Current track|AvNeil RS: It's Not Fate, It's Us| Part 3-Pg 7 (Oct 10) - Page 5

Time really waits for none

There's only too little you can prepare

How to mend the wrong this time?

My dear, second chances are so rare.

Do you have faith?

In the love you feel deep down,

Can it shout louder than her demons?

And help her escape the ghost town?

Let your hearts talk,

For this might be just once

Do it before the moment is snatched away

And destiny outruns.

Neil didn't know what to do.

Years in the profession of police and he had never gone into a panic mode, but just this one moment where he didn't know where Avni was, how she was, and even the term panic-stricken was an understatement.

He had opened her laptop that was on her bed, and found that a travel portal was minimized.

As much as he hated the indication that Avni might have gone far away from him, he still had some hope that maybe he would get some lead on what flights she was searching for.

But did he really think Avni was that nave to leave and let him know where she is going?

No.

She had deleted the whole search history from her laptop, binding Neil to a loop yet again.

He for the first time in months felt like he was teleported back to those days, when Avni was Ananya. In other wordsa mystery.

And the fact was, in so many ways, she was still a mystery to him.

The thought made him flinch some more.

Here was his chance to delve into that mystery that his beautiful wife was, starting from today, the day when they were supposed to iterate their wedding vows, but alas! Everything spiralled out of control with his one wrong step.

He was palpitating at the thought of never being able to see Avni again, and knowing her, he was well aware of how impulsive she could get and how easy it was for her to sacrifice herself to ashes, in place of someone else. He could still not forget how she had stepped before Aman when Dayavanti had tried to shoot him, not even aware that Neil had switched the cartridges in the bullet.

Well, that was Avni.

Neil sighed as he now drove towards Khanna House, checking his phone once in a while to see if there was any revert from Avni's gang members.

Yes, he had contacted them when he found himself lost in a loop on where Avni was. He knew if he used his power, he would be able to know for sure where his wife went, but right now, he wanted answers SOON, and not through the tedious procedure that any official investigation meant.

Once he parked the car and started walking towards the main door, his mobile beeped and with that, a ray of hope too surfaced in front of him as he got the reply from one of Avni's case 123 gang members: 'She had called me to drop her to the airport. Didi has gone to Goa, and the flight has already departed.''

While his lips curved into a small smile knowing where his Avni was, it only faltered the next second when he realized he was already too late.

But nothing was impossible.

Never for a man deeply in love.

And so, he typed a quick 'Thank you,'' to the guy, and entered the house, which now looked visibly empty, since everybody had retired into their rooms, but he knew it already that everyone would only be dead worried about Avni's whereabouts.

.

''DD, book me the next flight to Goa right away!''

He hung up, quickly headed towards his room, taking two steps at a time on the staircase. He was going to take the next flight to Goa and as of now, nothing else mattered to him.

When he was just about to enter his room, he saw Juhi sitting on the bed in the guest room staring nothing in particular, and he didn't really know the reason to why his blood suddenly boiled at the sight of her.

After tending to her in the hospital, what he got to know had vexed him so much.

One of the witnesses to her accident had told him that it was Juhi who had deliberately come in front of the car, and had the driver not hit the brakes at the right time, her injuries would have been fatal instead of the minor scratches and cuts that she had got.

The moment Juhi felt Neil's presence outside her room, her eyes lit up and she instantly called out his name, to which Neil could only shift his gaze away from her and reluctantly entered her room.

.

.

After a minute of awkward silence, she spoke in a voice barely audible, 'Neil.. I- I am sorry. I know what that witness told you.. but tum hi kaho na.. main karu toh kya karu? Every time, I feel like dying instead of living. And even if I live, who should I live for? Kis ke liye jiyu main?''

Neil looked at her sternly the moment she said the last words, and spat without a warning, 'KIS KE LIYE?''

'YOU are asking ME who should YOU live for, Juhi? Didn't you say you have a daughter who is missing and is in the evil clutches of Ragini Pandit's son? Isn't YOUR OWN DAUGHTER enough reason for you to live?!''

