AvNeil SS: Us Against the World | CHAPTER 15 UP: PG-39 (Apr 17) - Page 5

I never knew what darkness truly was, until that night greeted my life.

A fraction of second was all it took to turn everything I held dear, upside down.

My everything.

My life.

As I drove through the roads, my eyes fixated forward, the irony played its own sweet rhapsody, as inside my head, I was only traveling backwards.

Exactly 6 months back.

When everything got revealed.

The lies, the betrayal, the truth.

Everything.

Everything that took my everything.

.

.

The entire force was with me, as we had set a perimeter up to 10 blocks outside the place where we had gotten confirmed news that Avni and Kareena were trapped.

After everything I had already lost, there was no way I was going to go unprepared, that too knowing fully well how dangerous Vidyut was and when it came to his revenge, he had no humanity whatsoever.

I remember how DD as well as Ali had been on my side throughout the whole event, where I knew only and only one thing: I had to save my wife and sister, and nothing else mattered.

As expected, Vidyut's men had surrounded the whole place outside and were guarding it like hawks. But we weren't missing out on anything either and in no time, our men went in for a hand-to-hand fight with those guys, making them drop their weapons, and succumb to their defeat.

But I knew this was not even half a battle won, because though we had already managed to enter the place, which was huge, nothing was going to be all right till we actually managed to save Avni and Kareena.

.

.

I had asked DD to go one way with half of the team while Ali and I headed towards the other part of the place with the other half of the force, because if we were to succeed in this mission, our teamwork was going to serve as our best defense for sure.

Even then the small journey from the main hall to upstairs wasn't easy as Vidyut's minions kept showing up every now and then, but after a while, we knew that the space was clear.

And so, I asked the men to look into every possible room while I took out my gun and went straight to one end of the corridor, Ali accompanying me through all of it.

I knew Ali had its own set of complaints against me in his mind, and that was clear from the time he had said sternly after everything got revealed that he was not going to let me come alone and wanted to accompany me, in my mission to save Avni.

And I knew he was in every way right if today his trust on me wasn't cent percent.

After all, it was my blind trust on Juhi that led to all of this today.

And Avni was suffering because she dared to have trust on my trust.

The mere recollection of it all had brought a pang in my heart so bitter that I felt like I would collapse any minute out of this extreme agony I felt even imagining what Avni would be going through now, how she would be feeling.

And if that was not all, unknowingly I had also made my sister Kareena become trapped in all this bloody mess, when she had no connection with any of it, under any circumstance.

I had exhaled in frustration and just tried to focus on the present more than anything else, because at the moment there was nothing more important to me than saving both of them.

.

.

A part of me could already feel that Avni was somewhere near me, but until and unless I could see her in flesh and blood, I could not hold any of my inference at its face value.

My heart was racing in an abnormal speed, and deep inside I was scared. I was very, very scared, because come what may I could never afford to lose Avni.

Both Ali and I were walking towards the end of the corridor when suddenly the sound of some footsteps came from behind, making us halt our tracks.

I felt my heart skip a beat as I expected the worst and turned in a jiffy, only to breathe a sigh of relief as I saw DD standing there with Kareena next to him.

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Kareena came running to me as she hugged me in fear and sobbed, mumbling something incoherent between her sobs, while I could only caress her hair in return to calm her down, knowing very well how easily she could get panic attacks over normal things, and here the teenage girl was kidnapped by a mafia.

As her sobs subsided slowly, I pulled out from the hug and cupped her face as I told her, 'Ssshh Kareena, everything is going to be all right now. Don't worry.''

But even after my pacifying, I could see a deep frown dominate her face, and before I could ask her the reason for it, she revealed it all on her own.

'Bhaiyya.. bhaiyya, super Bhabhi..''

The mere mention of Avni from her alarmed me, as it did to Ali and DD, and I asked her wasting no time

'Avni? What happened to her? Kareena! Tell me!''

I was a bundle of nerves as I almost shook her to tell me what she knew about Avni's kidnapping, my heart thudding with fear and hoping against hope that nothing happened to her.

