CHAPTER 18

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Nandini stepped out of her flat and locked the door. She tightened her scarf around her neck and put her hands in the coat's pockets. It was bitingly cold. But the street looked beautiful with the softly falling snow and glimmered with the light of Christmas trees. She remembered appreciating the beauty of something similar in the morning with Manik and sighed as the pain sliced through her again. The ache would always be there.

She adjusted her cap on her head and began to walk. It was 31st December, last date of the year. She looked at her watch. It would be New Year after two hours. As decided earlier, she had removed the offer of sale from her furniture and had arrived at her home early in the morning to change the sheets and had spent the entire day in cleaning her flat. At least now she would be relaxed that her flat would be clean on New Year. Thankfully, getting a cab wasn't going to be a problem. There were still unfortunate people out there who were ready to work even during the last hours of the last day of the year to earn some extra bucks for their family.

Mr. and Mrs. McGuire were expecting her along with Aryaman and Riddhima. All of them were going to spend the New Year together. She was happy...in a way. She was with the people who cared and that was a lot better than those who didn't have even this luxury. Still, she couldn't help wondering what it would have been like to spend New Year with the Malhotras. More laughter, more fun. She sighed. More love...

"Nandini"

She froze. Since when had she started hearing voices? It was done now. Love had made her crazy, so crazy that she had started hearing Manik's voice, just like in the movies. It would be better to ignore it. She resumed her walk.

"Nandini" the voice called again, more closer, more urgent, more desperate.

Oh well! If she was indeed having a hallucination, she had better enjoy it. Slowly, she turned and her heart lurched as she saw Manik almost running towards her. He was having difficulty on the slippery pavement and she got worried that he might fall. But even in the midst of all this, he looked so gorgeous in his black jeans, and if she could see clearly, his Superman's T-shirt which she recognized was a gift from Vaaryan on Christmas. And... he was wearing her jacket, the one she had gifted him on Christmas.

He stopped right in front of her, pausing slightly for breath and she drank his features. The gorgeous hard face, the soft lips and the piercing brown eyes. Somehow, he looked too real for a hallucination, except that he looked tired and...lost. There were lines of strain near his eyes and his hair was longer than before and was dangling on his forehead as if he hadn't bothered to cut it. He seemed to be drinking her too. The way he was looking at her was almost, ravenous and... and relieved.

"Nandini" he whispered in an uncertain voice and hesitatingly, touched her cheek. Electric shock! He was no hallucination! He was here in New York right in front of her, very much real!

She flinched and stepped back. "Manik!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

He tried not to show but she saw the hurt in his eyes when she had flinched back from him. "Looking for you" he replied in a husky voice.

Déjà vu! Harshad had said the same thing to her. But things were different, completely different. She looked at Manik and remembered the hurt and anger of their last meeting. She loved him, she would always love him. And though seeing him again healed the pain of last few days, though she felt as if dreams do come true, it still didn't change anything between them. He still didn't trust her and that was something she couldn't live with.

So, she said the words that almost killed her. "I think you should leave, Mr. Malhotra. We already said our goodbyes."

"No!" Manik grabbed her arm when she turned to leave and turned her around. Pulling her closer, he wrapped his other arm firmly around her waist. "Don't go, Nandini. Please. Listen to me. We need to talk" he begged. Stunned by the agony in his voice and the misery in his eyes, Nandini stopped struggling. She looked at him carefully. The look in his eyes, it matched with the look she had had on her face when she had left India. Was it possible that-?

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