Manik after dropping Nandini went to the beach. He was walking aimlessly thinking about whatever happened a few minutes back. The image of Nandini's crying face and her pleadings we're not leaving his mind. He frustrated ran his fingers in his hair. He sat there for sometime and then left to his apartment.

On the other side, Nandini got down from the car and ran inside. She was climbing the stairs when Ram called her from behind

Ram- beta ese bhagi bhagi kaha jaarae hai??? Manik ke saath aae hai toh usse bhe andr bula lete....

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Controlling herself she spoke

Nandini- nae papa. He had to go kuch kaam tha unhe...

Ram- acha theek hai. Chl aaja thoda gup-shup krte hai kitna time hogya hai. ..

Nandini- vo papa mein thk gae hu. Subha se I'm running from here to there. Thoda sa rest krna tha..

Ram- chl tu jaa apne kmre mein. Mein dinner vhi bhijva dunga. Baatein toh hoti rahengi.

Nandini- ji..

She not for once turned and ran to her room. She locked it and lay on the bed crying hiding her face in the pillow.

It was dinner time when Manik asked Abhimanyu to make sure Nandini eats properly. He knew she would cry buckets but he did not call her. Reason: manly ego offcourse. .....

Abhimanyu knocked on her room's door but did not get any reply. He was worried as she was not opening the door. He informed the others too. They banged the door but still she did not open it. Abhimanyu called the servant and asked for another key of the room. He with the others entered the room but she was nowhere to be seen. He checked the washroom, then closet and finally went to the balcony. The scene in front of his eyes finally bought his world back.

Abhimanyu- yeh yaha sorae hai aur humsb pareshaan horae thay.

The others too took a sigh of relief. Abhimanyu then carefully picked her up and took her to the bedroom. He lay her on the bed and covered her with the duvet.

Karan- she's in deep sleep. Lgta hai bohot thakgae hai. Ek kaam krte hai, bua aap dudh leaao isse ese he piladenge. Agr uthaya toh neend kharab hojaege iski.

Abhimanyu- haa yeh thiik hai.

Sadhna bought the glass of milk and both the brothers with great difficulty made her drink it and again lay her properly.

Next day the house was full of hustle-bustle. Nandini descended down in a beautiful red anarkali

She took everyone's blessings and wished a happy Diwali. After prayer, they all sat for breakfast. She was faking happiness although her mind still pondered about last day. Sadhna offered her sweet but she denied.
Reason: According to her punishment Manik had asked her not to have sweets for a week.
Her phone ringed from a private no. Excusing herself she went to her room.

Phone Conversation
Nandini- hello!!!

Man- how are you Ms.Murty???? Bytheway happy diwali!!!!

Nandini- I don't need your wishes. Tell me why did you call me??? Who are you and what do you want from me???

Man- wohooo!!!!! Mrs. Soon
to be Malhotra chill..... itne saare question ek saath... tch.. tch... tch... Meine toh bs wish krne ke lia phone kiya tha....

Nandini- what do you want from me???

Man- chahea toh bohot kuch. But for the time being I would like to meet you. Vo kya haina kuch zruri baat btani thi. Phone pe... emmm..... naa... not possible....

Nandini- I can't meet you. I have guards with me always....

Man- hmmm... I'll find a solution to it. Aur yaad rakhna Mrs. Soon to be Malhotra agar kisi ko zara sa bhe idea hua na mere baare mein toh tum kisi apne ko gva bethoge.... kisi khaas ko...

Nandini- no please... meine kisi ko bhe nae btaya. Please don't harm anyone please....

But the person had already disconnected the call. Tears well up in her eyes. She threw the phone on the bed and held her head in her hands.

Nandini'sPOV
Mein kya kru Ayiappa!!!! Hr taraf se uljhi hue hu.... Naa jaane kon hai yeh insaan aur kya chahta hai mujhse... Mein kisi se share bhe nae krskti. Manik bhe naraz hai mujhse. Kese smjhao unhe mein ke nae khoskti mein apni family meinse kisi ko bhe. Bohot mushkil se sb thiik horaha hai aur mein yeh kharab nae krna chahti.
POV ends

She was called by Sadhna as they we're going to Manik's apartment followed by Dhruv's house, Dhawan Mansion and then finally Malhotra Mansion. She washed her face and went down. Soon they left to Manik's apartment.

