A/N: Hello my lovelies! It is always such a pleasure to be back with a new chapter! I know you all are waiting earnestly for a week now, so without further ado, I will open the chapter! A lot happens in this chapter and a little valentines week surprise is packed in here, for you all! I hope you enjoy! ;)

I will see you on the other side! Until then, keep the love, in-line comments & votes flowing! :D

Happy Reading!

***

Nandini was stunned into silence. Yes, her mind had added the pieces & had reached the conclusion before Manik's affirmation, but Manik acknowledging it made it so real, that there was no room for doubt left anymore. Wow, Abhimanyu was really killed by Manik's family..now with that still as concrete in her mind, her next question was why?

"Why..why Manik? Why did they kill Abhimanyu? How was he a threat to them? Unless..." Nandini's question drowned in a mumble when a sudden hypothesis struck her. The Malhotra's had no beef with Abhimanyu, but looks like they hated her more than death. So, was the bullet really meant for her & not Abhimanyu? Did he die to save her? The weight of that guilt would scatter her life again. But hadn't the investigating case officer in charge of the case, confirmed to them when they were in London that not Nandini but indeed Abhimanyu was the target? No. Nothing was making sense. Was the ICO wrong?

"Manik, did they actually want to kill me and Abhmanyu..." her voice trailed again as tears smeared her eyes and choked her throat.

"No. That's not true Nandini, quit finding a reason to blame yourself for this. If anything, you've only been on the suffering end of this game." Manik retaliated quickly to not let that cloud of guilt hover over Nandini, even for one moment.

"Then why Manik? Why damn it, did they get him killed?!" she screamed in vexation and suddenly Manik realised where they were. They were in the fucking parking lot, it wasn't the most ideal place for such a conversation, when Nandini's lid had flipped hearing about Abhimanyu's murder & she wasn't putting any effort to keep it hush.

"Nandini, not here. I will tell you everything, just let me drive you to a safer place okay? I promise you will have all your answers.." Manik pleaded, with honesty and after a brief eyelock, Nandini agreed and feebly nodded, as they got into Manik's car, and he drove them off.

***

"Boy, this place never seems to have enough of me. Everytime I leave it, some or the other reasons bring me back here.." Nandini muttered to herself, as Manik drove the car through the driveway.

Manik stared at her silently, as he opened the lock of his penthouse. Maybe this is a sign Nandini, that you truly belong with me here, he thought, but how can he say that aloud?

"I just thought, this place is the safest for this discussion, since all the security is under my control." he muttered, as they entered the penthouse and Nandini fumbled at the first step as her feet hit an empty beer glass bottle, and set it rolling towards the shoe rack.

"Wow, this really is a bachelor's pad." Nandini mumbled, momentarily forgetting why they were here. Unlike the Malhotra ancestral property Jannat, this place had good memories for her; she still wasn't sure if her memories with Manik were genuine or not, but the ones with Abhimanyu were! In many ways this felt like homecoming, but wait, what was that stench of tobacco everywhere?

As Nandini entered the house and saw the state, she frowned. "Manik, are you on some deranged alcohol & tobacco diet? Why are there only remains of those all littered across your place? Where is Tarun? Has he stopped taking care of this place?" she asked with her elbows folded and fists on her waist. Manik managed to hide a chuckle. She had so seamlessly fitted into the role of the matriarch of his home, forgetting why she was here, or that she was here temporarily.

"Tarun is on leave for a few weeks, his mum is unwell & had a surgery" Manik obediently reported the status of his butler to Nandini, clearly enjoying her command over his home.

"And the rest of them? Raju, Heera, Atif & Munna? They all have gone too?" Nandini asked with an astonished voice and turned to Manik, who was scratching his head trying to associate the face of all his staff with the names Nandini mentioned. She really remembered each of them by name, whereas he couldn't even tell who was whom!

"Erm, with Tarun gone, none of them wanted to be around me..they are..umm scared of me. Plus, I have been travelling mostly to different locations for the outdoor schedule of our shoot, so I let them go. I can manage a few days.." Manik replied, looking down. Clearly his idea of managing was very substandard in Nandini's books.

