Most isolated place in Mumbai is shining bright in the night under the lightning festival. The decoration has the authenticity and royalty of Indian tradition, it is also reflecting the joy of Diwali with love filled atmosphere and settings.

Dinning table for two people is placed in the centre of heart made up of oil lamps on the ground. And the two hearts of the evening are overwhelmed with the love oozing out of their hearts and are desperate in the need of expressing that as if this is the last chance they have got.

"I need nothing more nor less than having u with me, in my life till I get bored with my breaths ..... Please be mine" Karan couldn't hold onto his confession and said this just after seeing the reflection of his feelings in her eyes.

"I'm ready to bore u with my presence till the time u get bored with ur breathing in ur life" she laughed and replied in same manner where he was shocked at first. Then his heart was oozing out with tears of happiness.

"Just say it that u love me ....... Because I love you too" he pulled her in instant hug and cried on her nape.

"I love you ...... I really do" cupping his nape, she made him looked in her eyes which were conveying the feelings of the words she said through her mouth and her tears just made it a beautiful moment of their lives.

"U r my one true love ...... I never thought that I would get so lucky in my life to feel loved by someone" he really meant those words because he too never had a family, he wasn't tortured in childhood but his childhood was loveless, he never got chance to spend the life with his siblings since the day his sister left the world. And past relationships weren't that pure for him to feel loved.

"I will make sure to keep ur feelings same till eternity ...... I will always love you" her last few words died in his mouth because his hungry lips captured hers.

Moving in sync with each other's tongues their legs danced with wind flow in the middle of the night.

"Lemme breath ...... What's so hurry man" breaking the kiss she said in raspy voice.

"Ur Indian attire is making me horny ..... Trust me I will die if I don't make love to you, right now" he also said in same raspy tone with husky breathing. She urgently tugged his lower lip with her teeth making him hiss.

"Not even in ur jokes say about leaving me alone by any means or in any way ...... I don't know what u have done to me but I have got so attached with u that I can't bear ur absence ..... So neither u r allowed to break up with me nor to leave me ..... Got it?" She was crystal clear with her words and intention.

"Hey chillax ...... Don't be so dramatic" he laughed but her expression remained same.

"I'm not leaving you in any circumstances ..... Now is it okay?" Holding her palms he said gently and she nodded.

"Promise?" He picked her up in his arms.

"Promise" he pecked her lips.

Then rest of the night they made love to each other for the first time and whole night they weren't ready to leave each other's skin as if sinking in the muscle memory of each other.

...................||

On the other side of the city someone's world was burning under lights due to the never ending darkness. Tears felt too
short to express the agony and tragedy of his miserable life. 

"This is nothing I can't handle ...... Just leave me for once" he said before entering his house, walking like a lifeless body but his voice was cold as usual.

"Manik what are you doing?" She followed him inside and saw him blowing off all the Diyas with his bare fingers and painfully humorous smile on his face. Those weren't just lamps but hopes for love in his dark world.

"I'm blowing them out before my darkness extinguishes them" he didn't shed a single tear and she couldn't hold the tsunami of emotions flowing through her eyes, just hour back she had ensure him that these lights will burn his darkness. Her heart broke at every single move he made.  

"I won't like alcohol or drugs taking my place to make u intoxicated" she snatched the bottle of rum from his hand, she expected him to be angry but he just gave her defeated look. The look she never wished to see on his face, he was the Manik Malhotra who was meant for winning.

"I want toxic, which will numb my senses to an extent where I won't feel anything ..... And u r the very origin of all my feelings" he layed on the cold floor and spread his body just beside the stifled lamps. His eyes were distinct and blank.

"I'm the toxic which u need to forget the pain ...... Don't push me ...... Let me spread throughout you to make you numb ...... Where u won't feel anything other than my love" she kept her head on his shoulder and layed on his side. Palming his face with one hand she spoke, looking into his eyes.

"Don't love me like this ..... U will be destroyed" he too replied looking straight into those tearful eyes.

"If my destruction would be this much handsome then I don't mind getting ruined" she pressed her palm more into his cheek out of vulnerability.

