She walked backward as he approached her. She realized she had nowhere to run when she hit the wall. She tried walking away from there briskly before Neil advanced closer, but he held her wrist tightly and yanked her back to the wall. He held her by her arms in a tight grip, while she looked down, tears threatening to flow out of her eyes. "I told you to wait for me, right? Why did you get out of there?" he asked not raising his voice, but the rage and annoyance were quite evident from his tone. She looked down without answering him. He gripped her more firmly and pressed his hands harder into her skin, while her tears begin to make their way down. "I am asking you something Avni. Answer me" he yelled. She continued to cry not looking up at him. She had been petrified thinking about the fiasco that had chanced a few minutes ago. She shuddered to think of what could have happened, had he not reached there on time. The mental turmoil coupled with his rage made her break down. She sobbed, sinking down towards the floor, dragging him along with her as she collapsed and sat down on the floor. Neil's face changed from anger to worry and then concern, as his grip on her loosened. He couldn't fathom what was bothering her. It pained him deeply to see her in tears. Her tears melted his insides. As they settled on the floor, he hugged her tightly and rubbed her back slowly trying to calm her down. "Shhhh..Relax Avni. Please calm down. I am extremely sorry for having yelled at you" he said as he stroked her back comfortingly. She held on to his shirt and continued to cry as her head rested against his chest. They sat in that position for a few minutes. He realized she needed her time and allowed her to vent out her emotional outburst. After he felt that her sobs had sunk to some extent, he released her from his hold, held her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. Their eyes met, hers still moist, which hurt him deeply inside. He wiped away her tears softly, and held her face in between his palms. "I am extremely sorry Avni. I didn't mean to intimidate or scare you. It was just my concern for .." he blurted out and paused not sure if he should continue that statement. She continued to look into his eyes, "Don't be sorry Neil. I was frustrated about something else and that led to me walking out of there" she said meekly as she placed her hands over his warmly. After all, she couldn't afford to tell him the actual reason as to why she had stormed out of there. "What's bothering you Avni? Maybe I can help.." offered Neil gently. "No Neil. You have already done so much for me. If you hadn't been there today.." she said as tears made their way down. "Shhhh..Nothing happened..No one can dare to lay a finger on you as long as I am there." he said as he hugged her again. "You must be tired. I think you should sleep now" he said and got up to leave. She held his hand as he got up to go. He turned back and looked at her. "What is it Avni?" he asked concerned, kneeling in front of her. "Please don't go." she said. "What?" asked a confounded Neil. "Can you please stay with me here tonight? I feel safe with you near me" she spoke up. "But Avni.." he said still taken aback and uncertain as to what to do. "Please Neil" she implored.

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He never had the heart to say no to her, ever. "Okay. Alright" he said as he sat beside her, holding her hand in his. "Do you mind if I get us some wine?" asked Neil. "Wine sounds good" she said. He smiled and walked to the fridge, while she sat on her bed resting against the headboard. He poured the wine into a couple of glasses and settled beside her, handing her one glass. "Neil" she said. "Hmmmm" he replied. "We have been staying together in this house for quite some time, yet we don't know much about each other. Would you mind sharing a bit about your family?" she asked him softly in a hesitant tone. "Well, this topic never came up. And no, I do not mind at all Ms. Cleopatra" he said smiling, as she couldn't hold back her blush which he of course didn't miss. "I was maybe 8 years old when my parents left me. They died in an accident" he said with a straight face. "Neil I'm so sorry..I didn't mean to.." she fumbled as she looked at him her eyes wide in shock but pain writ in them. "It's okay Avni. Relax. That was a long time ago. Ever since, I have been brought up by Juhi's parents. My parents and Juhi's parents were great friends. They have always treated me as their own son and never ill-treated me. They gave me everything I needed. I will forever remain indebted to them and they mean the world to me." he replied. "So, what's your story, Ms. Avni? Do you want to share?" asked Neil casually. "I stay with my mother in Delhi. I too lost my father in an accident when I was in college.." she said. "I am sorry to hear that Avni.." he said as he rubbed her hand softly. "So how did you meet Vidyut?" he probed. "The time around when my father left us, Vidyut entered my life as a friend. He was my sole support system. He was the only one I could share everything with. In a way I became emotionally dependent on him." said Avni as her face fell, realizing how he had broken his promise of marrying her. "So, I believe you and Juhi grew up together. Is that how you fell for ..??" asked Avni unable to continue further. "Yes, we did grow up together. I initially had a lot of respect for her. With time the admiration and respect grew stronger, and in no time, even before I could realize it, I was in love with her." he replied. Hearing about his love for Juhi hurt Avni so much. She felt like her heart was crumbling into pieces. She had no clue why everything he said or his association with any other woman bothered her so much. Frustrated she blurted out "She was stupid to have left you". Neil looked up at her, surprised out of his wits. 'It must be the wine talking', he thought to himself. "He too was a fool to have let go of this precious gem" he said. She looked up at him to meet his eyes which looked deeply into hers. As their eyes locked, their faces inched closer to each other. He placed one hand over her cheek and stroked it softly while she closed her eyes in response to his touch. He advanced closer to her face and bent over beside her ears and whispered softly, "I want to tell you something". "Hmmm..Neil?" she whimpered. "You look extremely gorgeous. I don't think even Cleopatra will be able to surpass your beauty. Need to start thinking about a new name. Let me see..Should I refer to you as my Apsara or my Greek Goddess?" he said huskily. Her cheeks went in a deep red blush and her heart pounded rapidly. She looked down not wanting to let him know how hard it was for her to stop blushing. Strangely her blush always affected him. His heart leapt in joy as though he had achieved something precious which he could never let go of. The couple continued to talk through the night, sharing anecdotes of their past, laughing occasionally, hitting each other playfully, reliving their lives before they had met each other. It was almost 3:00 AM when they finally fell into a deep slumber.

