Hello! I know I said I will update soon but ugh, I suck at keeping promises, but here it is. Hope it's not bad. 

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"Nandini are you going to sit there all the time?" Alya's loud voice dragged me out of my brooding thoughts and I whipped my head around to see her and Navya standing in the aisle beside the seats with hands on their hips and reproachful looks painted on their faces.

"Come on! Join us!" Alya implored shrilly and I looked between both of them in silent contemplation even though my answer was already ready.

No thanks.

Ever since he had left me without an answer, I hadn't moved a single inch from my place, there wasn't any point to it and it wasn't like I was up for walking around the plane, pretending like all this was normal and that I wasn't just more than a hundred feet above the ground. Even the thought of it gave me shudders and the clinch of the seat belt around my waist was the only solace.

That and the enchanting view outside my window were the only things that were safeguarding my mind from descending into a painfully tumultuous chaos that would end up hurting me even more than I already was.

"Nandini!" Alya shrieked, "We are talking to you!"

Had I zoned out? Of course. My mood was too black to concentrate on anything at the moment and now wasn't the time I could entertain Alya and her plans.

"I'm sorry Alya," I said as sincerely as possible. Putting out every word was a struggle since my mind begged me to go back to the serene calm I had successfully enveloped myself in, "I'm fine here."

"You are missing out on the fun!" She whined and it really touched my heart that she was making so many efforts to include me with them but it just wasn't cutting it for me, "Come on Navya! Tell her!"

On her command, Navya gave me a scrutinizing look and I shied away from her gaze. She knew me too well to know that something was amiss but I was determined to avoid an interrogation by her. Talking about it to her was a wasted exercise.

She was the last person who could do anything about it.

"Alya its okay, let her be." Navya spoke and I stifled a groan. I could easily identify her tone and the look in her eyes. She wasn't bailing me out from Alya, she was just reducing the party for an unwanted (on my side) tête-à-tête. Dammit! Navya siding with me was NOT a blessing this time!

"You go ahead, I will catch up later." She told Alya firmly drowning out her loud protests but one silent look from Navya was enough to send her packing which was absolutely detrimental to my mission to remain in solitude.

No. No. No.

I could see Alya pouting petulantly as she moved away and I was briefly inspired to throw a childish tantrum, complete with kicking and screaming, if that's what it took to preserve a little bit of my mental peace from Navya's inevitable assault.

I began hurriedly, as soon as she slid into the seat next to me, "Navya you can go. It's okay. I don't-"

"Shut up!" She snapped so authoritatively that all my words turned to ash in my mouth and I was left gaping at her. Navya?! Who knew she had it in her?!

"What's going on between you and him?" She demanded, directly cutting to the chase and my eyes widened in shock. I knew an inquisition was about to come but her being so biting and frank had caught me off guard and my natural reflex to avoid and run kicked in.

"It's nothing! I-"

"Find someone else to fool." She glared at me with narrowed, accusatory eyes, "I'm not blind and you two aren't exactly subtle with the romance or with the fight."

I flinched, my neck burning with red hot embarrassment as my jaw went slack and I was left wishing for some sort of mechanism that would let me disappear into thin air at this very minute. I couldn't decide what was worse, Navya witnessing me practically straddling him or her seeing our bitter spat and him leaving me cold and unacknowledged.

"I'm not at all scandalized." She informed me lightly on seeing the nauseated look on my face, "But I want to know what that idiot did to upset you. And what's with that snake girl?"

"Navya!" I was horrified, my mind clouding up with disbelief and panic as I realized that I wasn't as successful in keeping my relationship to myself as I thought I was. How many people had seen through me? Through us?

That was....the consequences were unimaginable. Us. Together. It was supposed to be him and me against the whole world; everything would lie to waste if the very world we fought ended up discovering the chinks in our armour.

I didn't know how but maybe she saw the conflict raging within me in my eyes for she gently clasped my hands in her own and gave me an empathetic, encouraging smile, "You can tell me anything Nandini. I'm here to listen. Just let it all out."

I stared at her in dismay, even if I wanted to; I had no words in me to phrase a single emotion or an event that I had been through all this time.

"I understand." She continued, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze, "You spent two months believing you lost him and now he is back in your life and you are confused. On top of that, everyone is being selfish, taking care of their own interests and not even bothering to think about what you feel."

"And you take care of everyone. I've seen it." She spoke kindly, "But it's time someone does it for you."

