A/N : Hello readers! I know some of you found the last chapter smaller than usual, and trust me it is not because I didn't want to write a longer chapter, but the content of that chapter required only that many words! :D I mean, would you like to read an unnecessarily dragged chapter? However, like all my other stories, the later chapters start getting longer, so you can expect more going forward!

Okay, so how many of you are excited to read about MaNan's first public appearance? Remember the long list of character intros I had done before starting the chapter, you are going to meet some of them right here! Thus here begins the filmy journey of MaNan propoerly! I hope you're excited!

Happy Reading! ...and in-line comments please :)

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"Friends it is said that if you love someone, you let them go, if they come back, they were always meant to be yours! This statement holds absolute truth for our superstar Manik Malhotra! Once the love birds of tinsel town, Manik Malhotra & Nandini Murthy, their marriage went through what most couples eventually face in life, a plateau phase; like others, even their relationship hit rocky waters & it ultimately led to their separation breaking many hearts. However, if it's true love, you don't ever lose it right? Maybe that's why after three years of separation, one of the industry's most loved couples have found it in themselves to give each other another chance; give love another chance. So, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in three years, walking the red carpet hand in hand, will be none other than our very own MaNan a.k.a. Manik & Nandini! Yes, folks, they have arrived" shouted the anchor excitedly at the camera, which was now panning towards Manik's limousine that had just arrived at the venue. Manik & Nandini were sitting in the limo, waiting for the announcer to finish, and then on cue, Manik stepped out of the vehicle, adjusting his dinner jacket and turned around and extended his hand for Nandini, with a soft smile playing on his lips. His eyes showed fondness & appreciation, like he was looking at the most beautiful woman ever born on earth, as he looked into her eyes.

Nandini could hear the crowd going berserk & Manik nodded his head at her in gentle encouragement. She could hear the fans screaming 'MaNan' loudly!

"Come, love" Manik spoke softly.

"Nandini, breathe. He is an actor & this is a lie. Remember that" Abhimanyu's voice from the front seat brought her back to the present. She mentally thanked him for holding onto her sanity, when she was drowning away in Manik's perfect portrayal of an ideal boyfriend before the world. Nandini nodded & stepped out.

Manik gently guided her from the waist and stopped for a moment to look and appreciate her from head to toe. As Manik glided his eyes over her slender figure, he murmured to the host, "Doesn't she look like what dreams are made of?" as if lost in her beauty & the host wholeheartedly agreed announcing to the world how smitten Manik was with Nandini. Nandini looked into his eyes & although every fibre of her being wanted her to believe him, she knew Manik was a fabulous actor & all this was previously scripted & practised to perfection.

"Oh Manik, you are such a tease" Nandini delivered her lines, looking shy and glancing downwards. Only if the world knew, she was weeping inside. Wasn't this how the film & fashion industry worked? Shiny makeup was used to cover up the darkest of the hearts.

"Nandini maám, may I say you look breathtaking in this Gucci spring collection. Manik sir, I see you're in a Gucci suit too, does this mean, you're renewing your contract as the Gucci brand ambassador this year too?" the host asked, with a bright smile.

"Gucci & I have a long & close association & I never make my girl wear anything that I don't swear by myself" Manik replied, deflecting the actual question, with a charming smile as he turned to Nandini and played with her locks for a moment before pushing it behind her ear & placing a soft peck on her cheeks, before turning back to the anchor. Everyone around hooted for them and Nandini turned crimson in embarrassment as Manik gently pulled her away from the cameras, and they started walking towards the red carpet.

They had taken barely two steps, when they heard someone call for Manik. Nandini felt his hand on her waist stiffen, she wondered why.

"Hey, Manik! Thanks for coming! How are you, man?" came a friendly voice, and Nandini turned around to see none other than the super star & Manik's contemporary, Aryamann Khanna wave at him.

"Hey Aryamann, looks like a promising movie, congratulations!" Manik replied with a tight lipped smile, as both men briefly hugged each other before Aryamann's eyes fell on Nandini.