'I.. I-'

Kareena stuttered in fear due to her panic attack and I only tried to appear calm knowing well that she needed to be out of her panic attack in order to say something properly, even though from within I was dying every fu*king second.

'Wo.. Wo maine Vidyut ke bodyguard ko bolte suna.. ki Vidyut aaj bhabhi ko apne sath leke chale jayenge. Mumbai ke bahar.''

(I heard Vidyut's bodyguard say that Vidyut with leave Mumbai today along with Avni)

.

I remember how that moment I had felt like the ground had been snatched beneath my feet as my eyes went wide in shock, and I spared her not another glance as I instructed DD to take Kareena safely downstairs, while I ran frantically on the corridor, shouting Avni's name, a part of me sanguine that Vidyut had not yet taken Avni outside the city and she was very much here.

.

'AVNI!!!''

I could hear my voice echo in that hell of a palace, but only silence greeted me from the other side, while I could hear only Ali's voice other than mine, shouting out for Avni.

In that dreaded moment of my life, I could see everything play before my eyes, starting from the time I first saw her after saving her from drowning.

The time when we fought like school kids in the jungle.

The time when I bandaged her wounds after she had pretended to be all macho, taking lift from that creepy stranger on the road.

The time when I saved her from falling down the stairs, with the engagement ring in her hand.

The time when I had felt an unusual pull towards her on our way to Mahabaleshwar, but never admitted it to myself.

The time when she had become my obsession, not just as a case, but as a woman who gave me sleepless nights.

The time when I thought I almost lost her in that gas leak fiasco inside her house.

The time I stopped Rhea from slapping her, for I felt, no bloody person should ever get a right to hurt her.

The time when I got to know she wasn't Ananya Verma, but Avni Ayesha, who had suffered so much in life that she was used to putting a brave face on only for the world to see.

The time when I tried to hate her when she got married to me for her revenge.

The time I had first felt jealous seeing her concern for Ali and his love for her.

The time I had watched her sleep without her noticing as I admired her within and without.

The time I secretly wished she would wear mangalsutra and sindoor- just for me.

The time I thought she would leave me and my heart would break, but she stayed, not just for Bebe, but for me too.

The time I was once again scared to lose her, in Coorg, when she was burning with extreme fever, and I saved her by giving her my warmth, something only and only she had the right on.

The time when we actually confessed our feelings for each other.

A lone tear trickled down my cheek as I re-lived all of those moments, some of which I reminisced, and some of which I wished to have made better, but the bottom line was only one thing, if something happened to her, I couldn't be.

And with that thought, I screamed her name out loud, opening the last room on the fourth corridor with a loud thud, and the sight in front of me, rendered me speechless.

.

.

There she was.

But was it even my Avni?

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I felt my heart stop beating as I watched her miserable state, wherein her hands were tied with a rope as she sat against a wall, barely conscious, as if she was under the effect of some sedative, colors drained from her face, as if she was lifeless.

'No!''

The word escaped my mouth, as Ali too ended up following me and reached the same spot, wherein now even he stood as shocked as ever.

'Avni!''

He spoke out loud as he tried to rush to her, but we were both stopped midway as a smirking Vidyut made his way towards Avni from the other side of the room, with a gun in his hand.

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'Welcome, welcome ACP Khanna!''

He had exclaimed with a wide grin, making my clench my jaw while I shifted my gaze at Avni who now looked up to see me, and tried helplessly to get up holding the wall as her support.

I tried running towards her, but in that very moment Vidyut poined the gun at Avni, making me stupefied.

'You think this is so easy Neil Khanna? Your good for nothing brain took this long to figure out the true colors of your ex-girlfriend, but I am NOT dumb now, am I?''

He taunted me as he walked like a predator around Avni, making my blood boil, and I gritted through my teeth,

'WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT VIDYUT, JUST LEAVE AVNI! YOUR VENDETTA IS WITH ME, SO DEAL WITH ME! LET HER GO!''