I dropped my eyes, the air suddenly feeling too suffocating as she voiced out the very thing I didn't want to hear. I didn't want the pity; I didn't want to be the victim or the casualty of this entire mess or a martyr who gave up her happiness for everyone else. No!

Everyone here talked about winning, so why didn't they believe that I wanted to win at life too? My benevolence didn't stem from the hope for reward or a pity party, it was me building a life I wanted to live and I had chosen all of them to be a part of it. I was fighting for a place for everyone in my life and I was doing it for myself.

"Navya it's not about that!" I said patiently even though I knew explaining my stand was of no use. Everyone expected me to oscillate between extremes. Him or Them, "You don't have to worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

"I never said you don't." She said surprisingly and I wondered if Navya was smarter than what I gave her credit for, "I'm not here to advise you. I just want you to share."

My heart clenched at her words and I could feel my features soften as I let my guard down and decided to welcome the unconditional support she was willing to offer. I didn't want the sympathy but I could use the comfort.

She smiled noticing the change and grinned, "By the way, I still can't believe he is real. Like REAL. Solid real."

"He is not a ghost Navya." I rolled my eyes even though I felt a bubble of laughter fizzle through me. On some level it was indeed funny that he was alive.

When had my life turned into a TV soap?

"But that Sara is a witch." She asserted with the conviction of a sailor, "What's with both of them anyway?"

The way she had unintentionally phrased that sentence caused a violent sting to race through my heart and my next words escaped through clenched teeth, "I don't know."

"You 'don't know'?!" She air quoted and raised one eyebrow incredulously, "What do you mean by you don't know?"

This was the exact reason why I wanted to avoid this entire conversation. I didn't need the extent of the mess I was in highlighted back to me in bold letters.

"Means I don't know Navya!" I snapped, my patience wearing thin as my mood was pummeled deep into an icy black hole filled with all sorts of unpleasant thoughts and bitter doubts that I couldn't combat.

"What did he say?"

"We didn't talk about it."

Navya was looking at me like I had grown horns on my head and I buried my face in my hands, wondering why I was such a chicken and hadn't bolted from my seat yet.

"What're you two doing Nandu?" Navya's voice was layered with concern and an undertone of apprehension that I absolutely hated.

"I don't know..." I began to say again but I quickly amended before Navya could give me another one of those judgmental looks, "I mean...everything is going fine but then one of us says the wrong thing or something happens and bam! We are fighting." I sighed.

"It's all because of the distance!" My emotions spilled free, leaping out my control and before I knew it, I was rambling at the speed of a mile a minute, "There's so much that has happened! The past is messing up the present and I don't know what to do! I don't know what to say, I don't know how to act! I don't even know what I don't know!" I laughed bitterly, "It feels like he is far away from me. It feels like I don't belong in his world anymore and he doesn't belong in mine!"

I paused at the end of my tirade, my breath coming in short gasps and Navya looked at me inscrutably.

I had certainly divulged more than what I had bargained for but I couldn't deny that I was feeling much lighter, like a weight had lifted off of my shoulders, it felt so good to finally, finally say all this out loud.

"Nandini..." Navya whispered at last, her face stark with worry and an ominous dread, "You need to sort this out! What're you doing? Just talk to him!"

I had to prevent myself from rolling my eyes, "You think I haven't tried?" My words came out in a rush as they finally found an escape that I hadn't known they had needed, "He's not ready to listen!"

"You..." She stuttered, "You mean he knows nothing about the past two months?!" She gasped, horrified.

"No." I said sourly, "I can't tell him anything without confessing that I played a part in the replacement and trust me Navya, he isn't ready to hear that."

She stared at me flabbergasted, accompanied with an expression of startling unadulterated fear, it lasted for just one second but it was there and the sight of it had already sent a bone chilling shiver down my spine. Did she know something that I didn't? What was she afraid of?

"What's wrong?!" I asked in a hushed whisper, the gears of my mind already on an overdrive.

"No...nothing, I mean...nothing's wrong." There was this thing that Navya did when she was lying. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, "Wrong as in it is wrong that he doesn't know but you... I think you should tell him before..."

Something was amiss here. She was rambling incoherently in a lame attempt to cover up and even though my first instinct was to rip out the truth from her no matter at what cost, I quelled it for I was sure I didn't have it in me to manage anything more on my plate.

