Kaisi yeh Yaariyan Season 3

Chapter 56

He put her down at her request. "Manik I am sorry" she held both his arms and tried to study his face because he wasn't speaking up. She had been both a target and a witness to his uncontrolled rage, way too many times in the past. She could tell from her experience, this wasn't anger. He was lost, and terribly hurt. Yes, this was his plan, and he had prepared himself to face her wrath so that SHE could release all her stored anguish but he hadn't expected her to not trust him. He hadn't expected her to call him selfish or to question his very intentions for her. She had shaken him from within.

"Maaf kar do na please, jab tak tum mujhe maaf nahi karoge, I wont leave from here" her pleas sounded childish, even to her own ears.

"Nandini, I think we should go home." His voice was so calm and yet so authoritative, it scared her.

"Manik!!! " She tried to plead one last time.

"Let me carry you, I don't want your feet to bleed like last time." She figured, he had pretty much made up his mind and there was no way she could change it. She had never liked his anger, but between anger and sadness, she would always choose the former for him, for whatever he didn't spew out, stayed inside and continued to corrode him like acid.

She gave in and he swept her off her feet once more, but in the process, he hurt his hand and winced in pain. The same hand that she had banged against the door of the car and had not cared to check upon even once and yet, despite being in agony himself, he had responded to her very first cry of pain. She had thrown away her red shoes, his very first gift to her, the one's she had so carefully treasured so that she could proudly wear them when she was with him. She had thrown them away so mercilessly... She didn't even want to place her in his shoes and imagine how she would have felt if he had thrown away her guitar with as much hatred. How would she make it up to him? How would she give him back the confidence, her mean accusations had robbed him of ? She felt smaller than usual in his arms, against his generosity.

However, what neither of them realized, was that, anger was not the only emotion, Nandini had piled up inside her. It was not the only thing causing her progressively deteriorating health. She had been unknowingly holding on to an equally enormous amount of resentment and insecurity, which had made her bitter and turned her into a coward; which is why she had almost given up on Manik, before he appeared out of thin air one fine day. This is why she found comfort in Panchgani, away from her friends & family. This is why she had never been able to stand up to the jerk Neel or take charge of her own life.

And all the while that she was thinking that she was healing Manik, it was he, who was unknowingly sealing her cracks, one at a time.

It was late in the night when they reached home in absolute silence. A packet was lying infront of the entrance door. Nandini was surprised. If Manik was here, who else could have sent this? Could it be Neel? She was going to pick it when Manik stopped her and picked it himself "That's mine, don't bother." She was taken aback.

She unlocked the door and walked inside and switched on the lights. But where was he? she turned around to see him still standing at the bottom of the stairs, lost in thoughts. She immediately ran upto him and hugged him. "You are not leaving, are you?" she was afraid he would leave her once more. Her heart started beating fast.

"No, I am not" No matter how hurt he was, he wouldn't leave her to fall sick once more.

She sighed in relief and pulled him inside.

He settled on the couch in the living room while she went inside to change. He was doing something on his mobile when she tiptoed infront of him.

"Mujhe bhook lagi hai" she said. He looked up at her innocent face and guilty eyes. He recalled how she had been excited about their lunch outing and yet at the restaurant she had merely finished 5 spoons full of soup, leaving everything else untouched. He nodded and followed her to the kitchen. She brought out the food from the fridge and warmed it in the microwave, while he looked on at her.