Manmarziyan-The Lines Of Fate (Chapter 17)

Hello dear friends, thank u all so much for ur tremendous support. So here is the next chapter pls do tell how this was. Kisses and hugs to u. Enjoy
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Chapter 17 – Closer To The Truth

Chic Office
Nandini went to the office earlier than usual and went straight to Piyali’s cabin waiting for her, Piyali had an important meeting later and Nandini knew Piyali wouldn’t miss it no matter what happens. Piyali had always been a professional. Piyali entered along with Sam and went to her cabin only to see Nandini waiting for, Sam snapped seeing Nandini “do u have any shame whatsoever… or do u want us to stoop to your level and kick u out of here…?” Nandini didn’t answer and looked helplessly at Piyali. Sam picked up the phone to call security but Piyali stopped her. Sam retorted “but mom… this woman…”

Piyali:“live me alone with her Sam” Sam left the cabin reluctantly but made sure to show Nandini how disgusted she was with her by the look she gave her. Piyali took her seat and looked at Nandini for some time “what is it that u want to tell me… let me guess… u want to apologize… for breaking my trust or spitting on my friendship…?”

Nandini:“I know sorry would not be enough to justify what I did….but I cant say anything else but sorry….I also want u to know that it was all my fault….am ashamed to say it but yes I seduced Samrat”

Piyali:“so u seduced him and he let himself be seduced”

Nandini:“I have always been in love with Samrat… from the day I met him… and I knew my love was impossible bcoz he was a married man… u were in Paris for the fashion week… I didn’t go with u bcoz I was sick and Samrat took care of me per your instructions… it was the best time of my life… and I wished to have that all my life… we got drunk one night and I took advantage of the situation… I regret what I did”

Piyali stopped her from talking further “u know what… I also regret ever knowing u Nandini… I regret u being my friend… I regret ever trusting u… I regret welcoming u in my family… and one more thing…I don’t ever want to see u again in my life”

Nandini knew there was no use crying over spilled milk,besides she had brought this to herself and so she left Chic and this time it was for good.

New Hope Hospital
Radhika was doing great,she was being discharged today,she was being discharged after spending three days at the hospital and was advised to take complete rest at home as well. She had also talked to her family in Rishikesh who were worried sick for her, Mala had cried terribly when she was told about the ordeal her daughter went through. Aditya, Arjun and Neil had come to take her from the hospital, Arjun and Neil were finishing her discharge formalities while Aditya helped her pack. Aditya was amused seeing her packing with so much excitement, she was eager to leave the hospital. Radhika took that chance that they were alone and told him that Malik didn’t know anything about the gold.

Aditya smiled “I know… but don’t tell anybody else about this… we found a note at that place that instructed Malik to kidnap u… but u leave all that… look what I brought u” Aditya took a brand new cellphone and handed it to her “I have retrieved your old number… now u can take as many selfies as u want”

Radhika was happy and thanked him with a hug, Arjun entered and saw them hugging, he fisted his hand in anger and coughed to gain their attention. Radhika smilingly spoke “look at my new phone… isn’t that cool?” Arjun gave them an uninterested look and avoided talking to Aditya. Aditya knew that Arjun was still angry with him so he took leave saying he will wait for them in the car.

As soon as Aditya left the room Radhika turned to Arjun “what was that all about?”

Arjun:“bcoz he is responsible for your condition”

Radhika:“but he was the one who saved me as well”

Arjun:“am not a big fan of your so called bhai… neither of his so called ideas… what does he think himself to be Sherlock Holmes?”

Radhika burst out into fits of laughter “u are just jealous…your life is not as thrilling as his… and yes my bhai is no less than Sherlock Holmes” and continued laughing.

