Deceiving Veils

Chapter-54{A Turning Point}

Breaking through the dense crowd, Manik stormed towards where Aryan was sitting with his mates. People gave Manik a way as his greasy body threatened to brush with their neat cloths. His face red with ire and his veins apparent as he tried to contain it.

Aryan gaped Manik as Manik approached him. Before he could get off, Manik grabbed him cruelly by collar of his coat.

"Manik," Aryan protested but Manik didn't listen.

Pushing Aryan into harsh bark of adjacent tree, Manik held his jaw between his index finger and thumb. Aryan wiggled under Manik's brutal clutch but all was in vain.

"What's wrong?" Aryan tried to speak wobbling and Manik pushed him further in that thorny bark.

"Back to dirty business?" Manik asked squeezing Aryan's jaw with this pitiless fingers.

Aryan pushed Manik away using all his might and held his cheeks. Manik again charged on him and that's when he heard people gasping in utter unease. Manik looked around to see a crowd surrounding them.

Aashi's eyes darted to find a cluster of people at other end on bonfire. Women started to whisper the words which she could hear. Nandini returned from her father's tent and walked towards Aashi with a turbulent heart. Conversation with Harshad had filled her heart with plain rage and now she was having hard time taming it. Nandini looked in direction where everyone was gaping. She couldn't see a thing but her mind signaled her to go find out what was there. She took steps towards the herd.

Manik grabbed Aryan's collar and dragged him away from audience. He needed Aryan to talk and a public show wouldn't help. 

Nandini cut through the crowd just to find nothing but stunned face. Three men ran towards camp while other gaped each other. It seemed like they had witnessed something odious. They averted their eyes as soon as Nandini's eyes met theirs.

"What is it?" Aashi asked as she joined Nandini.

"I don't know. There was nothing when I reached here," Nandini replied clueless.

Manik dragged Aryan to farthest corner of camp just to unleash his rage better.

"What do you think of yourself?" Aryan charged on Manik as soon as Manik left his collar. Manik pushed him away while Aryan again tried to lunge at Manik. Manik punched him in face and Aryan ended up tasting the soiled frost. His lip bleed and before he could revert, Manik grabbed him from ground.

"Tell me, To whom you are selling our secrets?" Manik asked enraged.

"I thought you have mended your ways...but no...I was wrong," Manik added as he pushed Aryan into big rock beside stream.

"What are you talking about?" Aryan asked baffled. He was doing anything but what Manik was saying.

"You met a spy," Manik revealed and Aryan's eyes grew wider in horror. Manik couldn't know.

Night-sky roared and thick drops touched their faces. Aryan's mates reached the spot and halted at a distance. Manik started to walk towards them in anger and they all gave up without even trying. Manik saw their running figures disappearing in drizzle. Returning to Aryan, Manik saw him utterly perplexed about something.

"I didn't meet anyone," Aryan lied. Aashi had asked him not to tell about it to anyone. He couldn't divulge it to Manik.

"Stop lying," Manik roared holding Aryan's chin tightly.

"You are again planning to betray all of us. I am sure you have a hand in Aabid's abduction," Manik accused and Aryan punched him in return.

"I have no hand in Aabid's disappearance," Aryan yelled and Manik latched on him.