Juhi was shocked at Neil's tone.

Never had she witnessed him speaking in such a harsh tone with her and that petrified her a lot.

She knew he was giving her a reality check but for a moment she was so puzzled that instead of giving any coherent answer, she just mumbled looking at him, 'Ou... Our daughter.''

Neil fisted his fingers tight as he retorted, 'No! Not mine!''

Juhi's eyes went wide in shock as he saw Neil say those three words with so much conviction.

She was tongue-tied for god knows how long, and Neil took that as an opportunity of letting her know that he knew the truth.

'I'm an ACP, Juhi. It is futile to fabricate stories to me. I have run a proper background check on you and I know. I know it is Ragini Pandit's son that's the father of your daughter, and how.''

Juhi was flabbergasted at Neil's revelation that he knew her truth, her tragic truth that her child was a result of a rape and not a love child with Neil like she had presented it to be.

Endless tears trickled down her cheeks, but it seemed like none of it could move Neil as he went on to say, ''You know Juhi, there was a time when I really, really loved you. Considered you to be my everything, so at least for that old time's sake, I expected only honesty from you and some cooperation so that we could find your missing daughter. But here, you not only breached that trust but also made me feel guilty of not being there for you, and living in a day full of apprehension as to how would Avni, my wife, my life, react knowing I had a child with my ex-girlfriend, when in reality, I didn't.''

'But you know what? The selfless soul Avni is, she had accepted that too. She didn't judge me for saying to her that I have a daughter with another woman. Yet because of YOU and your suicide attempt today I had to leave her in the middle of the most important day of our life! Just because of you!''

'And trust me Juhi, the way you had said it, for once you had even convinced me that we did get intimate after being drunk, but better a little late than never, now that I know the truth.''

He showed her the screenshot of the report sent by his team on Juhi's background check, through e-mail.

Juhi broke down on the floor as she sobbed, but nothing could affect Neil now.

She spoke in broken words, 'I.. I am sorry Neil. My intention was to never.. never come between you and Avni.. I.. I just didn't want the world to know I had a daughter out of a rape.. I.. I''

She couldn't speak coherently due to her sobs and at that moment Neil undeniably felt bad for her, knowing how difficult it can be for women in our society to live with the burden of having a rape child. But his pragmatic mind also said that it was no reason for someone to jeopardise someone else's happiness, the way Juhi tried to jeopardise Avni's.

And so, with a determined voice, he told her, 'Life doesn't give second chances to everyone Juhi. Instead of trying to kill yourself for the life you have lived in the last 5 years, be happy about how you can live in the coming years, that too with your daughter. Right now, your focus should be only your health and finding your daughter, and for that the police department will give you 100% support.''

Juhi looked up from the floor to watch Neil utter those words genuinely.

'I won't be in town for a couple of days. I have asked the department to contact your family here. Tomorrow you can visit them and start living with them. A counsellor will also help you deal with this trauma. Trust me Juhi, the more close you will be to your family, your friends, the sooner you will be able to fit into your normal life. And we all are there for you.''

Saying that, he only patted his shoulder before leaving the room, unaware of the fact that his entire conversation with Juhi was overheard by Bebe who stood outside the room in one corner.

She was happy that her grandson finally spoke his mind instead of being trapped in that loop of guilt he felt for not being able to rescue Juhi, and as much as she empathized with the pain of this young girl, the moment she got to know that she fabricated a story about her child's father being Neil, she only wanted this girl to be far away from Avni and Neil's life. And thankfully, her grandson had well taken care of that as well.

Now the only thing she prayed for was Aving coming back to the house.

.

.

The sun shone brightly as its rays reflected from the glasses of the tall French windows, making Avni open her eyes.

She took in the appearance of the suite she was in and the realization dawned on her that she was indeed far away from home, and everything felt so different now.

She got up from the bed quickly and finished her morning chores, before changing into a pair of ripped jeans and a white cold shoulder top. Keeping her long tresses open, she only put on some minimalistic make-up and wore her not-worn-since-long nose ring.

This was a well-deserved break that she needed exclusively for herself.

