~Love blossomed, when they fought the hatred around them~

-Affu-

In India

At MruNi's 

In the Kitchen

"And he's alive?" Nandini's eyes widened, in horror, while staring at her best friend's red face. "Yes! Unfortunately, though!" Mrunal gritted her teeth, while replying, and Nandini scrunched up her face, in annoyance.

"How could you let him go, Mruno?! For hell's sake, he was a walking-talking time bomb." Nandini threw her hands in air, and Mrunal scowled at it. "He freaking called me an attention seeker, when all I did was to dash into him."  Mrunal started to cut the vegetables with vengeance.

"Hadd hothi hain. Yaani, you dashed into him. But touch tho uske taraf se bhi hua na?" Nandini exclaimed. "Aur waise bhi touch karne keliye wo kya Tom cruise hai!" Mrunal supported Nandini's remark, who bobbed her head at it.

"Waise Mruno! What if he was some mental patient who ran out of his ward?" Nandini asked, and Mrunal blinked. "Nahi rey! It can't be. He was well-dressed. You can't expect a patient to roam around in a business suit." Mrunal replied, and Nandini rubbed at her chin, with her fingers.

"I've heard that some hospital authorities are good with mental patients. What if it was this guy's anthim khwaish to be well dressed?" Nandini pointed out, and Mrunal's eyes widened. "Anthim khwaish?" she cried out, and Nandini nodded.

"That's what I heard one of your patient say when I asked him what he wants to be in life. His anthim khwaish is to be your husband." Nandini said, and Mrunal rolled her eyes at it. "He had a crush on me, but I didn't. He didn't give me my kind of prince charming vibes."

"Your kind of prince charming vibes?" Nandini asked, before adding, "Too talkative, always grinning, always eating chips, always having cold drinks. Ithne ajeeb traits koi insaan mein nahi, balki koi janwar mein hoga." Nandini commented, and Mrunal glared up at her.

"You're jealous that I'm going to have a beautiful future." Mrunal commented, and Nandini rolled her eyes before making chapatti rolls, out of the dough. "Yeah right! Aise bol rahi hai jaise ki Dwayne Johnson se shadi karne wali hai." Nandini muttered, and Mrunal shrugged.

"Better than your Johnson." Mrunal muttered, and Nandini snorted. "Of course. Whoever comes in dreams is better than the reality." She muttered out loud, only for Mrunal to curse at her.

DING DONG

"Who must be now?" Mrunal frowned, and so did Nandini. "Maybe it's the time bomb. Koi nahi, aaj usko MruNi ke taraf se dinner milega." Nandini answered, before picking the rolling pin, and walking out of the kitchen, followed by an excited Mrunal behind.

"Welcome to dieday, time bomb!" Nandini opened the door, with her rolling pin in the hand, ready to attack. "Aye shucks! Ye tho sweetened milky bar nikla yaar!" Mrunal whined, but Nandini has already thrown the rolling pin away, before jumping on the person, for a tight hug.

"Cad!" she screamed, delighted, while Cadbury held onto Nandini, stumbling backwards in shock. "Nan! I'm tripping. I'm tripping. Oh God! Mru! Help me." Cadbury cried out, and Mrunal rolled her eyes before pulling Nandini away from Cadbury, who held onto the wall for support.

"Who welcomes people with rolling pin and offer death wish, Nan!" Cadbury yelped, while massaging his hip, for it was bent hardly when Nandini jumped on him.

"Awe, Cad. I missed you so much." and this time, it was both Nandini and Mrunal who hugged him, tight. He let out a chuckle, before hugging them back. "I missed my girls, too." he replied, breaking the hug.

"Why don't you stop surprising us and just give us a call one day stating, yo girls, Imma be there with ya today!" Nandini suggested, and Cadbury sighed out loud. "Or you could also give us a text stating, yo female puppies, let's dine together today. And we'll understand you're coming." Mrunal suggested, and Cadbury faked a grin.

"Oh how much I missed these conversations between us!" he faked an exclamatory comment, and the girls stared at him blankly.

"Don't pretend. You look like a freak when you do that." Nandini warned, and he just let out another sigh.

"Oh forget it! Come on, let's take you to your room." Mrunal said, excitingly and Nandini dragged Cadbury along, to the only room, in the downstairs, where Cadbury going to stay.

