Chapter 71.

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*Hiding under the table* people, I don't know how it is. This was suppose to be one of the best update but it is not. I atleast wrote and erased it 10 times simultaneously but couldn't write more better. I seriously don't know what have I written. Apologies in advance if it let your hopes down.
It's okay to point out my horrible mistakes . I understand.
I am hidden and not in a mood to show my face. 🙈🙈
You can.............read it now. Bye.

Dear Nandini di,

Trust me, I have no fading idea why I wrote your name on this letter. My fingers couldn't stop but write your name..Sorry, if it bores you. (This is my line too.)

Firstly, thank you di. Infact this thank you is seriously not enough. You might think why all of us are so obliged to have you in our lives. So here is the reason why.

The one thing I have learnt from this life is that its not always about the people who gave you birth but about the people who loved you unconditionally. Relationships do not show, who are your relatives but love does.
In my case, they were Mr. Dhairya Malhotra, Mr. Manik Malhotra and Mrs. Gayatri Malhotra. I cannot even think of returning the favours they have given me. Di, how much ever they accept me, truth cannot be changed or hidden, I am not their blood. I will always remain......anyways.

Dad gave me his name, an identity when my biological father did not even care to look at me for once, when my mother just because of some currencies and paper notes decided to hide my last name from everyone.
I got to be a Malhotra, I got to be a part of that family which I couldn't have imagined ever if I was born somewhere else(actually I was).
I got the sweetest dadi in this entire world, as a friend. A best friend none can ever have.
And....I got luckiest to have a man who is everything to me. The man who owns whatever I have. Since the day I got senses in my brain, I have seen him struggling for me. He laid his entire life for me, only because I was a little kid and our mother had almost unofficially disowned us. And after dad died, he made each second of his life available for me.
He was my father in need, a mother to love, a brother when I felt alone and a friend indeed. He learnt how to make braid for me. Can you imagine Manik Malhotra making a little girl's hair for her school and getting her ready? He did that. He used to wake up early to wake me up for my school, feed me my breakfast when I was running late, sing for me on my birthdays, clown himself up to make me laugh, read me bed time stories, did my homework when I couldn't complete, was there for me the whole night completing my projects or before my exam, drop me to school, held my hand while crossing the busy roads, was always present there in each parent's day (also fab5), played hide and seek with me, waited for me outside my school to pick me up, picked up my dresses, shopped for me, made me a stronger girl. He did all the chores, a mother, a father, a brother and a friend could do. He used to be a boy who chose his life to live for others, to change his dreams to be a big rockstar into a reality, a boy who laughed in the silliest of jokes, a boy who had every college student to be his friend, whose smile brightened the darkest of days into light, who watered his flowers every evening because he loved flowers, the boy who never hesitated telling what he felt about others, who talked when he felt like, who used to humm melodies when he didn't talk, who gave surprizes like a routine, who played mouth organs with Dhruv every sunday evenings, who teased Cabir for not geting any girlfriend, whose bad temper was always his weakness but a strength too to warn boys not to stare at Aliya or Mukti di. He who played rock music with Mukti di and made romantic scratches with Aliya. He was a perfect man.
He still is but 4 years ago, he lost the reason to be happy and perfect. Reason to smile again, laugh again, talk again, humm again. Everything stopped when his own mother slapped right on his face cause of her greed and money. When he got to know that the sister he pampered like his own daughter wasn't his blood. It broke him, our family. Then, nothing was same as before. I saw him changing from Manik to The Manik Malhotra. The ruthless, fearless, heartless, the rudest, pitiless, the brutal of all. He changed himself into a beast who did not cared for people around. Whose anger wasn't his weakness or strength but the power to gain all the weaklings under him. Who abandoned his friends. Those friends, he adored the most were erased from his life. His smiled was changed to frowns, his love was changed to hatred, his endless conversations were changed to silent solitude, his melodies were changed to harsh discord, he became what he never wanted to be. A monster. He made his way to the heights of Malhotras which were never meant for him. His rage crossed all limits and he became The Manik Malhotra.
And see my helplessness, I couldn't do anything. Like a deaf,dumb and handicapped, I saw everything but wasn't able to stop him. In those 4 long years he made a hard shell around him and no one could pass throug it. He did share his secrets with me but couldn't share his inner tumoil.
But, after 4 years, I again saw him smiling, Again laughing, again excited for the next day to come, he started humming again, he started breaking his walls. Also giving surprizes. And the only reason for all this, you. Nandini Murthy changed The Manik Malhotra to Manik.
You gave him a reason to be happy and perfect again. And a simple thank you is not enough di. Is not. Though, When I first heard about you I was a little....a little haan, thodu sa insecure. You know how it is to share the single man you have with another girl. Be it your brother. Who cares. Well, yeah I was jealous of you when he started talking about you 24 hours a day. Everysingle time he was happy I knew it was because of you. But soon his genuine smile overpowered my insecurities and see, today you're my only friend other than this weirdo family.