"..and you must be the lovely Mrs. Nandini Malhotra, the press can't just stop talking about!" he spoke warmly, coming in to hug Nandini. Although Nandini wasn't a movie buff herself, thanks to her history with Manik; but she quite enjoyed Aryamann's movies once in a while, whenever they came on TV. So naturally Nandini had a fangirl moment, when her actor of preference, complimented her himself!

"Ms. Nandini Murthy actually, Mr. Khanna. It is a pleasure meeting you. I really enjoyed your last movie, I think you are an amazing actor!" Nandini replied with a coy smile. Aryamann's smile broadened after hearing that.

"What do you know, this must be my lucky day! The superstar Manik Malhotra's partner likes my work? Also, Nandini duly noted the Murthy!" he winked jovially.

"Ms. Murthy. She likes being referred to as that" came a cold reply from beside her, and Nandini turned around to look at Manik, who knew why he looked so uncomfortable? "Also, don't you think we should keep the chit-chat for the after party, let's not delay the premiere of such a blockbuster?" came another sarcastic jab from Manik & Nandini frowned looking at him. Did he not like Ayramann? He was such a sweet boy! Aryamann on the contrary, smiled a crooked smile and winked at Nandini, whispering a "See you, fangirl" before nodding at Manik and leaving. Nandini looked at Manik with a raised eyebrow. Did he look a bit pissed?

"Let's go & greet Alia, aren't we here to cheer for her?" he replied gruffly, before guiding her to the gallery with him, amongst a lot of media buzz and chatter.

Inside the premiere gallery, Nandini was truly awestruck. The showbiz seemed to have tripled the money game in the last three years as the arrangements were much grander than anything Nandini had seen in her early years. Manik guided her, holding her wrist gently, and smiled at her, before coming close to her & saying sweet nothings in her ears. She realised they were getting snapped from somewhere and played along, smiling & blushing in return.

Soon Manik and Nandini were greeted by Alia, and Nandini was surprised at the ease with which Alia greeted Manik in a friendly way and warmly greeted her. Didn't they have a breakup one week back? How fast do these actors change their colours? Nandini always felt zapped seeing their spontaneity.

"Babe, you wanna settle down now?" Aryamann's voice floated towards them & a surprised Manik & Nandini saw he was talking to Alia.

"Wait, they are together now?" Nandini couldn't help thinking aloud & that earned her a chuckle from Manik.

"Welcome to the showbiz, darling ex-wife" he whispered into her ears before moving towards Alia.

"Love, be careful about Aryamann. You don't want to bark up the wrong tree, honey" Manik cautioned Alia, not even trying to hide it from Nandini.

"Meaning?" Alia asked, coming closer to Manik and placing her hands on his chest, with mischief in her eyes.

"Rumour has it that Aryamann is courting Jeff Irani, so unless you want to jump from one scandal to another, you might want to stick to the brand MaLia for now. Friendship between ex-lovers is the next lit thing in the industry, it's safe & could win a lot of new projects. Unless this newbie really holds your heart ransom, I don't see why you'd risk it all" Manik advised Alia, holding her by the waist and smiling at her in a friendly way all the while, so that onlookers felt like two friends were teasing each other.

"Manik, I trust you." Alia replied with a smile & pecked him on the cheek, before coming to Nandini and hugging her once more, before going to sit next to Aryamann.

"Wow, no hard feelings at all there?" Nandini couldn't help but ask Manik, as he settled down beside her, and the movie credits started to play.

"Why should there be? Alia is a dear friend" Manik replied casually, looking at the screen.

"Umm..given that you guys just broke up & you turned up here with a new love interest?" Nandini asked, confused.

Manik looked at her incredulously. "This charade is meant for the media & the audience. Not for insider folks!" he responded, looking at Nandini like she had grown two horns.

"Oh" that's all she could reply before turning away. She knew the drill right, then why was it surprising her? Of course Manik & Alia didn't break up. This was just for show. Alia knew it. She was an actress too, right? She was just playing along like Nandini to help clean Manik's image. Afterall she must really love & trust him. She sighed and turned to glance at Alia, but much to her surprise, she found Aryamann looking towards her. He smiled seeing her look his way & she returned the smile, before looking ahead.

