True to his word, manik packs up right away and leaves. Nandini just watches tearfully, unable to say anything, and manik gives her one silent lingering look as he walks out. She bemoans the fact that school is now their only connection, and she's sure that manik will soon forget all about her.
Next day
She sees him pass by on campus, but she's so deflated that she doesn't even want to try talking to him. She's back to being scared, thinking that he wants nothing to do with her. Her friends sigh that she's returned to her high school situation, back to square one with manik.
Nandini continues to zombie out at school and tennis practice, until aryaman offers up a trade: if she buys dinner, he'll take her to the place where manik works. She smiles for the first time in a week.
They arrive at the restaurant where aryaman works on weekends, since that's also where he got manik a job as a server. Nandini meanders about what to order, as manik appears at the table. He stays strictly formal with her, just doing his job, but the interaction is enough to bring nandini to tears, because it's been so long since they've spoken.
She finally stops him to say hi, and asks if he's mad that she came. He just nonchalantly says that he expected her to show at some point, and tells her to keep her mouth shut about it at home.
While eating, nandini sees a job posting in the restaurant, so she runs over to get a part-time job, only to find that the last position has just been filled—by alya of course. She rubs nandini's nose in it, in her haughty way.
She asks manik if she can come by again the next day, which he brushes off as unwelcome. He doesn't say no, but he does remind her not to say anything about it at home. So of course, she goes straight home and blurts everything to nyonika. Nyonika can't wait to sneak a peak, and plans to stalk him at work tomorrow. Nandini realizes her screw up a minute too late and frets over manik's imminent anger.
Sure enough, they show up in disguises, thinking that they're pretty slick. They were wearing a hat and sunglasses. Manik doesn't even go through the motions of being upset, since this is pretty much par for the course with nandini and nyonika.
Alya shows up at the table to say hi, throwing nyonika into a tizzy, "What are YOU doing here?" (nyonika even coaches nandini to not let alya get anywhere with manik. She tells her to screw pride and just stick to manik like glue, and make sure she sees him every day.)
At college
Her friends tell her the same thing, and she wonders if manik will hate it if she's there every day. But they remind her that following him around is exactly her style, so she decides to go for it, pride be damned.
She shows up again the next day, studying at the table so as not to completely waste her time. Manik just acts unsurprised and put out, but doesn't tell her to leave either. Alya shows up at the table to take her order in a thinly veiled passive-aggressive maneuver
When nandini says she'll have anything, alya sends over a ridiculous amount of food. She continues serving her in that fake-nice tone, as nandini camps out until manik is done. Alya calls her out on her doggedly obtuse method of chasing manik around, wondering aloud what sort of guy would like a girl like that.
Nandini gets kicked out at closing time, and barely scrapes together enough cash to pay for the crazy expensive dish that alya ordered for her. She waits outside for manik, but then hides when she sees him leave with alya.
She follows behind them, reassuring herself that they must be coincidentally heading in the same direction. But she follows them all the way to an apartment building, where they enter and get in the elevator together. Nandini crumples to the ground as she assumes the worst—that manik left home to live with alya.
She cries alone in her room that night, imagining manik and alya in bed together, and wondering if his declaration that he doesn't dislike her meant anything. She heads to school the next morning, only a shell of the vibrant girl she used to be, worrying the family.
She purposely dodges classes that she shares with manik and alya, and tells her friends that it's really the end this time. It's so heartbreaking to watch her be so defeated. Manik isn't exactly a man of action when it comes to stuff like this, but he does look around for her everywhere he goes, wondering why she's stopped orbiting him.
Shahid and navya can't stand to see nandini so depressed either, and finally decide to do something about it. They track manik down on campus, and he greets them with, "Who are you?" They can't believe his 200-IQ brain can't remember them, and he counters with, "I erase data that becomes irrelevant."
Navya can't understand why nandini likes this guy. They rail into him for moving in with alya without ending things first with nandini. He's of course surprised to hear that's he's living with alya, and answers that he'll be straight with nandini then. The girls tell him to be gentle with her, but to let her down firmly. Shahid tells him that they're not asking him to stop liking alya; they want him to do the right thing by their friend, who's loved him unrequited, for months.
They leave, and manik's face? It breaks into a smile.
nandini continues this way for two weeks, eating next to nothing and feeling a mess. She realizes that without her trying so hard to see manik, they don't actually cross paths at all—hence, it was all one-sided.
But lo and behold, manik appears next to her at school, and when she gets up to run away, he asks her to wait with him. He plays it cool, saying that they haven't seen much of each other. He purposely baits her, saying that he spends most of his time with "ALYA."
But they get interrupted by a girl, who comes up, asking if this is nandini. It turns out that she's being tutored three nights a week by manik and alya.
What will be nandini's reaction after finding out the truth of manik and alya not living together?
Would she ever find out?
Stay tuned and guys plz vote and comment to motivate me.