06• My Secret Admirer
Nandini directly reached Diana's flat, Ella was already present there. She rang the bell with a deadpan expression on her face.
Diana opened the door and hugged her. "How was your date with your crush, Nandini?" She asked excitedly.
Diana had no idea what her plan had done. Manik began to despise her as a result of her plan.
"Dia-Diana, Manik," her lips trembled. "He hates me."
After listening to her words, Diana's eyes widened and she immediately broke the hug before asking her in a shocking tone, "what do you mean?"
Ella also strolled toward them, and as she noticed Nandini's expressionless face, she asked concernedly, "what happened, Barbie? Why are you looking so pale?"
"Guys, he came to know about our plan." She pursed her lips and fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.
"What? How?" They both asked in unison.
"I don't know." She shook her head and cried, biting her lower lip. "Now he hates me, everything has finished." She sobbed.
"Relax, come with us." Ella wrapped her arm around her neck and led her to the hall. Diana followed them, guilty of making such a stupid plan.
Ella made her sit down on the sofa while Diana went to bring water for her from the Kitchen. Ella sat beside her.
Diana came back and held out the glass of water to her before sitting on the other side of her. "Now I'll move on from him." She said blankly, taking the glass of water from Diana's hand, still sobbing.
But she knew deep down that she would never be able to get over him because his name was already imprinted on every breath she took.
"I think this is right for you, Barbie. It will be difficult but I'm with you." Ella said, clasping her hand. Nandini smiled at her faintly.
"Yes, we're always with you, Nandini." Diana took her in a side hug.
She was incredibly grateful to have pals like Diana and Ella in her life. They always stood by her side, and when she erred, they corrected her and guided her in the proper direction because they were older and wiser than she was.
"And I'm sorry, Nandini. All this happened because of my stupid plan." Suddenly Diana uttered guiltily.
"Idiot, don't be sorry. Because of your plan, I got to know that Manik has no feelings for me. He just cares for me because I'm his best friend's sister. He loves my brother a lot and I'm glad. So whatever happened was for the best. So don't apologise." She explained to her.
"Yeah, it wasn't your fault, Diana. You were just trying to help her." Ella also explained her, and she just nodded at them slightly.
"Now we all go shopping first, then to the spa." Ella squealed cheerfully to lighten the mood.
"Wow! It's going to be a blast." Diana whooped, and Nandini just faintly smiled at them because her heart was breaking inside.
They both raised their brows at her.
"So let's go," Nandini said, standing up because she also wanted to change her mood.
***
Flashback
When Manik was thrashing Jake by holding him from his collar, Jake spat out the truth in front of him. "Please, leave me, it wasn't my fault. Nandini asked me to be his phoney boyfriend." He was about to give him another punch but stopped, listening to his words.
His eyes widened in shock, and he asked Jake, "what? Why?"
"I don't know, please leave me." He begged, and as Manik left his collar, he dashed from there like a scared cat.
'Why did she lie to Ethan? I have to find out.' He wondered bemusedly.
Flashback Over
**
Nandini lumbered into her room with the shopping bags and collapsed heavily on the bed after dropping the bags on the floor.
Despite being completely worn out, she couldn't fall asleep as Manik's harsh words were revolving in her mind. She was just rolling and changing her position, irked with herself.
'He has no clue how much I long for his love. My soul and my body aren't mine as much as they're his. Even if he has only caused me pain, I can't help but love him because this one-sided love is everything to me. But I still hope a miracle occurs and he falls in love with me.' With this thought, finally, she dozed off.
The next morning, she woke up, and then a smile flashed on her face as an idea popped into her mind.
Yesterday she had resolved to move on, and today she was planning to again make him fall in love with herself because she didn't want to regret later for not trying. So, before permanently letting him go, she wanted to give it her all.
It's better to do something than to do nothing to fulfil the dream because nothing is impossible in the world; miracles happen every day in the life; all we have to do is keep trying and believe in ourselves.
Later that day, she brought a new sim to message Manik as she planned to talk to him and win his heart by keeping her identity hidden from him.
She took a deep breath, and after praying to God, she sent him the first message on WhatsApp because this was her last chance to win the heart of her first love.
Nandini: Hi, Mr Biker!!
Surprisingly, he responded immediately, and a huge smile flashed on her face, and her heart began to dance with delight.
Manik: Who?
Nandini: One of your secret admirers.
Manik: I don't talk to strangers. You're in the wrong place, Miss.
She pouted.
Nandini: I thought you won't even reply to a stranger, but I'm happy that at least you replied.
She sent him the message with a smile on her face.
Manik: I'm giving you the last chance to tell me your name or bye forever.
She again pouted sadly after reading his message. She wasn't understanding how to convince him to talk to her.
Nandini: Why is it important for you to know my name? Couldn't we talk like this and know each other?
Manik: No, bye and have a nice day, my secret admirer.
He went offline after sending this message, and her face hung down in sadness.
But then her pretty face lit up with a smile as her heart told her, "Nandini, he wrote 'MY SECRET ADMIRER.' You are now his."
"Wow! Wow!" She squealed cheerily.
"You're getting happy as if he addressed you as 'MY LOVE'. Nandini, don't listen to your stupid heart; it's making you a fool. Manik said goodbye, and he's never coming back." As her mind showed her the reality, she made a sad pout.
"You shouldn't have messaged him like this." Her mind chided her.
She murmured, "but at least I tried. It's better to do something than to do nothing."
***
A few days passed, and she was sending him a good morning message every day, not caring that he wasn't even seeing them. She had utter faith that one lucky day he would certainly see her message and reply to her.
Nandini stepped into Ethan's room in the morning and froze as she saw Manik there, only in a towel, water dripping down his tattooed muscular chest and abs. A shiver of carnal desire rushed down her spine as he was looking so fucking hot. She felt like sucking every drop of water from his sexy body. She had never felt this way about a man before, these foreign feelings were driving her insane.
'How could anybody look so seductive?' She wondered bemusedly, leering at his body shamelessly.
"Control yourself, Nandini. Control." She closed her eyes and composed herself before opening her eyes.
"Can't you ever come inside after knocking on the door?" He asked her, and she was playing with her fingers because she was tongue-tied due to his presence.
'How do I tell him that he's driving me insane with his hotness right now?' She wondered, moving her eyes down to the floor.
He marched to her, accelerating her heartbeat.
"Hey, I'm talking to you." As he snapped his finger at her, she instantly swept her eyes from the floor to his handsome face.
"It's my bro-brother room, I ne-never knock." She answered with great difficulty, stammering as he was standing so damn close to her and taking her breath away from her. The aroma of his shampoo was driving her insane.
"Sometimes I stay in your brother's room, so it will be good for you to knock because I don't want you to catch me,"
She cut his words. "I'll knock next time." She dashed out because it was getting so damn hard for her to talk to him when he was arousing her carnal desires with his hotness. Her heart was pounding because of his presence.
Even when he was dressed, he drove her insane, but after seeing him naked and wet, she almost died. His irresistible body was flashing repeatedly in front of her eyes and making her breath heavy.
She came to the room and locked the door before taking a deep breath of relief, resting her head against the door.
"This man will be the death of me!" She murmured.