And thus I am here, call me selfish. I am. Even if I become the most selfish girl for him, I will. Because till there are some aspects of life he cannot forget di. We have lived our entire childhood without parents, we have cried in empty rooms when we were scared of darkness, we trembled when we were alone and there was no dad or mom with us to fight the world. He still needs to be recovered di. He is changing but I am scared for him. He is vulnerable and needs you. Promise me that you'll do it. Promise me I will get my bhai back. The older one. This monster wala Manik is too harsh. Mujhe ni achcha lagta ye wala Manik. He is khadoos.That previous one, he was love. And am sure you'll love him too. Oops you love this one too. Hehe...sorry. But you'll love that one more. I promise and you should know Mia Malhotra never lies.

There are still some secrets which are hidden. Secrets which are dissolved behind this fame and name of Malhotras. I leaving kathak and having no friends around are one of the results of those happenings. I........I don't know how to tell you this but.....I....was once kidnapped. No no...don't panic, it was a small mischief of some spoilt boys whom I once......bruised with a baseball bat. Yeah, yeah, yeah I did that too. But I don't regret that, if anyone would be seen bullying an innocent creature he will surely get beaten up by me. They were teasing that small puppy for god's sake. I couldn't control and wacked them up with my bat. What a day it was but soon I was kidnapped by them on my way back to home and they forced themselves on me. Yeah they did. But I was bolder than them I somehow got out of their chains but soon was caught and those morons (sorry for the bad language) forced me to dance infront of them. They made me do a lot of things which were once my favourite but now nothing but a nightmare.They kinda harrased me, my feet were bleeding, my knees were bruised. I wasn't in a good state. But soon, my saviour came and saved me. Bhai was on time before they could do anything. The boys were thrown into jails and I was home. Dadi still have no clue about all this. She knows that I was caught up with some fight thats it. That one day was horror for me. If bhai were not there to save me, may be I....Wouldnt have made it. Would have died right there. I still don't know how he got to know about me. We never discussed it. Bhai never allowed me to do. And that is why I do not prefer dancing now. It haunts me. I am scared. And Bhai is on a mission to reduce that fear inside me. I have no friends, this is the only reason. I get a little suffocated among different people. Bhai knows this so became my friend.Ask him the details, he will tell you.

So, this was my story. Our story. I know it is kinda boring (writer knows that too) and you're already sleeping but I just wanted to tell you this. I am not a person to say a lot about myself so these letters help me. Dadi suggested this once and so this goes on every time I get grounded by bhai.
And di, One thing, please do not leave me . I got a friend, a mother, an angel in you. My brother got his life back. Just stay with both of us. We crave for love and care. If you do not like something tell us, we'll be there. Beat us if you want whenever we do something out of the world, but don't leave us. Please bear us. I know we are impossible to deal with but we are not that bad. Right?

Hash! Now I am feeling light.
Good night di. Thanks for tolerating this. Gotta go.
I love you.
Yours very lovingly.
Mia Malhotra.

P.s. Do ask Bhai how he fell for you. Thats an intersting story. You know, beauty and the beast types.

Nandini wiped the stains from her cheeks and smiled a little. Sure this was a weirdo girl of this weirdo family. She chuckled and kept the scroll saftely with other letters.
Manik's car entered the gate. Nandini saw this from her window and flew down in hurry. She opened the door herself and jumped on him, hugging him as tightly as possible. Manik stumbled a little but balanced himself.

"I promise." She said. "I promise I will never ever leave you. Never. Till my last breath."

He listened and tightened his grip.

"I love you a lot." He heard her. A smile crept on his face.

She looked at him and kissed him passionately without a warning. A kiss of promise. A kiss to tell herself that no matter what, she is not going to leave this man. And bring back the old Manik. Somehow. Anyhow.

*shouts from under the table*
Read it? Phew!!
I'll update sooner. I promise. And better than this I hope.
Goodbye.
Keep smiling.
Stay healthy.

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