"A strong relationship requires choosing to love each other even in those moments when you struggle to like each other."

~•~•~•~•~•~

For instant, Vishni's face fell the second; the main door got opened.

And there she entered, the real appropriate owner,

Ms Nandini Kashyap, accompanied by her secretary, Jiya.

She was dressed up in her formal along with light makeup & heels - having that classy look.

As Nandini was marching towards the podium, the staffs were stunned, started murmuring to each other.

Neel was standing at a distance, smiling pridely. He was so happy to see her back.

Vishni wasn't able to comprehend how & why did Nandini come back. She was too shocked to react on anything.

She held herself back, gulped hard before descending off the stage and marched closer towards her. She stared at her carefully - literally sweating.

"I.. I miss you Nandini, my child!" She took Nandini into an embrace, "I was so worried about you!" She faked a sweet tone. Her inner soul was screaming in rage & fear.

"Mom.." Nandini whispered, "Sorry for lateness.." She didn't reciprocate the hug but instead smiled faintly and pulled back.

She took a step forward to the stage. She stood right infront of the podium - seemingly hiding her insecurities as she faced the crowd and gave a confident smile to the audience who were looking at her - inquisitively.

"I'm hereby to apologise for being away from the company. I know it's quite difficult to get things back to normal as our business isn't going on the proper line. But I'll make sure every thing gets sort out soon.." She took a breath while they started beginning to realize it was actually Nandini!

"I'm sincerely sorry for staying away from Kashyap company. I'd taken a year away to recover from my severe accident! I wasn't in a state to carry on with the work." Vishni's hands were clenched tight as she sat nearby - her face scrunched up with anxiety.

Nandini stuttered at some point but still tried to carry on her speech.

"I had a lost because of the accident, as I'm suffering from 'prosopagnosia' - a disorder that affects my ability to recognize faces! Because my body is still not in perfect condition, until then, I will need to get help from someone!" She looked into the crowd as she said, "Manik Malhotra."

The same moment Manik stood up from his seat. He had been present the whole time. He was dashingly dressed up - wearing a classy suit - looking extremely handsome & classy.

"I would like to introduce him to the Kashyap family. He's my fiancé! He'll help me - lead the company." She spoke, smiling at Manik's direction. He smiled and blinked his eyes - telling her throughout that he will be with her.

Here Vishni made a face like someone had just stabbed her in the gut.

Back then - few hours before, it was Manik who'd encourage Nandini to take a step forward! He'd given her the lines of her speech,- teaching her how to speak each word confidently which she'd repeated and memorized in front of a wall covered in pictures and accompanying information of important Kashyap Group members.

He had been coaching her, essentially, and added the finishing touch by giving her heels to go with her outfit.

When Nandini dressed up in her formal look, Manik smiled inwardly.

"Beautiful!" He stared intently at her though Nandini was indeed looking so pretty. Manik seemed to take in and appreciate how pretty she was looking all dressed up before they head out together.

When they finally reached the spot, Manik was unable to hide the proud smile when Nandini made her grand entrance. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face - seeing Vishni's expression. She was visibly rattled by Nandini's appearance. Yeah, ofcourse, he was enjoying this!

Back to present, Vishni's world indeed crumbled when Nandini introduced Manik as her fiancé.

"She's back." Jai mumbled as the members were surrounding Nandini.

Vishni couldn't hold back any longer. She wasn't expecting such huge turn, never!

She retired back to her cabin with Jai, still hell-shocked over what just happened.

"Dammit! No! No! No! This can't happen! Hell no!!" She was frantically mumering to herself. That fury, anxiety could clearly be seen on her face. She was having a harder time - believing Nandini comeback because she knew Atul had clearly said he had removed her out of her way.

So, basically, it made one thing clear: She did order the kidnapping!

"Ma'am. It's not just Nandini! This time, Manik is with her too! He will be handling company affairs while Nandini recovers!" As he spoke, Vishni gave him a look.

"I.. need to .. do something!" She rather said this line to herself. There was some kind of venom in her tone.

"What part of all this, upsets you most? Is it the fact that Nandini whom we thought was dead, came back? Or the fact that Manik has come back as her fiancé?" Vishni's head shot up at Jai as he asked.

"I need some alone time." She said straightly. Jai left the cabin afterwards while Vishni seemed in a deep thought.

