Kuch Baatein Ankaheen...

Home atlast

'Ayyo aiyappa.  He is going to kill me isn't he? Pls do something I really don't want to die so young!' Nandini was all but screaming out her prayers in her mind. The intensity in his eyes  made her gulp.

" How can you be so stupid? " he asked in a dangerously low voice. His face was so close to hers,  their noses almost touching.

Nandini went straight into panic mode and became a blabbering mess. "Manik I'm ao sorry. Mujhe unhe yahan nahin lana chahiye tha. You've been through a lot already. I shouldn't have brought her here today. God! I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry Manik. I.. "

"Nandini! Just..  Shut up!" Manik said with his jaws clenched. His emotions were all over the place. His mind was still trying to processing all the information Nyonica had just dumped on him. When he saw Nandini the truth came crashing down on him. He finally knew what had happened years back that had pushed her to leave him. When he stared at her moist brown eyes he felt an avalanche of emotions assaulting him- shock,  relief, anger,  pain,  regret and most of all...love.

" I'm not talking about your bringing Nyonica here" He said. One half of him wanted to hug her close and never let go whereas the other half wanted to shout at her for falling into Nyonica's trap. "She told me all about blackmailing you 5 yrs back. She confessed that she had manipulated me into believing you took money from her "

Nandini felt a heavy weight lifting from her chest. She felt herself breathing a shuddering sigh of relief . Years of pent up emotions came tumbling out overwhelming her.

Manik on the other hand was nowhere near finished with her.           " Five years, Nandini! Do you have any idea what I had gone through?  You just disappeared without a word to anyone. Do you know how mad I had gone worrying about you? The moment I opened my eyes in the hospital the first person I wanted to see was you. Everyone kept evading my questions whenever I asked them about you. Then Nyonica came and she said all that rubbish about how you had used me for my money. She even brought some fake bank statements as proof. I knew you would never do something like that. So I started searching for you like a maniac but I couldn't find you. It was like you never existed." Manik took a shuddering breath trying to hold himself together. "I kept searching for you for months almost a year. Then I slowly  started accepting the reality. Just like my family you too had left me. I tried...I really tried to hate you for it. I tried to believe Nyonica but I couldn't. I just couldn't stop loving  you. Your memories haunted me every single day during the past five years."

Nandini felt herself trembling with silent sobs. Without another thought she burried herself into his chest breaking  down completely. She clung to him pressing herself as close to him as possible. "I missed you too Manik...I missed you so very much... I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you..I..I...love you so much it hurts." She said into his chest. She felt his arms slowly embracing her crushing her to him,  his head buried in her hair. As the familiar strength of his arms engulfed her she finally felt like she had come home.

Manik couldn't see her tears any longer. He slowly cupped her face with one of his palms gently.
" I swear Nandu if you ever ever pull a stunt like that again... I'll hunt you down and  lock you up in a tower"

Nandini gave a small chuckle. "Is that supposed to be a threat?" She asked smiling through her tears." Because if you do manage to lock me up with you,  l'll be the one to throw away the key"

Manik felt his lips twitch. " So you are fine with spending rest your life locked up with your 'Monster Manik'?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

Nandini looked at him from under her long lashes. She stood on her tip toes while her hands locked itself around his neck. She leaned in and gave a peck on his lips. "Always. Aur waise bhi mera Monster Manik itne bhi bure nahin hain"  she said with a shy smile ,  her cheeks turning red by the second.