"How u can be so selfless and unconditional ..... Don't u fear getting lost in this never ending darkness?" He was dying to snatch those tears but he did nothing. He was just too lost to remove someone's pain nor he was feeling his pain. He was just amused that how she didn't leave him yet, how she can be real when his whole life apart from pain was a complete lie?.

"I want to be morning of this darkness ..... Every night is followed by a day, Manik" she kept her palm on his heart to feel his breathes.

"Ur words and their purity is pernicious for this tainted man" he kept his hand over hers to remove her touch.

He was so dark that his dark life didn't become grey with her white touch but he stained her white colour by touching the pure soul she has.

"I don't care ...... Flawed or flawless, u r my man" instead she caged his palm on his heart under her palm, and kissed his forehead for longer than usual letting her tears pass through his cheeks.

"U can't be real" she smiled when she heard his shivering voice and saw his heaving chest, he was looking at the ceiling. Finally his wall was breaking, she untied the knot around her neck and let the top fell down till her lower breast so that those mirrors won't prick him.

"Stay with me forever" he pinned her on the cold floor and sobbed hard on her chest. She protectively held him close to her heart and kissed his hair, she smiled through the tears by seeing his 'leave me' turning into 'stay with me forever'. Finally she achieved his trust. She was able to remove his insecurity of left alone.

Within few minutes he slept in her soft embrace which shocked her, something is definitely wrong with him. He can't sleep this instantly even if he is normal but he slept in this situation so quickly as if sleep was the last thing in his life.

She started thinking about the possibilities. Nowadays he sleeping like normal person which is so abnormal and she is sure it is related to his therapy sessions. But what it is?, Eshana isn't giving him medicines either then how?. She tried remembering everything she saw in today's visit.

Instantly after checking on Google she found out that incense sticks made by lavender and patchouli scents are sedative and can put person into deep sleep. It won't work so easily on insomniac but it can work if person continues to burn it for hours.

...............||

"Good morning beautiful" Karan kissed Diya's hair when she woke up in the morning.

"Morning love" she pecked his lips and again slept on him.

"It's 8am already ...... Wake up ..... We have to go" he said calmly, caressing her hair.

"Today I am not feeling to let u go" she said in her sleepy voice making him smile.

"We will meet again ..... But let's go now ..... Manik must be waiting on breakfast table" she chuckled at his lame excuse.

"That would be last thing he will do and apart from that he must be doing deeds with my best friend ...... She was at ur house last night" she said.

"Then I surely need to be there to tease them ..... Please" and she finally moved away from him.

"Okay fine" she sat on bed with quilt covering her nakedness.

"But we are meeting again in the afternoon or evening" she said while wearing her clothes.

"Obviously ..... What else I will do" he too wore his clothes. They got ready and left from there.

"Good bye" he said after dropping her in her society.

"Meet me" she again kissed his lips before going out of the car.

"Sure" he blushed touching his own lips.

.......................||

Stepping his feet inside the Malhotra property he saw the Mansion was looking different, because he surely didn't thought he would see oil lamp outside the mansion. Nandini definitely have potential to make Manik run on her little fingers, he thought and went inside with a smile.

He was perplexed seeing two of them sleeping on cold floor with blanket on their bodies but it didn't look like they had fun and it made him anxious.

"Nandini" he shook her first and she instantly woke up.

"Why u guys r sleeping on floor?" He whispered.

"Ur father sent this" she gave him the note and explained everything meanwhile he was completely silent.

"Won't u say anything?" She asked but he kept mum and just looked at Manik's tired, sleeping face.

"I knew it" he said lowering his head.

"What???...... Since when?".

"U remember I got to know about my father's deeds because of his mistress ..... That time only she asked him why he hates Manik so much and he answered he isn't his own blood but the symbol of my mother's infidelity" he told her, shocking her to the core but before she could react her ph rang.

"Yeah Rishu I know today is Bhaiduj ..... But I'm busy with something..... Yeah ..... I will try to come home ..... Bye" she spoke with him and disconnected the call.