"He's hurt." I changed tack, saving her from further blurting out what she wasn't supposed to and myself from over thinking, "And it's not only his ego. It's about Cabir too."

I sighed as my mind flashed back to this morning, to the way he had talked about Cabir, the unfathomable trenches of pain and loss that I had witnessed in him in that one simple encounter, I could only imagine how he must have been stewing in it for months. That was definitely a wound that ran deep and I wondered if it would ever heal.

I was too preoccupied with my thoughts before it struck me that my companion had gone deathly silent beside me and that was when I felt the crushing weight of the name I had tactlessly thrown in between us.

Cabir.

"Navya, I'm sorry, I-''

"It's fine." She cut me off with a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and I couldn't have felt even worse, "I understand Manik you know? I knew him for just a year but he has been his friend for his entire life and if I was in his place, even I would be angry if someone disrespected his memory like that."

She surprised me with her intuitive perception. 

"But we didn't mean-''

"I know that!" She said patiently, "But Manik doesn't. And trust me; it's going to be difficult to make him understand. After the fight on Musicana-''

"The what?!" I nearly screeched, not sure if I had heard her right.

She gave me a dubious look, "You don't know?"

Blood rushed in my head at an alarming speed as I desperately tried to piece together her words and the distressed expression on her face, all of which pointed at a conclusion I did not want to draw.

"Dhruv and Manik-'' She began in hushed tones and I felt a painful knot twist in my stomach, the most horrible of my fears materializing right in front of my eyes.

Now it all made sense, Manik's rage, Dhruv's hostility and the Fab5's accusations. That explained Alya's over enthusiastic need to be friendly and include me in on their side.

They all wanted me to make a choice.

I narrowed my eyes into slits, my temper flaring at the way I was being pushed and pulled around from all ends and I had seriously had enough.

"Tell me everything."

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Mathur paced across the conference room in a dramatically pompous manner that frankly did not befit either him or the occasion at hand.

It had already been 3 minutes 23 seconds since Manik had deemed to grace him with his esteemed presence and now he stood leaning against the doorway, watching the man stalk the length of the office like a predator as the plane cruised on below their feet.

Patience was not a part of his virtues.

"Inform me when you finish learning how to walk." He drawled disinterestedly. If he wanted to deal with another old insufferable prick with an inflated sense of self importance and prone to theatrics, he would have just contacted his father.

Mathur threw him a condescending look but he didn't even care. He was not in the best of moods and that meant he was in the worst of moods and the sight of Mathur's shiny bald head was doing nothing to help.

He continued to pace faster and Manik wondered why the hell the turbulence hadn't knocked him flat on his arse yet and this was supposed to be his bloody plane. Speak of loyalties.

"The girl-" He began.

"She stays out of it." He growled, the reply was instant, sharp and clear, leaving no room for an argument and he watched with smug satisfaction as Mathur's nostrils flared indignantly, the man clearly did not appreciate being spoken down to.

Well, he would just have to deal with it.

He began haughtily, "Manik you have to understand! She is-''

"She. Stays. Out. Of. It." He snarled, punctuating each syllable separately for the words to effectively sink into his thick head, he didn't have much time to spare, not for him, "She stays out of it or you go out of the plane." He smirked and added as an afterthought, "And no, you won't get a parachute, I need some entertainment."

Mathur visibly bristled and he had to suppress laughter, his father really had a knack for employing men just like himself.

'You-'' He was about to start what seemed like a long tirade and he rolled his eyes.

"Get to the point, will you?" He snapped, at the end of his thin patience, "The deal was clear, my cooperation for her safety. All of you stay the fuck away from her and I'll do what you want. But if you put a foot out of the line, I won't hesitate to screw you all over so if I was you, I wouldn't even think about her."

Mathur paused in his tracks to glare down at him and he didn't oblige him with a flinch if that was what he was expecting. It still astounded him how his father or any of his minions could even dream of controlling him. Years of being practically an orphan for all intents and purposes had taught him the general basics of self preservation and his esteemed mother's give and take policy was too ingrained in his blood for him to ever be reduced into a defenseless puppet.

He knew how exactly to play the game on his terms and Mathur was a fool if he hadn't yet realized that.

His glare softened into a contemplative look, "It's serious isn't it? You and her? Considering your age, I thought it's just a mere infatuation-"

"Have you lost your nose somewhere? It's apparently in my business." He gave him his most severe glower and Mathur backtracked.

