Hello Fam :)

Happy Reading...

Manik woke up on Monday morning with tangled limbs and soft snores. He turned his head to find Cabir beside him and took a few minutes to gather his thoughts from last night. He hated himself for breaking down in front of his baby brother and worrying him in return. Sighing, he freed himself and left the room, his mind blank of the day's routine since their vacations had just started.

When he found Nyonika sitting in the living room, on a call, Manik slipped beside her and rested his head on her shoulder. Manik felt her turn her head towards him in surprise but he pointedly avoided looking at her, burying his head more into her shoulder. He hardly seeks out first for some affection with anyone other than Cabir but after his little breakdown from last night, he realized he didn't care and just wanted to feel the presence of his only parent, who he knew at least loved him with all her heart, unlike the ones he had met yesterday. He smiled when Nyonika dropped a kiss to his head and ran her fingers through his messy bedhead hair as she continued to reply to the person on call.

Just when she finished her call, Cabir came down and settled down on the floor in front of his mother, resting his head on her lap. Manik peeked an eye open to check if his brother was alright and found him half asleep while Nyonika abandoned her mobile in order to put her hand on Cabir's head.

"What happened to my princes?, she teased.

"We love you, mom", muttered Manik, his voice audible enough to her as he didn't want to break the morning peace.

"Yeah, we are too lucky to have you with us", grumbled Cabir, his voice hoarse from sleep.

"Aren't you two a little too emotional for the first day of your vacations?", she asked and sighed when no one bothered to answer. "How about we go somewhere? Now that Manik is here, we don't need to include England in the itinerary before deciding on someplace."

"No", protested Cabir, surprising the other two because he was always up for vacationing. "We already have some plans for the vacations. Can we go back to the farmhouse and stay there during this time?", he asked.

Manik didn't comment. He knew he had agreed to physically train himself under Cabir during the semester break but it was almost a month back and Manik didn't know if his brother still remembered it or not. The topic never came again between them and Manik didn't want to hog Cabir's vacations for training him. It was different when he was in England because then vacations were just their thing.

"Are you okay, kid?", asked Nyonika, "The last thing I know is that you hate the farmhouse because the network is useless there."

Cabir rolled his eyes. "I still hate it there but I could really use some time away from the humans in this world", he muttered.

If it was any other day, Manik would have felt it as a bit dramatic but considering their lunch meeting the previous day, Cabir wasn't the least bit exaggerating. Hence, when Nyonika looked at him from an answer behind his brother's words, Manik just shrugged and managed to put on a smile so sweet that he sure knew it would let his mother just agree to him.

"Fine", said Nyonika, "I will call the office and tell them, I will be operating from there. Why don't you two get ready?"

"Can I have some time to pack a few books, please?", asked Manik. He wouldn't survive a day without his books during vacations. Not that he could forgive himself if he didn't catch up on his TBR list he had prepared before his exams for the said vacation.

"When would I get a vacation with my bhai minus the books", complained Cabir, looking up at the ceiling.

"Mom, look at him", he complained to Nyonika.

"Cabir, stop teasing him", she said before turning to Manik. "Kid, all the books you need are already there in the farmhouse or will be arranged. Now go. Let's leave after breakfast."

Cabir stomped his foot on his way back to his room to show his displeasure with Manik. He maturely ignored his twin.

XXX

Nandini was packing her bags. By packing she was just shoving a part of her wardrobe to her bag randomly when her father entered her door. She mentally groaned. She wanted to avoid their parents altogether before starting her vacations. Even though they didn't have a plan, she always ended up in Abhimanyu's place and they decided from there.

"Are you going somewhere?", asked Mr. Murthy.

"I am not answerable to you during vacations", she muttered and zipped her bag before turning to face him. She let out a forced smile. "Not that I am answerable to you during college days."

He crossed his arms and looked at her in his usual displeased way. "You can't leave the house now", he muttered.

Wow! Aren't they having a screaming match today? "Is there a reason why I can't go or is it one of your 'I am your father and you will do as I say' thing?", she asked him, sweetly. They both know it was anything but sweet.

