Back To You

N A N D I N I M U R T H Y


" You'd think I'm all about that beauty and grace,
But you do me wrong, and I'd punch you in the face "




M A N I K M A L H O T R A



" when they called me a heartbreaker,
there's no way they could have known
that I'd left no heart more broken—
than my own "




C A B I R D H A W A N


" did someone say drama?
yes bitch, that is my second name "





A R Y A M M A N K H U R R A N A


" I am Gucci, you are Crocs "






A L I Y A S A X E N A



" my mascara's too expensive to cry...
especially over stupid boys like you "





M U K T I V A R D H A N


" can I be a Malhotra? "




*



Playlist:

I wanna hold you
when I'm not supposed to,
When I'm lying close to someone else,
you're stuck in my head and
I can't get you out of it;

If I could do it all again,
I know I'd go
back to you.


— Back To You, Selena Gomez





*




Prologue:


4:37 AM




They say that everybody has a Chapter of their life that they don't read out loud.



But isn't it sad to think that when you can't even say those Chapters loud, you have to go through them alone. You can't skip chapters, cause that's now how life works. You have to read every line, meet ever character. You won't enjoy all of it. You will read things you don't want to read, you will have moments where you don't want pages to end. But you have to keep going. These stories keep the world revolving.



But me? My story had come to a standstill. The chapters kept flying by but my heart was stuck on just one page.



A page called Manik Malhotra.



He was with me, but he wasn't. He was so close, yet so apart.



We were friends. That's what he wanted us to be now.



But if I'm being honest, you can never ever be just friends with someone you've fallen completely in love with.



"Nandini, it's cold outside. Why don't you come in?" I heard a familiar voice behind my back but I didn't nudge. I let my feet be dipped in the cold water body and the stars above my head shine upon me.



It was cold outside, but my heart felt colder.



Minutes later, I felt a warm blanket covering my shoulders as he settled beside me, putting his feet inside the water too.



"Oh I wish this night never ends," he chuckled.



"Manik—," I started, but he cut me off.



"Why are you awake?" He asked, his voice shrill and cold, unlike the warmth and huskiness I had known.



"I want to go Home," I whispered, my gaze lowered to the artificial water body that reflected the stars so perfectly, putting every mirror at shame.



"And I want to go to the moon. It ain't happening Nandini, time to accept it." He snapped back immediately.



I shot him a look, more like an accusing glare. "Why are you being so rude to me? This isn't you."



"It is me. This is me. The me that you had known was an illusion, an illusion made to make you happy. This is the real me— cold. I'm not the man you could snuggle into sleep. It is time to accept reality. You and me? Never happening," he snapped again and I simply looked away.



I was tired, too tired to fight back. It hurt too much.



For once, I tried concentrating on the fact that I had him sitting beside me, probably one of the last times before he walks away from me and my life, then living his billionaire life again, leaving me a mess without him. I needed him.



"You're the chapter in my life that will always be mine: unshared, untold, unopened. Isn't it weird? I told you all my secrets. And now you became one of them too." I said, to no one in particular.



"Then so it'll be," he said, an unknown determination in his voice, "Love me like certain dark things are to be loved, between your soul and the shadows."



I nodded. "Manik?" I call, and he turns his head to me. "You once asked me how much was forever, isn't it?" I asked and he nodded.



I stare back ahead. "It varies. Sometimes, it means a lot, but for us... it was just seven days. Our forever was of seven days."



"So this it?" He asked, but it was more of a statement then a question. I repeated. "This is it," my heart ached.



"This is the end." He stood up, and I stood up behind him, nodding. My lehenga touched the floor again and I clutched it's sides with my fists, trying to take in the brimming tears.



"Is that what you want?" I ask, vulnerable.



"Isn't that what's necessary?" He asked back and I nod. This was it.



"Mh-hmm..." I nodded. His hand gently touched my cheeks and I shivered under his touch more than I did from the cold.



"Then let me go," He whispered and I closed my eyes tight, a traitor tear flowing away which he gently wiped with his thumb.



"Our night is over Manik...." I whispered, breaking away as the first rays of light spread over, colouring the sky into its first shade of blue.



"Our night is over, Nandini," he repeated, taking a step behind, as his touch left my face and he walked behind, his eyes still holding mine.


"Goodbye, Nandini," He mouthed, his voice barely reaching mine.



I nodded, covering my mouth from breaking away.



"Manik," I called. He stepped ahead, nodding.



"I love you, and I let you go."




*




Extra:


officially, the only cover for this story by the lovely and very talented ElysianCoral
beautiful, isn't it?



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love,
heer. x