"Fine, you refuse to get her involved." He conceded, begrudgingly, "I'm letting it drop here but I'm sure your father will have a word to say about that."

He chose not to answer to that. He wasn't about to indulge Mathur in whatever it was that he was doing.

Mathur continued, "With Mrs. Nyonika Malhotra's insistence on dragging the issue to the courts, the situation is grave. She has rejected our efforts to reach an amicable settlement and your father expects her to take even more disastrous steps in the future."

Which roughly translated into; Ranjeet Malhotra is pathetically screwed. He had to suppress a smirk at the thought.

Though Nyonika on a warpath was defiantly interesting. She wouldn't insist on public mudslinging unless she had a way of ensuring that her reputation remained unaffected in the process which was extremely doubtful since Manik himself knew enough of her dirty secrets to make her hide her face in shame.

Rough translation: Harshad Saxena.

So what trump card did she have against his father that had made her so confident? A vague answer dawned on him but he violently pushed that thought away, he wasn't ready to comprehend that even his father...

"Our primary concern is Mr. Malhotra's public image." Mathur droned on, "We will sort out the legalities of course." He waved his hand dismissively as if the law wasn't that big of an issue and he wasn't even surprised. In this country people got away with homicide if they had the money so he was 100 percent sure that his father would escape from faking his son's death for two months. Cakewalk really.

"It's the image that matters. With Musicana going on, we simply cannot have the media airing our dirty laundry."

Of course not. As much as he hated Nyonika, he at least had a shred of familial pride and he would not have the Malhotra name tarnished just for the sake of her childish games. Even though he had once threatened her, he blanched at the thought of the world knowing that his mother slept with a man her son's age and now that he suspected his father of being no less...

Wow. His parents were such a delight.

"Well, you really can't have me say I was dead and then magically resurrected, can you?" He said scathingly.

"No." Mathur pursed his lips in disdain and Manik felt his annoyance rise at the condescending scowl the man was giving him.

"Then what?!"

"You threw every plan we had out of the window with your little stunt on Musicana so forgive us if we are a bit underprepared." He matched his scathing tone and Manik clenched his fist, the desire to drive it into a wall was suddenly too overwhelming.

"And with your conditions regarding the girl-''

"They are not changing!" He gnashed his teeth in fury, fighting to regain control of his rapidly rising temper. He did not want to resort to violence right now but if Mathur kept pushing his buttons regarding her then he wasn't sure how long he could last.

"Don't make me walk out of this." He narrowed his eyes, "In case you've forgotten, my father needs me more than I need him."

"Is that so?" Mathur cocked his head to the side, a devious smile on his lips, "Let's not kid ourselves Manik, you know you can't protect her alone. Nyonika tried to kill her once and she can do it again."

It felt like the walls were closing in on him and he had to fight back the agonized scream that threatened to rip from his throat as Mathur casually wielded the crux of their deal as a sword over his head. This was the indisputable fact, the horrendous truth that had kept him shut in the mansion for two whole months until he couldn't take it anymore.

Fear, some people would call it but he didn't care. He would rather she thought he was dead than be the reason of her death. Even the thought itself scorched him.

It was a cruel joke really, how it was him that actually threatened her life. He should have stayed away but even he knew that it was battle long lost before it even began. He was selfish, he couldn't walk away from her even if it meant her damnation. No he couldn't. Two months without her were enough to reduce him to insanity, he couldn't take it anymore even if it was the right thing to do. 

So he had gambled away his soul, without a second thought, there wasn't a thing to think about apart from her really and now he stood, another pawn on his father's game of master chess. 

"What do you want me to do?" He spat the words; they were like acid on his tongue but better this than a single harm on her.

"Now you're talking." He could detect the triumph in his voice, as he finally took a seat at the head of the table, "It's simple really. We want you to do nothing."

"What?!"

"Yes. The media will hound you, you don't say a word. When you meet Nyonika, you're going to act like nothing happened. Meet her like how a son would meet his mother after a separation-''

"That's ridiculous-''

"- She will ask questions of course but you aren't going to give anything away. And we know of your history with her so don't instigate her for god's sake."

"You think Nyonika is an idiot?" He demanded, "She isn't going to buy it."

"No but I'm trusting your ability to sell it. She has a solid case against your father and right now she is acting like she is doing all of this to get justice for you."

He scoffed. He couldn't remember the last time Nyonika had done anything for him without demanding a price.

