The Bet - [Manan] #Book1 | ✓

six

His both hands rested at her waist and pulled her towards himself leaving no space between them. He wrapped his strong arms around her, embrace her in his tight hug giving her essence of his being but actually he was taking in her warmth.

" I missed you." that's all he managed to say with his slightly cracking voice.

Missed you like air I breath, He thought.

Nandani for a moment was startled and she was confused to what to do. She thought of hugging him back but then old harsh memories came back rushing in her mind and she decided against it.

Manik was waiting for her to warp her arms around him but it never happened instead all he felt was a slight push which made him stumble a bit but he managed to stand proper. He looked at her, he wished to see that love again in her eyes for him but there was nothing. Nothing.

Her expressions were unreadable, her blank stare was radiating cold and he missed her warmth. "How could she change so much?", was the only question that rang in his mind. After 2 years they were here but it still felt like they were far apart.

** nandani's pov **

He hugged me and I was beyond happy and my hands were about to reach his shoulders when my happiness was crash and I was pushed back to reality harshly. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve me.

So I had pushed him and his looks told me that he wasn't expecting that from me. Well how he couldn't expect it from me after knowing what he did to me.

He opened his mouth to say something but he closed it again as if he had nothing to say. Wow so now all I got is his silence. I should have guessed it. After all what he had spoken? I knew he won't say anything and I wasn't interested in a staring contest of our eyes either. So I torn my gaze from his intruding brown eyes and turned over my heels, heading back to aryaman.

" Nandani" I heard him but I didn't have energy to look at him cause I knew if I would stay here for any longer it would just break the walls I had built around my heart.

Which was what I didn't want.

So I sighed and kept moving with a steady pace to let him know that I wasn't interested in talking to him at all.

** pov over **

Walking through long corridors Nandani reached back to the reserved room. Aryaman gave her a smile when he noticed her, coming in. Nandani just returned a tight smile and settled down back at her seat.

" so"

" what Aryaman." I questioned him.

" how about a dance pretty lady?" he asked me while taking out his hand for me.

" but music?" nandani gave her hand to him looked confused as to how they were going to dance without music.

" we'll dance at my ring tone. " and winks, gaining a smack from her.

" just kidding wild cat." and she rolled her eyes at his reply.

Aryaman took out his mobile and went through his play list to find a perfect song for them. Nandani was being impatient as right now there was nothing to distract her mind and her thoughts were keep on drifting towards him. She wanted to stop herself from recalling she met him a few minutes back. " what the hell even he is doing here?" she was retorting to herself feeling frustrated.

So she decided to pull her mobile out of her purse and to go through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or any damn thing she was just willing to do to keep her mind occupied by notifications rather than Manik Malhotra.