's one mistake gave me the right to live my life in my own way." Manik smiled devilishly.

"And you took full advantage of that didn't you.."Nandini's face was grim.

"That was the only way Nandini."Manik spoke as he tried to make his point clear."Nyonika was always against anything that gave me peace..that make me happy..that made me smile.."

"...that's why she was always against my music and my Fab5. That was the only opportunity through which I could keep my friends and my music close to me..for my entire life."

"So I took it. I made a pact with Nyonika that as long as she would stay away from my life..as long as she won't interfere in my music..she won't do anything to trouble my friends..I will keep her secret intact..but the moment she crosses that line I will take her down..once for all.."

"Is that the only reason why you didn't let her secret out.."Nandini's question made Manik realised that he had underestimated her. She knows him better...in fact way..way better that he could even possibly imagine. "Tell me Manik..is this the only reason you didn't let her secret out in the open.."

"No.."Manik sighed as he finally decided to answer her question. "This isn't the only reason.."without breaking eye contact he got back on his feet and continued "I didn't wanted to get humiliated Nandini...I didn't wanted to be embarrassed..I didn't wanted people to know anything about Nyonika and Harshad's illicit tryst..not even Fab5. I didn't wanted to end up being a laughing stock because of her..and since I was getting many things in return so I took it."

"So is this the reason why you and Harshad are always at loggerheads with each other.."Nandini questioned as she finally connected the dots.

"Harshad was dating Mukti at that time. Mukti was so much in love with her that she was ready to leave Fab5 for him. But of course Harshad wasn't at all serious about Mukti. He was only using her to break Fab5. But unfortunately for him I came to know about his mind blowing plan."

"Since I couldn't tell Mukti the whole truth so I twisted it a little and told Mukti only this much that Harshad was cheating on her. But of course I didn't tell her or anyone with whom did he cheated on her. Nobody asked me anything anymore because they believed my words and didn't needed prove any proof. As a result Mukti broke up with Harshad."

"So Harshad blames me for and Fab5 for their break up. He can't say anything about Nyonika's involvement because he knows Nyonika will bury him alive if he even dared to open his mouth. And he can't harm me also because even I have proof against him. That's why he hates me so much. And I hate him for scaring Mukti's life and all the mess that he tried to create to break Fab5 apart."

Manik continued when Nandini didn't say anything. "He used Navya and you against us. Unfortunately he was the first one to notice that you affect me...big time. And that's why he formed NH3 so that he could use you against me. But of course after Musicans even his real face came in front of you all...so once again his plan flopped that too miserably."

Nandini still kept quiet which started to panic Manik--which of course he tried not to show it on his face."I know what you must be thinking Nandini..and how everything is about give and take for me and Nyonika. In fact it's her usual mantra when it comes to me..everything has a price..nothing comes for free. Relationships are only based on give and take. Even I was working on the same mantra until.."

Manik pointed at her "..you came along. I know there must be zillion questions going on in your mind right now.."before Manik could finish Nandini spoke "Yes..but one question in particular.."

"And that is.."Manik questioned. Getting up from the seat Nandini covered the distance between her and Manik. "Why are you telling me all this when you haven't told this to anyone..not even FAB5..why me Manik..why"

"Because I trust you Nandini..I trust you implicitly. I trust you with my life."Manik's words send a shiver down Nandini's spine as she realised what Manik was about to say but before he could say anything Nandini spoke. "Manik..don't.."saying this she started to step back. "I don't want to hear anything..I can't..I won't..I have suffered enough..I can't go down that route again..No..Never.."

Nandini opened the door and got out to the store room and started to run into the backyard to get back to into the house.She so wanted to get away from him that she didn't even paid attention to the fact that it was raining.

But before she could take 40 steps something she heard Manik calling her name out loud.

"Nandini.."

She turned around only to find Manik looking at her.

And of course the very next moment something happened that changed everything between them..

...forever.

Nandini's heart skipped a beat as finally Manik said those words out loud..

"I love you..."

"I love you very very much.."

"Humesha.."

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