MaNan: Unadulterated Love|| Completed

37. Messed Up!

~ Pain demands to be felt!
- John Green~

"Famous India based businessman Mr Raj Malhotra dies an untimely death, reports say heart attack!"

The emotion that Kabir and Nandini's face displayed was nothing less than horror. It now made snese to Nandini now- lack of phone call from veebha and Manik, her anxiousness and Samar mentioning the weird phone call to Manik. She raised her eyes to look at Kabir, trembling, but to confirm and the expression on his face was a stamp on all her fears. Her heart broke for him, the one person who had taught her to love, and the one person she was going to foolishly giving up on.

Nandini somehow gathered all the courage and went forward to hold her mother's hand who was standing clueless, and met her eyes. Damini was surprised, she had never seen this defiant look in her daughter's eyes.

" I am sorry Maa, but I can not come with you just because I am afraid, or just because you are afraid. I can't leave him, especially not now when I know he needs me. You go ahead, I have to rush", she bent to touch her mother's feet who blessed her, still confused, but Nandini didn't have time to explain. She ran out of Kabir's house, directly towards Manik's.

" Badi maa, the media is covering the death of Manik's father", Kabir answered Damini's unasked queries, and she was surprised on her place.

"Aunty, I know that as a mother, you are worried about Manik and Nandini's relationship and its future. But trust me, no body can be more perfect for them than each other, it's like they have been made to fulfill the voids in each other's life. They belong together Aunty", Navya explained her softly, requesting her to see beyond the society and it's weighing scales. She knew Kabir would have done that better but she sensed Kabir was himself not in a condition to explain anything in that moment.

Damini stayed silent, for she had nothing to say at the moment, and picked up their bags to leave because it was time for their departure.
Kabir was lost and Navya held his hand tightly in her. Friendship is when one friend feels pain of another without even expressing. Such sincere was the friendship of Kabir and Manik.

After dropping Damini and Peehu to airport, Kabir and Navya also hurriedly left for mansion.

Meanwhile, Nandini reached mansion as soon as she could with worry and guilt written all over her face. She entered to find the mansion in pin drop silence. No one could tell there was a marriage here just the night before. Although the decorations were still there, the noises had disappeared. She silently went inside to see Navya's parents standing in the kitchen silently, looking at each other and discussing something in low voices.

" Aunty, have you seen Maa, I mean Veebha Aunty or Manik?", She asked them gently, she did not actually trust her own voice at the moment.

" She is in her room Beta, not allowing any one of us to enter. I think Manik isn't at home though",  Navya's mother explained. Nandini's heart sank listening Manik is not at home. How desperately she wanted to see him again. She nodded and turned to leave for Veebha's room when she turned back again. There was something called courtesy and these were the parents to a day old wedded daughter.

" Uncle, Aunty, please don't hesitate to ask me if you need anything", Nandini forced a very small smile.

Navya's parents exchanged a look before returning her smile, albeit awkward. Though it wasn't right to talk about marriage rituals in a mourning house, they had their own obligations and expectations to fulfill from their only daughter's marriage.

" Nothing beta, Just that we were to leave in the afternoon. Navya's parting rituals are to be done from our ancestral home when she comes there after a few days, and there is a lot of preparation pending", Navya's father hesitantly spoke, not meeting Nandini's eyes.