"And you're going to be freak-shocked." Nandini exclaimed, before opening the door, and like said, he was either freaked out or shocked.

"What the!" he stared at the room, in disbelief, without blinking, while the girls just smirked at their victory against Cadbury Willers!

Next Day

In Malhotra Mansion

Manik's Room

"Maaanikkk!" Raj barged inside Manik's bedroom, without knocking, only to witness his son combing his hair, and then jumping in surprise on getting to see an intruder in his room.

"Dad! You could have knocked at the door. I just finished dressing up. What if you had come a littler earlier than now and witnessed me changing my clothes?!" Manik exclaimed, but Raj looked panicked.

"I have seen you way better than the image you just popped in my mind, when you were a kid. So stop whining." Raj chided, and Manik stared at his father, blankly. "I was a kid back then. Not now." Manik remarked, and Raj showed his mobile to Manik.

"You see this? 152 missed calls." Raj cried out, and Manik read the caller ID. "They are from Shekhar Uncle. Why aren't you answering to any of his calls, Dad?" Manik stared at his father, frowning.

"Answer his calls? What am I going to tell him? It's been only a few days since his Shona has come to India, and this is the first time we're gonna talk, after me knowing about her identity. What will I tell him? He doesn't even know I know the truth and hiding it from him." Raj started to panic, and Manik watched his father, amused.

"Dad! Why are you freaking out for a simple issue? You can just talk as if nothing happened, right?" Manik suggested, and Raj glared at him. "I don't hide anything from my best friend." Raj stated, and Manik's face was marred with understanding.

"Oh! Ab kya kare? If you don't attend his calls, then he might get worried for you." Manik pointed out, and Raj bobbed his head. "I have 300+ messages too." Raj stated, and Manik palmed his face.

"Dad! It's better if you try hiding, this one time. Warna Shekhar uncle shayad India aayega aapse milne keliye." said Manik, and Raj sighed. "You think so?" he said, before his eyes widening.

"Why don't I call Nandini!" Raj exclaimed, and Manik shook his head. "She doesn't like lying to her father. That's why she's more than guilty for whatever she's doing now. I don't think we should push her to lie, when she's already lying so much to him." Manik suggested, and Raj stared at his son's face for a while.

"I know that my son cares for everyone, par yaha kuch alag dikh raha hai mujhe. Koi chakkar vakkar tho nahi beta, mere best friend ki beti ke saath?(But I'm seeing something different. You're not having anything romantic with my best friend's daughter, right?)" Raj squinted his eyes at Manik, whose eyes widened. "What? No way, Dad. You know me well." Manik denied the accusation, and Raj just nodded at him.

"Than I'm going to call her and ask what to do. She'll give me an ide about it." said Raj. "Fine. I'll give you her number." Manik moved to get his mobile. 

"Not required." said Raj, and Manik turned to find Raj making a call, and putting it on speaker mode. "You have her number?" asked Manik, and Raj nodded. "Of course, I do. We got along well to exchange contact numbers." Raj replied, and Manik stared at his father, amused.

"Nandini Murthy impressed Raj Malhotra too." Manik muttered to himself, in surprise.

"Hello! Murthy here! Whoever it is, make it fast." said Nandini, and both the men stared at each other nodding their heads, as if they were expecting the same.

"Malhotra here, Murthy sahiba." Raj replied. "I know a lot of Malhotras. Who among those certain sanskari Malhotras are you?" asked Nandini, and Raj stared at his mobile in distaste, while Manik chuckled lightly. 

"Kal hi tho baath kiya humne, little one. And you forgot my voice so easily?" Raj cribbed, and that halted Manik's chuckles. His eyebrows crooked together mouthing Little One!

"Grand Pa!" they heard a delighted scream, deafening Raj and Manik.

"Little one!" "Lilliput!" they screamed, and she stopped.

"Did I just hear Lilliput too?" she asked, and Manik rubbed his ears with his fingers. "Yes, because I'm still alive and standing near to your grandpa." said Manik, and Nandini rolled her eyes, from the other side.

