AvNeil SS: Us Against the World | CHAPTER 15 UP: PG-39 (Apr 17) - Page 4

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My whole world revolved around her.

Years and years back, and call it an exaggeration, but for me, it is factual that even the earliest memory I have of my life, has flashes of her.

Perhaps, that is how it is supposed to be.

When you love someone with all your heart, from your very childhood: the stage, which forms the citadels of your life to come.

I'm Ali. And Avni is the only person in my life who has mattered more than anything.

In history, in the present, and I'm sanguine, in the future as well.

Yes, the future scares me. For I don't know when she will wake up. But I don't say 'if'' she will wake up, because I am sure as hell she would. She has to.

Her whole life is waiting for her, and all she needs to do is hold on to it, and I'm certain she is. She's holding on.

Isn't it?

Yes, that's what I tell myself every day, every time. Be it while making Poha at Chamko Caf, or waking up in the morning, or going to bed. The only thought that revolves in my head is only enveloped in the hope that there would come a day, soon, when Avni would wake up.

Yet sometimes that pacification, that consolation, to me myself or from others, is not enough.

Because despite the hope, despite the faith, a fiery ball of apprehension often tugs at my heart.

What if?

'No!''

I instantly push that thought away.

'Tera kya hoga Ali!''

I remark as I chide myself for the lack of optimism-something that even she would say time and again, and that's how I make it through the day, every day.

In these six months, so much had changed.

But only on the surface.

Come delve deeper, and I am sure it was all the very same.

Except the one fact that my best friend, my first love, and the most important person in my life, Avni wasn't here to witness any of it.

When I had seen her fall in love, I was elated.

But only until I knew the one that she fell in love with, was not me, but someone else.

It took me time to overcome it. Accept it.

Did I move on?

Maybe no.

And maybe never.

But what I did know is that if Avni could remain happy forever and have her infectious smile on her lips for the rest of her life, just by being with that other person- then I was going to be happy with that and live with that truth.

I embraced it as my fate.

But her abstinence?

Her lying on a hospital bed for six months, merely breathing on a life support system?

I didn't sign up for this!

It wrenched my heart each and every time I woke up and the fact would hit me like a fresh wound of today that in all possibilities, Avni might just give up and not hold on to the light at the end of the tunnel.

I tried, for a very long time to hate Neil for Avni's condition today.

The guy was a friend and I'm sure our camaraderie was never affected even after we both realized how we had love for the same girlAvni, who was my best friend, and his wife.

Despite my initial reluctance, I never harbored anything ill for Neil, but the tragic night of six months back had changed the situation exponentially.

I had told him that I could never forgive him for his carelessness, for his lack of understanding when it came to certain people in his life.

When the revelations had come and everything that had led to that tragedy, I didn't know who did I hate more?

Was it Juhi for her web of lies and unparalleled selfishness?

Or was it Neil who despite his promises of protecting Avni forever couldn't live up to them, because he had chosen to believe everything at face value from the time his past love Juhi had entered his life and claimed she was the mother of his child?

Yes, sometimes we believe everything that we see, including the aspect that a person we once knew would remain the same forever.

But truth is, nothing remains constant. Change is the only constant.

And that is what Neil learnt the brutal way, when Juhi's true colors were revealed, albeit too late, and his rage by then was uncontrollable.

I had resented the fact from the time Neela Aunty had revealed to me about Avni and Neil's plan from their Goa stint, when they were trying to save Mishti, whom they both believed to be Neil's daughter.

Yes, I stood by them as their friend, but how could I not dislike it that without any proof, without any concrete fact check, Neil had so readily put Avni's life at risk, by sending her to Goa on a mission alone?

But now in introspection, I realize that Avni has always been a risk-taker.

Tie her up, chain her, confiscate her resources, put her under any constraints- she will defy them all and succeed in whatever she wants to.

Her will and determination have always been impeccable, and nobody knows it better than me. After all, I have watched her grow from the time we were little kids!

And so, my hate for Neil had leveled down conspicuously in the months that followed. And the reason was not just the fact that Avni was up for all missions even if Neil refused her, but also that every single day, every single second, I could watch Neil succumb to the guilt, to the feeling of nothingness for not having Avni around him.

The guy was a mess now.

He was as good as dead, although it was in reality Avni who was in a co-

No, I don't like that word.

She's in a slumber.

From which she will wake up.

I know my friend. If she is determined to do something, she will. And hence, I am ascertained that she wants to wake up, and so she will.

.

But like I said, despite so many changes, a lot still remained the same, even after six months.

Number one for example, I could still live the dreadful night time and again, which was a result of all the chaosthe one that started from the day Vidyut and Juhi had let the media broadcast extensively about the latter's fake death planted by ACP Neil Khanna and the story about the alleged affair between Neil and Juhi!