"Exactly. She will try to get you on her side. Against your father. If you don't cooperate..." He shrugged.

Manik stared at Mathur dubiously. His gut instinct was screaming at him that there was more to the story than met the eye. This wasn't as easy as Nyonika, the evil bitch, setting out to kill an innocent girl and his father swooping in as the glorified saviour of all. Dividing the world in black and white was her forte, not his.

"Why did Dad decide to save her that night? Don't tell me he did it selflessly for my sake. What was the catch?"

He knew that he had hit the nail on the head when Mathur's face went ghostly pale for a split second before he re-assumed his cool expressionless mask that didn't let a sliver of secret spill through. But Manik had already seen the answer he wanted and he found that he wasn't as shocked or revolted as he thought he would be. It was a truth he should have long acknowledged but he had been too young and too much in denial.

Nyonika was a bitch yes, but his father was also no saint.

Mathur took a deep breath before continuing, "There are some things you don't know about your parents."

"And you do?" He challenged.

"Yes." Mathur sneered, 'Believe it or not, I've been your father's closest friend, if he ever had one for years."

"Most loyal servant you mean."

He barked out a laugh, not at all offended by the clearly offensive remark, "All of us have our own places in this world." He hated the patronizing look in his eye, "And you Manik, you don't know yours. No family you love, your second family, your friends, have already moved on with their lives perhaps even her...hard to find yourself right?"

He wished he could roll his eyes up to the ceiling and back, "Save it. Whatever my place is, I'm clearly not where I've to take life advice from you." He hissed at the man contemptuously, turning around to leave. 

Mathur was unfazed, he lazily propped his legs up on the desk in front of him and linked his fingers together, casually observing him like he was a science project, 'Because it's with her, isn't it?" He raised a mocking eyebrow, "Your place."

Manik whirled around and threw him a murderous glare, knowing very well that he was just toying with him and most probably enjoying it too, "You know jackshit about us." 

"Maybe." Mathur indulged, clearly amused, "Enlighten me then. What is she to you?"

"Everything."

The answer came in a heartbeat, no hesitations or second thoughts required. It slipped past his lips like as naturally as a breath and it stunned Mathur into speechlessness yet Manik felt like the answer was not enough. Everything was just another word and when it came to Nandini Murthy, it tried and failed to encompass within it even a tiny piece of what he felt for her. 

Mathur was still looking at him inexplicably and he realized with horror that he had just laid his heart bare. Unprotected. Ready for anyone to rip into. 

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I had to find him.

It was true that I was terrified of getting up from my seat, let alone hunt him down on board this gigantic machine but I just simply had to find him.

Before it was too late.

No, scratch that, it was already too late. After what Navya had told me, after I came to know the horror that had transpired on the stage of Musicana after I had left it, I was astounded at my own stupidity for not figuring this out sooner.

All the signs were there and bloody Dhruv. He was going to die at my hands one of these days.

I stuck close to the walls of the jet, I wasn't sure if they could be called that but as much as it resembled a luxurious penthouse, we were pretty much still up a few hundred miles in the air.

I shuddered violently as I gulped down the fear lodged in my throat. I was sure I resembled a reptile, crawling up the walls but I didn't have it in me to keep up appearances. The staff gave me weird looks as I passed and I envied the way they strutted away as if all of us weren't defying gravity at this very second.

The banning and whirring noises were louder with each step that I took and the floor seemed funny under my feat. I tried not to let these details distract me but I had already realized with dismay that the jet was bigger than I thought it was.

I had just passed what seemed like a conference area and I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't run into anyone.

I didn't want to see Sara. Or Dhruv. Or Maddy. Or Harshad. Or Raghuvir. If this jet was so big then it better hide all the faces on my hit list.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, contemplating if I should turn back down the way I had come when I saw him.

He stood there with his back turned to me, silently staring out of a window at the open sky and I would have screamed at him with rightful anger for the way he had treated me if I hadn't seen the look of absolute devastation on his face. He had hidden it perfectly, under the mask of perfection he usually wore but I knew by heart all the shades of emotions to ever grace his brown eyes and I would be damned if I was fooled.

My gut instinct screamed at me that something was horribly wrong, that look, there was pain, there was something else that I couldn't fathom but when I saw it, I had already forgotten whatever it was that I had come to say to him. 

All that mattered was the haunted look in his eyes. 

