hey readers this my first attempt as a writer....so if you like the story please comment...your feed back is much appreciated

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in space canteen....

after making the announcement in the microphone....manik started dragging nandini to the canteen paying no heed to nandini's cries......

"manik...leave my hand you are hurting me.." cried out nandini but manik cared less...after reaching the center of the canteen...all stopped their talks and stared at them even fab4 was present there ...he left nandini with such a force that she stumbled back two steps but balanced herself....

" oh really nandini...i am hurting you....shouldn't it be the other way around" questioned manik with pain clearly evident in his eyes....one look in manik's eyes made nandini realize how much vulnerable manik was....this only pushed her deeper into the pool of guilt....and she kept quiet not able to voice her side of story to manik.....

"i can't believe this...even after what nandini did....you are still talking to her manik" said mukti with disbelief......

"forget it mukti now manik has changed and so did his priorities....he is not our old manik" said aliya eyeing nandini as if to say that nandini was responsible for it.....while nandini looked down with tears flowing through her eyes.....

" of course not aliya.... i have not changed....fab5 will always be my priority and no can change that" manik stated looking at nandini with hatred....aliya and mukti were satisfied after getting a glimpse of their old manik.....

"guys this calls for a group hug" aliya said and fab5 hugged each other.....

"now that manik is back so why not teach nandini murthy a lesson for messing with fab5" said mukti and even aliya started supporting her....

they both reached near nandini and started bad mouthing her....and the whole canteen was laughing....but all nandini did was stare at manik thinking that her manik will come and stop them...but seeing no reaction coming from manik she was loosing her hope......

two people were there standing with their head down....they were cabir and dhruv....they could not bear nandini getting bashed as somewhere down the line they developed a soft corner for her....they wanted to stop their friends but they knew it would only worsen the situation if they tried to defend nandini.....

but one person was getting hurt more than anyone...that was manik.....not able to see her like that he turned his face away.....his hands were made into a fist clearly showing that he was controlling himself from going there and stopping them....

meanwhile aliya and mukti who were bashing the poor soul badly crossed their limits by pointing finger on her character....and her parents.....

and that was it for nandini she finally had enough.....

a girl can bear any insult...but she can never bear any one questioning her character or pointing finger on her parents...no matter what.....

"enough" roared nandini..her eyes were red and tear stained....her whole body was shaking.....seeing her like that for the first time scared both mukti and aliya and they moved two steps back in fright....the whole canteen was filled with silence.....manik, cabir and dhruv who were looking away snapped their heads towards her in shock......

" tumhe kya laga....just because i was quite the whole time....tum log kuch bhi bakwaas bologe and i will listen to it" shouted nandini while walking closer to mukti and aliya.....

"you insulted me...my feelings....but i kept quite.....but...HOW DARE YOU DRAG MY PARENTS IN BETWEEN......they were no where involved in this"continued nandini trying hard to control her anger......

" you said that i don't trust manik right....haan main manti hoon ki i did not trust him....but ye mat bhoolna ki somewhere you were also the reason for it.....weren't you the one who said that nandini manik can do any thing for you.....he loves you so much...."questioned nandini looking towards fab4....

"even if they said that....ye mat bhoolna nandini ki you were the one who chose not to trust me....." said manik still trying to save his friends....as he did not want to lose his friends just like he lost nandini.....but the moment he said this nandini looked into his eyes....one look at her face manik knew he has lost her....her face was devoid of any emotion...there was not even anger in her eyes.....her eyes which once used to shine brightly with hope...were now lifeless clearly showing that she lost hope.......

" do you know manik....you have always seen me as nandini murthy....a perfect girl....who knows to spread positivity and hope around her...who has never done any mistake....who has a forgiving heart....but manik that is not me....i am not perfect....i do commit mistake....i do have anger issues...i have my share of insecurities too....but most importantly...i have trust issues..." she took a pause...gulping down her tears....no one said a word in between....it was like they were in a trance.....