I could see Avni breaking minute by minute but she still kept a strong face on as she stood by Neil like a pillar of strength.

I knew Neil had nothing to do with Juhi anymore and the only reason he was still putting up with her was because of Mishti. Everyone was getting irked by a peculiar change in Juhi's behavior at Khanna Mansion, but nobody cared to point it out except for Shweta Aunty of course.

But amid all the tension, that too went amiss.

However, the biggest glitch came two days later, when all of a sudden Bebe out of all the people started behaving so differently.

It was odd.

It was confusing.

The Bebe we all knew, who was all about being just, righteous, and also loved Avni, showered her with melodious praises every now and then, was suddenly speaking against her, and favoring Juhi, as if it was Juhi who was the daughter-in-law of Khanna house and not Avni.

Out of the blue, Bebe had asked Juhi to read out the paternity test results of Mishti in front of the whole house, and the latter had merrily announced how the reports proved that Mishti was indeed Neil and Juhi's daughter.

Bebe had refused to have the lunch that Avni had made and had retired to her room, after giving an earful to Shweta Aunty on how she should stop meddling with Juhi now that it was proved she was the mother of Neil's child.

Avni was affected, I knew.

So was Neil, for nobody knew the reason behind this stark change of behavior in Bebe.

But if we were thinking that this day would be about it, we were utterly wrong.

The very next day, while Neil was at the police station, and everyone else including me was present in Khanna Mansion, Bebe had said something that had not just rendered all of us speechless, but had made everything about that situation take a 360 degrees turn.

I still cannot forget how she had asked everyone to gather at the hall, and in the presence of one and all, she had stepped forward to Avni, and averred,

'Tujhse zyada koi iss baat ko nahi samajh sakta, ki humare samaaj mein ek najaayaz bachche ko kya darza diya jata hai, hai na?''

(Nobody can understand it better than you that in our society, what kind of treatment an illegitimate child gets, right?)

Avni had only nodded slightly, in affirmation, while we all looked on to understand where Bebe was getting with this.

'Tu nahi chahti na, ki jo tere sath hua, wo.. wo nanhi Mishti ke sath bhi ho?''

(You don't want right, that what happened with you should happen with Mishti as well?)

Avni instantly shook her head in negative, her eyes welling up with tears.

I could still see how much the word 'illegitimate'' pierced her heart even now, and thinking of anything remotely close to what she faced in her childhood happening to Mishti would hurt Avni in heaps and bounds, I knew it. She had already started treating that little girl as her own daughter.

I was only too lost in that thought when the next words that left Bebe's mouth, snatched the ground beneath my feet as it did for everyone else,

'Toh phir chorde Neil ko. Mishti ke liye?''

(Then leave Neil. For Mishti?)

To say we were spellbound would be an understatement.

But one look at Avni and I knew that the girl standing in front of me had lost hold of all the little threads that she was hanging on to, trying to rebuild her life piece by piece, after everything that she had lost in her childhood.

She couldn't even utter anything as she tried to register the meaning of Bebe's words, but before she could even process anything, Shweta Aunty said out loud,

'Bebe! What are you even saying? You are asking our Avni to leave Tillu? Why the hell! She doesn't need to do anything like th-'

'Shut up Shweta!''

Bebe silenced Aunty as always, and added,

'This is my final decision and this is the right thing to do! Neil and Juhi should get married if we all want to see Mishti have a good present and future!''

Prakash Uncle tried to argue with Bebe, but it looked like none of his words even touched Bebe's senses as she stood rigid by her declaration, and refused to take the opinionated words of anyone else.

In all this, my eyes darted at the root cause of it all: Juhi.

And to my astonishment, she was smiling to herself, with zilch display of any remorse or guilt.

She was the reason that a marriage was about to break, lives were going to be destroyed, a havoc had broken loose over this otherwise happy family, and she was standing there like suddenly she had achieved a veto power.

I curled my fingers into tight fists at that very sight, but I knew more than anything, including my rage on this Juhi, it was my best friend, Avni who needed me the most now.

And so, letting out a deep sigh I turned my eyes to take a look at Avni but to my utter surprise, she was not there!

'AVNI!''

I called her name out loud, but no reply came from her side.

My voice garnered everyone's attention and they too started looking for Avni, but she was long gone.

'Prakash Ji, please go and look for her! My heart is beating very fast, I am getting bad feelings. Please bring Avni back!''

Shweta Aunty had pleaded to her husband and the man had instantly taken his car keys to go look for Avni, while on one hand he called up on Neil's number.

I could see everyone's worried face, including Bebe's, and I couldn't comprehend what the hell was all this supposed to mean.

It looked like the old lady would break down any minute, as she felt dizzy and asked Bheema to escort her to her room.

'What the hell does she want?''

I had gritted through my teeth as I ran through the stairs, following her to her room.