Arjun looked straight into her laughter filled eyes and said “marry me” Radhika instantly stopped laughing and stared at him with her eyes bulged out. Arjun continued “am serious… marry me Radhika… I don’t want to lose u again… especially not your brother’s silly experimental plans… I want to spend the rest of my life with u”

Radhika knew that Arjun’s feelings were genuine but this sudden proposal was fuelled with fear as well, she smiled at him and said “u are just scared….what if this fear u have wears off….would I have to get myself kidnapped every time u forget why u wanted to marry me?”

Arjun took her in an an embrace “don’t ever say about that again… yes I was terrified… but I want to marry u bcoz I love u… and I can marry u everyday of my life again and again without getting bored… I love u so much Radhika”

Radhika tightened her hold around him “will u always love me like this?” Arjun broke the hug and assured her of his love. Radhika smiled shyly “I will marry u but not right now… maybe ten or twenty from now” Arjun looked curiously at her and she chuckled “I have some goals in life… I need to achieve them first… then mom and grandpa have to approve u first… then u will have to talk to Adi bhai and ask him for my hand… if he agrees then u will have to seek permission from Neil and Sam… if all those things happens then I will think of marrying u or not”

Arjun chuckled amused by her answer “u are one crazy girl… but I love u with all your craziness combined” and Radhika blushed. Arjun cupped her face and kissed on her forehead, Radhika closed her eyes and he smiled looking at her scarlet turned face. He kissed both her eyes and was about to claim her lips when the door opened and Radhika quickly distanced herself from him.

Neil saw the two love birds having their moment and instead of giving them privacy he entered just to annoy them “get a room people” he spoke smilingly.

Radhika smiled shyly and had her head down in embarrassment that they were caught but Arjun had an irritated look on his face, he knew Neil had done that on purpose. He gave Neil an angry stare and spoke “we are in a room idiot….u are the intruder so u should step out”

Neil ignored his words went and hugged Radhika, picked up her bag and handed it to Arjun, he put an arm on Radhika’s shoulder “let’s take u home chashni” and left with her leaving Arjun behind. Arjun shook his head looking at the two leaving the room completely ignoring him and followed suit.

Aditya’s Apartment
Arjun was not happy with Radhika’s stay at Aditya’s apartment but had no other choice but to agree with her decision. The four of them reached the apartment building and Aditya asked Radhika to open the door. The door opened to a beautiful surprising sight,the apartment was decorated with balloons and streamers and there was a huge ‘welcome home’ sign across the living room. Sam was standing in the middle of the living room smiling at her. Radhika ran to her and hugged her tight “thank u so much for the surprise” she happily exclaimed.

Sam after breaking the hug “there more surprises…” she turned towards the dining table and showed her a cake they had brought for. Radhika was overwhelmed and thanked her again for the cake but Sam was not done with the surprises yet. Sam covered her eyes with her hands and asked someone to come out. Sam took her hands off her and screamed “surprise”

Radhika was ecstatic seeing the two people she loved the most in front her “when… did u… how…” was all that she could manage to say. She quickly hugged both her mom and grandpa and expressed how happy she was seeing them. “whose idea was this?” she asked , Sam pointed towards Aditya and Radhika thanked him.

Mala lovingly caressed her face with tears in her eyes “look how slim u have become… were u scared when those men…”

Radhika’s grandpa cut her in “bahu… why talk about villains…” and pointing to himself “when the hero is here… choti is dieting that’s why she has become thin… Its a new trend to be skinny nowadays… and why would choti be scared when I was the one who taught her karate” The living room was filled with laughter at the old man’s comments.

Sam:“and aunty chashni was discharged early bcoz she was the only patient in the hospital who ate like she was training for an eating contest… If she keeps on like that she will soon look like a sumo wrestler” Radhika narrowed her eyes at Sam looking dangerously at her and Sam gulped in fear of what she will do to her later.

Mala:“now let’s eat … choti needs to take her medicine and rest later” They cut the cake and fed each other enjoying the happy moment, all this while Radhika had noticed how Neil and Sam were avoiding each other and not even talking. She also noticed how Arjun was not able to look Sam directly in the eye. There was sure something going on that she didn’t know about bcoz she had been noticing the same from the past few days but decided to find out later.

