A member of the mafia, Nawab, falls prey to the temptation of wooing a woman during a mission outside Mumbai. Under the identity of Manik Malhotra, he meets Nandini Murthy, a walking-talking panic button, and feels undeniable attraction for her.
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𓆩𓆪
After Nandini had found the charging cable she was looking for, Manik had snatched the blazer and sprawled it over his lap. The rest of the car ride, stemming from unresolved sexual tension, had been devoid of conversations. Himesh Reshammiya's music – since neither of them objected to it – had been playing on the console for a while, until it began crackling.
They had come within range. Nandini urged him to take a road down a valley. He scanned the area, sharply regarding the unlit, dingy swamp-looking pathway. He meant to protest that it looked shady, and that it could be potentially unsafe, but a rational part of him challenged otherwise: what was the worst that could happen, as long as Manik was around?
As their lonely car slipped down the hills, Manik turned on his high beams. The canopy, completely void of moonlight, created a pitch-dark tunnel with no end seemingly at sight. Anything or anyone could jump at them from either side. It frightened Nandini more so than Manik, for whom darkness was a nightmare of its own. Perhaps, it was a terrible idea.
But at the speed at which they were travelling, and considering the width of the road, turning back was not an option. Even if their car stopped for just a second, anything could happen. She did the next best thing she could think of.
Her hands were clasped in prayer as her lips magically moved in mumbles, acting as a talisman to ward all evil spirits from their vicinity.
"Manik..." She softly called, her voice meek over the radio rumbles.
"Hmm?"
"Tum... theek ho na?"
The car ascended.
He gazed at her, her eyes still closed while her palms were still joined.
"Hmm..." To her, it sounded like an unpleasant grumble because she could not see the sparks of a growing smile at the corners.
"Pakka na?"
"Hmm..."
"Pakka-pakka na?" When he didn't say anything, she prayed even louder, hoping her voice will keep his fears at bay.
From the peak, Manik caught a glimpse of light at the end of the canopy, feeling a sense of accomplishment having conquered his fright in the presence of some twinkling objects looming somewhere up in the distance, and his personal shining star who made certain moments in his life infinitely more cherish-able. He mindlessly drove towards the source.
Waves of light swept over their car, enlightening Nandini with shades of red and black while her eyes were still shut. She gradually unravelled them, the uncanny brightness scalding her retina, as the house she saw above the valley came into view.
Manik parked the car before it, perplexed. "Yahan hum..."
Nandini hopped out of the vehicle, drawing some eights in the air with her mobile phone and stretching it out. Irritated that she got down in the middle of nowhere without waiting for him to scout the area first, Manik followed holding his blazer, encircling the car while glaring at her.