"I can see that" Nandini muttered to herself and instead of sitting down on the couch, she went ahead and opened all the windows of the living room, letting fresh air finally enter Manik's life after ages. Then she called up Tarun next inquiring how his mother's health was and then asked him about his returning plans and finally asked him to ask Manik's staff to come home the next day & clean everyday thereon, stating they shouldn't be afraid because Manik wouldn't misbehave and she was taking guarantee of that. Manik smiled. After aeons he felt he was at home.

"Nandini, thanks for helping out..umm, why don't you sit here on the couch and let me fix you some good old filter coffee?" He asked in a tender voice, as Nandini nodded and settled down on the couch.

"Just get me some chilled beer Manik, I don't think I can have this conversation in sobriety." she added & Manik, even though uncomfortable seeing his innocent Nandini resorting to alcohol, he still nodded timidly to fetch her the drink.

Once he was back with two chilled cans & a bowl of snacks, he sat on the couch across her, and by the sombre looks of Nandini's face, after the initial distraction of coming back to the penthouse, she was back to her thoughts of unearthing why her beloved Abhimanyu was murdered in cold blood.

"So, tell me Manik, why did your family find it necessary to kill someone like Abhimanyu?" she asked in a coldly menacing voice.

Manik smiled. No, nothing about the situation was funny or warm, but what he saw was her silent faith in him, despite everything they've been through because of him. "Nandini, how are you so sure, I am not a part of this murder?" he asked, with a small proud smirk playing on his lips.

Nandini stared at him, observing his smirk. She was sure he was not involved, but when did Manik let her go without a play?

"I wasn't Manik, if my hunch was to be believed, I thought you killed Abhimanyu, to roll out the next set of PR plans to motion. I was here to keep an eye on you, to collect evidence against you. In fact, not until Ranbir told me about your little phone call with your father the other night, taking orders from them of finding ways to annihilate my career & then telling Ranbir, obviously, you were playing them to keep me safe, did I consider your possible noninvolvement. Then I started joining the dots; instead of harming me in any way, you pull me out of a condom ad only to get me a chocolate ad? A better deal? And, instead of making a massive publicity stunt on your moves with this gesture, you keep it lowkey? It is then I knew, you're playing a double game Manik, and I knew you were not exactly after my life. If anything, you were trying to help me. Then who was the murderer, I wondered.."

"When did I ever talk to Ranbir about this?" Manik asked, alarmed.

"You didn't, you thought you were talking to Cabir, but it was Ranbir. Cabir had left his iPad behind and needed it but he was getting late for an appointment with one of your producers; Ranbir was in the vicinity so he had asked him to pick it, and you spoke to him mistaking him to be Cabir. Manik, the truth has strange ways of coming out, don't you think?" Nandini asked, with a curious smile.

{Author's note: Conversation reference from chapter 39, Vanity Affair, where Manik spoke to the Senior Malhotra's and promised to handle Nandini, and turned around to see Cabir was waiting to talk. It wasn't Cabir, it was Ranbir.}

Manik was stumped. He remembered the evening and he did think Cabir was acting weird, but it was Ranbir? Keeping that aside, another thought churned his heart.

"Also, all this while, you really thought, I had killed Abhimanyu?" Manik asked in disbelief and shock; his voice was hoarse.

"You haven't exactly left a great impression on me, Manik. Unfortunately, it seemed like a very believable possibility." Nandini replied in a hard voice. Manik shuddered, she really killed all her feelings for him. There was no hope anymore.

"Why didn't you confront me, Nandini?" he snapped this time, in hurt and exasperation.

"I had no clue on you, Manik. If I did, the judiciary body of the country would confront you instead of me." she replied, on point. Manik nodded. It was lack of evidence that was stopping her, not trust or compassion. Could he hurt more? No.

"If we are done with your questions, can we focus on mine? Why did your folks kill Abhimanyu, Manik?" Nandini asked again, her voice was steely. Manik sighed. This was all transactional for Nandini, he didn't matter, only the truth did. Also, for him, the only thing that mattered right now, was keeping her away from doing anything stupid. His feelings had to take a back seat in the face of a potential threat to her life.

"They killed him, because they..they..Nandini they wanted to emotionally weaken you; to remove all your support system, so when they'd hit you with the infidelity drama, you'd be too weak and supportless to retaliate." Manik replied honestly. He could tell her this much, it wasn't going to harm her yet.