"Nandini, we have a deal to crack with the Malhotras", he replied in answer.

There must be some planning going on inside his head because he wasn't taking the bait. She didn't care. Nowhere is it written that Nandini would have to contribute to every plan of theirs. "Where do I come between all this? If you have missed this slight point, I haven't taken over the company yet." Her father sighed. Really what's the deal today? He was anything but his regular dramatic self. She couldn't help but think how much he would benefit from this deal if he is trying to be patient with her.

"I know you are in love with the Malhotra kid. I want you to work on your relationship with him", he told.

Nandini rolled her eyes. Great! She was in love and she didn't know it herself. Malhotra kid? Who was she in love with?, thought Nandini to herself. She really wished it to be Cabir because she would like to keep Manik as far as possible from her parents. Anyways, Cabir would be thrilled to teach them a lesson. She chuckled thinking about the younger twin bullying them with his fake sweet talk. "Do you have a reason behind it?", she asked, shrugging. "You know, why would I want to work on 'my relationship' with your business prospect?" She couldn't stop herself from finger quoting the relationship part. Aside from the hypothetical and hilarious interaction of Cabir with her parents, the idea of them being in a relationship, except bantering to rile each other, was ridiculous.

"It's beneficial to the company, Nandini", he told, slightly irritated.

She guessed, practicing something new so early in the morning was tiresome, like having a civil talk with your daughter. "So, there it is. Is it written anywhere that I will marry a guy just because you will get a few extra currency notes?", she asked, "No, I am not."

"Enough, Nandini", he screamed, finally losing his patience, "You are going to get married to Manik and I will make sure of it."

"Do whatever you can. Goodbye", she muttered and stormed out of the room after grabbing her bag.

She pushed their interaction to the back of her mind and raced off to the Thakkar house, ignoring the speed limits. It wasn't Cabir, it was Manik. By the time she reached her best friend's home, she felt her limbs shaking and she didn't realize when the tears had appeared in her eyes. Nandini knocked on the door, more like banged the door repeatedly until Raman stood in front of her. He took one look at her before pulling her into his arms. She vaguely heard him asking someone to put her luggage in her room and let him lead her inside to his study room. He held her for some time until she could get her breathing under control. Once she felt she could have a conversation without showing herself as a schoolgirl, Nandini looked at Raman.

"What happened?", he asked.

"How could they get me married to someone for money?", she asked instead.

Raman sighed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "We already know how they are, Nandini. Who's the boy now?"

"Manik. He is so naive. They will ruin him completely. Uncle, do something."

"Nandini, calm down, kid", he said.

She pulled away from him to grab his arm and shook it with both her hands. "How can I?", she asked him. Why isn't he trying to understand the seriousness of the situation? "They have already invited the Malhotras for lunch yesterday. Manik was with me but I don't know what my father has discussed with Mrs. Malhotra." Manik shouldn't have been at her house. Why did Nyonika Malhotra have to sign up a deal with the Murthys after all these years? Isn't it one of the reasons why she loved her? Because it was years and she was yet to get trapped by her father.

Raman had to shake her back to reality. "Nandini, you are panicking", he said. "Listen, kid, Malhotras are smart. This Manik can't be as naive as you think."

"Uncle, it's our Manik", she screamed and paced around to calm herself down. "It's our Manik and you have met him. He is innocent. He doesn't understand all these cruelties." She saw a frown forming on his head. Finally.

"Our Manik is a Malhotra? Since when?", he asked.

Nandini threw her hands up in the air. "Uncle."

He held up his hands. "Fine, I am sorry. I will try to let this information pass to Nyonika Malhotra but she is her own person and there is only so much I can do when it comes to the Malhotras", he said. Raman stood up from his place to reach Nandini and put an affectionate hand on her cheek. "Nandini, after the death of her husband, their company went into chaos. Everyone thought Malhotra Industries was doomed. People tried to take control of the company. The Malhotra heirs were still young and she was just a woman, they said", he said and snorted. "And then she proved them wrong. She stood up against them, against the whole world all alone and the fate of their business had changed overnight. Her decisions might be a bit unorthodox but never did she take a step in confusion or without having proper knowledge of what she was getting into. Hell, she dodged the question of the heir of Malhotra Industries for years to protect him. Why do you think no one knows who Manik is until now? And you think she doesn't have a motive behind introducing him to your father and went only because he had invited her for lunch?"