"tumhe pata hai manik.....when my parents were alive they used to love me alot....i was their princess...you know they told me that they love me alot and they will never leave me....but when i was 8 years old they left me....they lied to me....and left me in this cruel wold all alone...from that time i used to be in a shell...i never let anyone come close to  me....because somewhere i had this fear that they will also leave me like my parents did....but then you entered my life....and somewhere spending time with you i started forgetting about my insecurities....but then you left me for dhruv...saying that you were just taking revenge on me.....you broke my trust manik....and just like that all the insecurities resurfaced again....i was broken manik....but then you came back and started asking for forgiveness....i tried to stay away...i did not want to let my guard down....but seeing you like that i could not stop myself from giving you a chance"said nandini pouring out all her emotions.....

" wo kehte hai na once bitten twice shy....the same happened to me...even though i gave you a chance....i still could not trust you like before....i had this constant fear that you will leave me....my insecurities started growing....and day before going to the court your mother called me....she told me that if i say the statement she asked me to say in court the we will be able to save you.....and i agreed to her because at that time i wanted nothing more than to save you.....but at the time of giving my statement i hesitated...because i knew you have some major issues with your mother...but i did not know them....tumne mujhe kabhi bataya nahi about your issues with your mom....so i thought may be there is a misunderstanding between you two....i din't know whom to trust...with all these in my head i just gave the statement which came in my mind....and trust me manik i regretted it the second it came out of my mouth....i tried to talk with you....to tell you my side of story...but you never listened...but still i came after you....you know why....because I LOVE YOU...."the moment she said this the whole canteen was filled with gasps....but the one who was shocked the most was manik....because though they acknowledged about their fellings for each other...they never named their feeling.....and now seeing nandini confess her feeling to him shocked him to the core....

" yes manik....I LOVE YOU....but once again you proved me that we are nothing but toxic to each other....we only bring out the worst in each other.....we are not ment to be manik....this will be the last time we are meeting  each other....isliye i want to thank you....thank you manik for making me experience true love.....even though it was for a short period of time.....than you for making me realise that humesha and forever sirf fairy tales and books main hi possible hai....real life main such kind of things don't exist....thank you so much" saying this she walked out of S.P.A.C.E and also his life....while the whole canteen was filled with silence....listening to nandini's outburst shocked manik to the core....he became numb not able to process the information.....not able to bear it any more he finally walked out of the canteen and settled in his car....and left in the direction of his house.....

fab4 were still standing in the canteen in a trance....but they eventually came out of their trance seeing manik walk out....they wanted to follow manik...but decided to give him some time to handle himself and meet him tomorrow in his house....with this they moved to their respective houses.....

murthy house.....

after reaching her home....nandini went to her room packed her stuff and informed chacha chachi that she is leaving to see amms.... after getting permission....she decided to call navya to inform about her decision.....but seeing the time she decided to send her a message not wanting to disturb her sleep....she messaged her about her leaving for manglore to her amms place and asked her not to inform her whereabouts to anyone......with this she left to reach airport.....

malhotra mansion.....

here after reaching his room manik started destroying every thing present in his room....finally after vandalizing his room he settled on the floor leaning his head against the bed staring lifelessly in his hand....where there was a star lamp gifted by his star....the only light in the room was provided by the lamp.....the remaining was just covered in darkness just like his life......

" why? i should be happy right....after what she has done to me....i wanted to see her in pain....lekin jab she was in pain that too all because of me....why does it hurt so much....today seeing her hurt...usse kayi zyada dard mujhe ho raha tha.....aaj jab she confessed to me that she loves me i was on cloud9....i was dying to hear this....but now jab she confessed....main use keh bhi nahi paya about how happy i was.....only i know how i stopped myself from confessing to her then and there....kal tak to sab kuch perfect tha....we were happy....and then suddenly hamare beech itni dooriyan aagaye ki ab hum chah ke bhi paas nahi aa sakte....par kya main sahi tha...aaj after listening to her...aisa kyu lag raha hai ki i am missing something...was she right all along....." thought manik staring at the lamp.....

NEXT day....

mangalore..4.3oam....

amms was completing her early morning riyaz....and that time the door bell rang....she moved to open the door....she opened the door only to witness her granddaughter with a bag in her hand....

seeing her nandu after so long amms was pleasantly surprised....while nandu after seeing her amms hugged her tightly trying to hide her self in her embrace away from all the pain.....here amms thought that her nandu must have missed her....

