Do opposites really attract?

Chapter 32 - Revealing the past

"5 saal pehlay ki baat hai. I was 21 and I was young and naive. I was doing well in my career. I was one of the best young openers. Not many people got the chance to open with top class players like Dhawan and Rohit but I did. I was playing under Dhoni's captaincy, how lucky was I! Everything was perfect for me Nandini. Everything! It was the 2015 World Cup semi-final, we were beaten by Australia. Our chance to retain the World Cup title was shattered. We were all distressed. As a 21 year old, you don't take losses well. I wanted to get drunk and forget the misery. It was the first World Cup I had participated in and I felt frustrated that we lost after getting so far. I remember sulking in the corner of the hotel restaurant with the company of my loneliness and the untouched beer glass. That's when she walked up to me and my life changed from that point onwards. Naina, the girl who made me forget my sadness." Manik started to narrate his story as I listened intently.

"Naina?" I mumbled. Who was she?

"Hmmm, she was the most prettiest girl I had laid my eyes on or so I thought. Now that I've met you Nandini, I don't think that was quite true. Anyway, Naina was doing her internship with our team. She was training to be a sports physiotherapist and was assisting our head physiotherapists during the World Cup season. I had seen her around during the matches and practice but I had never paid much attention to her until that day. She just came to me that day, sat down and we just talked. She talked about her studies, her future aspirations, her family, her hobbies and I spoke to her about my family, my hobbies etc. Nothing crazy happened that night Nandini. It was just two people talking over drinks and forgetting our worries. I felt so relaxed with her, I felt free, I felt like a regular care free 21 year old! There was no pressure of carrying the dream of billions on my shoulder, there was no pressure of hitting big runs, there was no pressure of winning. After that night, we started to meet more often. After her internship, she even got a place as the assistant physiotherapist of team India. I remember the day she had officially become a member of team India, I asked her to be my girlfriend. We were so happy together. She brought out the best in me. She was my lucky charm. She meant everything to me." Manik said as he stared out into the distance. Normally his words made me feel calm, but today I felt a pang of jealousy after listening to his words.

"If everything was so perfect then what happened? Where did it all go wrong?" I questioned. If Naina was so perfect for him then why did they fall apart?

"Good question! Frankly speaking, I don't have the exact answer. There were many things which went wrong. Firstly, the media got involved. They figured out we were dating as they saw us spending so much time with each other. We never actually told the media that we were official but anyone could've guessed. The media knowing didn't bother us at first, but then things started to get crazy. The media would follow Naina everywhere, she had no personal space. They were trying to dish out gossip on Manik Malhotra's girlfriend because they clearly had nothing else to do. She started getting irritated and anyone would. This start causing fights between us. Then one day, I was spotted at a restaurant with Pankhuri Sharma, Hardik's sister-in-law. Her and Krunal were in the early days of dating at that time. No one knew anything about them. I had met them both for a casual dinner. In the middle of dinner, Krunal had received an urgent call and he had to leave. I offered to drop Pankhuri off. She was a good friend of mine. After dinner, we both headed out together. I dropped her off in my car. The media captured our pictures and you can guess what the headline was the next day. 'Manik Malhotra spotted with a mystery girl! Is she the new girlfriend? Have Manik and Naina broken up?' This created more drama between me and Naina. I couldn't tell her Pankhuri was Krunal's girlfriend, it was their secret and they should decide when to reveal it to the world. I explained to Naina Pankhuri was just a friend. She believed me but she was upset I went out to dinner alone with another girl and wasn't careful enough to not be spotted by the media." Manik explained. No wonder why he tries to protect me from the media.