80• Anxiety Attack

Ethan and Ella entered the room after some time. Manik was still lying facing her and gazing at her intensely and playing with her silky hair with his long fingers. They both smiled at each other, seeing him lost in her. He was so lost in her that he didn't even come to know when they both walked into the room.

They approached him. Ethan patted his shoulder, bringing him back to the earth.

He turned towards them and sat up. "When did you guys come?"

"When you were engrossed in my sister," Ethan chuckled along with Ella while Manik blushed. They were all happy again after a long time because they got back their little bundle of joy.

Ella uttered, "Earlier, only Nandini was crazy about you, and now you are both crazy for each other equally."

"That's true. I'm madly and deeply in love with her." As he admitted gladly, nodding his head and gazing at her, his lips curled into a smile.

"When will she wake up? I'm dying to talk to her." Ethan said like a desperate kid, staring at his sister with a smile on his face.

"Ethan, she had woken up again a few minutes ago." As Manik told him, he freaked out.

"What? Why didn't you call us?"

"Just for a few minutes, Ethan. And I told her that she was in a coma."

"What was her reaction?" Ethan asked worriedly.

"She was shocked and upset about us," Manik answered, gently running his fingers through her silky hair.

"This girl will never stop worrying about everyone," Ethan murmured, shaking his head.

Manik, Ethan, and Ella waited all night for Nandini to wake up, but she was soundly dozing. To kill time, they sometimes wandered across the room, went to the balcony and used their phones.

"Guys, I think you both should go to the room and sleep for some time. I'm here with her." Manik said at 4 am because they were taking naps while sitting on the sofa. Sometimes Ethan rested his head on Ella's shoulder, and sometimes she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I also think we should go to the room, Ethan, and get some sleep." Ella yawned, and Ethan stared at his sister with longing eyes.

"Don't worry, Ethan, when she wakes up, I'll give you a call," Manik reassured him.

"Don't forget about that, Manik! Because I know you lose track of time when you're with my sister." Teasingly, he said.

"True! When she is with me, I forget everything." He kissed her forehead before returning his focus to Ethan and saying, "But I promise you, I'll call you."

"Okay." He nodded at Manik, and they both rose from the sofa and left after glancing at Nandini.

***

Manik woke up after sleeping for a few hours and pouted when he found his kiddo still sleeping.

"Good morning, Love." He kissed her cheek before climbing down from the bed and opening the curtains.

The sun's rays fell over her face and disturbed her sleep. She opened her eyes, and he approached her with a smile on his face. He only waited for this.

"Rise and shine, Kiddo." He leaned down and pecked her lips. They felt so alive when their lips came into contact with each other after a long month. Their lips were yearning to feel each other's.

As he pulled apart, she uttered, pouting like a baby. "I'm feeling tired and sluggish."

He smiled broadly and kissed her pout. He missed doing this and his kiddo's adorable antics. He seriously felt as if he had gotten his life back.

"You woke up after a month, it's normal to feel like this, Kiddo." He explained to her, gently stroking her hair, and they both gazed into each other's eyes intensely.

'I can vividly see in his eyes that he endured a lot when I was in a coma. I'm just wondering how he spent his days when he had no idea when I'd wake up. For him, a month would be like a year, whereas for me, a month was like one night. When I was sleeping peacefully, he was suffering.' She thought, staring at him unblinkingly.

'I can't express how much I missed getting lost in her brown intoxicating eyes. In her eyes, I saw my future, and I was completely lost when they were closed.' He wondered, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"Shit!" As Manik suddenly shouted, her brows narrowed in confusion. "I have to call Ethan and Ella. You know they spent the whole night here waiting for you to wake up. They weren't ready to go to their room and sleep. Ethan said right that you have magic to make me forget everything." He told her and went to pick up his phone from the table, and she stared at him sadly.

Manik: She woke up.

He texted Ella and Ethan before returning to Nandini, leaving the phone on the table.

As he saw her sad, he asked her, "what happened? Why are you upset?"

Ethan and Ella entered the room before she could say anything, their eyes sparkling with excitement and their lips were drawn up into a broad smile.

Ethan smiled at her before sprinting towards her and stooping down to embrace her. "Oh, I've missed you so much."

"I'm sorry, Ethan." As she apologised, he immediately pulled apart and stared at her bemusedly.

"Why, sorry?" He arched his brows at her.

"You were all in pain, and I-I had been sleeping-sleeping peacefully for a month." She uttered dejectedly, staring at all of them.

