Thank you all for your votes and comments! It always motivates me to continue writing. Hope you continue to enjoy the story!

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Next when Manik met his friends and they asked him about the progress, he told them about the drowning and saving incident.

Alya : "My mom says that God is always with people who are right. You didn't want us to devise another rescue plan, but destiny planned it for us. You would have surely become a hero in that girl's eyes by now."

Cabir : "That means our plan is going to be a success very soon."

Manik : "I am not even sure if we are on the right track, and you are talking about success."

Cabir : "What makes you say so?"

Manik : "If she is really selfish like how you have been saying, then she wouldn't have risked her life to save that boy's life who is no one to her."

Mukti's thoughts : "Even I had seen her helping others always, that is what made me think that she can't do anything wrong with anyone. But after she cheated me, I have begun to think that probably she had a motive behind everything she did. It was just that I couldn't figure it out at that time."

Alya : "Then probably that girl has a motive behind this too. She is no fool to get into the water and drown herself."

Manik : "What motive could Nandini have had behind saving an orphan? I could only see her selflessness in that act. She has to be brave to overcome her fear and risk her life to save that boy."

Manik told them about the conversation he had overheard between Nandini and her caretaker.

Alya didn't like hearing words of praise from Manik for Nandini. She also noticed that he had used Nandini's name for the first time when talking to them. She wanted to change Manik's opinion about Nandini desperately.

Alya : "That girl left her bag deliberately in your jeep, so that you overhear their conversation. The conversation was an act put on to either impress you or gain your sympathy, and it seems to have worked. You are taking her side in spite of me and Mukti telling you that she has a motive."

Alya : "That girl knows that you are wealthy, so she might be putting on these acts in an attempt to trap you. Or it could also be that she doesn't have anyone, so she doesn't like to see others happy with their friends and family."

Manik wasn't convinced with Alya's explanation, but he didn't argue about that matter further. He felt that everything that had happened that day couldn't have been planned. Nandini hadn't asked him for help at any point of time, he was the one who had volunteered. He felt that she really had an issue with her health.

Manik : "What if that was true and not an act? What if something would have happened that caused her depression or illness after Mukti left her? I can't say for sure though because I know how she was earlier only from Mukti's description. I haven't seen how she was back then."

Dhruv : "It is quite possible. Karma comes after everyone eventually. May be she is suffering the consequence of what she did to Mukti. In that case, we don't have to continue with our plan and dirty our hands by taking revenge."

Alya : "It shouldn't really matter to us if she is sick or depressed. Her suffering won't make Mukti feel better, but revenge will. Check with Mukti if you want."

Mukti : "I don't care what has happened to her anymore. I just want a closure, and if this revenge will help me with it like how Alya has been saying, then we should continue with it."

After Manik left Nandini's house, he had tried to think over as to what could have happened to her. She had no family to lose and she herself wanted to go away from her well wishers. He couldn't think of a reason. But after hearing Dhruv's words, he could think of a possibility.

Manik : "There are chances that the reason behind her depression might be similar to yours. She might have fallen in love just like you and got cheated. In that case, the revenge plan which you have come up with may not even work."

Cabir : "First, you will have to figure out if that is the case or not then. We can decide whether to continue with this plan or change it based on that."

Since Manik brought up the topic that he hadn't seen how Nandini was earlier, Mukti searched youtube for a video of Nandini performing with her band at her previous college, and showed it to them. Rest of them really didn't care, but to Manik who had been spending time with Nandini and observing her, she looked a lot different on the video when compared to how she was at the present.

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Nandini didn't attend the college or volunteer at the orphanage for the next two days. Manik had been thinking of how to clarify his doubt in the meanwhile, but he didn't have to wait for long.

The boy who had misbehaved and volunteered to gain the attention of the girl earlier proposed to that girl, and the girl readily accepted. They had been working as partners for sometime and that had brought them closer. Most of them there cheered for the couple, but Nandini didn't. Manik thought of making use of that situation to his advantage.

Manik : "Everyone is cheering for them except you, may I know why?"

Nandini : "Even you aren't."

Manik : "That is not the answer to my question. I am not cheering because my partner isn't."

Manik's thoughts : "Why will I cheer them when I don't even believe in love?"

Manik : "Is it that you don't believe in love?"

Nandini : "It isn't like that. Now, both look happy, but who knows what the future holds for them."

Manik : "So you think that they won't be happy in the future?"

Nandini : "They will be happy if they both love each other truly, but not everyone is lucky to find true love."

Manik's thoughts : "I even dislike the term love and she is talking about true love, but I have to go with the flow if I have to clarify my doubt."

Manik : "Both confessed that they love each other, and still you think that they don't love each other truly."

Nandini : "I don't know about them in particular, but there is a difference between saying it and actually meaning it."

Manik : "Why will they say it when they don't actually mean it?"

Nandini : "There are possibilities that what one thinks as love may not even be love, it may just be an infatuation. In that case, it will fade away with time and they may separate."

Manik's thoughts : "Or they may stay together but continue to argue with each other for the rest of their lives like dad and mom."

Nandini : "Or there are also chances that one of them may be pretending to love the other to fulfill their own motive. Whatever the reason, the one who loves truly will end up suffering and the other will leave and move on in life without even looking back."

Nandini's expression changed after saying those words and that made Manik think that something similar must have happened with Nandini too.

Manik : "Are you saying this from your experience? Were you in love with someone?"

Nandini : "It isn't necessary to experience it yourself. I am saying it based on the experiences of others whom I know."

Manik : "Does that mean that you wouldn't fall in love in the future?"

Nandini : "That probably isn't in our control, but I will hope that that never happens."

Manik's thoughts : "I wanted to stay away from anything that had to do with love, but I agreed to make her fall for me, and she hopes that she never falls in love. She isn't wrong. Why would anyone want to get in the same boat after knowing where it is headed?"

Manik : "You want to stay away from love just because a few people whom you know have failed in love?"

Manik's thoughts : "I am doing the same too. The only difference is that I have seen it happening with my own family."

Nandini : "It isn't just that. .. You already know about me. When I haven't been able to receive love from my own parents, how can I expect to receive it from anyone else. .. Even what I have received now is going to be only temporarily. I don't think I am lucky enough to receive any kind of love, let alone true love .. and now, I am not even a position to think of it. If at all I end up falling in love in the future, I am doomed for sure."

Manik's thoughts : "I am here with the intention of bringing her down, but when I see her condition and hear her words, I feel she is already in her lows. I can't back out from what I have committed to Mukti, but how can I go ahead with it after knowing Nandini's woes. What have I gotten myself into?"

Manik's thoughts : "If it isn't love failure, then what else could be the reason for her current state? What could have happened that changed her to such an extent?"

Manik's friends always advised him that he should focus on their plan and not be concerned about Nandini, but he couldn't ignore what he saw and felt.