Manan : Love for Eternity

chapter 23

Manik wipes nandini's tears with utmost affection and kisses her forehead. Nandini whimpers and hugs him tightly.

M : please don't cry princess, everything is fine now that u are back.

Adi gets up and leaves, he goes towards nandini's room.
Nandini gets out if Manik's embrace and looks into his eyes. Manik's eyes calming the storm inside her. A new found determination to end this baseless fight.

M : adi

N : wait Manik, let me go and talk to him.

Nandini gets up and goes behind Aditya. She sees Adi sitting on her bed, the very same room she had spent most of her childhood days, their voices  echoing in her ears.

N : adi

He looks at her and hugs her tightly.

Ad : nandini trust me I never wanted this, that day seeing you being hit, all I could see was u lying lifeless, hear ur shout .

N : adi it's all okay now trust me and whatever happened was no one's fault, I know u were afraid.

Aditya sits on the bed, nandini goes and sits beside him.

Ad : u know nandini when mom was pregnant with u, I was the most happiest, finally I had someone to love, to talk who would look up at me, I was tired of being the youngest one.

Nandini just looks at him nodding ocassionaly she knew he needed to get it all out. It was proving how much adi loved her.

Ad : but I don't get happiness easily, mom had complications and at a time we thought we will lose you, the sibling I had come to love will go away even before I could have a look. I cried whole night and that time bhai promised me that nothing will happen to have hope. I started taking care of mom, u now I was never close to her because she had just started business after I was born and I rarely saw her but I still was with her all the time because of you .

Adi  smiles and shakes his head.

Ad : that day when I held u for the first time, I can't even explain, u caught my finger and smiled at me, that day I promised myself that I will always take care of you, treat u like a princess,be the best brother.

N : adi u are the best brother anyone could ever ask for. Trust me Adi.

Adi just nods at her

N : answer my one question in yes and no, and I will never ask u again to talk to Manik.

Adi looks at her in shock, he knew how much nandini wanted him to reconcile with manik

N : if that day u had been in my place and had seen a car was going to hit manik ,would you save him?

There is complete silence nandini's heart beat was increasing in anticipation, she knew this friendship was at make or break point.

Ad : yes

Nandini's face lights up in happiness and adi had a realization dawned on his face.

N : u wouldn't want me to blame him then right, Adi

Ad : u are right, it was my fault, in seeing you like that I forgot manik won't ever harm u, he was still my best friend manik

N : he still is, go and talk to him

Adi nods and gets up, he looks at nandini asking her to come along, she shakes her head and gives him a reasurring smile

N : u both need to do this, without me otherwise the next time I am away ur friendship will again come crumbling down. This time don't use me as a base.

Adi nods and goes back to the platform where manik is standing.

Ad : manik

Manik looks at him while Adi comes and stands next to him

Ad : I am sorry, I know I shouldn't have said that.....that  u

Manik smiles and hugs him, adi hugs him back

M : u don't need to explain, we both were at fault, nandini's absence it made us lose our minds, anyways we found strength to cope with it due our anger and fights.

Adi laughs and playfully punches him

Ad : right, come on let's go and see our princess, she has tried so much to get us talking.

M : and also cried so much

Before they could move nandini comes running and hugs both of them,the friendship had been restored and this time it was stronger. A smile on all their faces as the three musketeers had come together after a long time.

Ad : enough of this drama let's go home

All of them agree and leave the tree house.

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Murthy mansion

As they enter the house they see all their friends sitting on the sofa, engulfed in silence.

Nandini is surprised to see them here and decides to break the silence.

N : who has died?

All their friends looks up and in a matter of seconds manik nandini and Aditya are covered with their friends, simultaneous questions being thrown at them.

Ad : calm down guys, one by one

Sh: where the hell were you?

C : exactly we were so worried

M : worried but why

Al : the way nandini had run out of the cafeteria like she was in a freaking marathon

Manik and Aditya look at her in confusion while she gives a sheepish smile.

N : that nothing actually there was an emergency

Preeti  goes forward and tugs nandini's hand, she speaks in her ear although it was loud enough for the whole room.

P : I told them about the past

N : have I ever told you we need to work on your whispering skills

P : Nandu get to the point, I told them

M : what

Nandini and preeti look at Manik in horror while Adi speaks in a calm manner shocking all

Ad : it's okay, they had the right to know

Ru : so what happened, tell me clearly

M : I and adi fought

D : again

Ad : but now we are friends

All them look like they have seen an alien

N : okay let me make this clear, now no more fights as everyone is friends,everything is fine.

They all smile and do a group hug. Harshad can be seen angry but still he doesn't say anything.

H : okay, I think it's time to go home

He leaves ,rest of them leave too after bidding bye.

Manik is also about to go but Adi stops him

Ad : u can stay here, it ur house as much as it is ours.

Manik nods in yes which brings a full blown smile on nandini's face.

Manik leaves towards his room, he always had a room in malhotra mansion as since childhood many times he used to stay there.

The old friends were back finally everything had settled, friendship emerging victorious.

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That's all for today

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Precap : blossoming relationships