He laughed like a maniac at those words, making me flinch while Avni now stood holding the wall, right behind Vidyut, but I could see how poor her balance was as she still felt dizzy due to the effects of the sedatives that Vidyut might have used on her.

'This isn't even about our personal vendetta anymore, ACP! You both ruined my mom's life, and kidnapped my own child from me! That's two red flags against you. But in return, I am doing only one damage to you, albeit a big one! And that is taking your wife away from you and-'

'VIDYUT!''

I had screamed on top of my lungs, but it seemed it all fell on deaf ears as he said,

'DON'T SHOUT ACP! Avni is mine now! And trust me when I say I won't sell her to anyone else, you know why? Because she is different! She is bloody different! Her courage and fierceness makes this game so interesting for me, that I want to take my own sweet time to explore her. Not just mentally, but you know, also physically-'

And before he could even complete it, I remember I had not let my rationale, my job, my ethics, interfere in what I was going to do and eventually did.

Wasting not another second, I aimed my gun straight at him and shot, not caring where it hit him and what would be the consequences.

He flinched and fell with a thud as the bullet hit his right arm, and in the next two seconds with two long strides, I was right beside Avni, holding her close to me, while she only whispered with a lot of difficulty, 'Ne..Neil.''

'I'm here baby.. Just hold on, nothing will happen to you. I promise. I am here. Stay with me!''

I told her softly, as I picked her up in my arms and quickly retreated from the place, telling DD to quickly get the rest of the team upstairs so that we could arrest Vidyut.

I didn't care even an iota of the fact that he was bleeding profusely from his arm, and fell unconscious, maybe due to his blood sugar running low, but I heard DD instruct our men on phone to also get an ambulance.

.

.

With every second that passed, I could feel Avni weaken, and it petrified me deeply as I wondered why was she feeling so dizzy and were the sedatives or drugs given to her having a bad reaction on her.

Ali was panicking too as he tried to make Avni feel better by motivating her using his words that everything was going to be fine, but she was barely able to keep her eyes open.

As soon as we reached downstairs, I made her lie on the sofa that was there, and soon Kareena came close to Avni, and held her hand as she said with joy, 'Thank god, super bhabhi you are okay! I was so scared!''

It seemed Kareena's words did a little help in making Avni open her eyes, and she smiled at her sister in law, while trying to sit up .

I helped Avni sit properly, though I knew that she needed immediate medical attention and once we were done with the crime scene here I was straight away going to take both her and Kareena to the hospital.

'Avni, I will get some water for you.''

I told her while she only managed to nod slightly, when Kareena asked me to sit and said she will get the water as she was feeling much better now that her Super Bhabhi was all right.

I didn't deny her either, as I didn't have the heart to leave Avni's side even for a tiny second.

As Kareena went to the nearby counter where there was a jug of water kept, all I could do was stare at Avni, and hate myself all the more for it was me who was responsible for all of it.

Nothing like this would have happened if I was more vigilant and tried to probe Juhi's stories instead of believing them right away.

I was only too lost in self-pity when all of a sudden I heard the sound of a glass break and stared in awe as I watched it was Kareena who had dropped the glass of water.

But it was where her eyes were darted that caught my attention, and I instantly shifted my gaze to look at the source of it, and stood up to see Vidyut standing in the middle of the staircase, with his gun pointed at Kareena, and before I could even react I saw Avni stand up and rush to stand before Kareena, so that she could save her, and in that fraction of second the sound of a gunshot echoed in the palace, making everything in front of me become a blur.

I felt like a man barely alive for that one moment, but the reality struck me hard and better as I saw, DD holding Vidyut's hand up in the air, meaning the gunshot never managed to be darted at Avni's direction.

DD punched Vidyut hard with the revolver in his hand, and in the next minute, Vidyut was knocked out.

The gravity of everything and the pace of it gave me a head rush so bad that the next second I only wanted to turn and rush to Avni to hug her tightly to myself, thank the stars to give us this miraculous chance at life, and saving the love of my life once again, when the next thing that happened, made adrenaline pump into my veins incessantly, as I watched Avni's body finally give up from the dizziness, and she had lost her balance already.