Mala announced that it was time for Radhika to rest, Radhika who still wanted to chat tried to convince her with a puppy face but Mala was adamant. Sam took Radhika to her room, Radhika pulled her on the bed with her “am not sleepy… tell me a bedtime story” Sam said she didn’t know any bedtime story and Radhika asked her to tell her about what was going on with her and Neil instead. “come on dish me the juicy tale” said Radhika while poking Sam’s belly.

Sam gasped “am not your gossip magazine…u better sleep or am calling aunty” Radhika started tickling her to make her yield, realising that there was not escape from her Sam spoke“OK… OK… I will tell u… jeez… such a blackmailer u are” She told her everything from her dad’s affair with Nandini to her fight with Neil, Radhika could see how hurt she was and hugged her tight comforting her.

Radhika:“u should be getting this hug from Neil too…” Sam wanted to protest but Radhika stopped her and continued “do u really think Neil will lie to u just for Arjun’s sake….he is not that shallow and he loves a lot….now take this as my order….make up with Neil first and when u are a little calm about this matter talk to Arjun and clear everything with him” Sam chuckled at the way she was ordering her and promised to follow her orders. She stood up and saluted her before leaving her to rest.

Mumbai Airport
Two days after Radhika’s discharge Neil was all set to go back home. Mala allowed Radhika to go see him off bcoz Arjun assured her that he will take care of her. Neil said his goodbyes to his friends but his eyes were searching for Sam whom he hadn’t talked with since their fight. Radhika saw Neil turning his head towards the glass door every two seconds and said “call her… if she is stubborn it doesn’t mean u should too… call her or I promise u will regret it later” Neil took his phone out and ringed Sam but her phone was switched. He hugged both Arjun and Radhika and sadly started to leave.

“Neil…” came in a running Sam “wait…” Neil’s face looked like it was lightened by a thousand bulbs. Sam was panting as if she was coming straight from a marathon “my car…. broke down… my phone… dead… taxi… rickshaw… police…” jabbered Sam while trying to catch her breath. Neil smiled, hugged her tight and Sam hugged him back. Arjun dragged Radhika who was busy staring lovingly at Neil and Sam away to give the two some privacy. Sam after breaking the hug said “am sorry Neil”

Neil: “am sorry Sammy….and I really thought u wouldn’t come”

Sam: “I was hurt… but am not stupid to not come see u off and besides chashni threatened to chop my eyebrows off if I don’t make up with u”

Neil laughed “that’s my chashni… I love u Sammy”

Sam: “I love u too”

Neil hugged her again and then kissed her on the cheek, Sam reprimanded him for there were in a public place but instead Neil captured her lips in a long passionate smooch and Sam forgot were she was. The nosy people around started to clap for them, they broke the kiss and Sam shyly took leave soon after with Neil screaming “I love u Sammy” to her disappearing back.

When Arjun and Radhika reached the parking lot, Radhika jerked her hand off his “why did u drag me away like that…I just wanted to see them say I love u to each other….u are so unromantic”

Arjun:“u haven’t said I love u to me till date… u are the unromantic one”

Radhika wanted to give back but stopped for he was speaking the truth, Arjun smirked at her withdrawn reaction. Radhika with her eyes fixed to his went on her toes and lightly kissed his lips “I love u” she said shyly. Arjun wrapped his hands around her waist pulling her to his eye level kissed her deep. Radhika who was now dangling in his arms kissed him back until they were out of breath. Radhika then warned him to not call her unromantic ever again and Arjun just kissed her again to his heart content.