"Just to emotionally weaken me, they killed Abhimanyu?!" Nandini snapped in disbelief. "How hardened a criminal, are they Manik? They actually killed him for this?" her tears were finally out and those were of remorse & guilt. "So, in some ways, I am indeed responsible for this.." she muttered, with head hung low. Manik immediately moved towards her and sat on the ground on his knees, facing her.

"No Nandini, never. You are not responsible, by any twisted logic. The accountability of this unforgivable crime solely rests on their shoulder, not yours." Manik cajoled her, but she was softly weeping, as Manik stared at her helplessly. He wanted to hug her, but he knew Nandini wouldn't appreciate that, so with much difficulty he sat there, not knowing how to make her feel better.

After a while, "Manik, since when did you know this truth?" she demanded, suddenly.

"The day after the infidelity press release..I had connected the dots & knew they were behind it, my family. I had gone to Jannat to chastise them, when they admitted to it." Manik retorted in remorse.

"..and you decided to hide such a heinous crime, just because you love them?" Nandini commanded with sheer defiance in her eyes.

"Of course not, Nandini, I hid it to protect you, as I mentioned earlier! If I so much as spread a word against them on this, first I had no proof, it would only be a matter of a small PR damage control for them, which they'd whisk out of, but as punishment for me, and teaching me a lesson, they'd kill you. They know it Nandini, I am nothing without you.." Manik whispered the last part, looking down.

Nandini stared at Manik's defeated figure before her, and although she had softened a little towards him, but after the realisation that Manik was doing a very wrong thing to protect her, in this moment, after his confession, she hardened again. No, he wasn't justified.

"Manik Malhotra, quit playing God in everyone's life!" her voice was suddenly cold with fury. So much so that Manik's head snapped up to make eye contact with her.

"Nandini, I don't wish to play God, I was just trying to protect you.." Manik whispered, as her tone made him flinch. Maybe he hadn't realised, but deep within he did feel that all of Nandini's hatred for him was only for a matter of time. When she'd know he had done everything to protect her, maybe they'd still have a feeble chance of being happy together? However, the sudden change in Nandini's body language spoke otherwise and for a moment he didn't know what to expect. In fact he was perplexed.

"Protect me? Who gave you the responsibility to protect me, Manik? We have been divorced for years now, remember?" Nandini's voice was hard and cold as ice.

"I..I don't need anybody's permission to protect you, Nandini. I will always protect you." he muttered in defiance.

"Manik Malhotra! When will you stop treating me like your toy?" accused Nandini, and her voice was choking now, as a shocked Manik stared at her, trying to figure out where these thoughts came from. Nandini continued, "Ever since we got married, then divorced, then came back in your life to clean your shit, to leave again, why do you think you have the right to decide what happens to my life, damn it?" She breathed hard. Manik stared at her.

"Nandini, when I divorce you, I will build a new life for you before leaving; Nandini after our divorce you will stay in this house, drive this car, this is the number of staffs that will attend you, this is the lifestyle you will lead; Nandini I have already announced to the press that we are together and you will live with me & pretend to be in love with me. Nandini now you will pretend to be fucking pregnant with my child until we decide to have a miscarriage and you leave; Nandini your brother has been killed by the mafias of showbiz, but I have decided to not punish them because I don't want your life in danger; I have decided that your life is more important than Abhimanyu's because I love you and not him. So an innocent man will not find justice because I have decided that's the best for you." Nandini snapped, her voice was hoarse & she sounded like she was on the brink of losing her act.

"Nandini, what are you saying?" Manik asked in perturbation, shaking her by the shoulder gently to nudge her back to senses.

"You see the common theme in all this, Manik? This is my life I am talking about but strangely all the decisions are taken by you! Where is my say in any of this damn it!? I agree, I had made the brutal mistake of falling in love with you, once upon a time, and I had let you walk all over me; but this time you have gone too far Manik. Abhimanyu was out of bounds, you weren't supposed to take his life for granted, much less, his death!" screamed Nandini, shaking a little.

"Nandini, love, I was only trying to protect you. I couldn't see anything happen to you." Manik pleaded his case, as a helpless drop of tear cascaded down his cheek bones, towards his jaw.

