Hustle For Love |COMPLETE| MaNan Fiction

53. The One Where Stars & Fireflies Sparkled

A/N : Guess what folks? We are here at the very end & I am more excited than you in sharing this last chapter of what I'd call the longest writing journey of my life! There are some crazy facts about this book & I would make a separate update on that, but I hope you will feel as satisfied reading this last chapter as I felt while concluding this story! FYI super lengthy chapter alert (20 Word Pages!!) so take your time, get yourself a cup of coffee & enjoy!

Happy Reading!

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11 Sea View Apts, Trinity Beach, Cairns, Australia circa 2018

(Soha's Living Room, Beach View Road)

Nandini Murthy

Love is weird. Trust you me, it is. Sometimes it makes you strong like a hurricane can hit you, but you will stand like a stalwart before it, and sometimes, it makes you so vulnerable that a gentle breeze can be your cause of existential crises. There are no boundaries strong enough, no hurdle high enough that you cannot overcome for the one you love. I hated Soha from the first time my eyes landed on her all those years back in S.P.A.C.E. and I have no shame in admitting the feeling has been mutual. Now when I think back, we both were essentially the same, fiercely in love and we both loved the same man in different ways.

Today, for Manik Malhotra, we i.e. Soha & I, the two most important women of his life, decided to set our grievances aside & come together to give each other one last, fair chance. We both badly needed to accept each other & we both knew it. It was the only way Manik's endless suffering would stop; we both had a thousand reasons to not give each other a chance & most of them would be legit too, but to give each other a chance, we had only one reason, it was Manik's well being - and that one reason triumphed all other reasons we had.

I was sitting in Soha's living room on a plush couch, as she sat facing me from another one. She had a fancy pad that reeked opulence & style; the kinda houses you see in Luxe Home Magazines. Upon arrival I was greeted with the best quality Merlot in town and I accepted it; I think we both knew at this point that we found it difficult to have a sober conversation. I sipped my Merlot and looked at her with a small polite smile playing on my lips.

"So Nandini, you wanted to meet me?" she initiated the opening conversation and nodded in response.

"Soha, I think we both know what this is about." I added.

"All things Manik Malhotra!" she exclaimed with a smile. "Tell me Nandini, how else can I help you?" she asked sharply. My ear picked up the word else.

"I'm not sure, if annihilating your love for your daughter is the kinda help I was looking for" I shot back crisply. I wanted us to work, but the stakes were clear, she couldn't get me to acknowledge that her demonizing her motherhood was appreciated by me because it benefited me in any which way!

"..but it did the magic trick, didn't it? You have Manik & Manik has Rooh & I am out of the grand picture" she spoke smoothly, sipping some more wine.

"Manik knows it was your trick" I supplied nonchalantly. She was quiet for a few moments that followed.

"Aah, that changes everything. No wonder, you came here to seek my help" she responded after a while. I rolled my eyes.

"Soha, believe what you want to but I came here to really make it work out between us and that's not possible if you are not willing to try" I hissed & she looked surprised.

"Wait. This is about, you wanting to make it work between us?" she asked, perplexed. I nodded in affirmation.

"Why'd you do that? How'd that help you?" she asked, sharply; she was clearly confused for the first time.