They reached the apartment and the door was opened by Mukti. Everyone greeted each other. Manik and Nandini looked at each other but soon diverted their gaze. Nandini's eyes watered again but she quickly hid it and plastered a fake smile. He was noticing her each n every move from the corner of his eyes. She was faking smile to everyone and was trying her best to hide her emotion. Though he was angry but he never wished to see her cry. Nandini looked up and her orbs met with his. Her eyes held pleadings while his held anger and hurt. Spending quality time they left to Dhruv's house. They reached the parkinglot and Mukti elbowed Ranveer. They passed each other evil smiles and spoke

Mukti- so mom dad aap mein aur RV bhai Ranveer bhai ke car mein jaaraee hai. Abhi ke gaari mein Sadhna aunty, Sushant uncle, pops (Ram) aur Karan bhai hai. Bhabi aap bhai saath aajao. Dono cars toh full hai....

The others hid their smiles and Manan looked at each other.

Nandini- it's okk Mukti we'll adjust. Aate time bhe toh kiya tha...

Ranveer- arre bhabi adjust kyu krna. Bhai ke toh poori car khali hai aap aaram se unke saath aajao.

Nandini was about to protest when Manik spoke

Manik- it's okk. You come with me.

Ranveer and Mukti- ohhh hooo..... come with me...

Manan faked smile and Nandini looked down but this time it was to hide het tears. Manan walked to Manik's car and he opened the door for her looking to the other side. She sat in the car quietly and he shut the door. He then noticed her dupatta was stuck to the door. He again opened it and placed her dupatta end in her lap.

Manik- smbhalo isse. Alteast learn to take care of yourself when you don't care about others.

Saying this he shut the door and went to the other side. A few drops escaped her eyes. He settled himself on the driver's seat and put his seat belt. She quickly wiped ber tears and looked out.

Manik- Seatbelt pehno, chalan nae ktvana mujhe. ...

She nodded and put her seatbelt. The journey was silent. Botb we're stealing glances but none spoke. They reached Dhruv's house. Manik was about to get down but she held his hand and stopped him. He looked at her. Her eyed we're full of tears.

Nandini- I'm sorry Manik please forgive me. I did not want to hurt you. I myself was not aware what i spoke.

Manik- you know Nandini insaan vhi bolta hai jo uske dil yaa dimag mein ho. Atleast i got to know my worries and care suffocate you...

Nandini- nae esa nae hai... please esa mt bolea. What will i do without you.... Aapke care he mujhe yaha tk laae hai. Mrjaunge if i loose you...

By now she was crying badly. He wiped her tears and spoke

Manik- never say that again. I'm not angry on you now stop crying. Koe dekhega toh they'll say meine tumhe tyohaar ke din rula diya.

He wiped her tears and got from the car. She knew he was still hurt but she was haapy that atleast he talked to her. She wiped her tears and got down the car. Everyone proceed towards Dhruv's house.

Later in Dhawan Mansion
Everyone was sitting when Navya and Alya bought sweets for everyone. Navya offered it to Nandini who declined it.

Navya- Arre Nandu khao na yeh toh tumhara favourite hai...

Nandini- nae Navya I don't feel like eating. Mein baad mein khalungi.

Sadhna- Nandu tuune subha bhe meetha nae khaya. Kya hua beta tujhe toh sweets bohot psnd hai phir kha kyu nae rae hai???

Nandini- kuch nae bua bs mnn nae hai.

Neyonika- tere tabhiyat thiik hai na Nandu???

Nandini- haa neyoma sb thiik hai aap tension mt lo.

Navya sensed some dicomfort and changed the topic

Navya- maa(Cabir's mom) hum room mein jaarae hai thoda tired feel horaha hai. Aunty (to Neyonika) hmlog Malhotra Mansion ke lia kbtk nikalne vaale hai???

Neyonika- jb tumsb chaho beta...

Alya- toh phir mein aur Mukti MUKALYA se sbke dresses collect krke aate hai.

Mukti- haa uske baad chalenge.

Anurag- jessa tum bache chalo...

Navya- nandu tum chalo na humare saath. Hum bore hojaenge akele..

Nandini nodded and got up. Navya then signalled Cabir towards Manik who was looking at Nandini's retreating figure. He nodded and went to Manik .

Cabir- Manik chl tujhse kuch kaam hai. ..

Manik- arre baad mein krlenge na abhi bethja.

Cabir gave him a knowing look while Manik looked here and there.

Dbruv- buddy chala jaa na kuch important hoga... 

Everyone sensed something was wrong between Manik and Nandini. Seeing their faces anyone could guess theu had fought.

Cabir- important hai tbhi kehraha hu chl...

Having no other option he got up and both left to the pool side.

Cabir- hmm ab bol. Kya hua tere aur nandu ke bech mein...

Manik- kya hua??? Kuch bhe nae hua...