"To protect Manik?", asked Nandini.

Raman nodded. "There were incidents surrounding them during that period, half of them might be true but nothing proven. I am sure it was her idea to quieten that down too but Raj Malhotra was survived by twins when he died and yet, it was only one who lived with her. No one knew what happened to the other. There were even rumors that the kid died unable to bear the loss of his father, exaggerated but like I said, nothing proven. Never did I imagine, the kid would turn out to be our Manik", he said. There was a smile on his face. "I don't think your father, however cunning he might be, could fool her that easily."

"I hate Manik getting dragged into all this", she muttered. She still wasn't sure. Raman might know the businesswoman Nyonika Malhotra but she had witnessed the vulnerable side of Manik and his heart that easily trusted almost every single person. She knew her father and he was capable of breaking the boy. If it was under her control, Manik would be locked up in a safe house for the rest of his life away from all the cruelties of the world.

It struck her like lightning when she realized how similar the thought was to what Nyonika did to Manik and suddenly she felt very tired.

"Manik would be fine. Stop overthinking now. Abhi and Ishu might be returning from their shopping trip. Why don't you freshen up before they arrive?"

XXX

Abhimanyu was helping his mom in getting the grocery bags into the home. One of the butlers informed him about Raman asking him to meet him in his study room. He turned to his mother. "Ishita Thakkar, I would be getting a heart attack if your husband calls me to his study room one more time."

Ishita controlled her laugh. "Do you want me to bake a chocolate cake?"

"It wouldn't be of use if I am dying anyway", muttered Abhimanyu, glaring at his mother.

"Nandini has come home sometime back", suggested the butler.

Abhimanyu looked at him in clear disbelief. "Are you more worried about a stupid chocolate cake than my apparent death?", he asked.

When the butler shrugged and Ishita couldn't hold herself anymore and burst out laughing. Abhimanyu stomped his feet before going to find his father. Seriously, he didn't have an ounce of respect from anyone in this house.

He peeked into his dad's study instead of knocking. "Am I in trouble?", he asked.

"No?", said Raman, confused.

Abhimanyu straightened up and waved his hand at him. "Can I go find Nandini then?", he asked and turned around, one foot out, when Raman chuckled and called him in.

He asked Abhimnayu to close the door and take a seat. The younger boy did as he was told. Raman narrated his conversation with Nandini and by the end of it, Abhimanyu had a frown on his face.

"I have never seen her this worried about someone and definitely not over a boy. She had quite a panic. What's up with these two?", asked Raman.

Abhimanyu leaned forward on his chair. "Okay, so, Cabir and I, that's Manik's twin brother by the way, we think Manik and Nandini might have feelings for each other. Nandu is in denial and Manik's idea of love is limited to his family and Wikipedia."

Raman nodded. "So, do you want me to back off and let Murthy get Nandu married to Manik?"

"What? Dad, no", he said hurriedly. "You know her. If she gets married to Manik at this point, she would push him further away in order to protect him. And trust me she is protective of him. They both would suffer ultimately. Manik. Manik is too innocent to get dragged into all this. I wish I could kill Murthy. That would be easier."

"You wouldn't do any such thing. Let me handle it", he told, sternly. "Meanwhile, take care of Nandini, and where the hell is your girlfriend? It's more than 10 days and neither did she come home nor is there a call from her. Why is that?"

Abhimanyu shrugged. "Exams. How about I bring her straight to you once she comes home? She might be on her way."

During the last chapter, so many people guessed it right regarding the Murthy's plan to get Nandini married to Manik. True, we all would be happy if they are getting married but I think it would damage their already budding relationship because of the facts mentioned in the chapter. If you think otherwise, feel free to drop in a comment. 

Even if there is Manan (they think about each other even when they aren't physically together :P), I agree they are apart. One more chapter with them being apart and then there's lots of Manan. So, anyone up for a double update? :P