"..and who gave you the right to decide if I should be protected or Abhimanyu should be provided with justice, Manik? It was not your fucking choice to make! You cannot selfishly price my life higher than Abhimanyu's. He didn't deserve to die! Mukti & I didn't deserve to lose him, Manik & if we did, the least we deserved was to know the truth and see to it that the people who cost us our happiness, were suffering behind bars! You cannot deny us this, just because you selfishly want to save me, God damn it!" hurled Nandini, as she looked at Manik with sheer hate and Manik shuddered. Only if Nandini knew he was willing to sacrifice the justice of more than one life lost, for her, and come what may he wasn't going to feel guilty about it, if that meant his Nandini was safe. Maybe he was selfish, but he was willing to receive the wrath of God for this act, but he wasn't going to have it any other way!

"Nandini, hate me all you want, but I will do whatever it takes to save you & I would do it every single fucking time. I don't care who all I hurt by doing this & damn me, but I don't care even if this means, I will be hurting your sentiments too. I am sorry Nandini, but I have made a lot of mistakes in life, and most of them have caused you a lot of suffering; I can apologise to you through my teeth for all of them for the rest of my life, but not for this. I have never been more sure of anything in my life than this; the simple truth that I love you, and you mean more to me than this whole damn world & beyond & I would do anything to protect you; and I am not sorry for that." Manik responded with heavy breaths, but a determined voice to a stunned Nandini.

"I hate you, Manik Malhotra.." Nandini hissed slowly, breathing hard, staring him in the eyes.

"..but I love you, Nandini Murthy, and I always will." Manik replied with as much passion, staring right back at her, and in that moment an emotional intensity hit them both so hard, that it shook their being.

One with hate & one with love, but both powerful enough to overturn one another, like the two halves of the yin-yang and before either knew what happened, both moved forward and smashed their lips on each other; one in hate and anger & and the other in love and reverence. The kiss was so intense that they couldn't tell where her hate and darkness submerged into his love; they couldn't tell where her feelings ended and his began. There was a little bit of love still hidden in all the hate and a little bit of hate hidden in all the love.

Manik was trying to dominate the kiss, and overpower Nandini with his brutal strength, but Nandini was no dainty woman giving in tonight, she pushed her tongue more and entered Manik's mouth to whip him with her tongue, punishing him for his act & somewhere punishing him for bringing them to such a point in life, that even the thought of them together seemed like an outlandish impossibility.

The sudden ringing of Nandini's phone brought them back into their senses as they jumped apart, breathing hard. Nandini seemed to be in shock of her action and Manik was still in a daze. Did he just..?

"Yes, Ranbir. I am with him." Nandini answered her phone, replying to her worried manager.

"No, I can reach home by myself. I won't need you to come get me." she answered again, before hanging up.

"Come, I will drop you.." Manik muttered distractedly standing up, wiping his lips with the back of his palms, cleaning himself of Nandini's lip colour. Nandini stared at him for a moment, before nodding as they headed out of the apartment in silence.

Twenty minutes later

"Here we are.." Manik finally spoke into the silence of the night, as he parked in front of her apartment. Nandini sighed, then after a while, she nodded and started to unbuckle her seatbelt to leave, when Manik gently held her wrist and she stopped.

"Please let this go Nandini, please know Abhimanyu would want you to let it go for your safety too." Manik whispered, caressing the inside of her wrists with his thumb.

"Had your family spared Abhimanyu's life, he'd actually be here to save them from me today. Too bad, they killed him, Manik, and I am getting your father & grandfather behind the bars for this." she replied coldly, pulling her hand away from him, and struggled with the seatbelt.

Manik looked into her determined eyes and shuddered. Six months back had she said this, he wouldn't believe she had what it takes to turn her promise into reality, but now he feared her determination. He never thought she could make a comeback in his life after the infidelity scandal, but she did. She came, she took the showbiz by storm & grew from strength to strength; and before he knew it, she was a rising star with so much popularity & no one could deny her power. If she set her mind to bringing down the Malhotra's, he was sure even if they escaped her clutches, they wouldn't escape without a dent in their armour, and he feared that mere dent was enough to make his folks underline her name with red. No he would have to stop her.

