TRUE LOVE NEVER GIVES UP

Chapter-77: A shoulder to Lean On

Manik walked into the room, his mind still heavy with the conversation he just had with Cabir. He had barely gathered himself when he heard laughter coming from inside. His eyes instinctively sought out Nandini, and what he saw made his heart stop for a moment.

There she was, sitting up in bed, laughing with Navya, Mukti, Alya, Dhruv, and Abhimanyu. They were all gathered around her, joking, teasing, like they hadn’t seen her in months. The warmth of the scene was so different from the tension that had filled the air just moments ago. Nandini’s smile—it lit up the entire room, a sight that Manik hadn’t seen in what felt like forever.

For a brief moment, Manik stood at the door, leaning against the frame, just watching. His heart swelled with relief to see her smiling, the weight on his chest lifting slightly. He wasn’t used to seeing this lightness in the air anymore, and it was almost surreal to witness. But Nandini caught sight of him standing there, and her smile widened.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up!" she teased, her voice playful as her eyes gleamed mischievously.

Everyone turned to look at him, and the room burst into a chorus of greetings and laughter. Manik rolled his eyes dramatically, walking toward the bed with a small smirk on his lips. "I see you’re all having fun without me. Guess I’m forgettable now, huh?"

Nandini raised her eyebrows, pretending to think. "Hmm… yeah, pretty much," she teased, biting her lip to keep from laughing as Mukti and Alya giggled beside her.

"Oh come on, Manik!" Mukti chimed in with a grin, "You’ve always been easy to forget."

Alya joined in, her voice light. "Yeah, who needs you when we’ve got Nandini back, huh?"

Everyone burst into laughter, including Nandini, who was watching Manik’s exaggerated expression of fake hurt. He placed a hand over his heart and sighed dramatically. "Wow, I see how it is. I’ve been replaced," he joked, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Nandini smiled at him, her eyes softening as the laughter in the room started to die down. Her gaze stayed fixed on him for a moment, and she noticed something that made her expression change from playful to concerned.

Her brows furrowed as she looked at him carefully, her smile fading just a little. "Wait a minute… why do you look like that?" she asked, her tone shifting to something more serious.

Manik blinked, slightly taken aback. "Like what?"

"Like you’ve been through a storm and haven’t slept in days," Nandini replied, her eyes narrowing as she studied his tired face, the dark circles under his eyes, the paleness of his skin.

Before Manik could respond, Navya cut in, her voice filled with concern. "Oh, you haven’t seen him properly yet, have you, Nandu? He looks like this because he hasn’t been taking care of himself."

"Yeah, seriously!" Mukti nodded along.

Alya added, "He hasn’t eaten properly in days. He’s been skipping meals left and right."

"And don’t even get us started on sleep," Dhruv chimed in, shaking his head. "I don’t think he’s had more than a couple of hours of sleep since you’ve been here, Nandini. He’s just been sitting here, barely moving an inch from your side."

Abhimanyu sighed, crossing her arms. "He hasn’t even gone home once, not even to shower or change his clothes. He’s practically been living here."

Manik sat there, listening to them as they threw his bad habits out in the open, all the while keeping his head down, avoiding Nandini’s gaze. He knew she’d be upset, but it wasn’t like he could leave her. He just couldn’t.