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The ride back was silent except the occasional directions which Nandini gave him to her home. She had been glancing his way, way too much but he kept his face stoic and spoke nothing, just concentrating ahead.

She knew she had rejected him without a proper cause and neither did she deny that she didn't like Ahaan, not anymore but it seemed that this was a good excuse to keep him away.

As they reached her home, she glanced at him one more time but he kept looking straight. Will he atleast say goodbye?

"Bye Manik." She whispered after she got down and stood there. Manik neither reacted nor said anything which caused her eyes to water.

She turned back to leave when she heard him igniting his car. It filled her with a different kind of fear which she couldn't even understand.

"Nandini" He called out just when he was ready to go and she turned around the next second.

"Just forget what I said earlier," He dismissed it with his hand and she implied that he was talking about his feelings but then he continued, "We don't need to talk anymore. You can delete my number and I'll do the same. It'll be much easier that way."

Nandini felt her heart breaking at his words and before she could say anything in return he drove away. A choked sob left her mouth and she turned around and entered in her house.

Why did she have to do this?

But how could she be with him? The gap between his status and her status was far too big and she was scared.

She hates attention and that is all what he gets.

She didn't bother to change her clothes and just laid down with the tears flowing from her eyes. Grabbing her phone she scrolled through it until his name appeared and she just stared at it. Why did he have to be a famous singer and not a normal guy?

Her phone rang and she immediately picked it up without seeing the caller id.

"Manik I'm sorry─"

"Nandini?" Disappointment hit her and she realised that it was her brother. She closed her eyes and sniffed which definitely alarmed her brother but she didn't care.

She didn't even care when he abruptly cut the call without asking what happened because he never does.

Fifteen minutes later he was in her house, in her room, staring at her worriedly while she only hugged the pillow close to her heart.

"Will you tell me what happened? Did that Manik Malhotra do this? Did he harass you?" He asked furiously and that is when she blinked her eyes to register what he was implying.

"He didn't do anything. He just indirectly confessed his feelings and before he could tell me that directly, I rejected him." She said plainly and Avinash's eyes widened.

"You rejected him? But why? You like him as well right?" He asked and she sighed getting up making place for him to sit beside her.

"Liking isn't enough bhai. He's a Rockstar and I'm a just commoner. Few years later when I'll be a professor in a school or college, he would've reached new heights of success and would be recognised maybe by the whole world. And you know I don't like getting attention or even being in the limelight but that is what his work is." She explained and Avinash could see the pain in her eyes.

"You say you don't like attention but when you'll be a professor wouldn't that mean you will have to gain attention? I mean atleast of your students." He pointed out and she stared at him with a blank face.

"That is different. They'll be only a bunch of students and this... This is the whole world." She argued and he chuckled ruffling her hair.

"Nandini, if you really like him than all these things don't matter. You're making excuses and finding ways to keep him away. You know why? Because you're scared. It's okay to be scared but tell him about this. Don't push him away citing wrong ideas to him. Okay?" He asked and she looked at him helplessly.

"Now what?" He rolled his eyes and she pouted sadly.

"He doesn't want to talk anymore. He asked me to delete his number whereas he'll do the same. I'm sure he must've deleted my number by now." She grumbled and he made a disbelieving face.

"I always knew your were dumb but you prove it to me time and again." He scoffed and she glared at him before throwing the pillow on his face. He threw it back and left her room not before shouting 'call him'.

Nandini huffed and glanced at her phone which lay silently beside her.

She picked it up and called him the next second, anxiously waiting for him to answer it. He picked it up in the fifth ring and she felt relieved.

"Manik." She said his name in a hurry and then bit her lip because she sounded desperate. But he said nothing in return which made her nervous.

"What is it?" He replied finally but his tone was crisp which she didn't like at all.

"Where are you?" She ignored his question deliberately. She couldn't apologise to him over a phone call right. She wished he hadn't gotten far but who was she kidding he must've reached home.

"What happened Nandini?" She made a bad face because he asked the question sternly. But was she going to give in? Nope.

"Manik can you come to my place, now?" It felt like they were playing a question-question game. They weren't answering any of the questions instead asking another question in answer of the first.

"What? Why? Is everything alright?" He sounded panicked and before she could answer the line went dead.

"What? Hello? Manik?" She frowned and checked her phone but everything was alright so she dialed his number again but it was switched off.

His battery must've died.

She sighed and laid on the bed again with a pout because now she'll have to talk with him the next morning. Five minutes later she heard someone knock on her door.

Thinking it must be Avinash and her habit of not checking who is it from the peephole caused her to open the door without even a thought that it could be a burglar or a killer.

As soon as she opened the door she was engulfed in a tight hug which caused her to stagger backwards. She panicked at first thinking of a psychopath who entered her house but later relaxed when she heard him murmur against her neck.

"You scared me." He mumbled tightening his hold and Nandini smiled hugging him back. They kept hugging each other for more than ten minutes and when she finally decided to break the hug, he didn't let her.

"No, stay. This feels good." He whispered hiding his face in her neck and she chuckled.

"Manik how did you reach here so fast? How did you drive?" She asked with a stern voice and he slowly let her go but not completely.

"I didn't go too far." He replied with a helpless face and she instantly felt guilty. She then stood on her toes to which his grip on her waist tightened.

Holding his face in her hands she brought her face closer to his and slowly kissed her forehead. She knew that he thought that was it but when she moved down to kiss his eyes, he pulled her more close.

"I'm sorry." She whispered when she reached near his lips and he stared at her intensely.

"Why?" He whispered back and she searched his eyes for something.

"I don't like Ahaan."

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