"Manik!" I strode towards him purposefully, abandoning my fear in a surge of impulse and he whirled around, a look of surprise etched on his face but before he could react, I had grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down to the nearest wooden panel, pinning him under my glare.

"Where were you?" 

"Nandini what-" He angrily yanked his elbow from my hold, "This is the second time in a day that you are doing this! You don't have to manhandle me to talk you know!"

"Then what?" I snarled, "You clearly don't give me answers so I'm demanding them!"

He looked like he was going to throw a smart come back, I expected him to, but instead a look of absolute exhaustion came over his face and he shut his eyes, tilting his head back into the wall and I watched his adam's apple bob as he obviously concealed his torment from me.

"The cockpit. I was with Khanna." He informed me and it took me a second to realize that he was actually answering my question. He bowed his head looked at me seriously and my eyes widened at the unexpected honesty.

I wanted an answer but I was pretty sure it wouldn't come this easy.

"Why?" I prodded suspiciously.

"Well..." His face was wrought with worry and I felt panic unfurl in my stomach, my heart already pounding in my rib cage, "I don't want you to worry but there's an emergency." He swallowed thickly and I was suddenly too aware of the fact that we were standing in practically mid air.

"Manik...what?" I stuttered, my initial fear coming back to hit me in full force and I felt my knees threatening to give out. He grasped my shoulders and squeezed them comfortingly.

"Yes. One of our engines blasted."

That was it.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I screamed finally, not caring about my volume, how could I when we were probably plummeting towards a gruesome death? "ARE YOU SERIOUS -"

"Relax. We had two. Now we have one. It's okay-"

"-IT'S OKAY? IT'S NOT OKAY. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO! WE'VE TO TELL THE OTHERS AND WHAT-"

"We might have to do an emergency landing but-" I should've noticed the change in his tone but under the all consuming panic, I didn't.

"-WHAT?! AND YOU ARE JUST STANDING THERE? ARE YOU INSANE? HOW CAN YOU-"

A blinding flash went up in front of my eyes, followed by roars of laughter and it took a minute for the ringing of blood in my ears to subside before I registered that Manik Malhotra was doubled over in laughter in front of me.

"Your face, oh god-" He was finding it hard to breathe, as he clutched the panel for support, his body literally convulsing with laughter and that was when my haze of shock crashed and it struck me with a blinding force that I had been well and truly fooled.

"You seriously thought-" He was gasping, more laughter spilling through his lips, he looked so breathtakingly beautiful, "God!"

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" I lunged at him, embarrassment giving away to fury as tackled him, attempting to snatch his phone away from his hand which clearly had a snapped picture of me, mid-rant, looking horrifyingly comical in a state of panic.

He simply held it far away from my reach, still laughing hysterically at my expense and I swear I had never wanted his blood on my hands so desperately. The cunning, sadistic smug little bastard! Ugh! He had his fun humiliating me! I had such a shit excuse for a boyfriend! How freaking dare he-

"MANIK DELETE THAT!" I jumped, a pathetic attempt to match his height and he didn't even have to try. He simple held his hand above me, the phone dangling way out of my reach.

After this time, I was sure I was going to be permanently red with embarrassment. Nandini Murthy, never, ever trust Manik Malhotra again!

"Make me." He grinned mercilessly and took off into the aisles and I didn't a waste single moment to follow right after him, swearing retribution for this mortifying stunt.  Soon enough both of us were racing down the plane, the sound of his breathless laughter and my own enraged screaming accompanying us. If I was scared before, it had all fled to the back of my mind as I threw away my inhibitions and bounded after him, both of us caught in our own world as we chased and dodged each other. 

"Come on Nandu! You can do better than that!" He called over his shoulder as he ducked beneath the elbow of a flight attendant and I had to skid to a screeching halt to avoid crashing headfirst into the alarmed woman. 

"Manik you-" How was he so agile for a person so tall?! "Give that back!" 

He completely swerved my reaching hand, laughing as he darted around another intricately detailed wooden partition and I I flushed, tears forming in the back of my eyes. I gave him my most ferocious glare, refusing to back down as he held it out in front of me before snatching it away just as I grabbed for it.

"You're cruel!" I growled, hopping up desperately for the last time, I would NOT let him have that picture of me! I would not! This was a question of my dignity for heaven's sake!

Monster Manik was still laughing!

"I hate you."

I gave up, leaning against the wall for support as my breath came in short pants, my throat sore with all my extended screaming. He was going to pay for this. Oh, I will make him pay for this.