Cabir- yeh jhuut kisi aur ko bolna smjha. Tujhe kya lgta hai meine dekha nae you both are not talking to each other.

Manik- esa kuch bhe nae hai Cabir. You're misunderstanding it.

Cabir- acha toh yeh baat mere taraf dekhke bol (and manik started looking here n there). Tujhe pta hai na tu mujhse kuch bhe nae chupa skta phir koshish bhe kyu krta hai. Ab bol kya hua.

Sighing Manik told him about everything happened the previous day.

Cabir- Manik are you mad. Itna bhe kyu desperate hogya tu ke tuune gaurds se puchlia. Don't you trust your love???? Uska gussa jayaz tha Manik. She did not had a slightest idea ke humne gaurds appoint kiyay hai. Unknown to us, if someone would us toh gussa aana jayaz hai mere bhai.

Manik- ab tu bhe mujhe galat samajh raha hai. I was worried for her yrrr. Don't you remember airport pe kya hua tha??? Aur uski condition kya thi, I saw it Cabir and i was feeling so restless and useless at that time. Mom log ne usse kese handle kiya God knows....

Cabir- bhai mein yeh nae kehraha ke tera phikr krna galat hai. Pr jb usne kaha ke she'll herself tell you about this kis baat ka gussa. Shayd koe baat usse pareshaan krrae hai, she want to deal with it on her own toh galat kya hai??? Sorry to say bro but you're at fault this time. Jis tarah se tu chillaya that was wrong. Mein nae kehta ke your worries for her we're wrong but your way of expressing was definitely wrong. Ab gussa chod and apologize to her. Mere bheen tere vjah se roe. Agar agli baar tune apna gussa mere bheen pe nikala na toh mujhse bura koe nae hoga. Bichari kitna drr gae hoge tere gusse se.

Manik- shayd tu sae kehraha hai. I overreacted. Thankx yrr vrna pta nae mein kya krta...

Cabir- htt be saale... dost ko thank you bolta hai. Vese bhe meine yeh apni behen ke lia kiya tere lia nae. Chl ab uth aur chl andr sb wait krrae honge. Tere dant ke karan mere bheen ne sweets ko hath bhe nae lgaya.

Manik- mere vjah se???? What did i do???

Cabir- kisi ne kaha tha no sweets for a week. Vo bhavishya vaani hue thi kya (he spoke sarcastically).

Realisation hit upon Manik.

Manik- shit!!!! I need to apologize.

Saying this he walked ahead leaving Cabir behind. Cabir shook his head in disbelief and went behind him.
On the other side Nandini too spoke to Navya about the same.

Bedroom

Navya- nandu vo pareshaan tha tumhare lia. Dekha jae toh vo bhe apne jgah pe thiik hai. Vo drr gya tha. Aur rahi baat gaurds ke toh vo hmsb ke sath hote hai. Ismein galat kya hai agar vo tumhari security chahta hai toh. Haa hmm mante hai usse thoda patiently behave krna chahea tha pr tumhari bhe galti hai na... tum apne aap ko uski jagah rakhkr dekho aur phir bolo kya vo galat hai???

Nandini- mujhe pta hai Navya I'm at fault. Mein unke emotions ke samajh he nae pae..

Navya- ab jb realise hogya hai toh maafi mangoo aur yeb cold war khatam kro. Teyohaar ke din bhe koe ldta hai kya???

Nandini- i apologized navya pr vo sunne ko teyaar he nae hai...

Navya- sunega. Tumhe toh usse monster bulati ho. Ab monster ka gussa shant hote vkt toh lgega na... Ab yeh rona dhona bnd kro. Baby ko psnd nae hai ke uski massi roe

She took Nandini's hand and placed it on her tummy and the baby kicked. Nandini with wide eyes looked at Navya.

Nandini- Nav...nav.. Navya baby ne kic... kick kiya. ..

Navya- tumhara touch feel krte be excited hogya. Pr aaj hmara baby bohot zada he excited horaha hai. Due date toh abhi 1week baad ke hai.

Nandini- it happens sometimes. Don't worry.

Soon Mukti and Alya came back with the outfits. They decided to change in Dhawan Mansion itself so taking the outfit every one dispersed to their rooms. The girls decided to do the hairing and makeup together so they went to Navya's room after changing.

At sharp 8 everyone met in the living room. Boy's jaw dropped seeing their girl.

Ranveer- mere pyaare bhaiyo apne muh bnd krlo. I know mere behen aur bhabi's look beautiful.

The boys glared and he went near Neyonika to save his life passing them a sheepish grin.

