I don't know what is happening. I am trying to publish this chapter since morning but it is not happening.

This chapter starts after the truth about Manik and Cabir's accident comes out. Everyone knows that it was Nyonika's plan. After that Nandini had confronted Nyonika and threatened to expose her. So, at present there is no Nyonika in this story as she has left after Nandini's confrontation. Also, if you remember, everyone had doubted Aryaman for doing the blast and he had been hurt by all of that. So, he was angry from Nandini and she had apologised to him. All of that stuff has already happened at the point when this story starts.

Nandini was sitting in her balcony watching the stars and holding a jar of her favourite fireflies. She didn't quite understand herself that why was she still keeping the jar, especially when Manik wasn't there. Maybe because somewhere in her heart, she had a bleak hope of him returning back to her. Back to his lucky charm, to his own shining star.

But with all the things going on in her life, she couldn't help but think that maybe, somewhere, she was also responsible for what happened with Manik and Cabir. Now that she knew the truth behind the blast, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. And to top it all, Nyonika also blamed her for it. If only Manik didn't come to pick her up for Aryaman's party. The driver was meant to pick her up. It was she who was supposed to be involved in the blast. She could feel the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes but she controlled them. Manik wouldn't want her to cry.

Suddenly her phone rang. An unknown number was flashing on the screen. Who could it be? Frowning, she picked up the call.

'Hello,' she spoke into the phone. She waited for a reply from the other side but none came.

'Hello,' she said again, but still no reply. She removed the phone from her ear and looked at the screen. The person on the other side was still on line. But then, why wasn't anyone replying?

She brought the phone back to her ears and said, 'Hello, who is this? Can you hear me? Hello?' And then the call was cut. She was confused. Who was that? And if they didn't want to talk, then why did they call?

But she didn't get much time to ponder on this as just the next minute somebody whispered near her ear. She screamed and jumped away from where she was sitting only to turn back around after hearing someone laugh. She turned back to find the person doubled over with laughter. She looked at him accusingly but Aryaman took no notice of it as he was busy laughing. Yes, it was him. Her best friend, after Navya obviously. Ever since Manik's accident, they had grown to be very close. Aryaman had provided her the much needed emotional support. Contrary to what she had thought of him earlier, he had proved to be a pure soul. Yes, he had made mistakes, everyone does. That had happened only because he had been misled. Now there he was, pranking her and laughing as if he had just heard the biggest joke. She narrowed her eyes at him and picked up a cushion. She threw it at him and he immediately stopped laughing, wide-eyed, trying to duck. He was lucky as she barely missed her target. But Nandini was in no mood to spare him. She picked up another cushion and walked up to him and started beating him with it. He tried to apologize while all the time he was still laughing. She continued beating him for some time but then stopped for taking a break. As soon as she stopped, Aryaman snatched the pillow from her hands and ran away laughing. He stood at a distance from her while she stayed at her place and simply smiled at his childishness. Now seeing him laugh and in such a playful mood, she felt guilty. Guilty for hurting him, for not trusting him and for accusing him of something he didn't do. How could she even think that he would do such a thing. Leave the rest, she was his best friend. More than anyone else, she knew him. And probably that's why she hurt him the most. Even if he had forgiven her, she was still not able to forgive herself.

She looked straight in his eyes and said, 'I'm sorry Aryaman.' He immediately stopped laughing and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. He asked, 'What for?'

She sighed and said looking at the ground, 'For everything. For not trusting you. For hurting you. For not standing by you when you probably needed me the most. For not understanding you.'

Aryaman had stopped smiling altogether and was now absently playing with a stray thread of the cushion cover. Nandini looked back at him in the eye and said, 'I'm really very sorry, Aryaman. Please forgive me.' She had said this with the most sincere expression she could muster.

Aryaman gave her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and said, 'It's okay.'

Nandini sighed and said, 'No, it's not okay. I can see that it's not. Don't lie to me.'

