Almost Not Love! |COMPLETE| MaNan Fiction

1. Bad Choices Make Good Stories

A/N : Hello my MaNan familia! Welcome once again to this MaNan journey! I just can't have enough of MaNan so even before I finish one story, a new one pops up in my mind! While this is a refurbished story, I would like you to know, I am currently writing two more fresh MaNan stories, which I will eventually announce in a few month's time :) 

Hope you enjoy this story as much as I did, while writing it:)

Happy reading, catch you on the other side!

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"Come on 'yaar', this is the least you can do for me. If not for my amazing wingman-ship, at least for all the times I have been your best breakup prop" nagged Abhimanyu one more time, but his best friend and confidant was in no generous mood today.

Nandini was sitting in her swing chair in the balcony watching the sunset, gently swinging, and humming the jingle from an old advertisement that was somehow stuck in her head today. As she lazily dragged a puff from her cigarette and passed it on to Abhimanyu, he continued to rant. He needed her to accompany him for a party, more precisely the birthday party of his new love interest Mukti. What was her business there? She didn't know Mukti as yet, to be honest neither did Abhimanyu, he had met her only twice so far, after matching on Tinder, but if previous track records were any indication, Nandini was expecting a major episode of 'Puppy Love' in the near future.

"Come on Abhimanyu, I don't know anyone there. Forget me, even you don't know anyone there, what's the point of going there and getting bored?" Nandini tried pointing it out.

"I know Mukti, and it is her birthday! Doesn't that count? Also do I ever question you when you ask me to help you, I always trust your sense of judgement Nandz" coaxed Abhimanyu further.

Nandini smiled; this was true, her BFF Abhimanyu however annoying, silly and dumb he maybe, he has always been there with her to sweep the dirt under the rag. Sometimes looking at him she wondered how on earth were they even friends? Unlike family, we get to choose our own friend right, if this was true, then there was no logical explanation to how an innocent boy from Jalandhar with a kind heart, rich parents and alarmingly low IQ, managed to win her friendship!

"Okay fine, I will go with you. But just so you know, I am doing this only because it's you who's asking!" Nandini had given in to his demand.

[At Mukti''s party, later that evening]

He had noticed her from the moment she entered their house, only he didn't recognize her. He knew everyone here, well mostly, barring her and this guy she walked in with; who were they? wondered Manik. He had seen that she had noticed him too, and she was conscious of his gaze. The guy with her seemed like a nut job, he couldn't be her date; also he was annoyingly chatty with Mukti, much to his discomfort. He would look into the 'Mukti-Retarded Guy' business later, for now his eyes were on her.

These were the moments Manik regretted being a silent introvert. In his place any of his friends would have and would most probably in another hour, approach her with a funny conversation starter, make her laugh, dance a little and then walk out of the party hands on waist; but not Manik, he was much too reserved and mature to pull that off. Not that he didn't have his way around with women, after all he was the scion of Malhotra Wide Publication, the owner of the country's leading news channel! He had fan clubs on social media platforms on his name, he had unknowingly made it to the #1 position in so many random opinion polls for women's magazines, 'The Eligible Man of the Year', 'Top 10 Sexy Entrepreneurs of today' etc.

Manik's quiet and reserved nature never took the limelight away from him and even though he never approached he had a lot of action going from all the women who approached him! He sighed looking at this girl today, unfortunately his elaborate resume of achievements, both in the field of business and women wasn't helping him today. This was mainly because the woman in question seemed reserved too; reserved, not oblivious though. She was aware of his eyes on her, it seemed like she was enjoying the attention, but she was making no effort to establish communication with him. This woman seemed to like being chased. Problem was, if both of them liked being chased, they would just always end up being where they were today, two diagonally opposite corners of a room! What could be done? wondered Manik.