Chapter 3
Avni's POV:
I was shaking. With anger. With fear. With longing.
How dare he? How dare he come back after 3 years and ask for a paternity test? I was insulted that he even wanted a paternity test.
I broke down, sobbing.
"Avni, sssh."
" Aap ne dekha, Ma?" I asked as I hugged her waist, " he wants a paternity test. Neil. Neil wants a paternity test from me. How dare he? I wasn't the one who abandoned him. He left me. He chose to marry Rhea. He didn't even see me when I went back... and now he wants a paternity test?"
"Sshh, Avni. Nayi baacha. Don't cry. Stop. All this crying will make you weak. You can't afford to be weak right now. You need to be strong for yourself and for Nikhil."
"Ma, I don't have the courage to deal with this. I'm tired. I can't do this anymore."
"No, look at me," she said as she lifted may face up to look at her. " You are strong. You will get through this. Nikhil will get through this because you're there for him. You will be standing next to him through this and I will be next to you. Aman and Ali will also be there for you."
"Ma, what if...What if the doctor says..."
" Whatever the doctor says. We will get through this. Nikhil is a fighter like you are. And there's no way, he's going down without a fight."
The emotions racked my body and I cried yet again. " He'll be alright?"
"He'll be better than alright. Avni, you need to trust in God and science. We'll get through this. "Try to get some sleep, hm? Tomorrow is another long day."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neela's POV:
It had taken some time but Avni had finally fallen asleep. A fitful sleep but sleep nonetheless.
Over the last 3 years, there had been drastic changes to Avni. Her sarcastic personality had been dulled down. She was more introverted now-even more so than before. For someone who didn't really know her, they would say there was no change. But me, I could tell. It was in the little things-her smile never really reached her eyes; her appetite had decreased to that of a bird's; her actions were careful and measured-there was no abandon to it; her life revolved around Nikhil, work and home. There was no fun. No hanging out with friends; in fact, besides Ali who had clawed his way back into her life after Neil had left, she had no friends. She was isolated from the world.
Her loneliness became even more lonely in the last couple of months, when Nikhil got sick. His constant fatigue, the joint pains, the high fever and random bruises, became alarming when they didn't go away.
Doctors had chalked it to growing pains and that fact that Nikhil was 2 and a half years old, and therefore was prone to falling and running into things.
When he started losing weight for no apparent reason, I decided to have a consult with one of the doctors at the hospital instead. The hospital ran some blood tests, and some x-rays.
I sighed. I pushed my hand in my hair and tightened my hold on the long black strands. I didn't want to think about it, but I knew I had to.
I steeled myself before turning towards the door. If I knew Neil Khanna, he would still be outside the room.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mr Khanna," I said after I had closed to the door to Nikhil's room.
Father and son both turned to look at me. Confusion marred their faces.
"Mr. Neil Khanna," I corrected, " A word please."
"Sure," he said with a sigh.
"You want a paternity test?" I asked.
"I know he's mine," he said, " I want to get to know my son."
" He's Avni's son. You have no right on him. Being a sperm donor does not make you into a father."
" How was I supposed to be his father when I didn't even know he existed?" he hissed at me. I could see the vein throbbing on his forehead. The tendons in his neck were stretched. He looked like a snake ready to pounce.
I laughed sarcastically, " Yeh natak court ke liye rakho." "Avni drove all the way to Mumbai when she was seven months pregnant. To tell you."
He frowned.
"Of course, you were a tad preoccupied at the time. What with it being your wedding day and all... But, my daughter tried. She knew she would have to see you getting married to Rhea, but she still chose to inform you."
" I didn't know..."
" Your mom knows. Avni told your mother..."
" Mom?" He whispered as bloodshot eyes stared at me.
Did he really not know? I wondered. No. I thought of Avni. I thought of all she suffered in the last few years and I thought of Nikhil. No. I had to be strong for them.
"Mr, Khanna," I said as looked over Neil's shoulder, " Take him away from here. I won't allow him near my daughter and my grandson."