Why the hell was she displaying these guilty and worried expressions now, when she was the reason Avni was suffering and had now gone from the house in the blink of an eye!

I was angry on her, and I wanted to give her my piece of mind.

The lady was being an epitome of double standards, for she had dissed Avni once on realizing that she was an illegitimate child, but now that it was her own grandson at fault, she didn't have an iota of guilt and wanted Avni to leave the love of her life and let Neil get back with his ex-girlfriend who he didn't even love anymore!

I finally made it to her room, all set to snap at her for the injustice she did to my best friend, but my steps came to an abrupt halt as I witnessed Bebe at her most vulnerable state, breaking down in front of the idol of Goddess Durga, as she spoke amid incessant sobs,

'Mujhe maaf kardo Maa.. Maaf kar de Avni Puttar.. Mere haathon ye paap ho raha hai, meri hi Avni ko mere Neil se juda karne ka.. Ye jaante hue bhi, ki Mishti ka asli baap Neil nahi Vidyut hai.. Ye jaante hue bhi, ki Juhi.. Juhi Vidyut se mili hui hai, aur aaj tak usne Mishti ke bare me humse jo bhi kaha, wo sab ek jhooth hai!''

(Please forgive me Goddess! Forgive me Avni child. Today, a sin has been committed from my hands. I am forced to separate my Avni from my Neil, despite knowing this that Mishti's real father is Vidyut, not Neil. Despite knowing this that Juhi.. Juhi is in alliance with Vidyut, and till date whatever she had said about Mishti's paternity was a lie!)

My eyes went wide in shock as I registered whatever Bebe said.

But the initial shock faded into thin air as only anger bubbled in my veins now, for that bloody Juhi and Vidyut, who were the reasons for all the mess that Avni and Neil, and this family's lives were entangled in now.

I entered Bebe's room, and she was stupefied to see me there, as she tried hard to quickly wipe off her tears, suspicious that I had heard her monologue. But I wasted no time in letting her know that I indeed had, and there was no point of hiding anything further from me now.

The woman was once again giddy, and I held her from her shoulders as I made her sit on the bed and fetched her a glass of water from the side table to drink, and in the next five minutes she revealed everything to me that she had kept bottled up within her, which explained it all about the drastic change in her behavior since the past two days.

She revealed how she had received the DNA test results of Neil-Mishti-Juhi, from one of Avni's case 123 gang members, and how the reports had revealed that Neil wasn't the biological father of Mishti.

Her anger knew no bounds as she had decided on blasting Juhi in front of everyone, left right and center, but before she could even step inside her own house, Vidyut R. had caught hold of her, and had threatened her intently, knowing very well where her weak spots lay.

'Your little granddaughter Kareena! Are you sure she is in her college right now?''

He had asked her, making Bebe's heart skip a beat as she told me about it.

Vidyut had showed Bebe a recording of a trapped Kareena , all tied up, and said that if she didn't do what he asked her to do, Kareena would be the new member of the human trafficking victims list and would be sold to a Dubai based businessman by midnight.

Vidyut also knew that Bebe's daughter Mandy was currently in Delhi, at her first cousin's place, and he had proposed two situations, one in which, he would send her the auction clip of her own daughter, or two, which he had slyly asserted to be his favorite option- he would make her too a part of the list of human trafficking victims!

.

Bebe broke into another stream of sobs as she revealed it all and added how in return of keeping Kareena untouched and unharmed, Vidyut had shoved a fake DNA report in her hand and asked her to do, what she had already done in front of the whole family sometime back.

'Aastin ka saanp hai wo Juhi! A bloody snake! I curse her that she never gets to be happy!''

Bebe had cursed Juhi from the bottom of her heart, while I held her, her whole body too fragile to even bear the impact of this jolt that the bloody imposters had culminated in her life.

'Bebe! Please.. Please hold yourself together. You cannot break like this. And Neil.. Neil needs to know the truth! I am sure he can save Kareena, with the help of the police force. I am sure , and-'

I tried to console her and show her a little ounce of reasoning, but I was stopped in the middle of my words when I saw Bebe's eyes suddenly fixated on the door of her room.

In reflex, I turned my head to see what she was looking at that had put her into an unceremonious silence, and I got the second biggest shock of my life on that very day as I saw an infuriated Neil, with raging eyes standing there.

.

.

Before I could even reach him, he stormed out of the door, while I followed him from behind, calling out his name.

But he was in condition to stop or listen.

His strides were long and quick and before I could even realize he had already reached the mansion's hall and screamed out loud on top of his lungs, 'JUHI!''

As if on cue, Juhi came out from her room, smiling ear to ear, perhaps already envisioning her dream wedding, rejoicing in the joy of getting betrothed to Neil, while Shweta Aunty too came out from her room and Bebe too stepped downstairs behind me.

