Next morning-

The bright rays of the sun broke avni's deep sleep
She slowly opened her eyes& recollected what happened the previous night- a night they hadnt shared in recent days
She realised how thirsty they were for eachother's soothing touch
She felt so fresh& a huge smile adorned her face

She shifted her gaze a lil& saw the love of her life already staring at her

A-good morning hubby

N- good morning wifey

A-why are you staring at me?

N-bcz i love to gaze at your beautiful face

A-hmmm
Anyway lets get ready
We have to go to police station

N-what do u mean by "we"? Neil asked while getting up
You are not coming on work
Im gonna tell the authorities that u r on maternity​ leave

A- but neil nobody knows about us being husband -wife except for dd
Everyone knows that both of us are married but nobody knows to eachother
U will definitely be asked2 qs-
1-if im pregnant then who is my hubby
2-why are you giving explanations on my behalf

Neil thot for a while &then said-
N-I ll disclose our relationship status &that we had some personal reasons& i dont really bother much about what they think about us-be it the commissioner or our colleagues

A-but neil...

N- no ifs& no buts& no more arguments on this
Now lets freshen up &then go downstairs for breakfast

With a frown on her face, an upset avni got up from the bed but felt dizzy& collapsed again

N(shocked)- avni!
He immediately ran towards her

N-avni tum theek ho?

A-haa bas halka sa chakkar aa gya tha
Its very normal

N-ab toh mera decision aur bhi concrete hogya h& tum abse leave pe ho
Tum fresh hoke aao men breakfast yahi le aata hu

A-iski koi zrurat nhi h neil
Men neeche chali jaungi

N- bilkul bhi nahi
Tum ese state men stairs se zyada up- down bilkul nhi krogi

A-baki sab kya sochenge?

N-unki tension mat lo
Your health is their first priority toh unke mind krne ka toh sawaal hi nahi uthta
He goes to bring breakfast for him &avni while she goes to freshen up

Neil was back with the breakfast &they fed the food to eachother after which neil left for the station

In the evening-

Neil returned home& they all had dinner with usual chit chat after which they all went to their rooms

In AvNeil's room-

Avni wanted to talk to neil to work from home itself as she was bored in the entire day but he was way too tired that he simply went to bed

**Time lapse***

It had been more than a month since AvNeil had spent time together
Neil had agreed to avni's request of her working from home but only work which didnt result in sleepless nights/any stress/tension bcz he didnt want all this to affect avni& the baby's health

Though neil did spend time with avni& also talks to their unborn baby, they havent had a heart to heart convo since long
It wasnt that neil didnt care about avni but his work had kept him too busy in past1 month that he didnt get much chance to spend time with her

Avni started feeling that neil is no longer the same as he has almost stopped talking to her
To reduce her lonliness, she kept herself busy in work& spent all her free time with her family

Though avni tried to hide her inner emotions, this didnt go unnoticed by bebe when she came to AvNeil's​ room the same afternoon

In the evening-

Neil came home but before he could go toh his room, bebe stopped him& took him to her room& told him whatever she has noticed
Neil was feeling damn guilty for what he did, though unknowingly

N-avni would be feeling so low all bcz of me
He sank his face in his hands

B-puttar abhi bhi der nhi hui h
Dinner k baad avni s zarur baat kario

N-tysm bebe
Aap na btate toh shayad muje pta bhi na chalta

After dinner avni was the first 1 to go to her room

Sh& P- bechaari kitna thak gyi hogi
Subah se filo men doobi hui h

Neil's eyes widened in shock

N(to himself)- She has been keeping herself busy in work since morning just so that she can kill her loneliness- all thanks to me
Neil you are such an idiot

He also left for his room

In AvNeil's room-

When neil entered, he saw avni standing in the balcony with her back facing him
He locked the door but avni didnt notice the sound caused by it

Neil tiptoed towards the balcony& held avni's waist by his arms
She instantly gasped while neil snuggled his face into her neck