" kya hua kanna....apne amms ko miss kiya kya.....agar itna hi miss kiya to phele hi aajati...apne amms ke paas...." amms spoke lovingly....but nandini only tightened her grip around her amms....now amms understood that there was some other reason why her nandu came to her....after all she knew her nandu more than anyone....so she decided to leave the matter as she knew her kanna will tell her soon.....after breaking the hug she sent nandini to rest for some time as she will be tired from her journey....

here nandini after reaching her room broke down into tears....not able to hold it in anymore....the whole day she stayed in her room crying her heart out....

outside amms was hell worried...as her nandu had not left her room since morning and now it was night....worring for her health as she had not eaten any thing since she came....amms moved to nandini's room with a glass of warm milk....

she decided to knock on the door but seeing the door open...she entered inside only to witness her worst nightmare come true....her nandu were sobbing badly....seeing her once happy grand daughter in such a broken state brought tears to her eyes....but she decided to be strong for her kanna....

" nandu" amms whispered lovingly...." kanna kya mumbai main kuch hua kya....apne amms ko nahi bataogi...." that was it for nandini she ran and hugged her amms and started crying badly....pouring out all her pain...and all amms could do was hug her tight.... pat her head and whisper soothing word to her.....

after an hour of crying when amms found that she was a little better now .....she finally broke the hug and went and sat on the bed and patted her lap as if asking nandini to lay on her lap....nandini quietly laid on her amms lap.....

seeing amms questioning eyes...nandini finally took a deep breath and started narrating whatever happened till she reaturned mangalore....while amms was not able to believe that her kanna had to go through every thing alone....she felt a sudden hatred for manik as he was responsible for nandu's condition....that moment all amms wanted to do was hunt manik down and punish him for hurting her kanna......

" kanna ye sab sunne ke baad main sirf itna keh sakti hoon ki i am proud of you....i am proud of you ki tumne apne self respect keliye stand liya....apne parents keliye stand liya.....you did the right thing by standing for yourself..... main sirf itna keh sakti hoon ki agar manik aur tumhara saath rehna likha hai to you will get together....lekin agar nahi hai to hum chahe kuch bhi karle we cannot stop it from happening.....main jaanti hoon ki tum bohot hurt ho....lekin apne aap ko thoda time do... time will hear all your wounds...." amms spoke loving and gave her the glass of milk....after that she sat there caressing her hair.....affter making sure that she slept...amms left the room quietly.....

after coming out of the room she saw a servent coming towards her....

" kya hua rama....tum yaha kya kar rahe ho"asked amms....

" vo darasal amma koi aap se milne aya hai" uttered rama.....

" mujhse milne....lekin iss waqt kaun ho sakta hai" amms thought...." kaun hai" amms asked rama....

"pata nahi lekin usne apna naam MANIK MALHOTRA bola hai..."said rama obediently.....

but his words shocked amms to the core......

malhotra mansion....

manik's room.....

(at the same time when nandini came to mangalore)

fab4 entered the room only to witness manik in that position staring at the lamp in his hand....they all gasped seeing manik in such a state....even mukti and aliya were shocked as they never saw manik in such a vulnerable state..the only thought that came in their mind was was nandini that important to manik ...listening the noise manik lifted his head to see a shocked fab4.....

cabir saw manik's eyes which were lifeless....after nandini came in his life his friend's eyes would always shine with happiness....but now his face was devoid of any emotion...but his eyes were screaming  with pain....his eyes clearly showed how broken he was....cabir not able to control any more hugged manik tightly......

" cabir bring nandini back to me....i-i don't care if she was right or wrong any more....i n-need h-h-her....i can't li-live without her...." cried manik hugging him....tears welled up in cabir's eyes seeing his friends condition....

" manik...why are you crying for her...she does not deserve you"said mukti....but unknowingly even she started feeling guilty for abusing nandini yesterday.....

" really mukti...after listening her outburst yesterday....do you really think she was wrong....whatever happened  she was not the sole person responsible for it....manik is equally responsible....agar manik wouldn't have broken her trust....she wouldn't have turned so insecure....agar tum uske jagah hoti to wouldn't you have done the same...." questioned dhruv frustrated....