"Subah subah grumpy coffee ke aawaz sunna pada mujhe. Aaj mere ek caesarean hain, and you spoiled the energy in me, with your horrendous voice." Nandini complained, and Manik rolled his eyes.

"When did you get pregnant? We're just in a fake relationship, Nandini." Manik teased, and Nandini sighed. Raj's jaws fell open, while staring at his son, in shock. 

"Awe, you forgot boyfriend? You held my hand yesterday, and according to new scientific research, holding hand leads to pregnancy." Nandini answered, faking sweetness in her voice, and Manik glared at Raj's mobile, as if he could see her.

While poor Raj stared at the duo, dumbfounded.

"Really? Then this should have been your second or third pregnancy. Because that was not the first time I held your hand." Manik commented sarcastically. "Nahi. Those times, you didn't touch my hand romantically, so it didn't happen, unlike yesterday." Nandini commented, and Manik opened his mouth to give her a reply.

"Shut up!" Raj screamed. "What the hell were you guys talking about? I'm your father, Manik. Sharam kar!" Raj screamed again, and Manik pointed at the former's mobile. "She started it." he complained. "And I was just being myself, Grandpa." Nandini too replied, leading Raj to sigh.

"I called her to solve my problem!" Raj muttered to himself. "What problem?" asked Nandini.

"Your Appa called him about 150 times, and he didn't receive the calls." Manik answered her question. "Whaaaat? Appa must be taking the next flight to reach you, by now." said Nandini and Manik gaped at the phone, before staring at Raj, who was smirking at his son.

"Yeah, somebody said the same." Raj commented, and Manik stared at him blankly. "How am I going to answer his calls when I can't hide anything from him and I'm supposed to hide about your presence in India, Nandini?!" Raj complained, dejectedly.

"Simple jawab hai mere paas. You just listen to whatever he speaks. He's calling you to take care of me." said Nandini, and the men's eyes zoomed in, on the mobile. "What?" they asked.

"I told Appa that I'm in India." she confessed, giving a heart attack to both Raj and Manik.

"Are you kidding me?!" Mnaik cried out, and she sighed. "Too much of freaking out, since last night. I don't have time to kid with you, grumpy coffee. Uskeliye mein tumhara office aathi hun kabhi aur din. Filhal ye jaan lo. Grandpa can answer Appa's calls, because I told him that I'm in India and he wants to ask his best friend to take care of me. He also wants his best friend to make sure that I don't meet his Appa, no matter what." said Nandini, before getting in her car.

"Now, I'll cut the call. It's Appa's time to phone me. Bye Grandpa. Bye Grumpy coffee wala. Miss me. And yeah, Appa doesn't know that I have met Malhotras." And she hung up the call, leaving two distressed souls.

"Why does she always end the call without bothering to hear my reply?!" Manik complained to himself, while Raj sat rooted, not knowing what to do.

*** 

"I still can't believe that Shekhar Uncle didn't mind you being in India." said Manik, for umpteenth time, while Nandini looked around, munching on her sandwich.

"He should have asked you to return to London, rather than letting you stay here. Ye karishma kaise hua?!" Manik wondered out loud. 

"Huh? Karishma? Isn't that some bollywood actress' name?" asked Nandini, while giving her attention to Manik, who stared at her blankly.

"That's also a word we use for miracle, in Hindi." said Manik, and Nandini scrunched up her face. "Tum log logonko aise naam kyu dethe ho, when it's also used as a noun or verb? Yaani, keep some names like mine or yours, which isn't used as a noun or verb while talking." Nandini suggested, and Manik faked a grin.

"Jaise ki Hindi dictionary mene likha hai, kyun!" he remarked sarcastically, before munching on his chicken steak in the plate, using his fork and knife.

"Had you been an author of Hindi dictionary, people wouldn't have words to use. Jo insaan 24 hours mein sirf 1 ghanta baath kartha hai, uske paas words kaha se milega jo dictionary likh sakthe hai!" she stated, and he looked at her, shooting daggers through his eyes, which she ignored.

"Oh my God! She's here." Nandini whispered, before looking down in her plate, and keeping her eyes up. Manik followed her gaze, only to stop at a woman, whose existence doesn't please Manik or any other Malhotra.

"Lilliput! Do you even know who she is?" asked Manik, and Nandini looked up at him, who was glaring at the woman. "Don't you know, Manik?" she asked, and he sighed.