N-im sorry avni
Men apne kaam men itna busy hogya ke mene realise hi nhi kia k kab mene tumhe neglect krna shuru krdia-socha hi nhi k iss waqt tumhe meri sabse zyada zrurat h

Avni's eyes brimmed with tears on hearing this when neil turned her around to face him-
Tears slipped down her eyes& she took him in a bone crushing hug, still crying

N (caressing avni's hair)-avni tum theek ho na?
Avni nodded positively

Neil could never stand tears in avni's eyes- especially if the cause was he himself but he didnt stop her bcz he knew it was mood swings
They stayed in that pose for a little long& he talked to avni while still caressing her hair when he felt her body being heavy- neil realised she was so tired that she had slept off in his arms itself
He smiled looking at her

Neil picked avni in bridal style &layed her on the bed& layed down next to her& pulled her closer
Soon they slept off

Late night-

Avni woke up due to her craving of ice cream& went downstairs in the kitchen
She opened the fridge but found the ice cream box empty
With a gloomy face she went back upstairs

A (shaking a sleepy neil)- neil? Neil plz utho na
neiiiiil she screamed& he got up with a jolt

N-avni tum theek ho na?

A-haa but muje chocolate ice cream khaani h

N-haa.
freezer men padi h men le aata hu

Neil mene check kia tha
Khatam hogyi h

N-tum khud neeche kyu gyi?
Muje kyu nhi jagaya??

A-plz abhi nhi neil avni said, pouting

N-ok fine
Men bahar jake check krta hu aga koi vendor ho toh

A-Aur haa muje xyz brand ki ice cream hi khaani h- aur koi nhi

N-par iss waqt issi brand ki ice cream kahi milegi ya nhi ye gauranteed thodi h

A- par muje ussi brand ki ice cream chahiye(pouting)

N-ok
Tum ruko men leke ata hu

A-nhi men bhi saath chlungi

Neil knew that there was no point in arguing

They drove off
It looked like the stars were finally in support of neil cz tho after alot of effort, they finally found a vendor of the specific brand& he had chocolate ice cream
Neil paid the vendor &they sat back in the car
AvNeil shared 2-3 spoons of ice cream after which avni started eating the remaining ice cream in full speed while neil just smiled

N-avni aaram se
Gala beth jayega
Koi train nhi chutne wali

A-tysm neil
Itni raat ko bhi tum utthe sirf meri stupid si ice cream ki craving k liye
She hugged him tightly

N-isme thank you kehne ki koi zrurat nhi h wifey
Ek baat hmesha yaad rakhna- chahe kuch bhi hojaye, i ll always love u
Avni broke the hug

Neil spotted something &moved closer to avni& rubbed the corner of her lips which had a lil of ice cream& licked it
Ab ghar chale?

Avni nodded a yes& they drove back home

Khanna mansion-

Neil entered& parked the car

N-avni hum ghar...
Before he cud say anything further, he noticed that avni had already slept off& had a huge smile on her face
He realised how happy &satisfied she was
He moved out of the car, opened avni's door& picked her in bridal style while she was still asleep

As he moved towards their room, prakash saw them(he was returning from the kitchen with a jug of water)

Neil was about to explain when prakash interrupted-

P-puttar kuch kehne ki zrurat nhi h- tune muje mere din yaad dila diye jab teri jagah men hua krta tha& aadhi raat ko shwetaji ko ese hi ghar men leke ghusa krta tha jab tu paida hone wala tha
Neil blushed

P-ye toh shruvat h
Aage bhot kuch hone wala h
Ab avni toh so hi gyi h tu bhi thak gya hoga
Jake aaram kar
Prakash left& neil moved towards their room
He layed avni on the bed& layed on his side of the bed& smiled recollecting prakash's words

He also realised how right bebe was &how terribly avni missed her "exclusive time" with him
Neil promised to himself that no matter what, from now on, he will always spend as much time as possible with avni& never let her feel lonely

He pecked her forehead &she snuggled her head on neil's chest& slept off peacefully