That following Monday, Manik decided to visit Harshad.
Manik spotted a picture of Nandani onHarshad's table at work. She looked younger, she was holding Harshad adoringly.
"Harshad your sister, is really beautiful" Harshad pulled the picture out of Manik's hand.
"Nandani se dhoor rahiyeh" He said, Manik smirked and pulled the photograph back.
"Agar voh meri pas aye toh? He asked Harshad, Whose face changed.
"Meri behen tumhara shakal pasand nahi karthi voh tumhari pas kabi nahi aogi" Harshad said.
"Challenge? Agar aj ki rath Nandani meri kamreh mein nahi athi toh mera naam Manik Malothra nahi hai"
"Agar voh nahi athi toh?" Harshad asked, pulling Nandani's photograph away from manik and putting it into his drawer.
"Mein tumko ek hafta dengi, ek hafta of peace"
"A month and it's a deal" They both shook hands on it.
Manik sipped his coffee from the caf opposite where Nandani worked.
He had stolen her cellphone number from one of his nightly visits.
It rang three times, he could see her answering the phone.
From where he sat.
"Hello" She said, He could see Dhruv standing nearby watching her with a stupid smile on his face. He felt a tinge of annoyance Dhruv got the entire day to watch her, while Manik, had to constantly badger her.
To get a good minute or two with her.
"Can you see the coffee shop in front of you, a really handsome guy sitting near the window holding his phone?"
She looked directly at him and glared like and angry little kitten.
"Tum!!! How did you get my number?" Manik held up a key. Nandani turned blushed uncontrollably.
"Come here"
"No" Nandani refused and put the phone down.
Manik redialed.
"Harshad is so dead Nandani, I have a report from Malothra industry's showing figures of the missing money and Harshad's banking details with the money in his account" Manik lied smoothly. Nandani paled instantly. Manik crooked a finger at her motioning her to come to the caf.
Nandani was wearing red, his favorite color.
"I made you come with one finger, Imagine what I can do with a whole hand" He said to her suggestively. Nandani closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.
"You are lying bhai would never steal money" Manik kept his face expressionless and held up a disk.
"Are you sure?" Manik asked, the slice of cake he ordered was brought by the waitress.
"Do you want it?" he said pushing it towards her.
"You can have it" Nandani stared at it.
Harshad would never take anything he did not work for. Manik was probably setting him up.
"If there really was anything on it, you would have already told Nyonika" Nandani said, Manik lost his train of thought when Nandani moved back into the sunlight and her hair tinged a 100 shades of brown.
"But you also know how much I like to see Harshad suffer, he would suffer all the more after his pyaari Nandu found out the truth about him" Nandani reached out for it, She thought she might as well check it out. Manik pulled it away.
"You said you would give it to me"
"First feed me the cake" Manik said, putting the fork in her hand. Nandani forked a large piece and shoved it in his mouth, He had a red mark on his lips she had given him that. The day she had run away from him when he had came into her room, he then held her wrist were a stray bit icing had gone and licked it.
"Nandani Murthy!!!" Nandani looked up, it was her collage friend Navya.
She got up and hugged Navya.
"I have not seen you in ages" Navya sat down next to Nandani.
"How are you?" Nandani asked forgetting Manik was there.
"I am really good, what about you when did you get married" Nandani looked at Navya confused.
"And voh bhi itna handsome admi keh saath" Navya said winking at Manik. Who just watched Nandani, whose face heated up, she was unsure how to say that she was in actual fact with her nephew.
"Yeh..." Nandani started off.
"I am Nandani's boyfriend" Manik cut her off and held Nandani's wrist from across the table.
"Yeh..." Nandani started off again.
"She is angry with me we had a bit of a fight and now she is saying we are not boyfriend and girlfriend"
Nandani stared at him, how was he able to lie so effortlessly.
"Oh, Nandu, tu kya naam hain tumhara?"
"Manik, Manik Malothra" Manik said.
"Myself Navya Naveli, Nandani kis sabse ache dhost"
"Manik Malothra, kitna deadly types naam hain, forgive Manik look at how cute he is" Manik pouted at her, Nandani did not know why she went ahead with his lie.
"Maaf kiyah" He smiled and kissed Nandani's fingers, Nandani wondered what it would be like to be Manik's girlfriend. Though she could not imagine it, she never saw him truly love anyone not even his mother.
"You guys make a beautiful couple"
"Thank you, we have to leave soon, Harshad gets worried when Nandani is not home early" Manik said standing up.
"Harshad voh kaise hain?" Nandani wished she did not ask the question piqued Manik's interest.
"Bhai is fine" Nandani said, she had dreaded seeing Navya again after Harshad's wedding. She had always been utterly in love with him.
"As long as he is happy" Navya said somewhat absentmindedly.
"Goodbye Navya, pleasure meeting you" So Manik could be polite, Nandani raised a brow at him outside the caf.
"Yeh kya hain" Nandani said poking her finger at his brow.
"Kya?" He said pushing her hand away.
"Monster Manik was polite and voh bi Nandani ki dhostoh keh saat, Strange" Manik smiled his face turned calculating.
His eyes fell to her fingers the ring was not there.
"Where is your ring" Nandani looked down at her fingers after what Nyonika had told her about the ring she had been to the jewelers and had it removed.
"You put that ring on my finger"
Manik grabbed her by her forearms lifting her up so that she stood face to face with him.
"Voh ring kaha gaye Nandani?" His entire face was etched with anger.
"I had it removed, I am not someone's dog that I have to wear a collar to show my loyalty to them" Manik let go of her and handed her the disk in her hand.
"This is the trailer, if you want the whole video come to my room before midnight and I will give you the rest"