This time, Aryaman sighed and said, 'Ok fine. I won't say that its okay. Because, to be honest, it's not. I won't even say that I understand because I had expected you to understand me. But, I guess it's fair. Once, I had hurt you, in more than one way. But you forgave me and befriended me. Now that you've hurt me, I guess it's my turn to forgive you.' He winked and genuinely smiled while saying this. Seeing this, even Nandini couldn't resist the smile that crept up her face. He again said, 'So now, I guess we're even.'

Nandini looked at him and asked, 'So, we're good now?'

'Yes', he smiled and said, 'yes we are.'

It was a peaceful moment that followed. Both of them were enjoying the cold breeze that was flowing. But their peace was broken by a phone's ringtone, Nandini's phone to be precise. She looked at it and again it was an unknown number.

She stared at her phone for some time. When she didn't pick the call, Aryaman asked her, 'What happened? Is there a problem? Why aren't you picking up the call?' She didn't say anything but just picked up the call.

'Hello', she spoke into the phone. But as she had expected, there was no reply from the other side. She removed the phone from her ear to check the signal. The signal was also very good. Then why wasn't the person replying? She put the phone back to her ears and said, 'Hello?' It was only then that she heard it. There was no mistaking it. It was someone's steady breathing. Did that mean the person on the other side was just calling her to trouble her?

She too kept quiet this time and listened to the other person breathing. She didn't know why but listening to it gave her a strange sense of warmth and calmed her heart. It was strange but she felt a sort of connection with this unknown caller. She didn't want to cut the call. After some time when she couldn't control herself, she slowly asked, 'Who is this? Instead of replying, the person on the other side cut the call.

Nandini was more confused by this. Aryaman had been noticing all this. Hence, he ended up asking, 'What happened? Who was that?' She looked at him and said, 'I don't know. That person didn't say anything.'

This time Aryaman was confused, 'Didn't say anything? What do you mean? Then why were you silent for so long?' Nandini was frustrated. She sighed and said, 'I don't know Aryaman. I have no idea who that person was. This is the second time I got a blank call. At first, I thought there is a problem with the signal but now, I don't think so. Aryaman, I could hear that person breathe. And, I don't know why I didn't cut the call. I don't know why, but I feel that there is some sort of connection between us. I don't understand what is happening. I ......'

'Hey, hey, hey', Aryaman interrupted her rant and said, 'It's okay. Just relax. Don't worry about it. And if that person calls again, tell me. I'll handle it. Okay?' He asked keeping his hand on Nandini's hand. She just looked at him and nodded her head. Though she still wasn't convinced, she decided not to say anything further.

Never. I repeat, never again am I going to do this. Today is 28th December and I am ready with the chapter but  I can't update because I want to publish the first chapter on 31st. But don't worry, I am putting this wait to good use. I have already started working on the next chapter and hopefully, it will be up in the first week of Jan. And after this, I will be updating the chapters as soon as they are ready.

And also, about this chapter, this is not the original one that I intended to publish. Originally what I had written was way different than this. Like, totally different. Whenever I thought of publishing the chapter, I used to get bored and went back to reading other books😜. I had thought of writing just Manik's entry so I had included all the important characters in it and it had become very weird. So, now that I am writing a whole book, I thought what's the hurry. I am going to take my time.

Don't worry Manik is coming soon but it will take some time😎.

So, I wanted to ask you all a question. Do you want Aryaman to have feelings for Nandini or not? Personally, I don't want Aryaman to like Nandini but I am okay with both the scenarios. I am confused. Please help me out😣. As this is a 'fan's version', we can have whatever we wished to see in the show. Please suggest.

Also, tell me if you liked this chapter.Sorry for any mistakes. If you want any changes, tell me. I can assure you I'll try to keep this book as logical as possible but in the end, it is a fiction afterall. That too a fan-fiction😜.

Sorry for the big note. Please vote, comment and suggest what I should do🙏.