"U go home" they flinched hearing Manik's low yet cold voice.

"U was awake?" She asked.

"From last two hours" he gave her half emotionless smile and sat on floor.

"Manik" Karan went near him on floor.

"I'm fine ..... Nandini u go" he said this to her and even Karan signalled her to leave them alone. It's their family matter and he needs Karan more than her, she thought.

"I'm there for u ...... Come to me whenever you will feel lost" cupping his one cheek she spoke and kissed his eyes.

..................||

"Manik look ...... I know it's shocking for u ...... It must be hard to accept but I think this is the best thing in ur life ..... I mean u r so damn lucky that u r not a son of our bastard father like me" Karan tried to knock some sense.

"The only reason I suffered was that I'm not his son ..... So I can't say if I am lucky or not" he moved towards his home bar.

"See through my eyes u will know that u r lucky ...... I feel so ashamed to call him father who is selfish, coward, cunning  and money minded man who was also a child abuser" he too took one glass of alcohol.

"Inspite of not having his genes in me I am exact replica of his cruel self, don't u think?" He chuckled painfully.

"His cruelty which he showered upon u made u like this so that u could protect ur self ...... U adopted the ways to save urself and I won't blame u for choosing wrong ways because no one was there to taught you right or wrong".

"Don't u hate me for the things I have done with u, even after knowing that I am ur step brother?".

"We have same mother nd I am sure whoever ur father is, he won't be a monstrous like my father ..... May be our mother loved him and he was noble man ...... That's why I keep finding ways to explore hidden goodness in you". It was weird for both brothers to imagine their mother with someone else other than Shrikant but they accepted their father was bastard so their mother might have found someone loving and caring.

"Ur stupidity amuses me?"

"It's love brother" this time he has tears in his eyes while saying this.

"U love me so much .... Why?" Manik said wiping a tear drop from his eyes, from one hand distance.

"I don't know why I love u so much that I can't just leave u, even though u keep pushing me" Karan instantly hugged him as tight as he could. After years he saw his big brother in Manik who was wiping his tears.

"I missed you Manik ...... All these years I missed having my big brother" he continued making Manik overwhelmed and numb.

"I missed you too" after few moments he too mumbled and fortunately Karan heard that and smiled in his tears.

"Please don't push me out of ur life ever again ...... U r my only family" Karan pleaded expressing his insecurity. They broke the hug.

"Never leave me like u did yrs ago" Manik also shared his insecurity and Karan felt guilty.

"I won't" and again he hugged his brother.

.................||

In early evening, Nandini stepped out of the house after spending time with her family. They were happy and she was smiling too but her mind was far away from happiness. Care for Manik never left her thoughts.

Her friends looked really happy so she didn't share her pain neither she was planning to do so nor they suspected. She gave excuse of going to Manik's house and left their society.

Reaching to the hospital she found out Eshana is on leave today. After scratching her head for a minute she took long breathes so that she can think rationally and eventually she got Eshana's address.

"What are you doing with Manik?" Reaching at Eshana's place she violently entered and shouted on her face.

"His treatment" she said calmly.

"Cut this fucking crap ...... I know u r not innocent ..... Tell me why are you doing this ? ..... U said u won't give him medicines and at the same time u r keeping him under the effect of sedative smoke, why?" She was frustrated.

"Nandini calm down ..... Incense sticks won't harm him, he don't have any lung disease ...... They r helping him to sleep, which is needed for him" she said in same calm tone but Nandini was anything but calm.

"I can't believe that there is no hidden agenda ...... I'm sure you are not the way u r pretending to be ..... There has to be something" Nandini was being reckless by following her instincts that she started invading Eshana's house.

"Nandini don't test my patience and leave" Eshana warned her.

"I have feeling u have different motives in his treatment ..... U r planning to do something with him, I can clearly see u r trying to change him according to his ways so that he won't suspect" she said while checking one of the room of her house.

"How u can say that? .... U can't blame a doctor" she tried to being casual.

"I can ..... That day I heard ur session where u was trying to detach his emotions from me" Nandini accused her.