He leaned against the wall opposite me, catching his breath and casually pocketed his phone, that goddamn smirk effortlessly in place and I groaned, the image of that disastrous photo imprinted in my mind.

"It's a part of my charm Murthy." He gave me a beatific smile and I snorted.

"You're impossible Malhotra!" I snapped derisively.

"I disagree Murthy, I know for a fact that I'm a national treasure." He said that with a straight face.

I clutched my temples, not knowing how to answer to that, what was he doing to me? Talking to him felt like a game that I didn't know the rules to.

No, I thought, definitely not a game. More like an artfullly synchronized dance.

"Are we on surname basis now Malhotra?" I watched as the corner of his mouth twitched and he took one calculated step forward into my personal space. His eyes were alight with a mischievous glint, one that I was too familiar with but it didn't quite hide what it was supposed to.

The torment was there. One that he won't show me. One that I had already seen.

And his distractions? They weren't going to work.

"I don't know." He drawled, placing an arm on the wall beside my head and I felt my back press into the surface as my mind was instantly filled with those thoughts, those exceedingly delicious thoughts that caused tingles to race down my spine.

Thoughts about the distinct bow of his lips, that precise shade of chocolate of his eyes that flashed whenever they rested on me, the sharp curve of his jaw, the outline of his defined collarbone as it peeked out of his shirt and how it would feel like to run my tongue over it.

I was past coyly blushing at those thoughts, now they filled me with wicked ideas, ideas of owning him, submitting to him and cleansing away all that pain I had seen his eyes.

"You're the one who said you hate me."

"Oh, I hate you." I said that just to spite him, if only to see that indecipherable spark ignite in his eyes as his tongue darted out to moisten his bottom lip. And then wad taking that final, decisive step, bracing both arms against the wall to cage me in.

He smirked, clearly enjoying pushing my buttons and even through the cascade of anger and lust battling within me, I couldn't deny how destructively beautiful both of us were in this endless game of tug of war.

"Touche Murthy." He said, his gaze dropping down to my lips and that is when I knew.

"Well played you know. Distractions. " I breathed, my words tumbling out in a rush, "Your prank almost worked and I almost did forget what I had asked you about." I continued, even when I saw the way his eyes darkened into pitch black fire and his jaw clenched.

"But I'm not that easily distracted you see. So, once again, where were you?" I smirked triumphantly, his signature expression suiting me all to well.

"Of course not." He grimaced , "You've a one track mind."

That statement brought back memories. Beautiful, beautiful memories.

"What are you hiding from me?"

His face contorted into a scowl, his hands dropped and he backed away, resuming his position on the opposite wall, his demeanor giving every indication that he had just flippantly chosen not to to answer that. My body instantly went cold as the warmth of him was snatched away yet it felt like I was lit on fire with a thousand coals.

"Wow!" I exploded, "Seriously wow! You can do whatever you want but I ask you one question and you act like a child?!"

"You should know which questions to ask."

I clenched my fists, only he could bring out the best and the worst in me in a span of a few seconds, "You know we can't keep doing this forever right?!"

"What?"

"This!" I wildly gestured between both of us, "Either we are too close or we are too far! I'm sick of it!" My voice had taken on an hysterical octave, "You know what it feels like? It feels like those two months are happening over and over again! One second you are there and then you are not! I can't stand it!"

His eyes softened before a craze overtook them, a madness born from pain and a look of what I could only describe as despair took over his features, shattering my heart as it etched itself on the lines of his face. Yes, he was fighting a battle that I knew nothing about.

"Its not that easy!" Finally, finally that self assured facade had cracked and I didn't know whether to be thankful or terrified, "My world is fucked up Nandini! My parents are fucked up! My entire life is a bloody mess! It always was! You, you are the best thing that ever happened to me dammit! And she...they tried to take you away from me, do you understand?"

I was frozen. I wasn't able to take my eyes away from him, lines of devastation etched on to every perfect detail of his handsome face. I was taking a look at his life, two months without me.

"I never had a weakness." He shook his head as if the thought itself was revolting, "My friends were my strength and I didn't know any other love beyond that. But you...you, Nandini, it hurts, it hurts how you are my entire life and I can't help it! And they know I can't! One harm on you and life becomes nothing to me. Do you have any idea how dangerous is that? Do you know how vulnerable that makes you? Do you know how weak that makes me?!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaved as his breaths came out in ragged pants. I had never seen him this way, it terrified me, it caused my blood to freeze in my veins, the hair to stand up at the back of my neck but I stood rooted to my spot, my chin raised definitely as I refused to flinch from his gaze.

