Manik got Nandini's address from Arya. Though Manik or Nandini hadn't told Arya of what they felt for each other, he had overheard a part of Manik and his friends' conversation when he had returned to take his phone the previous day, and he figured out that Manik loved Nandini. Also, he had heard from Sunaina of how Manik seemed to have a special place in Nandini's life. So, Arya gave him the address without asking any questions.

Manik reached Nandini's house and knocked at the door, and Nandini opened the door. She hadn't expected that Manik would come home. At that instant, she went through a lot of emotions at once. She was overjoyed that he remembered her and had come to meet her. Her heart was fluttering and she couldn't take her eyes of him. Not a single word came out of her mouth though.

Manik's state was not much different. His wait had finally come to an end. She was standing right in front of him in person, and it was not his imagination. He couldn't take his eyes of her either. Till he saw her, he had thought that he would express his feelings as soon as he meets her, and he had thought of what to say to her on his way too, but it wasn't that easy to do so in reality. He stood speechless at that moment.

Manik and Nandini's focus was only on the person in front, and they weren't aware of their surroundings, but there were two pairs of eyes watching them. One was Sunaina, who had come to check who was at the door, and made a guess as to who it was by looking at how Nandini's eyes were fixed on him. The other was Alya, who had followed Manik stealthily. Manik was busy in his own world to realize that someone was following him.

Sunaina : "Aren't you going to invite him inside?"

Sunaina (whispering to Nandini) : "You can look at him as much as you wish after he comes inside too."

Hearing Sunaina, Nandini and Manik came out of their trance. Nandini invited Manik and introduced him and Sunaina. After the initial pleasantries, Sunaina left them on their own, and went inside. Alya had hid herself outside and she continued to overhear their conversation.

When they both were standing in front of each other at the door, they both were so conscious about their own feelings that they didn't realize that the person in front also felt the same.

After hearing Sunaina's comments, Nandini hesitated to look at Manik directly while speaking to him.

Manik : "I didn't get a chance to talk to you and clear things out after you came to know of our plan. Are you upset with me after knowing why I became your partner and tried to get closer to you?"

Nandini : "No, I am not. .. Didn't you read the letter I left for you?"

Manik : "I did, but now I got a feeling that may be you aren't interested in talking to me."

Nandini realized that Manik had misinterpreted her actions, so she tried to be as normal as possible.

Nandini : "It's been quite sometime since we met last, that's why, there is nothing else."

Now that it was clear that she wasn't upset with him, he made an attempt to tell her what he felt.

Manik : "Back then, when I agreed to be a part of the plan, I didn't believe in love. I never thought, even in my dreams, that I would fall in love one day. I have no idea how and when it happened .."

Manik was still in the process of putting his feelings into words. Nandini's state changed from overjoyed to sad by just hearing that Manik had fallen in love. She felt that her racing heart would stop beating completely. Nandini loved him, and she was okay with him not reciprocating her feelings, but she didn't want to hear of his love for someone else. She didn't expect that he would fall for her. She assumed that he was talking of Alya because of what Alya had told her. So, she tried to put an end to that conversation.

Nandini : "Congrats to you .. and her!"

Manik didn't understand who Nandini was referring to as her. He could only figure out that she thought that it was someone else.

Manik : "Who do you think I fell in love with?"

Nandini : "Isn't it .. Alya?"

Manik : "What?! .. Why would you think so?"

From Manik's reaction, Nandini figured out that it wasn't Alya, and he didn't know of what Alya thought of him. She didn't want to be the one to tell about it, and she didn't know what else to say at that instant.

Nandini : "She is your friend, so .."

Manik : "Having a girl as a friend doesn't mean that she is a girlfriend."

Nandini : "I am sorry. I came to a conclusion in a hurry without realizing that a lot of things would have changed in your life in the past few months, and you would have met someone else."

Manik also felt that she wasn't narrow minded to think so, and probably there was more to it. But first, he wanted to let Nandini know that it was her he was talking about, and not someone else.

Manik : "Except for realizing my feelings and changing my opinion about love, not much has changed since you left."

Manik tried to express his feelings once again, but this time he directly came to the point.

Manik : "I became your partner and got closer to you with the intention of making you fall for me, but instead I fell for you. .. After I got to know you, I continued to be your partner even after I backed out from the plan. During that time, I have no idea how or when, I fell in love with you, but I didn't realize it then, when you were around. .. Even after you left, it took me a while to realize. Not a single day has gone by without thinking of you since you left. From the time I realized my feelings for you, I have been looking forward to the day I would meet you and share the same with you. .. There are a lot more things I wanted to say, but after seeing you, after all this time, I am having a hard time finding the right words to express all my thoughts and feelings."

Manik : "You did tell me that you don't want to fall in love, and after knowing about your past, I know the reason for it too. Even then I am asking you, will you give me a chance to make you fall for me? This time I definitely don't have any wrong intentions. I assure you that I won't disappoint you, and I will never leave your side whatever happens in the future."

Nandini hadn't expected that Manik also felt the same for her as she felt for him. She still couldn't believe what she just heard. She didn't doubt him or his sincerity, but she had her own doubts and fears. Now that she was looking at him, he felt that she was still contemplating.

Manik : "If you need time to think over it, I will come back some other time. If you have any questions for me, you can ask me now or later."

Nandini brought up the questions that had come to her mind at that time. She didn't want his life to get complicated because of her.

