Threads of Friendship, Bonds of Marriage

Chapter: 35

[Flashback]
Location: Hospital Terrace

Nandini: (hesitant) Did you... did you ever try to find out about Sonia?

[The question hit him like a slap. Manik stiffened, his body tensing as her words hung heavy in the air. He hadn't expected this. His silence stretched between them, an unspoken answer that made Nandini's heart sink. He lowered his head, ashamed.]

Nandini: (whispering, hurt) So, I am the only one whom you didn't trust, just like the others.

[Her voice cracked, her heart breaking all over again. Manik reached for her, desperate to close the growing chasm between them, but the invisible wall of hurt and mistrust only seemed to grow taller, pushing them further apart.]

Manik: Nandu...

[For the first time, hearing "Nandu" from Manik's mouth, Nandini freezes. The air between them thickens with tension. Her heart skips a beat. Manik takes a hesitant step forward, his hand almost reaching out, but he stops himself. He knows he can't take that risk.]

Nandini: Don't call me that, Manik. You don't deserve it.

[Her voice is sharp, but her eyes, which once shined with warmth, are now cold and distant. Her chest tightens as she speaks, but she holds her ground. She's not the girl who would let him walk over her emotions anymore.]

Manik: I'm sorry... (He takes a deep breath, struggling to keep his voice steady.) I'm really sorry, Nandini. Whatever punishment you want to give me, I'll take it. Anything... just tell me what I can do to make this right.

[His words are desperate, but there's an honesty in his tone that would've shattered her heart just a few weeks ago. Now, she can't tell if his desperation is real or just another act.]

Nandini: I don't know what's true or false with you anymore.

[She looks up at him, her eyes glistening. Her voice trembles for a moment, but she quickly composes herself. She feels trapped between wanting to believe him and knowing she shouldn't.]

Manik: I get it, Nandini. I know you're hurt, but please, trust me this one last time. (His voice softens, and the slight breeze stirs his hair as he pleads with her.) Ever since I came back from Paris, everything between us has been real. I know I made a mistake looking into your past, but once I knew the truth, it only made me more certain... You're the most incredible person I've ever met. You have the purest heart.

[For a moment, Nandini's guard falters. The sincerity in his eyes almost pulls her back in, but the wound is too fresh, too deep.]

Nandini: Then you already know... I'm cursed.

[Her voice cracks, but there's no bitterness, only pain. The fading sunlight casts long shadows around them, making the scene feel more surreal. The golden hour seems to mock the darkness that's taken root in her heart.]

Manik: No, Nandini, you're not. Whatever happened wasn't your fault. It was fate. And knowing everything about you only made me realize one thing—you could never be wrong with someone.

[Nandini feels the weight of his words, but they don't reach her like they used to. She clenches her fists, holding onto her pain like a shield.]

Nandini: If that's what you really believed, you should've given me a chance to prove myself. If you had trusted me, maybe... maybe I would've thought differently about us. But now? You've taken that choice away from me.

Manik: What do you mean?

[He frowns, confusion etching across his face as the tension between them builds. The cold wind brushes past them as if nature itself is trying to remind them of the growing distance.]