"Are you crazy, Nandini? It wasn't your fault," Ethan explained to her.

"Kiddo, don't bother about the past. That difficult period is over." Manik spoke while caressing her hair, standing beside Ethan.

"Yes, now we are all so glad to see you fine." Ella lay down beside her and hugged her. She closed her eyes and smiled blissfully, feeling so fortunate to have such loving people in her life.

They were all talking and laughing, sitting on the bed with Nandini when the nurse came to do her regular check-up. Manik kept glancing at her every few minutes, trying to convince himself that she was actually with him.

"Manik, when are you going to take me for a bike ride?" He was staring at her, and when she inquired when they were going for the bike ride, that horrible accident flashed in front of his eyes, and his hands began to tremble. He clasped his fists together to stop them from trembling. He had no idea what was going on with him.

"I need to go to the washroom, I'm just coming." He excused himself and dashed to the washroom.

He shut the door and closed his eyes. As the flashes of that dreadful day rushed through his memory, he opened his eyes and his hands trembled violently.

"Now she is fine. Then why is this happening to me?" He questioned himself, standing in front of the mirror and staring at himself, completely baffled.

He turned on the water and splashed it on his face. He was haunted by those memories.

"I can't fall weak. She is fine after a month. I should be happy. Just relax, Manik." He composed himself by taking a deep breath and returned to the room.

"Let's go to have some breakfast." He said, walking towards them.

"I'm too exhausted to get out of this bed." She pouted at him, and he couldn't stop himself from pecking at her adorable pout.

"I'm at your service, Madam." He bowed down in front of her, bringing a pretty smile to her face.

He lifted her in his arms. "I love you." She whispered, encircling her arms around his neck and beaming at him. Ella and Ethan just smiled at them.

"I love you more, Kiddo." He confessed, touching his forehead with hers. "I missed this a lot." He murmured with his eyes closed, utterly lost in her.

"Love birds, we have to go for breakfast." Ella brought them to the earth with her words.

"Of course," Manik replied as Nandini hid her face in his chest. He smiled broadly because he missed her bashfulness so much, and then he couldn't restrain himself from kissing his kiddo's lips in front of them, turning her cheeks scarlet.

"Manik, don't forget that we're also here." Ethan reminded him of this.

"I don't care, Bro. My kiddo woke up after a month, and I missed her so fucking much." After pulling away from her lips, he began to speak in an emotional manner, and Nandini just stared at him with teary eyes, wondering how much he would have endured without her in this one month, and it was killing her.

"Now, I'm with you, baby." He just closed his eyes and felt her presence with a contented smile on his face as she fiercely embraced him, burying her face in his chest.

Then he took her to the garden dining area for breakfast, carefully carrying her in his protective arms. Ethan and Ella followed them.

Ethan pulled out the chair for Nandini, and Manik made her sit down on it. "Feeling alright?" Manik asked her concernedly as she was making weird faces.

"I'm fine, but it feels like my legs have been jammed." She told him.

"It's okay, kiddo. A month has passed since you last moved your legs. It'll take some time. You'll be alright." He comforted her, placing his hand on her face and blinking his eyes.

"Yeah, Barbie, you are gonna be completely fine within a few days, and we're gonna party hard." Ella squealed with delight to cheer her up.

"And we are all with you," Ethan reassured her, sitting beside her.

She just smiled at them, feeling fortunate to have them as always.

"I'm so lucky to have you, guys. Love you." She grinned at them.

Then they all settled down. Nandini was sitting between her brother and boyfriend, and Ella was sitting across them.

"What? Such a boring breakfast. I can't eat it." When Manik served her the boiled vegetables, she refused and pushed the plate away.

"Kiddo, we are all having this breakfast as well to support you. Promise when you get completely fine, we'll eat whatever you want." He explained to her, holding her hand. She just gazed at him with affection.

"Seriously, are you all going to eat this with me?" She inquired them.

"Of course! Why will only my kiddo have this boring breakfast?" Manik answered, pulling her cheek, and she just hugged him because she was rendered speechless.

"Manik, would you take me for a ride after breakfast?" As Nandini again talked about the bike ride, memories of that dreadful accident flashed in front of his eyes, and his hands started to tremble again.

She looked at him, waiting for him to respond. "First, get well, and then we'll go wherever you want." She pouted when he answered her.

"Okay. Now feed me." She opened her mouth like a baby.

Manik just stared at her blankly, he didn't understand how to feed her with his trembling hand. He didn't want her to know about his anxiety attack because he wanted to avoid putting her under undue stress.