I rushed to her side in the blink of an eye, but the excruciatingly loud and painful sound of the glass breaking, unnerved my existence, as her head hit against the small glass table, and before I held her up from it, she was already in a pool of blood.

.

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'No.. No.. This can't be.. No.. Avni! Avni! Do you hear me? Avni! STAY WITH ME! Do YOU GET IT? STAY WITH ME! I WON'T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU! You will be all right! I WILL MAKE IT ALL RIGHT! WAKE UP AVNI! WAKE UP!''

'AVNIII!!!''

.

.

I could still feel the goosebumps of that night, of that moment, when everything about me, my life, had changed.

And now that I walked through the corridor of the hospital, which has felt more like a home to me in all these six months from that tragedy, a strange fear was building inside me.

My Avni was here.

She was awake now.

My Avni, who everything thought would be dead, except a few. She was here.

I was going to have her with me again.

And this time I was never letting her go.

I closed my eyes thinking about the pain of all these months when I watched her lie on that bed like there was nothing in her, as if she was just a mere vessel who had no soul. I could never forget these tormenting months of my life.

But now, it was over, wasn't it?

It had to be.

God couldn't disappoint me again.

He can't.

I assured myself as I felt my heart beat pace up and sometimes go still, as I finally stood outside her ward, waiting with bated breath to see her, alive, awake, and mine, after all these months.

I knew Neela Maa, Ali were already here, as I could hear their voices, but at this moment, all I wanted to hear was, her voice.

Only and only her.

With a nervous sigh, I finally entered the ward and the sight that unfolded in front of me, left me awestruck.

.

.

There she was.

My Avni.

Hugging her Neela Maa, tightly as if her life depended on her, and I couldn't help the tears that instantly began to roll down my cheeks.

Just five seconds later, the rest of my family too entered the ward, their excitement to see their daughter-in-law after so many months evident on their faces.

When after a minute, she finally withdrew from the hug with Neela Ma, revealing her face to me and all, I breathed the breath I didn't know I was holding on for so long.

She looked pale.

Very pale.

She had lost immense weight.

She was weak, anyone could tell.

But she was mine.

My Avni.

And I was going to make it all better and all right for her.

I promised.

.

.

I looked on, hoping for her to see me, call out my name, reach out to me, but to my utter shock, that never happened, and the next words that escaped her mouth, put me in a tornado of haze, a frenzy, that I could never ever put into words.

She looked at my family as she said in a voice barely audible, but I could hear it all,

'I'm sorry for whatever wrong I had done to your family. Hurting you people was never my intention. My revenge was only against Dayavanti Mehta and her family, and as Neela Maa said, it is all over, since my brother was the one who has avenged our parents' death from Mrs. Mehta, I apologize for all my mistakes in the past from you all. Breaking Neil and Rhea's engagement was not my plan, but as you must know now that marriage was only a business alliance and nothing more. Mrs. Mehta was planning to loot all your wealth and take my brother away from here and settle somewhere abroad. I'm sorry I don't remember much details of it all, but Neela Maa told me how you people are so nice, and I can see it for myself since you're here to check on my health, despite the bitterness we shared in the past. Especially you, Shweta Aunty.''

I felt my throat go dry and my eyes refused to blink, but the horror came the next second when she looked at me, and for the first time she scared me.

My life, my love, my wife, scared me, for she looked at me like she had never looked at me before.

She looked at me as if I meant nothing to her, as if she had no clue, no essence, no semblance of anything related to me, to our love, whatsoever, as she said in a rather cold tone, 'You too Neil. I am sorry! I hope you have moved on in your life and if not, then I hope you do. After all, you never really loved Rhea , neither did she love you.''

My family looked on flabbergasted as did I, and the only thing that came my way to make me a little aware of reality was Neela Maa's gaze on me, as fresh tears rolled down her eyes, and she conveyed to me that what I was insinuating was indeed true.

And the realization of that fact made my heart clench, and I just couldn't stand there anymore.

I was dead once again.

**