"Do you understand?" It was a whisper now, a ghost of a voice that seemed to sink in me, embed into my very skin and yes I understood it, but yes I denied it with every fibre of my being.

I still didn't know what he was so scared of but whatever it was, it would take more than that to beat me down. I simply refused to leave his side, then what?

"You have to be careful Nandini." He continued in that same ghostly whisper, like he was forcing the words out of himself. I didn't miss the use of "you" instead of "we" but if anything, it just increased my resolve to face his demons with him.

He took a deep breath as if stealing himself for what he was going to say next and I had to suppress a laugh at his attempts, he didn't want it as much as I didn't, then why was he putting us both through this torture?

"We can't be tog-"

"No." I had seen it coming. I had seen that sentence form in his mind long before he had said it and I wanted to laugh at how he thought that was even an option anymore. Both of us were too far gone for that.

Dangerous or not, like he had said, I couldn't help it.

I took one step forward and his teeth tore at his bottom lip, his hands clenched into fists by his side and he looked like even breathing was an effort.

"You aren't getting it-"

"No." I took another step, and looked at him dead in the eye. He was breathing hard, his jaw set like stone and for a moment right there I shivered, suddenly struck by the truth of the untamed chaotic mess that both of us were. We bounded from anger to pain to laughter to lust to love to agony to pure unadulterated passion, all in a single breath lasting for a lifetime and more yet it was as natural as being, as breathing and existing.

This was just us. Uniquely, imperfectly perfect us.

I smiled wryly at the thought.

"Nandini," He was pleading for a lost cause, "You don't know them-"

"I don't want to." I dismissed, "And this isn't your decision to make. If I chose to be with you, I will. Even you can't stop me."

Without breaking eye contact, I closed the gap between us, placing my hands on his chest. He didn't seem like he was breathing and I wasn't sure if I was breathing too.

He snarled, more angry at being defied so brazenly than at what I had said, "Leave. I mean it."

I raised myself on my toes, my nose brushing the length of his and my breath ghosted over his lips in a gentle, teasing caress.

I knew I was igniting a fire, I could almost watch its tendrils furl and unfurl between us from where my touched his.

I chose to throw his words back at him and relished them on my tongue, "Make me."

An animalistic growl ripped from his throat and I felt his hand wrap around the base of my neck, as he pulled my lips to his own with a crushing force. I wanted this, I was aching for it and I threw my arm around his neck, pressing myself closer to him as we devoured each other like two souls starved. 

He released my neck, only to grasp my waist and I felt his fingers dig into my skin as my back collided with the wall. His tongue demanded entrance and I granted it, reveling in the chocolate mint taste of him as we both battled for dominance, seeking and giving at the same time and I felt my knees buckle. Every inch of me roared with a fire that I hadn't known existed and it was all too much but it wasn't enough. Nothing was enough.  My fingers threaded through his hair and I pulled at the roots harshly, desperate to cling on to any anchor of reality as he mercilessly teased away the tattered shreds of my senses. I let my hands travel down the contours of his face, over his jaw and down till it rested over the skin left exposed by his shirt. He positively burned under my touch and as if he couldn't help it, like everything had spiraled beyond his control, I felt his hand slip under my top, tracing tantalizing circles at the base of my spine. A gasp escaped my lips and he pulled my swollen lower lip between his teeth, taking away a piece of my sanity with him. 

He broke apart, giving me a chance to breathe and I shook my head, fisting his shirt under my hand to yank him closer to me. It was a demand and he obliged, letting his lips travel over my chin, my eyelashes, the corner of my lips and down my neck till he traced his way to my earlobe, biting down on the soft skin before soothing the sting with his tongue and I quietly moaned at the feeling. I hadn't meant to let it out but he had heard and he stopped, his hold tightening around my waist.

"What-" He paused, his warm breath fanned my neck and the feeling spread through my body like molten lava, "are you doing to me?"

I had expected this, I took his face in my hands and pulled him up to my eyes, our gazes seared through each other, our hearts pounding in synchrony, "A distraction." I smirked, before pulling his lips back onto mine. 

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A/N: I'm sorry if this was bad. I'm sleep deprived and couldn't proof read this. Apologies.