"If you don't know her in person, then it's better you don't mingle with her. Jo bhi wajah ho, don't be with her." he said, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Why? What's wrong if I stick around my Appa's ex fiance?" she asked, and his eyes widened.

"Mathlab you know?" he cried out, and Nandini palmed his mouth, before looking at the woman's table, where she's seated with a man, opposite to her.

"Shh! I know you love to shout till your lungs feel exhausted and think of belonging to someone else, but that doesn't mean you ruin my plan, as well." Nandini chided, and Manik took her palm back, but kept it in his hands.

"You freaking know about your father's ex fiance?" he asked, whispering and she bobbed her head. "And you don't mind seeing her in front of you?" he asked, frowning. "Why should I? She's just an ex fiance for whom my Appa didn't have any kind of feelings. I can proudly say that my Ma was, is and will always be the only woman in my Appa's life." said Nandini, and Manik let out a sigh.

"You mean, you know the entire story as well." he said, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Ma brought me up, narrating her childhood, Appa's family, and their friends." she replied, and he smiled at it, unaware of his hold on her hand.

"So why are we here?" his gaze moved towards the woman's table, and Nandini smirked. She took her hands from his hold and fished out a pair of earbuds from her handbag, gaining his attention, and plugged it in her mobile, and pressed one bud in her right ear, and passed the other bud to Manik, who took it from her.

"Iska kya karna hai?" he asked, frowning, and Nandini stared at him, before pushing the bud in his left ear. "Isthmaal karna hain." she replied, sarcastically.

"Lilliput!" he scowled, but then she shushed him while keeping her finger on her lips, and his concentration moved to that particular pair of lips. He gulped and looked away.

"Stop being a pervert, Manik!" he slapped himself, while Nandini was busy looking for one particular waiter. She grinned on seeing a waiter approaching the woman's table, where he kept the food tray.

"Grumpy coffee! Action!" she whispered, and his attention moved back to her, when they heard a voice in their ears.

"That was so sweet of you, Mr. Mittal." a sultry voice was heard, and Manik's eyes widened on hearing an unknown voice in his ears. "Ye over-sweetened buttery voice kiska hain?" asked Manik.

"Boyfriend machine ke aawaz hain." Nandini replied, and Manik stared at her weirdly. "What? Boyfriend what?" he asked, and Nandini glared at him. "Shush Coffee! Let me listen." 

"I'm so happy that I could meet such an awesome personality." the woman's voice was heard again, and they saw the woman at the table keeping her hand on the man's hand.

Manik's eyes widened!

"Lill--Lilliput. That's--that's Mrs. Reddy's voice." said Manik, and Nandini bobbed her head. "Happy very late realization, Grumpy coffee." said Nandini, showing a thumbs up to him.

"How the hell are we hearing her?" cried out Manik, and Nandini pointed at their earbuds, and then at the woman's table. "There's a microphone in their food tray, which is attached to my mobile. Hence, we can hear their voices." Nandini replied, without taking her eyes off the woman and man.

"You are listening to Shagun Reddy's secret conversation with some man!" Manik exclaimed, before tugging the earbud properly in his ears. "This is so cool." Manik added, before grinning, and Nandini threw a look to him, before looking back at Shagun and the man.

"I never knew you were..into me, Mrs. Reddy." the man's pride filled voice could be heard, and Nandini stared at him. "Do you think any sane woman would want to do mushy touchy body contact with an old man like him who thinks he's another Tom Cruise, who may be old but looks fine? Boyfriend machine tho door ki baath hai, on seeing how well sculpted she is." Nandini remarked, and Manik's jaws fell open in shock.

"Lilliput! You seriously talk like whatever you say is nothing." Manik scolded Nandini, who looked up at him. "What wrong did I say? He's an oldie and she's one fine woman, in terms of beauty only. That's a fact, Grumpy coffee." she replied, and he smacked in his head, before looking back at Shagun and the man.

"You don't say that to a person, so openly. Especially if it's about a woman, to a man." he said, and she stared at him, giggling. "This is why I call you sanskari." she said, and he glared at her.

"I've been wanting to spend some time with you, for a while." said Shagun, and they saw her caressing the man's hands. Manik and Nandini stared at them, ready to puke.