"Don't be selfish Nandini ..... I was teaching him importance of self love".

"U know it, if he will detach himself from me, he will also lose his goodness nd humanly feelings ...... He will went back to the way he was before ..... Selfish, insensitive and cunning".

"I'm the doctor ..... I know better".

"I know him better than u do".

"Don't interfere in my treatment" she said in cold tone for the first time.

"Tell me what are you doing with him?" She turned and faced the doctor.

"There's a way away from normal human emotions ..... Which makes a person better for himself and also for the society" she smirked, making Nandini scared.

"Way of spirituality?" Nandini said after thinking for sometime.

"Exactly ...... He will live good life without any desires, motives of revenge, .....".

"And away from love too ..... Right?" She had tears in her eyes but she didn't let them fall.

"Won't it be enough for u that he is living peaceful life?" She questioned her love.

"What's the need ? ....... U can treat him to be a normal human ...... I will help him" she asked with hope.

"Why can't u understand Nandini ...... Ur love for him is toxic ...... U r trying to make him better person but do u think after making him like you he can live peaceful life? ...... No he can't ..... Because with the goodness all his guilt will come back to him and not only him but no one can handle the guilt he has suppressed by becoming a evil person".

"Why? ...... He has survived all these years then why can't he now?".

"Leave him aside and answer me ...... Put urself in his situation where u have lost ur small sister though it was a accident but u could have saved it by not taking her out in sea ..... Won't u feel responsible for her death? ..... Think from ur perspective nd not according to his personality" Nandini couldn't say no and nodded silently.

"Also put urself in same situation where he lost his mother ...... That was an accident too still u will feel that she died in saving u ...... U can't survive so much guilt and all wrong accusations for other's mistakes in that tender age ..... Trust me any normal person would have died because of hurt, loneliness, loveless and motiveless life where ur presence is negligible to world ..... Can u survive that?" She wasn't lenient towards Nandini.

"Noooo" Nandini cried.

"That's what I am saying he survived because he stopped his emotions ..... That made him cruel man but that was the only way he could have survived ..... And now if u try to make him good man the everything which has suppressed in him will bounce back in double speed" Nandini started feeling culpable for trying to change him into a good person.

"Fuck everything and all the goodness ..... Let him be the way he is" she said instantly.

"Now that he feels for u ..... He can be dangerous to others if he goes in his sadiast zone ...... If his madness for u increases then he can be a murderer too" at this point Nandini felt so helpless and selfish to let him go.

"What should I do?" She sat on floor and cried.

"Let him go" she also sat beside her and kept her hand on Nandini's shoulder.

"Everytime, every single person has left him to live loveless life like a cursed fated person ....... But he has trust in me that I won't leave him in any situation and I can't break him nd his trust" she remembered his all his words and their promises.

"U don't have to leave him right now ..... Just let him complete his treatment ..... He will be detached from all the desires at the end of it".

"U think he can walk on the path of spirituality?" She asked being unsure.

"U might have heard about the story of prostitute turning into the monk under the influence of Ananda, the disciple of lord Buddha" Nandini nodded and she realised spirituality do have that power to change the person.

"And Manik has great self control he had blocked his feelings in very tender age so it won't be that difficult for him" Eshana added.

"U r trying to manipulate me, aren't you?" Nandini asked after a few moments when she stopped crying and started thinking.

"Even If I am ..... then also u know, what I am saying is undeniable truth". Nandini stood up from her place.

"That's itching me ..... Why r u doing this?" This time Nandini was calm and thinking rationally.

"Nothing that u need to know" Nandini made a bored face and turned her neck sidewise in irritation but the painting on the wall left her bewildered.

"Who r u?" In a serious suspicious tone she asked her, trying to intimidate and left no room for denial.

The wall had a spacious painting of a beautiful lady in navy blue saree looking so gorgeous and she was hugging a 10/11 years boy from behind, who was looking so cute and happy in his mother's embrace.

............... End ...........||

Let me know if you found any mistake.

How was the chapter?

.............. Aish ❣️...................