" The hell you won't...He's my son."
" He may be your son, in blood. But, he's Avni's lifeline."
" I'll take you to court," he hissed at me. "I will get him back."
"Your egoistic trip will have to wait. There will be no court."
"Ms. Parikh, interrupted Mr. Khanna."
"No," I shouted, "Nikhil has leukaemia."
My heart was pounding as I watched their faces crumble in front of my eyes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neil's POV:
No. Surely I heard Neela Ma wrong.
Her eyes were clouded with pain and wet from unshed tears. "No." "No." I said. That couldn't be. Her raised hand fell limply to her side; all the energy gone from her.
I just found my son. I couldn't be... I didn't want to lose him.
"Neil," said Papa as he put his arm on my shoulder.
"No, papa. He's only 2. He can't... No, they must be wrong." I looked back at Neela Ma. "We'll get a second opinion... This can't be. He's a baby. He's only 2 years old."
"Neil," said Neela Ma as she took an unconscious step forward. But, it was as if she remembered our history and she took a step back. "Nikhil has been sick for the last couple of months. We hadn't been able to get a proper diagnosis. Until yesterday morning."
"On Friday, he fainted and we brought him here. They ran multiple tests..."
"Tests can be wrong..."I insisted.
"Neil, please don't make this harder for us. Dr. Batra is an excellent oncologist. Dr. Mistry is Nikhil's paediatrician and has been involved in the entire process." "Avni hasn't really been coping well, Neil. I will not have you upset her. We'll discuss the paternity test and the custody issue after Nikhil gets better...Until then, I need you to respect my daughter's wishes."
I nodded numbly. I felt like scum. I had not been there for either of them. Not Avni and not my son. And now, he was facing the worse battle of his life and he probably cannot even say the word 'hospital.'
I was a lousy father. I had been a terrible boyfriend and lover. I had let them down in the worst way possible.
This was all my fault.
"Can I see him?" I croaked.
It took a few minutes before Neela Ma nodded. "Don't wake them," she said quietly without turning around.
I moved closer to the room and pulled the door open.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's note:
Hi everyone,
Sorry this took longer to come out. With everything that's happening off screen about the show, I haven't really wanted to come on the forum much, hence the delay. When I've been online, it's more so for the Twitter trends or to share my views about the episodes.
Just want to comment on the day we had today... Yes, it's a sad day for our FD, however, we've had so many precious moments together as a FD- we've always been united in our love for this show. Some of us here have made good friendships with others, who may not even live in the same country... So these are all the positive things that have happened over the last 15months and we should keep them in mind as we deal with the emotions we're experiencing right now.
Every show has a expiry date, and we've reached ours-much sooner than we deserved but this is where SP took advantage of our love for the show. Anyway, I won't really get into this here, but I wanted to add that though this is the end of the show, we have 2 more weeks (or so) for our episodes to air. Despite my dislike for SP at the moment, I want to request you guys to watch the show, increase TRPs, and let's go out with a bang. This is the best way to show love and gratitude to our leads.
We may not agree with the current plot line or their secondary actors, but let's come together for Aditi and Zain, who've worked tirelessly over the last 15 months. They deserve it.
As always leave me feedback on the chapter. I look forward to reading them.
Cheers,
Nlisa.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER:
This particular disclaimer is for the upcoming chapters of this story. I've chosen to taken on a topic like cancer in this story. It is a sensitive topic and I am very mindful that some of the readers have people in their lives or know people in their lives who are battling with this disease or have lost people due to this disease. I do- friends and family both.
That being said, I will try to be as medically accurate as possible- I have done some readings on the topic, but I am not a doctor, or a nurse or an expert in that matter. So, I would like to apologize for any medically incorrect details, if there are any. I would like to remind everyone that I'm not trying to be hurtful or insensitive. If you think I am, then that's not my intention.
Edited by nlisa - 7 years ago
Cricket
Hindi TV Shows
Kumkum Bhagya