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The sun's rays fell over the loving couple who were now sleeping peacefully in each other's arms, oblivious of the world around them. Avni rested her head against his hand and softly held onto his shirt, while Neil held onto her waist. He opened his eyes and was bewildered at first to see their almost compromising position. Almost immediately that emotion changed to a dreamy one as he saw her lying beside him like a beautiful angel who has just descended from up above. He could feel her breath on his chest which got his heart beating faster than ever. Unable to control his wavering emotions, he moved his hand from her waist and slowly tried to move away from there, by shifting slightly. Disturbed by the movement, Avni opened her eyes slowly to see her lying beside him. Her eyes widened in horror, her mouth went in a perfect round, her face flushed red with embarrassment, unable to look at his eyes, she let go of his shirt and got up almost immediately, sitting up in her bed trying to avoid looking at him. He sat up straight, raised out his hand towards her shoulder, touching her softly from the back. She closed her eyes in response to his touch and slowly turned her head towards him, her eyes downcast the whole time. His eyes captured her perfectly beautiful face in its gaze, while she still hesitated to look up at him. His hands moved from her shoulder to her chin as he raised it upwards compelling her to face him. Her eyes slowly flit upwards and their eyes met. They gazed passionately at each other losing track of the time. Their trance was broken by the doorbell. Avni walked towards the door and opened it to see Mrs. Chopra whom she greeted with a smile. Mrs. Chopra was surprised to see Avni in a gown, so early in the morning. "Hello Mrs. Chopra. I thought you said you were going for a week. It's so pleasant to see you back though" said Avni. "We had to cut our trip short by two days as something important came up for Mr. Chopra. By the way, you look gorgeous in this gown my dear. Were you heading out somewhere? Did I come in at the wrong time?" asked Mrs. Chopra. Avni realized that she hadn't changed her clothes ever since last night. Her face broke into a slight blush as she recapped her moments spent with Neil. "Well, Aunty. I had been out for a party and I got back home late. I was too tired, so I just retired to bed without giving this a thought" she replied smiling. "Well Neil must surely be bowled over completely" she said teasing Avni. Avni blushed remembering his Greek Goddess comment. "Nothing of that sort Aunty" she said unable to still stop the blush framing her face. "Well, I came here to tell you that I am back. And in case you need anything I'm right downstairs. I shall let you freshen up now. See you later my dear" said Mrs. Chopra and waved her goodbye. She locked the door behind her and went to her room, to see Neil missing from there. "He must have gone to take a shower!" she thought to herself.