She shook her head, she had that horrified look on.

Here Nandini was getting a tour of her office though she was tired. She entered her cabin and examined each and every corner.

She got a sudden sense of dizziness due to which she stumbled back. Her head ached a bit. She held her head, wanting to stop the pain.

"Careful Nandini!" She felt his arms wrapping around her shoulders. He made her sit on the chair while she looked at him, perplexed.

He kneeled down infront of her, "You need rest!" He spoke softly, putting a hair strand behind her ear.

"I'm okay!" She whispered as she stood up.

Manik got back on his feet and faced her. He knew she had some kind of doubts on her mind which she wanted to clear.

"Is it.. is it important? Do I really have to fight against my step-mom?" She asked lowly as her eyes were moist.

He nodded afterwards, replying, "Yes."

"Why.." She was in verge of crying. That poor soul couldn't decipher why she had to do all of this. He held her shoulders, stepping a little closer.

"She started the fight first! And because she is trying to get what isn't hers!" He still had his hand placed on her shoulders as if to reinforce the fact that he's there just for her.

"I.. I'm afraid! What if.. what if I fall weak? I might not win.." She expressed her concern.

"Shhh..!!" He put a finger on her lips - keeping a serious face, "I'll do the fighting. You just stay behind me."

She looked downwards, only she could undertand how much weak & miserable she was feeling.

He sighed and pulled her into a supportive hug, "Everything's gonna be okay! I'm here na. Don't stress yourself." He offered her words of encouragement while she nodded contently as she hesitantly reciprocated the hug.

_______

"Manik.. I.. uhh.."

"C'mon. It's easy. Nothing's gonna happen." It was the ninth time, Manik was trying to convince Nandini to get inside the elevator.

She was kinda nervous though. The accident had caused her much damage!

She'd suggested that she would take the stairs but he didn't let go. He was determined to get her in the elevator. He wanted her to get through her fears.

Thankfully there wasn't any staffs on that floor to witness this.

"Don't be scared. I'm here! Come." He held her hand, and at last, both stepped inside.

Just then, Vishni entered in at the same time. Nandini smiled at her as she pulled out her hand from Manik's grip. But he didn't look at Vishni, not even for once!

The lift door got closed, so now it was just the three of them.

"Umm, Nandini, you can move back home. I've been missing you alot." She tried to cover it up.

But before Nandini could give a respond, there was a sudden jerk off. The lift seemed to have a stop and the power had been cut, making all around darker.

"Dammit!" Manik immediately stepped closer to Nandini

"Ma-nik!" She was scared, plus - it was really dark. She couldn't actually see his face.

"I'm right here Nandini! Don't be scared!" He pulled her into his arms - assuring her that he was there.

Vishni felt like she was an invisible human because no one asked if she was fine. Yes, she had expected Manik to react, not for Nandini but for her!

She wanted Manik to get concern for her, not for Nandini!

So..is it really true that he's over with me? Is he in love with Nandini? Is he actually her fiancé..? The only thought that came on her mind.

But most importantly, why was Nandini reacting so weird? Where did the brave girl go?

She took a minute to get through it. She thought perhaps because of the accident. But she nearly had a doubt.

Nandini had only announced that she couldn't recognise some faces but here it seemed like it was a total different Nandini infront of her.

And about Manik, well to her, it seemed that only Nandini was on ruling over his head.

It took a few seconds and the lights came back, and the lift started working back to normal.

Manik gave Nandini an assuring smile to which she sighed.

"Arhhm.." Vishni got their attention, "So Nandini.. are you going to come home.. I'm waiting for you. We can go together."

Nandini was not able figure out what to answer.

Just then, Manik took Nandini's hand in his and responded, "She's going with me."

Vishni was trying her best to look past him but he didn't make eye contact with her.

"Umm. You can come over for dinner, atleast?"

There was silence for a second..

"Okay.." This time Nandini replied.

Vishni smiled and marched out as the door opened. After she left, Manik tightened his grip on Nandini's hand.

______________________

Heyyaa beautiful people!

I'm extremely late and I'm very sorry. My studies and hectic schedule doesn't allow me to write and I was busy with my personal life. It was difficult for me to take out time plus writers block wasn't helping me one bit.😩😩

Thank you for having patience though.

Do tell me how the chapter was. Ignore the typos if there's any.

Love y'all.♡

#Okthanksbye