"Pass all the smiles you want, but not around the media" muttered Manik and Nandini frowned wondering how he had his attention everywhere, all the time.

Soon the movie was over & the stars received a thunderous applause for making an amazing movie. The numbers were forecasted to be high on it & slowly they moved to the premiere after party. It was the VIP lounge of a well known bar in the city but press entry was restricted. All the stars & celebrities finally looked a little relaxed and were finally letting their hair down.

"Now you will see the real dirt" muttered Abhimanyu from beside her. He was back at her side, after the premiere & Manik had instructed him to be around Nandini, since he was going to let loose and enjoy the party.

"What do you mean?" Nandini asked him innocently.

"There's no press here right. Now you will see how they really are. This is where the gossip of Page 3 lies. Any media person would give up anything to be here!" he mouthed, darkly.

"Hey Nandini maám! How are you doing?" came a familiar voice, and Nandini turned around to see Zubin smiling at her. She smiled back at him & noticed he had his hands wrapped around a girl. She saw her face & her smile froze. Wow. So much has changed in three years!

"Oh, let me introduce her." Zubin said, as he noticed Nandini eyeing his friend. "This is my date, Mukti. She is a fashion stylist, currently personal stylist to Manik sir" he added proudly.

"I..I know her." Nandini stammered & looked at Mukti, who looked a little awkward herself. Nandini quickly turned around and glanced at Abhimanyu, and saw him standing stiffly by her side.

"Hi Mukti, how are you? Long time" she managed to greet her, as Mukti finally looked at her and nodded with a smile.

"I'm good, Nandini. It's good to see you after so long. Why don't you guys carry on, I will catch up with Manik & Cabir" she mumbled before leaving Nandini with Zubin & Abhimanyu.

"You guys know each other?" Zubin asked, surprised.

"Yeah..yeah from back when.." Nandini mumbled & Zubin nodded in understanding. "..and you are?" he asked, looking at Abhimanyu with a warm smile.

"Abhimanyu. I'm Nandini's security in-charge" he retorted coldly.

"..and my best friend & brother for all 'intensive' purposes." Nandini added & gave him a side hug, to which he smiled gratefully. Zubin nodded with a smile and before they could exchange any further conversation, Aryamann managed to find his way there.

"Fancy a dance with me, my favourite fangirl?" he chirped warmly, looking at Nandini & she couldn't help but smile.

"..but Manik?" she spelt out without thinking & looked at Abhimanyu & Zubin.

"Aah, there's no press here, Manik won't give a flying fuck" replied Aryamann jovially, but deep down it hurt Nandini. Maybe the hurt was quite obvious on her face, that's why, the next moment Aryamann sobered up immediately and said, "Sorry that came out wrong. I mean, without any press around, there's no chance of fake rumours reaching the headlines, and Manik wouldn't mind if we danced a bit" he clarified. Zubin nodded in agreement & Abhimanyu, although wasn't ecstatic about it, but nodded seeing that Nandini could do with a cheer.

The rest of the evening went well, as Nandini found Aryamann was nice company to have. He was fun, light hearted & made her smile a lot. Once in a while, she did look for Manik, but he seemed too busy with Cabir, Mukti, Alia, Zubin & other big shots to pay attention to her. Aryamann was right, it was just like her yester-years, Manik didn't care about her, when the cameras were shut.

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Word Count: 2,109

A/N : Well? How did this go?

Did you guys like the glimpse of Showbizz? What are your thoughts on MaNan?

What are your thoughts on Alia & Aryamann? Anything you specifically liked about the chapter? Anything you didn't like?

Do share your thoughts folks, because I love reading them & it encourages me to write more!

My ask is simple, please vote & share if you like this story & help me garner more readership & in return I promise you a MaNalicious story!

Next update will be on 20th Nov (Sunday)

Until then,

Much much love,

Your writer,

A.