MANAN - Cloud with a Silver Lining

29.1 Deja vu ??

"Nandu till when are you both planning to continue this fight of yours", Abhi asked Nandini from the other side of the call

Nandini who was already frustrated with the happenings got angry with Abhi's remarks

Nandini- I don't know Abhi..why don't you ask Manik..listen if you've called me to eat my head on this, then I am disconnecting the call right away

Mukti interrupted the siblings in the middle of the conversation

Mukti - Nandu if you wish you can share with us..May be we could help you..!!

Nandini - No Mukti...I really don't want to drag you all into our mess..we'll figure it out

Mukti - ok but Manik's birthday is coming soon, I hope you guys sort it out by then

Nandini - Hmm..I need to rush bye guys..!!

Nandini disconnected the call as her heart started thumping louder as soon as Mukti reminded her of Manik's birthday.

Two months..two months had passed since Mukti and Abhi's high profile wedding. Everyone resumed their regular routine but yes things had changed a bit not just for Mukti and Abhi but for everyone else too owing to the circumstances they were in, for instance, Alya was six months pregnant now while Navya's operation was scheduled next month since her body was still not ready to sustain the consequences of the operation.

As for Manik and Nandini they were back to living in different cities due to their work commitments but Nandini was no longer a nobody. Her first single was a hit and people easily recognised her. Post her hit single, she started receiving a few offers for singing in movies, she took some and declined rest citing her other work commitments as a reason. She was now popular on Instagram and other social networking sites, not just as a singer but also as Rockstar Manik Malhotra's girlfriend, yes their relationship rumours were making rounds in the gossip columns during the wedding and they made it official by attending Mukbhi's reception together as a couple and posing for paparazzi followed by an Instagram post re-confirming the same. 'Manan', the nick name given to them by Cabir was now used by everyone who talked about them. They were touted as the power couple by media, the fans loved them like crazy and owing to the frenzy amongst the fans, several brands approached them for endorsing their product and subsequently encashing their popularity but Manik and Nandini declined as even though they had made it official, they still wanted their private lives to remain in wraps as much as possible.

However, all the popularity and praise coming in unnerved Nandini for it all seemed like a déjà vu for her, as the things happening now in their lives were strikingly similar to what happened seven years ago.

Years ago, she got introduced to fame just a few months after they got into a relationship and this time too just a couple of months into the relationship and she was popular yet again.

Not just this fact, even the events unfolded in a distinctive similar fashion, for example, one day while they were having dinner in a restaurant a fan approached them for a selfie; after taking selfie with the couple, she asked for individual selfies with them. Selfie with Manik was an easy affair since the lights and positioning was just perfect but with Nandini, the light in the background distorted the selfie. They tried it twice but failed and it was then Manik suggested to click a normal picture with a different angle. The fan handed over her phone to him and posed. While Nandini smiled in the pose, her mind drifted back to that morning in the park where the sponsor asked him to click a picture of him and his wife with Nandini and just the thought caused shivers in her body. She was scared yet again and in her fear she overlooked the fact that unlike last time, this time it was Manik who himself came up with the idea. To top it up, the ride back home too was silent, even though it wasn't anything unusual yet the silence for once was dreadful.