Neyonika

Ranveer

    Manik.        Cabir.      Abhimanyu

Dhruv;Ram;Karan;Anurag;Shushant
Shushant (Abhimanyu's dad).

Sadhna

Cabir's Mom

Alya

Navya

Mukti

Nandini

Ram- sb aagae. Chale???

Everyone nodded and left in their respective cars to Malhotra Mansion.

Malhotra Mansion

They entered the house and the ladies got busy with the pooja arrangements. Soon the guests started to arrive. Pandit ji called everyone for pooja. One by one all the couples performed the pooja. After the pooja Neyonika asked Nandini to distribute prasad to everyone. She nodded and after serving placed the plate back in the mandir.

Mukti- chalo chalo crackers time. Bhai chalo.

She dragged Ranveer along with her and the rest followed them chuckling. Nandini went to the kitchen as she was scared of the crackers. Manik gestured Cabir and he blinked his eyes in assurance. He first went to the mandir and then behind Nandini. He entered the kitchen and stood behind him. Feeling his presence she turned to him. Their eyes met but Nandini looked down immediately.

Nandini- aapko kuch chahea tha???

Manik- ehh... haa PaNi...

She nodded and filled him a glass of water. He drank half of it and then turned to Nandini who was looking to the other side. He held her shoulder and turned to her. She looked ar him, her eyes full of emotions. He then took the 'barfi' piece which he bought from the mandir and forward it to her near her mouth. Her eyes welled up with tears, he blinked his eyes and made her eat. She sobbed and took a bite.

Manik- I'm sorry.

Nandini- nae I'm sorry. Manik i did not want to hurt you and i did not even mean what i spoke.... pta nae kese... I. .. I.... was not in my senses.

Manik- shhh.... bs. No crying. You know I hate your tears and I can guess you cried bucket since last night.

She pouted and hugged him hiding her face in his chest. More tears made her way through her eyes. She hicupped in his chest while he held her tight in his embrace.

Nandini- I'm really sorry Manik. ... Aap gussa kro pr please don't ignore me. I hate this silence of yours.

Manik- you don't need to be sorry love. Even i was at fault. Mujhe wait krna chahea tha. I behaved like an idiot. Atleast i should have informed you about the guard thing. I'm also sorry for making my baby cry so much.

She rubbed her nose on his chest making him smile on her antics.

Nandini- haa vo toh hai....

She sniffed. He played along and spoke

Manik- acha toh phir ab mujhe kya krna pdega to make it up to you.

Nandini- ice cream treat se aur chocolate treat se kaam chl jaega.

She spoke playing with his buttons on the vascet coat. He kissed her forehead in return.

Manik- done!!! Abhi bahar chale sb wait krrae honge hamara.

Nandini- pr mujhe crackers se drr lgta hai.

Manik- I'm there with you kuch nae hoga. Come...

She nodded and soon joined the others. Spending quality time, happy fun with each other everyone retired to their rooms after dinner. Nandini was going to her room when someone pulled her inside.

She gasped and closed her eyes. Feeling no movement, she opened her eyes and huffed

Nandini- mani... stop pulling me like this. Drr jaate hu mein.

Manik- acha..... ab toh aadat hojaane chahea tumhe. Mere siva aur kon hoskta hai....

Nandini- haa yeh bhe hai. Vo chodea and tell me khicha kyu???

Manik- do you know how beautiful you look today.

Nandini- ab yaad aaya aapko???

Manik- nae yaad toh tbhe tha when i saw you decending down the stairs at Cabir's place. Bs time ab mila. Now stop talking and let me see you.

He then held her shoulder and looked at her from top to bottom. His intense gaze was making her weak on her knees more n more. She clutched his shoulder for support. He finally looked at her face which was fully red. Her breathe we're uneven. He smirked seeing his effect on her. He then pulled her chin upwards. She opened her eyes and looked at his hazel brown orbs which we're full of love for her. He slowly bend to her level and placed his lips on her. After good few minutes of kissing they joined their foreheads. Manik then kissed her forhead and asked her to change as they we're going out.

Nandini- pr mani... itni raat ko. I mean 11 bjrae hai.

Manik- so what.... we'll come back soon. Change and meet me downstairs in 10mins okk.

She nodded and left.

Hey readers!!!! How are you all???? I hope everyone's doing good.

Here is an early update.

So finally everthing is sorted out between our Manan. The cupids played their role well. What's say???

Who was the person who called Nandini??? What does he know and why does he want to meet in private???
I bet maximum of you won't be able to guess.
If someone got the right guess, the person will get a chance to play a part in the story in next update.  So keep guessing....😉😉😉😉

Happy reading
😘😘😘