"Nandini, since we're being honest tonight, let me tell you one thing. I will not be helping you in this. You are on your own, and it's been so long, that you will not find any clue against anyone. So it's better you let it go." Manik implored again, gently.

"Didn't you notice, Manik? I have stopped needing you or your help in life. I will pull those bastards by their collars and shove them in jail." she snapped, finally getting rid of the seatbelt, and opening the door.

"While you're at it, Nandini, I will give you one last friendly advice on this; find clues against them before you go charging at them, because once they know you're after them, they will make it impossible for you to find any clues - that is if they feel compassionate enough to not kill you." Manik spoke after her. She stilled hearing him, not turning back.

"You always bat for the wrong team, Manik. Quit trying to save their sorry ass." she snapped and shut the door behind, leaving without turning back. Manik smiled.

"I will bat for any team that protects you, Nandu.." he whispered into the night, as a long, low sigh escaped him. He found himself praying to the omnipotent power he never believed in, seeking mercy and asking Him to not help her this time, in finding any clues. He also silently decided to shadow her, just to ensure she wasn't getting into trouble & most importantly, his folks didn't suspect her of foul play.

As Manik silently watched Nandini's petit figure walking further away from him into the building of her apartment, he realised he had owned up to the biggest truth of his life before Nandini; he told her he loved her; now she knew. Yet it felt that nothing changed between them tonight. It had no impact on her. His biggest truth was lost in her, and that's how insignificant he had become in her life; he was a mere inconvenience for her, and she was his whole damn life. He could only blame himself for this, and she could only love Zain Qureshi now..

"God, please keep her away from my family's path.." he whispered, softly, before driving away.

***

Word Count: 3,870

A/N: Anddd we've reached the end of another chapter! How fast do you peeps read? :P

So, I believe a lot has happened inside your heart and mind, over the course of reading through the chapter, and you have left a fair share of in-line comments for me, to read your first set of reactions? <3

Now, is the time to delve deeper! Please answer a few thought provoking questions, so I really get to peek into your emotions and see if the chapter has delivered what I expected it to, while penning it!

Requesting my readers to please take some time out and answer these:

1. What are your takes on Nandini slipping into domestic duties smoothly upon entering Manik's penthouse? Did it make you nostalgic? Do you want to see her here more often?

2. So guys, please let me know if you understood the Cabir-Ranbir confusion Manik had? It was mentioned in chapter 39, but chapter 40 was so high octane that I worry my readers will not remember the happenings of the chapter before to reconnect. If this is the case, please let me know, I shall write a separate note to explain this.

3. I know, most of you thought, once Nandini got to know Manik's truth, life would be easy, but Nandini blasts out at him. She questions him for always making decisions on her behalf, and asks a very important question. What right does Manik have, to decide that Nandini's life is bigger than Abhimanyu's justice. What are your thoughts on this? Are you aligned with Nandini or Manik?

4. What are your takes on MaNan emotionally intense scenes in this chapter? And did you see the kiss coming? :P What are your interpretations of this kiss? Will this lead to something romantic? ;)

5. What are your thoughts on Manik's decision to not help Nandini and be the baddie before her too, if that is what it takes to keep her safe? Do you want him to stop her from finding clues, or help her? What would you do, if you were in his place?

6. Coming to the most important question. Amidst all the blame game, Manik had professed to Nandini that it was her all along. He loved her. Also, amidst addressing every grievance and also sharing a kiss, this was one thing she didn't react to at all. What do you think Nandini must be feeling knowing this? Why is she ignoring this? What are your takes on Manik's thoughts? Has he lost her? We all thought the confession would change the game, but do you really think it could?

7. Anything else that you liked, disliked, want to call about this chapter or the story so far?

Readers, thank you for the profound love you have been showing this book, and I cannot be more grateful. My earnest request to you would be that, you continue to support me with your love for this book & I promise I wont disappoint you. :)

Dear silent readers, there's no pressure really, but it would mean the world to me, if you guys voted too.

Lastly, I wish you all a lovely valentines week and I hope you find the Manik of your life really soon, if you haven't found him already! <3

On that note, let me bid adieu.

I shall see you soon.

Next Update: Sunday (18th Feb'24)

Much love,

Your writer,

A.