Sam came to them and wished to speak to Arjun, Radhika got into the car to give them space. Sam without wasting any time asked “how did u found out about the affair?” Arjun told her what he saw at the hospital and expressed his apologies on his sister’s behalf. Sam could see that Arjun was as much affected about the issue as she was and decided to clear things with him “I already lost one brother… I don’t want to lose another one… but your sister…”

Arjun didn’t let her finish and gave her a comforting hug “am not asking u to forgive Nandu… I know it’s hard… but I will always be your brother… u can always count on me” Sam thanked him for understanding and they promised each other to not let what happened come btwn their bond. Radhika was happy that Sam and Arjun had cleared the air btwn them.

CBI Office
Aditya and Karthik had been working day and night on the mystery man case, Aditya wanted to solve the case as soon as possible or before any more hazards took place. Aditya going over the list had found one man’s profile very suspicious. This man who went by the name Shankar Mahajan and was around fifty yrs old or more was working as a gardener in the Khanna mansion. He started living there exactly one month before Jai’s death and had mysteriously disappeared on the night they had rescued Radhika, what made it all the more suspicious was the fact that he was around the Khanna’s residence on the time they had received a call from the kidnapper or the mystery man.

When he tried finding out more information from the agency that provided Khannas with that gardener he found out the agency did send a gardener but the man that reached Khanna mansion was not Shankar Mahajan for the picture of Shankar Mahajan provided to him by the agency didn’t match the description of the gardener that lived in Khanna mansion. He further found out that the real Shankar Mahajan has been dead for several months now and so he was sure that man who impersonated a gardener was either the mystery man or was working for him.

With the help of a sketch artist and the supportive staff of the mansion Aditya was able to get a picture of that imposter. He had a face and just needed a name to that face to ease his search. He went straight to Karthik’s cabin to show him the sketch.

Karthik observed the picture in hand for some time and smiled at the discovery he had made “well I also have good news… there were four cheques deposited… they are from four different bank accounts… but all accounts have the same name Vijay Kumar… now look at the pictures of Vijay Kumar and that of the gardener”

Aditya looked at the four photos of Vijay Kumar from his four different accounts “this man is a master of disguise…if u don’t look keenly u will think these are four different men with the same name” he compared those photos with the sketch he came with “bingo….I think we have found our man” All five pictures were of the same man, they had found their mystery man but he was not a mystery any more for he was now Vijay Kumar.

Karthik:“indeed… but I ran his profile in the system and didn’t find a match… he has no records with the police”

Aditya:“I don’t know… but that name sounds familiar… am sure I read or heard it somewhere”

Karthik:“now u better remember soon… bcoz we have come to a dead end again… I don’t know where to start the search.. all the addresses he gave at the bank are fake”

Aditya laughed and wished him for the night, they now have a name and a face but they were still on a goose chase.

Aditya’s Apartment
Mala had noticed the closeness btwn Arjun and Radhika and was worried bcoz she also knew that Arjun was her boss. When Arjun came to drop Radhika home she saw them from the balcony hugging and kissing each other goodnight and decided to talk to her asap. Radhika found her mom waiting for in her room, she happily went to her and kissed her on the cheek. Mala asked her to sit down “what’s the relation btwn u and Arjun”

Radhika realised Mala might have saw her and Arjun and told her that they both loved each other. “choti, he is not of the same status as us… what will people think… everyone will say u are with him for his money”

Radhika:“who will say that… Saral?… did he say anything to u?” Mala realised that Saral may have said something to her already and so told her about Saral’s accusations. Radhika sighed “don’t u trust me mom?”

Mala:“I trust u choti…but I don’t want u face Saral’s harsh words again… Or anybody else for that matter”

Radhika:“people will always talk… but that doesn’t mean will should stop living… I didn’t plan to fall in love with him… I didn’t come to Mumbai with a plan that I will fall in love with my boss… but I did… and am not doing anything wrong… and papa always said those who do wrong should fear… not those who do right”

Mala hugged her daughter affectionately, she felt happy that her daughter had found so many people who love her and care for her, who will never make her feel alone. Her daughter had found a home away from home.

Precap: Neil gets the shock of his life, Aditya finds out who is Vijay Kumar, Radhika gets an unexpected msg.