30• I love you

She was calling him constantly, roaming outside of the college, but he wasn't responding to her, and this was causing her tremendous pain.

My Kiddo: He hugged me. What was my fault? Please, come back.

After an hour, he finally answered her call. "I don't want to talk to you right now; do you not understand that?" Mechanically, tears streamed down her cheeks as he yelled at her. She could bear anything in this world except his rage.

"Manik," before she could say something, he disconnected the call. He had no clue that, because of his anger, he was hurting his kiddo without any fault of hers.

"I have to pacify him anyhow because I just can't afford to lose him." She murmured, wiping off her tears.

She booked a cab and reached his apartment in no time. Her face hung down as she found his apartment was locked.

"Manik, please talk to me. I can't take your anger, it hurts me. Please, come back. I'm waiting at your place." While sobbing, she sent him a voice note via WhatsApp.

She sat outside his apartment and silently cried, hugging her knees against her chest. She didn't like it when he shouted at her. She was counting every second as if she were being punished.

***

Manik came to the club with Ethan to unwind. He was avoiding Nandini because he didn't want to hurt her with his anger and frustration.

When he got better, he listened to her voice message while walking out of the club, and he felt a sudden pang of guilt as he heard her sob.

"Fuck! She was crying, and I was ignoring her without any fault of hers. She called me so many times. Why the fuck do I hurt her always?" He chided himself before calling her. He became concerned because her phone was coming switched off.

"I just hope she is fine." He prayed and rushed to his apartment after sitting astride his bike.

He parked the bike and his eyes dilated in horror as he saw Nandini lying unconscious outside of his house. He dashed to her and knelt beside her, anxiousness etched on every line of his face.

"I'm so sorry, baby." He cradled her head in his lap and frantically apologised to her, leaning down and touching his face with her while tears were continuously trickling down his cheeks.

It was hurting him even more because he was the reason she was in pain and fainted.

He composed himself and led her inside after carrying her in his arms. He placed her down on the bed of his room and immediately called the doctor.

He sat beside her, clasping her hand, and kissed it repeatedly. Tears of guilt, anxiousness and pain were streaming down his cheeks, and he was constantly begging for forgiveness from her. He had never in his life felt such guilt.

The doctor arrived and examined Nandini. She gave her the injection while Manik was sitting on the sofa and his guilt-filled gaze fixed on his kiddo.

When the Doctor approached him, he immediately stood up and inquired in a worried tone, "Is she fine? What happened to her suddenly? When will she regain consciousness?"

"Relax, Manik. She is fine. She just passed out due to exhaustion and stress. I gave her the injection. Just keep her away from stress." As she told him, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply, knowing there was nothing serious.

"Take care of her." She left after saying this.

Manik again sat beside her, holding her hand and caressing her forehead with his other hand. He was gazing at her with immense love in his eyes.

"I swear to you, after today, I'll never let you cry because of me; you've been through a lot, and now there will be no more pain in your life." With a soft kiss on her forehead, he made a promise.

After a few minutes, she slowly opened her eyes, and when she saw him, she just embraced him firmly, startling him.

"I'm so sorry, Manik. I didn't hug Danny, he hugged me. Please, don't be angry with me." She apologised, hugging him tighter and tighter.

He drew her away from himself and clasped her face. "Why are you saying sorry, Doll? I understand it wasn't your fault, and I wasn't mad at you." He told her.

"Then why weren't you talking to me?" She asked him in an innocent tone.

He explained to her while stroking her hair, "because I was enraged when I saw him hugging you. I avoided you because I didn't want to hurt you in my rage. I just don't want you to deal with my rage because if you see it, you'll despise me." He spoke the final line solemnly.

'What? I'll hate him. Is he insane? How can I despise someone I worship so much?'

She grabbed his collar and shouted, "are you out of your mind, Manik? How could you even think that I'd hate you? Even if you hurt me, yell at me, or do anything else, I will never be able to hate you because," she paused.

"Because?"

He knew she loved him as no one else could, but his ears were longing to hear those three magical words from her mouth.

"Because I love you so fucking much, Manik." She finally confessed to him and felt so relieved because she had been dying to tell him this for such a long time. A lone tear of happiness mechanically trickled down her cheek, and he wiped it immediately.

"I have loved you since the day I saw you, and I was longing to tell you this. You have no idea what you're for me, Manik. You're my whole fucking world. I can never imagine a life where I hate you. Living without loving you is like living a life without a heart." She confessed, gazing into his eyes deeply.

He was ecstatic that someone loved him so much. He had yearned for love his entire life, and when he finally got it, he felt out of this world. He adored the way she always loved him since the day she messaged him, because he was aware of how deeply and madly she loved him from the beginning.

"Thank you for loving me and never giving up on me. If you had stopped trying, I would never have experienced this beautiful and pure feeling of true love. You make my heart sing, Kiddo. I'm so fortunate to have a person like you who is as pure as the driven snow. I fell in love with your beautiful soul before knowing who you were. Yes, Nandini, I love you too, that now I can't see anything beyond you." Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks automatically, listening to those three magical words from his mouth.

She couldn't believe the person she secretly loved had confessed his feelings for her. She was just at a loss for words and filled with gratitude to God for listening to her prayers.

He continued, "now I can't imagine my life without you. You have completed me and changed me so drastically that I now believe in love. I'm living the best days of my life with you and I never want to hurt you intentionally, my kiddo. You know after listening to your voice note and seeing you anxious in front of my house, I cursed myself so much. I seriously didn't want to hurt you, Doll. I avoided you out of fear that I might hurt you in a fit of rage, but I didn't think that ignoring you would cause you more pain. I'm so sorry, baby. I swear this is the last time you cry because of me."

He placed a kiss on her forehead as a promise that he would never hurt her. She closed her eyes in response, and a smile of contentment flashed on her face.

"Manik, please, I want to see every side of you, I want to know everything about you. I want to calm you down when you're angry. Please allow me to properly fix you, my love." She implored, placing her hand on his face and gazing at him with immense love in her eyes.

"'My love' sounds so soothing. Please just say that again." He requested like a baby.

She smiled and whispered, "my love," once more, gazing deeply into his eyes and directly touching his soul.

"I love you so much, my kiddo." He confessed merrily, pulling her into his arms. He was blessed to get a life partner like Nandini who loved him as no one else could. Although he never expected to trust anyone after his mother's wrongdoings, still he blindly trusted his kiddo.

"I love you more, Manik. I love you. I can't believe that you love me too." She squealed, overjoyed, hugging him tighter and digging her face into his chest.

'Now I have so much faith in her that even if God tells me she's going to leave me, I'm not going to believe it.' He wondered with a contented smile on his face. Their eyes were closed, and they were completely absorbed in each other's warm embrace.