" and not to forget she did not know about manik's relation with his mother....all her life she had only seen happy families around her....toh how would she have know ki niyonika can stoop so low to harm her son....kyuki manik has never told her anything...." said cabir staring manik.....trying to make him realise that whatever happened was not because of nandini alone...even manik was responsible for it.....

here after listening to every thing manik finally realised that.....both of them were at fault....he realised that he was the reason why nandini had to face so much...he was the reason of her insecurities....he was the reason of her broken trust....he was the reason of her pain.....after realising this he wanted nothing more than to find nandini and apologise to her....he wanted to get back with her...he wanted nothing more than to make things right between them.....

listening to cabir both mukti and aliya were feeling guilty of accusing her....because they realized she was no where at fault.....but they still did not want to agree her relation with manik as they thought she was the reason why fab5 was drifting apart......

" cabir i know jo tumne kaha it is true....and i genuinely feel guilty for hurting nandini....but she is the one because of whom fab5 is drifting apart" said aliya voicing out her thoughts.....

before cabir could reply they heard a voice from the door....

"no you are wrong aliya.....nandini is not the reason why fab5 is drifting apart....in fact she is the reason why you are still together..." a person said walking inside.....

"matlab....what are you saying navya..."asked mukti not able to understand navya's words.....

YES that person was navya.....who after reading her best friend's message came to manik's house to confront him.....after listening to  fab5's words she decide to go back as they din't deserve to know the truth....but after listening to aliya she decided to say the truth as she can't see her best friend getting accused for something she had not done.....

" matlab ye hai mukti ki she is the reason why fab5 is still together.....tumhe pata hai mr.khurana ne nandini ko threaten kiya tha to leave manik and go away from mumbai....other wise he will take the album deal he gave you back....bas itna hi nahi he even said that agar nandini will not leave toh he will destroy fab5's career....nandini knew how much this deal was important for all of you....she knew how much fab5 means to manik....isliye she decided to leave manik....she decide to sacrifice her love for your friendship....do you people still think nandini is the reason why you people are drifting apart..."confessed navya with tears in her eyes remembering the pain her best friend had to go through.....

by the time she finshed all the people present in the room were crying....aliya and mukti were crying bitterly feeling extremely guilty for hurting such an innocent soul....they now realised the sin they committed.....they wanted to beg for forgiveness from nandini....but there was one soul who was silent after listening the whole truth it was manik.....

cabir not able to see the silent manik....urged him to say something....finally manik turned to cabir and said "kya bolu cabir....itna sab kuch mere samne ho raha that aur mujhe kuch pata nahi chala....nandini...she protected me....m-my star...s-s-she shined for me....not only for me but even for my friends...but maine kya kiya....i-i broke her....s-she was the one jisne mujhe darkness se bahar nikala...aur meine kya kiya....i pushed h-her into the same darkness....you know cabir when i first saw her...her eyes they were filled with hope and positivity.....lekin i snatched her hope.....i-i failed to protect her....i failed to love her....i failed her cabir...i failed..." saying this manik broke down into tears.....

here mukti and aliya reached manik still crying....." manik.... i am sorry....pls forgive me....we know the sin we committed uske liye one sorry is not enough...but we are willing to do anything to earn it" said mukti wiping her tears....

manik looked at them and said in a whisper " any thing"

aliya wiped her tears and said in a tone of determination to mend her mistake" yes manik....we will do any thing to get yours and nandini's forgiveness......

" thik hai i will only forgive you...if you bring nandini back to me...." said manik his eyes for pleading to bring her back.....it was as if lost all his hope of getting back with her....it was as if he was on the verge of giving up.....

"buddy you can't give up like that...jiss manik ko main janta hoon...he does not give up this easily.....it's your chance buddy bring nandini back....get back with her....don't let her go...." said dhruv wanting manik to fight for nandini.....after listening to dhruv navya decide to tell them that nandini left mumbai....but she did not want to tell them her whereabouts as she felt manik doesn't deserve to know.....

" koi faida nahi hai dhruv....nandini mumbai chod ke jaa chuki hai.....and mujhe nahi pata vo kaha gayi....bas itna pata hai ki wo chali gayi...." said navya......all were felling dissapointed as they don't know where nandini was....but manik wiped his tears and walked towards navya....his eyes were filled with determination....