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Almost after an hour, the two of them sat at the table to have breakfast. Realizing they had almost forgotten about Juhi and Vidyut, Neil turned on the projector. The sight left the duo stunned. Vidyut and Juhi were indulged in a huge argument. "You have an affair with your secretary. That lipstick and perfume make perfect sense now. How dare she kiss you in front of everyone? And what did you do in return? Just stood there like a statue. Why didn't you do anything? Oh wait..Why would you? You might have been enjoying yourself too much" screeched Juhi. "Shut up Juhi. I was at first, taken aback by her advance and I do not believe she could have done such a thing. After you stormed out, I did check with her. She wasn't even in the vicinity when all this happened. That was just an impostor trying to frame her." he yelled back. "You have become an expert at lying and making up stories Vidyut. Every time you come up with some explanation or the other. Why don't you admit the fact that you were wrong?" she shot back. "I don't have the energy nor the patience to justify everything to you time and again. It's clear that you do not trust me at all. I can't control your thoughts. So, I leave you free to assume whatever you want to" he yelled and stormed out of the house with his briefcase, leaving a teary-eyed Juhi behind. To say Neil and Avni were shell-shocked would be an understatement. Their faces were writ with mixed emotions. They had ultimately achieved what they had always wanted. Neil's face portrayed excitement with immense joy. On the other hand, Avni wasn't sure how she should be reacting. Her face depicted disappointment more than joy. Neil ran towards Avni and hugged her tightly yelling "Yipppeee...We finally did it..!!". Avni held him, still shocked as tears streamed down her face. She had no idea why she was crying. She tried very hard to control the waterworks but in vain. When he broke the hug and looked at her tear-stricken eyes, he asked her "Is everything alright Avni? You seem to be upset". "These are t.t.tearss of ....ummm happiness...Don't worry Neil" she lied waveringly, trying to smile in an attempt to cover up her actual emotions. "I have some work to do. I will be back in a while" he bade her goodbye and walked out of the house. The minute he was gone, she shut the door and ran to her bed and burst into tears. She realized that she had started to develop feelings for the stranger in her house. She wailed more as she realized that there was no way she can tell him about her feelings as he was madly in love with another woman.

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Meanwhile Neil called up Kanisha. "Kanishaaaa...Guess what? Juhi and Vidyut had a huge argument. Our plan was a success after all..!!" he beamed excitedly. Kanisha who was not very happy with his idea nor his intentions, just sighed in response. "Neil are you sure this is what you have always wanted?" she stressed repeatedly. "Most definitely. Soon enough, my purpose for having waited for so long will be fulfilled. She will be mine" he shouted out elated. Kanisha by now realized it was pointless trying to convince him to give up on his mission. She silently prayed that time would make everything fall in place. After finishing his conversation with Kanisha, Neil walked back home. As soon as she heard the doorbell ring, Avni who had been crying all this while, straightened up herself, wiped her tears, rushed to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She definitely did not want to present her miserable state to him. She pulled a towel and pretended to cover her face, while she opened the door for him. He walked in as she immediately turned in the opposite direction to avoid his gaze. "Avni" he called out to her. "Yes Neil" she said and turned towards him, still covering her face with the towel using it as a shield to cover her emotions. "I want to tell you something" he said smiling, as he advanced towards her. Her heartbeats started racing and leapt in joy for a brief moment assuming that he might have something special to say to her. She nodded her head in response and looked at his face in anticipation. "I want you to have this. I know you really struggled a lot to get hold of this. I definitely can trust you with this. And hope you will use it for whatever reasons you have to" said Neil and placed a sheet of paper in her hand. As Avni read the contents of the paper, expecting it to be something that she had been yearning to hear, her heart broke into a million pieces. The paper had the Juhi's address enlisted on it. It was then that it struck her as to what Neil's intentions were. Her face went pale in shock and anger and disappointment all coupled together at one time. He did not care for her. He was only worried about breaking the couple and reuniting with Juhi. She faked a smile and mouthed a thank you to him. She excused herself and went inside her room and bolted the door behind her. She cried incessantly and felt miserable. She was supposed to be jumping in joy today considering that she was very close to her goal. But unfortunately, fate had played a cruel game with her and she had repeated the same mistake again. She was irrevocably in love with Neil.

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Friendly reminder: I am still alive🙊 also dear readers please brace yourselves for some twists in future storyline😬 also apologize for ghosting😣.. let me know your thoughts on this chapter🤔