Even the thought of the previous day and night gave her a blurry vision, and it was a sign that her brain was constantly trying to erase that memory from her life forever.

The resort was beautiful.

There was greenery all around, and of course, the private beach was ethereal.

She saw how there were groups of friends, happy families, enjoying their leisure time at the beach, as well as near the pool and that time, only a sigh could escape her lips.

She had made peace with the fact that her dream of a happy and normal family was not going to be fulfilled in this life.

But she didn't want to think about it now.

She was here only for a few days, to make up her mind on what she wanted to do next, part of which she thought would begin once she headed to New York.

Her chain of thoughts was suddenly broken when she collided against a hard chest and instantly lifted up her gaze to see a familiar face right in front of her.

'You!''

She exclaimed, surprised.

.

.

Neil had already checked in to the resort in the wee hours of the morning and waited till sunrise to finally go ask the receptionist about which room Avni was staying in.

Once he got to know the room number, he headed towards that floor, his heart beating profusely, to see her in front of him, after what felt like ages, though it had only been less than 24 hours.

But only disappointment greeted him when he saw she was not there in the room.

He asked a housekeeping staff in the lobby if he had seen Avni, by giving her description, which read: A very fair woman, long hair, in a saree?

When the staff displayed a confused look, Neil instantly took out his mobile phone and showed him a picture of Avni, which had been his wallpaper for over a week now.

The guy instantly recognized the woman in the picture and said, 'Oh yes! She has gone to the pool-side, and she wasn't wearing a saree!''

Neil thanked the guy for the information, but flinched at the thought of, 'Wasn't wearing a saree?''

A part of his husbandly instinct surfaced as he hit the ground floor button on the elevator. But the next minute he consoled himself, 'She has gone to the pool side. Of course, she won't wear a saree!''

.

.

When he finally reached the poolside, his eyes darted at every corner to catch one glimpse of his lifeline, his Avni, and maybe the gods above didn't want to disappoint him anymore, as the very next second, he saw her.

Looking stunningly beautiful in that white top and jeans, he felt like pulling her in for a bone-crushing hug right away, but the next second what panged his heart was looking at her from afar and noticing that she didn't wear anything that marked her as his.

No mangalsutra.

No sindoor.

No ring.

He was only too lost at the realization of that when suddenly his psyche took a complete 360 degrees turn, making raw passion and jealousy flood through his veins as he saw Avni bump into a tall guy with athletic build, decked in a suit.

He noticed how he eyed her with so much lust and he felt like punching that man instantly, but what pushed off further off the edge was the reaction of Avni, which initially was a surprised expression followed by a courteous smile.

.

.

'You!''

Avni recognized this man perfectly.

He was the same man from the flight last night whom she had helped when he had fainted. He wished her a good morning, which she reciprocated with a smile.

'It's a pleasant surprise to know you are in the same resort as me. Since I couldn't thank you last night, good that I got a chance now.''

He spoke making Avni just give him a casual smile in return, as she said, 'That's okay. If it were anyone else, then too I would have done the same.''

The man nodded while Avni asked him, 'Where's your daughter?''

She noticed that at the mention of that little girl the guy avoided meeting her gaze and looked like there was something in him that was so much more than what met the eye, but she didn't get to ponder much as he replied, 'She's still sleeping.''

Not intruding any further, Avni just acknowledged his answer and was only going to wave him goodbye, when he said, 'I am Vidyut, by the way.''

He put forth his hand, for a handshake.

Avni for some odd reason felt a little unusual at this introduction that he was initiating.

But looking at his waiting hand, she slowly lifted her own to finish that handshake, saying, 'I am Avni-'

But that handshake could never get complete, as the next second she felt someone wrap his hand around her shoulder, taking her completely by shock as he completed, 'Mrs. Avni Neil Khanna.''

She looked on to her side to see, it was Neil, in flesh and blood, here, right beside her, holding her close through her shoulder, while her eyes went wide in shock and mouth flung open.

'And I am Neil Khanna. Her husband.''

He completed, shocking the hell out of both Avni and Vidyut, for different reasons of course.

**