But all of Juhi's happiest visions turned short-lived as in a fraction of second, we were all greeted by the sound of a loud slap that sat on her face, from Neil's hand, making her stumble backwards, while I rejoiced the sight of it all.

For her evil deeds, this was a very small punishment.

But I guess the words that next escaped Neil's mouth, were a chastisement for eternity for her.

'I WISH, YOU WERE BLOODY DEAD FIVE YEARS AGO, YOU FILTHY WOMAN! YOU SELFISH, TWO-FACED BIT*H! I WISH YOU HAD DIED IN THAT SO CALLED ACCIDENT, BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT? IF I WASN'T A PROTECTOR OF LAW, I WOULD MURDER YOU RIGHT NOW WITH MY OWN BLOODY HANDS!''

Neil was uncontrollable, and the sight was scary, for nobody had seen him in this enraged state before.

I tried to step close to him to help him calm down as did Shweta Aunty, but he refused to entertain any of it as he signaled with his hand for us to stop.

Juhi broke into sobs as she knew very well that her faade had come off and the masquerade party that she was merrily enjoying since all these days was finally over.

I bet she was trying hard to cook up some new story, but Neil's enraged demeanor undid her mind's way of functioning, and in that very second Prakash Uncle entered with a sad face, saying he couldn't find Avni.

The mere mention of Avni's name brought back a fragile Neil back to life as he rushed towards his father, his countenance displaying a worried as well as confused expression, as he asked in haste, 'Couldn't find Avni? What do you mean?! WHERE IS AVNI?''

Bebe couldn't control herself anymore as she fainted at the sight of what was happening and Prakash uncle rushed to her, making her sit on the sofa, and Bheema soon came with some water.

Shweta Aunty in tears revealed everything that had conspired in the house sometime ago, how Bebe had asked Avni to leave Neil and make Juhi and him get married, not knowing the real reason the old woman did what she did.

Neil didn't care to reveal to her what he had already heard as did I, in Bebe's room as at the moment his concern was only and only Avni, and once again he looked at Juhi with the most venomous look he had ever possessed, and called up DD to get on the work of locating Avni.

I told him that even I was coming along and he didn't hesitate before nodding in affirmation.

We were both all set to step out of the house, when Bebe's phone's ringtone along with the expression of apprehension on her face stopped us in our tracks.

Both Neil and I knew that this was most likely a call from Vidyut, and I couldn't even imagine the condition of both Neil and Bebe, courtesy the biggest lies they were greeted with alongside the fact that their family member was in danger.

But in another tiny second, the damage heaped in no measure, as Neil took the call and put it on speaker, and pat came Vidyut's words, as eerie as ever,

'Iss Budhiya ko ek kaam diya tha! Wo bhi nahi ho paya isse! (I had given this old lady only one task and even that she couldn't do properly!) I had put a transmitter on your phone Bebe Ji! What did you think. I am so stupid to not keep a tab on my enemies? But now that you have committed this big blunder, guess what? Your granddaughter will pay the price for it! And oh, Neil Khanna, you're there too right?''

Neil's nostrils flared in anger as he listened to the toxic words of Vidyut, while the rest of the family were in tears now, and Juhi stood shamelessly at one corner, witnessing it all.

'I have a surprise for you too, Neil Khanna! Umm.. your most priced possession? No brownie points for guessing that now!''

Neil's face turned alarmed the moment he realized what his words meant, while everyone went in to another lease of shock as did I, the moment that vulture of a guy Vidyut added,

'Avni! Yes, she is in my captivity now! Though I am yet to decide if she should have the same fate as I have decided for your cousin Kareena! But you know what? She is just so beautiful, so courageous, I might as well just keep her for myself rather than selling her off to someone else or killing her!''

'YOU BLOODY SCROUNDREL! DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO TOUCH HER! I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS WITH MY BARE HANDS!''

Neil had screamed out loud, his vexation knowing no bounds, but all Vidyut did was laugh his evil laugh before hanging up the call.

I frantically looked for anything that could help us get Avni and Kareena back and called up few people I knew from Avni's 123 gang.

An exasperated Neil broke the next thing he found near himself, which was a huge vase as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration before calling up DD yet again and barking in a no-nonsense tone. 'I NEED THE WHOLE POLICE FORCE RIGHT NOW! I NEED TO SAVE MY WIFE AND SISTER!''

.

.

Everything that had followed after that still gives me goosebumps and before I could venture into that territory in my memory yet again, my phone rang and I saw it was Neela Aunty calling.

I let out a deep sigh, trying to come back to the present, which was six months later from all of it, and finally picked up her call.

What I heard right away, made a chill run through my spine, as I tried my best to hold myself together.

'Come to the hospital right now Ali! Avni has gained consciousness!''

**