"That lady is married!" Manik exclaimed, in disgust. "You didn't know or what? She's even produced a carbon copy of herself." Nandini stated, and Manik looked at her, in surprise.

"You know about her son too?" he asked, and she nodded. "Rudy Bhayyu and Karan Bhayyu wrote that kid's biography." Nandini replied. "He's not a kid. He's as old as Dhruv and Cabir." Manik corrected her, and she nodded.

"A guy who doesn't have his own character, but following his mother's commands and her footpath is no man, but a kid." Nandini commented. "Haven't you seen kids, Grumpy coffee? They prefer their mother over anyone else, and do what she does. Boyfriend machine's son is still in that age." she added, and Manik stared at her blankly for a second, before chuckling out.

"I'm impressed with that comment for him." Manik said, and Nandini smiled at it. "Seems like you don't like that kid." she said, and he showed a thumbs up to her.

"This is the copy of our agreement. The deal is..Reddy's." the man said, and held Shagun's hand. "But you do know what I want in return, right?" he asked, and Shagun smirked, before leaning. "Why don't we talk about that in my farmhouse?" she suggested, and the man nodded eagerly.

"Decided. We're meeting tonight, then." she said, and paid the bill, before gettin up, followd by the man.

"Yikes!" Manik and Nandini commented. "Grumpy coffee, chal. I need a picture." she pulled Manik up and rushed behind Shagun and the man.

"Waha se kyu nahi liya picture? They wouldn't have noticed us." Manik whispered, while standing behind Nandini, who was trying to take a picture of Shagun and the man.

They were in the parking lot.

"Because that was a public place. People could see us capturing their picture." she said, and he stared down at her. "You seem to be so experienced in this case." he commented, and she nodded. "I have ruined many badboys' lives." she replied, and he chuckled.

"I can imagine." he said, and Nandini clicked a picture of Shagun getting kissed on her cheek, by the man, before she got inside her car and drove out of the parking lot, followed by the man in his car.

"That was gross!" Manik commented, staring at the picture. "Tabhi tho hame chahiye ye." she said and looked up at him. "What are you going to do with this?" he asked, and she grinned.

"Before meeting Shamishti Murthy, in the future, Mr. Yashjeet Murthy has to know that he chose a dummy over a real diamond in the past. He should know the meaning of repentance." Manik looked down at Nandini, with eyes softened. But before he could speak more, he saw a security guard moving towards their direction.

"Come!" he whispered to Nandini, before pulling her along and pushing her behind a pillar with him hovering over her. "Wha-" Nandini began only for Manik to palm her mouth. "That guard is coming to our direction. Be quiet." he whispered, and she nodded. 

The guard left on not finding anyone, relieving both Manik and Nandini. They looked at each other, and realized that their position was nothing but intimate. Manik removed his palm away from her mouth, while she looked around, tucking her hair strands behind her ears.

"Chalein?" she asked, clearing her throat, and he nodded, before they moved towards his car.

"Waise, you don't like Yash Daadu, don't you?" he asked, once they got inside the car and she looked up at him.

"I never did." she replied, and he nodded. "He did give you a reason for disliking him, but Lilliput, he's good at heart." said Manik, igniting the engine, and she looked out of the window.

"Everyone is good at heart, Grumpy coffee. The situations make them bad, disgusting or cruel. We don't dislike or hate them, until they hurt the ones we love. And he hurt my parents. Especially, my Ma. Being a man, you wouldn't understand the pain of a woman, who was never accepted by her husband's family, when she never had a family of her own, ever in her life." Nandini said, and she felt his hand slipping with her right hand.

He didn't say anything else. Just held onto her hand, and she realized that he's here to stand by her side.

And she gave in. She gripped his hand tight, while he entwined their fingers, silently conveying to her that she's never alone.

Love blossoms only if there's no space between a couple, and Manik and Nandini have crossed that stage!

***

Hey guys! How was the chapter?

I'm so sorry I didn't post a chapter on last Saturday, and it's going to be 2 weeks since I updated last. But I had exams, and I'm going to have exam next week too. I have assignments lined up, and I'm super busy. I hope you guys will understand my situation!

With love,

Affu.