Manan ff : The Manager

chapter 27

Malhotra Mansion.

Entering the living room, Manik found his parents and Fab4 looking at the television set, with a tensed expression on their faces.

Manik was about to move towards them, when he was stopped in his path by Soha.

Soha with her fake concern, started blabbering " thank god Manik tum wapas aa gaye! !!!!......main naa kehti thi ki Nandini is fake. ...dekho ab uss ne kya kiya! !!!!!"

Ignoring Soha, Manik looked at the television screen, to get the shock of his life.

' Breaking news : Business Tycoon Aryaman Khurana engaged to Nandini Murthy and is soon going to tie the knot. '

Soha ( dramatically ) : see I told you. ...that Nandini was a gold digger! !!!!....usse sirf tumhara paisa chahiye tha. ...uss ke dil mein tumhare liye kabhie koi feelings nehin thi! !!!!....paise wale ladko ko aapne jaal mein phasana hi usska profession hai! !!!.....issliye toh uss ne mere bhai taak ko nehin chhoda. .....

Fab4, Raj and Nyonika animatedly stared at Manik, expecting him to say something in Nandini's defence. But, Manik never uttered a single word. It seemed like as if he was in some kind of daze.

Unable to bear Soha's accusations, Nyonika coldly spat " Soha. ...raat bahut ho chhuki hai. ...tumhe ab aapne ghar jaana chahiye. ...."

Sensing the unsaid warning in Nyonika's tone, Soha nodded her head in agreement and left from there.

As soon as Soha was out of the house, Cabir moved towards Manik and desperately asked " for once. ...just for once tell me Manik ki you trust Nandini? ???....tell me. ...ki tu Soha ki bakwas par bharosa nehin karta? ????"

When Manik didn't answer, Cabir's anger reached its peak. Grabbing hold of Maniks collar, Cabir jerked him mercilessly and yelled " yehi tha tera pyaar? ?????....yehi tha tera trust? ????....inn 5 years mein bass itna hi tu Nandini ko pehchan paya? ????"

Sensing Cabir's anger accelerating with every passing second, Dhruv stepped in and forcefully separated them.

Dhruv calmly said " mujhe nehin pataa ki sacch kya hai yah jhuth kya hai! !!!!....par main itna zarur jaanta hu ki Nandini kabhie galat nehin ho sakti. ...."

Cabir angrily spat " arrey Dhruv tu yeh sab kise baata raha hai? ?????....The Great Manik Malhotra ko. ....jis ke liye pyaar toh sirf time paas hai! !!!!"

Mukti ( calmly ) : yeh waqt jhagra karne ka nehin hai. ...but think guy's. ...why would Nandini take such a drastic step? ????

Aliya ( thinking ) : I second Mukti. ...koi bahut bada reason hai inn sab ke peeche! !!!!.....koi aisa reason joh Nandini ko yeh sab kuch karne ke liye majboor kar rahi ho! !!!!

Paying no interest in fab4's discussion, Manik moved towards his room silently and shut him inside.

While, Fab4, Raj and Nyonika were shocked by Maniks behaviour.

Khurana Villa.

11 : 00 pm.

As Aryaman didn't trust Nandini a single bit, he decided to keep her in front of his eyes for 24 *7 and offered her the guest room to stay.

Sitting in the balcony, Nandini stared at the stars, with marks of dried tears on her face.

She was still unable to believe, how the most memorable day of her life turned into a huge nightmare.

Within a blink of an eye, her life turned upside down.

The word's of Aryaman from the elevator, still rang in her ears "and your second option is. ...that you have to marry me!!!!. ......taaki Manik ko laage ki you have moved on. ...and he can easily be with Soha! !!!!....so now the choice is yours. ...think wisely! !!!!"

Nandini's trance was broken, when her mobile started buzzing, breaking the unpleasant silence.

Rubbing off her tears, Nandini received the call.

Nyonika ( hurt ) : yeh sab kuch kyon kiya baccha? ????
Controlling her sobs, Nandini said with gratitude " thank you. ...thank you so much. ...ki aap Manik ki maa hone ke bawajood mujhe itna pyaar diya. ...aapko maa bulane ka haq diya. ...thank you so much. ..."

Nyonika ( lovingly ) : bacche aapni maa ko kabhie thank you nehin bolte hai! !!!....aur tu toh meri beti hai. ...tujhe aapni beti bula ke joh khushi milti hai. ...usska tujhe andaza bhi nehin hai! !!!!

Nandini with a choked voice said " aapki iss beti se ek galti ho gayi. ...please mujhe maaf kar dijiye maa. ..."

Nyonika ( calmly) : agar main sirf Manik ki maa hoti. ...toh tujhe aapne bete ka dil todne ke liye kabhie maaf nehin karti! !!!!....par main teri bhi maa hu. ...aur mujhe pataa hai. ...ki meri beti kabhie galat nehin ho sakti! !!!....zarur inn sab ke peeche teri koi majboori rahi hogi. ...issliye teri har galti maaf. ...

With a faint smile, Nandini asked " ek akhri cheez maangu aap se? ????"

Nyonika ( childishly ) : bolna baccha tujhe kya chahiye? ????
Nandini calmly replied " aap naa Sir ka dhyaan rakhna. ..."

On hearing this, Nyonika giggled a bit " uss nalaayak ko tujhse accha aur koi nehin sambhal sakta! !!!....par phir bhi main koshish karungi. ..."

Nandini just felt relived on hearing this.

Nyonika with a choked voice asked " beta yeh joh kuch bhi tu kar rahi hai. ...kya yeh karna zaruri hai? ????....kya iss musibaat se nikal ne ka koi aur rasta nehin hai? ????"

On hearing this, fresh tears started rolling down Nandini's cheeks, ignoring Nyonika's question, she said " good night maa. ...main ab phone rakhti hu. ..."

Saying this, Nandini hung up and started crying incoherently.
Standing outside Nandini's room, the person heard the whole conversation and felt guilty.

Next day.

5 : 00 pm.

Inside the car.

Cabir irritatedly yelled " pecchle ek ghante se main pouch raha hu Manik ki tu humein kaha leeke jaa raha hai? ????....par janab kisi bhi sawaal ka jawab hi nehin de rahe! !!!!....abe tu ne maun vrat rakha hai kya aaj? ????"

Not at all replying to Cabir's any questions, Manik halted the car and walked out of it.

While Fab3 helplessly stared at Cabir and Maniks cold war.

Coming out of the car, the first thing Fab5 noticed was the name plate of the house to be ' Khurana Villa '.

On seeing this, fab4's face had a shocked expression.

Once back to his senses, Cabir snapped " saale tu humein yaha pein kyon laya hai? ???"

Folding his shirt sleeves, Manik sarcastically replied " shaadi karwane. .."