" i know ki tumhe pata hai nandini kaha gayi....but tum kehna nahi chahti ho"manik said..... navya was surprised as to how he got to know.....

"jaha tak main nandini ko janta hoon i know she is not the one who leaves a friend in the middle....so i know she must have informed you about her wherebouts" said manik with a shine in his eyes as he was talking about his nandini.....

" agar itna hi jante the tho....you should't have broke her so badly" said navya bitterly....just as she uttered these words the shine in manik's eyes became dull....

" i know that whatever happened....broke nandini badly....and isliye you want to protect her by keeping her away from me....but navya no matter what me and nandini...we both need each other....i know she is hurt by me....lekin main ye bhi jaanta hoon ki i am the one who can heal her....just like she is the only one who can heal me......tum chahti ho na ki your bestfriend should be with you like she used to...toh please give me a chance...i can't live without her...i can't....." cried manik....but his eyes still showed how determined he was....

" why do you want to get her back....agar tumne usse firse chod diya toh" navya asked hesitantly....

" i want to find her because...i love her.....aur rahi baat usse firse chod ne ki.....then this time i will not leave her ever....she is my soul....after staying away from her i realized i can't survive without her" said manik wiping his tears....his eyes showed that his words were honest...so navya decided to give him the address...as she too wanted her bestfriend back....and she knew it will be possible only if manik heals her......

after taking the address manik left to mangalore alone....even though fab4 wanted to go with him....they realized that it would be better for manan to solve their problems first.....

murthy house.....

amms opened the door the door to find manik standing there.....all the anger that she suppressed came back to her and she blasted on manik.....

" tum...tumhari itni himmat....jo kuch bhi tumne mere nandu ke saath kiya uske baad tum yatak chaley aaye....aur kitna hurt karoge meri kanna ko" amms shouted....

"amms wo" manik tried to say some thing but was cut off by amms....

" tumhari himmat kaise hui mujhe amms bulane ki....wo sirf mere grandchildren ka hak hai...." amms spoke in anger....

"pls ek baar meri baat suniye...main jaanta hoon ki maine apki grand daughter ko bohot hurt kiya lekin....main uskeliye bohot guilty feel kar raha hoon....plz give me one chance...main sirf ek bar nandini se baat karna chahta hoon" urged manik almost begging her to give him a chance....

seeing him like that melted amms a little....but just as she was about to give him a chance....her grand daughter's suffering flashed infront of her eyes....

" ghar jao manik...." amms said and was about to close the door on his face.....but stopped listening to his voice....

"kaisa ghar amms...she is my only home....and jab tak you don't give me a chance i will wait outside only" said manik not wanting to give up yet

amms decided to see how far he can go for her grand daughter so she closed the door...and left to her room.....

in the middle of the night amms woke up due to thunder and saw that her window was open...she went to close the window only to see manik standing leaning on to his car....and shivering as it was raining heavily.....amms stared at the boy in disbelief.....she called rama and said him to send the boy home....and then went to sleep.....

next day....

amms woke up and after doing her daily routine she opened the door to see manik sleeping on the steps of her house....she was shocked to see that and called rama to inquire why he was still there....

" rama maine tumhe kaha tha isse ghar jane ko bolne keliye...to ye abhi bhi yaha kya kar raha hai" amms asked him sternly

" wo amma maine inhe bola jane ko....lekin iss ne suna nahi" rama said afraid of amma's anger....

after listening to rama...amms realized that manik truly loves her nandu....she could now see the depth of his love...his sincerity.....his determination.....and she finally decided to give him a chance.....

she went near manik to wake him up.....

amms said while shaking manik lightly" manik...manik wake up"......

after listening to amms voice manik woke up with a jerk...." amms wo.." stammered manik....

but amms cut him off once again and said" pehle freshup ho jao....phir baat karenge"then she turned to rama and ordered...." rama ise guest room dhika do"

saying this she went inside.......

in living room.....

after freshening up manik came to the living room and settled on the chair infront of amms.....