Nandini : "What if you come to know in the future that a friend .. or a relative loves you? What if they feel that I came in between and snatched you from them? May be even you would have accepted her, if you wouldn't have met me.."

Manik : "I can't change what someone else feels for me, but I wouldn't have accepted anyone even if I wouldn't have met you. I didn't believe in love or marriage before. If I wouldn't have met you, either that place wouldn't have existed in my life or it would have remained vacant forever. I will convey the same to whoever it is."

Manik : "You are the one who gave rise to these feelings and it is because of you my opinion changed about love. Irrespective of your answer, you will continue to rule my mind and heart always. I have already started living my life with you in my imagination. Whether I continue to do the same or change it into reality is in your hands."

Manik : "I have no idea why you brought up Alya, but I don't want you to have any doubts. I became friends with her because of my friend, Dhruv. It was love at first sight for him. Though I didn't believe in love then, Cabir convinced me that I had to support Dhruv as a good friend. Dhruv is an introvert and Alya being a part of our group would make it easier for him stay close to her. That is all there is to it and will ever be."

Nandini : "What if your parents or anyone close to you don't approve of me after knowing my background?"

Manik : "Everyone close to me already knows about you and no one has any issues."

Manik : "I only need your approval. You don't have to worry about anything else. I will take care of everything that comes our way. Do you need any other clarification or are you ready to give me a chance to make you fall for me?"

Nandini : "I don't need any other clarification, but I won't be able to give you a chance, it isn't in my hands."

Manik : "Why? .. Weren't you saying that everyone should get a second chance? Don't you feel that I should get one too?"

Nandini : "I didn't mean that way. How can I give you a chance to make me fall for you when I already love you? I didn't know that the lie I told that day would actually turn true. I didn't realize it until much later, after I left from there, but I never thought that you would reciprocate my feelings. I had decided to live with your memories for the rest of my life. I don't have words to express how ecstatic I am after hearing you, but I wanted to make sure that your life wouldn't get complicated because of me, before I convey what I feel for you."

Manik : "Oh .. You scared me for a moment, my heart skipped a beat."

Manik : "After you walked into my life, even the few complication that were there also disappeared. If at all any complications arise in the future, we can handle it together. Today, I came here with the hope that I will convince you to give me a chance, but after hearing that you feel the same for me, I feel on top of the world."

Manik moved closer to Nandini and held her hands.

Alya left as stealthily as she had come. She realized what place she held in Manik's life. Sunaina didn't disturb Manik and Nandini. They continued with their conversation as to what happened when the other wasn't around, and how they had spent their time thinking of the other, till they fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next morning was indeed a new beginning in their life. Nandini woke up first and found herself in Manik's arms. She tried to move off him, but her fingers were still entangled with Manik's. When Manik woke up, he found her staring at him.

Manik : "Why are you looking at me like that without blinking?"

Nandini : "All these days, you were with me only in my dreams, and you used to disappear when I open my eyes. I still feel that everything is a dream and you will disappear if I blink."

Manik : "Your dream .. no .. our dream has come true. It is you who disappears in a blink of an eye, not me. I assure you neither will I disappear nor will I let you disappear from now on. .. It is time that we turn our dreams and imagination into reality."

Manik : "Yesterday, I said that I need only your approval, but there is one more thing I need from you. I want your assurance that you wouldn't come to conclusions about us based on others' words, however close they may be to you. If you need clarifications about me and our relationship, you will talk directly to me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A lot of changes happened since then. Manik, Harshad and Arya managed to convince Nandini to move back to Mumbai. Sunaina also agreed to shift with Nandini. She no longer had a reason to stay alone in a remote place.

Mukti and Alya apologized to Nandini. Alya who had been planning to get rid of Nandini after knowing her whereabouts, realized her mistake finally. After overhearing Nandini's conversation with Harshad and Manik, she realized that she had misjudged Nandini completely.

Harshad revealed to his dad that he knew about his past. He made a deal with his dad that he wouldn't expose him as long as he wouldn't try to harm Nandini. His dad agreed because he didn't have a choice. Harshad agreed to visit his family often, but he wasn't ready to stay with them.

Dhruv took courage and managed to express his feelings to Alya. Since Alya was already aware of his feelings after overhearing Manik and Nandini's conversation, she didn't reject him, but she asked for sometime. Arya and Sunaina's bond continued to grow stronger. Mukti and Raj (Manik's Dad) continued to work on gaining Harshad and Nyonika's trust back after receiving their forgiveness.

Manik introduced Nandini to his parents and they welcomed her wholeheartedly. Nandini's entry into Manik's life had resulted in changing their lives for the better as well. His parents gave them their blessings and were ready to get them married whenever Manik and Nandini were ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nandini had started her journey from the orphanage looking for her dad. Though that relationship failed and turned her life upside down, she got entangled in a lot of other relationships as a result. She met people who tried to harm her, but at the same time she also met people who could go to any extent for her well-being.

Manik and Nandini's journey began when they got entangled in a silly fight. Though they disliked each other and wanted to stay away, they got entangled in a revenge plan, one knowingly and the other unknowingly. The actual reason they came together faded along the way and they got entangled in a different relationship, that they themselves weren't aware of. They managed to resolve the tangles in their lives as well as the lives of their dear ones. Finally they got entangled in love for life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for taking the time to read this story, and supporting me to continue writing and completing it. Thank you for all your votes and positive comments!