" amms main janta hoon ki.....maine bohot badi galati ki hai...lekin main apni galati sudharna chahta hoon....main nandini se maafi mangna chahta hoon....i can't live without her amms....i want to heal her....i want to bring her back in my life....plz give me one chance to talk to nandini...if she still did not agree then main kabhi usse disturb nahi karunga....but plz give me one chance...." manik pleaded.....

"mujhe pata hai tumne jo bhi kiya tum uss keliye guilty ho....main ye bhi jaanti hoon ki tum meri nandu se saccha pyaar karte ho....iss liye main tumhe aakrhi chance dena chahti hoon...lekin iss baar agar tumne meri nandu ko hurt kiya to i will not leave you" warned amms looking towards manik....but their conversation was interrupted by the most important person of both their lives...NANDINI....

"manik....tum yaha...amms aapne ise andar kyu aane diya...."shouted nandini.....

she went towards manik to drag him outside but was stopped by amms....before nandini could protest amms asked rama to lead manik towards garden and said to manik that nandini will join him in a while.....

after manik left with rama nandini uttered"why" she was not able to understand how come amms wanted to give him a chance.....when she was clearly so furious yesterday....amms smiled at her and explained everything that happened yesterday....

" nandu...tumhari amms hoon main...tumhare liye kabhi galat nahi chahungi....lekin kal jab i saw manik his determination forced me to give him a chance....tum dono ka pyar saccha hai....aaj kalke zamane main sachha pyar sirf kuch logo ko hi milta hai...you both are lucky to have experienced it...tum log kafi young ho....you will make mistakes in the future....lekin ek misunderstanding ki wajah se iss pyaar ko mat khona...baki tumhari marzi....." saying this amms patted nandini's head lovingly and left from there.....

here after listening to amms...... nandini in a trance started to move towards garden....by the time her trance broke she noticed she was in front of manik....she finally decided to hear him out.....

" ab kya bolna chahte ho manik...din't you hurt me enough" nandini questioned with pain in her voice....

" mafi mangna chahta hoon..." manik answered....

" why....jab sab kuch khatam ho gaya hai...to ab kyu aaye ho"nandini asked....

" kuch khatam nahi hua hai...i want you back in my life" manik answered.....

" kyu...." nandini asked....

" because I LOVE YOU" manik answered causing nandini to stare at him with tears flowing eyes.....with this manik bend down on his knees and forwarded his hand to nandini....while she was staring at  him with tears  but her eyes showed the amount of love she has for him....

" haan nandini...i love you...i love you very much....jo kuch bhi hua i know i was at fault too...maine tumhe hurt kiya....i broke your heart....i was the one who broke your trust....i was the one who broke you....i am the one who does not deserve you....but plz give me one chance to heal you...i finally realized ki i can survive without fab5 but i can never live with out you....i want to heal you...i want to be by your side for the rest of my life....i want to convert the amount of saddness given by me into happiness...i want to protect you just like you protected me till now....i want to know you like no other person knows you not even yourself taki hamare beech kabhi koyi misunderstanding na ho ....i want to make you my princess...i want to pamper you like your dad used to do....i want to take care of you like your mother...and finally i want to love you like you deserve to be loved" confessed manik with all the love he has for her....in that moment nandini knew that the person in front of her will never hurt her again....his eyes spoke his guilt....but it also showed his love....

"  tume kaha tha na that you are not a perfect girl....but you forgot even i am not perfect....main to shayad is duniya ka sabse messed up insaan hoon....still you fell in love with me even after knowing my flaws...after you came in my life i made peace with my inner demons....we silence each others inner demons....you are not toxic to me....but a blessing...." manik spoke clearing her insecurities....

"so nandini murthy....will you be my better half....will you give me a chance to heal you....will you give me a chance to prove to you ki hamesha and forever sirf fairy tales main nahi balki real world main bhi possible hai.....will you give our humesha a chance...will you? " manik asked earnestly....while all nandini could do was give her hand in his while nodding to him with happy tears flowing through her eyes....

manik smiled brightly and got up on his feet...he wiped her tears and kissed her forehead to seal their forever....

in that one moment both manik and nandini felt their hamesha coming true for them...even though they still have a long way to go...they decided to fight all their hurdles together....

                                   ........................................................................................

thank you for reading my story.....

i hope you liked it....

with love...

Devils_symphony...