Aarav had been playing in his room, It has been a month and there was a lot of improvement in his mental health. He had slowly begun to understand things better but not yet had developed a friendly bond with Vikram. 

Poonam had been sitting beside him while Vikram stood at the door glancing at both of them. She looked at him and signaled him to enter inside but he refused. 

"Aaru aapse ek baat puchu?" she asked looking toward Aarav

He shook his head positively "Vikram toh meri tarah aapka khayal rakhte hai na? toh aap usne itna darte kyun ho haan?" 

"unhone kamre mei band kia tha aur gande doctor ke paas bheja tha" he replied looking downstairs. 

Poonam lifted his face up with her hand and questioned "yeh aapko kisne kaha?" 

"gande doctor ne.." he said 

Vikram was left shocked hearing his words. Poonam just couldn't believe those people had cleverly played with his brain. She tried to explain "Aaru Vikram ache insaan hai aapse bahut pyaar karte hai mujhse bhi zyada" 

"toh phir aapki tarah aaye kyun nahi lene?" He questioned her innocently. 

"aate they lekin wo gande doctor unhe nahi aane dete they" she explained

"lekin aap toh aaye toh wo kyu nahi?" he asked

Poonam sighed deeply. She knew like this he won't get convinced. She just prayed he recalls that Vikram is his brother, not an enemy. She smeared his head and got up. She turned but didn't find Vikram there. She rushed out and searched for him. He must be disheartened after what Aarav had spoken. 

She rushed down and saw Vikram grabbing Nitin's collar. He yelled "mere bhai ko mere hi against kar diya aapne!" 

Nitin smiled "deemag ka istemal kiya hai Vikram.. deemag ka isme bahut takaat hoti hai! aur jab haath mein power ho toh insaan kya kuch nahi kar sakta?" 

Vikram left him with a jerk "chachaji sirf uske thik hone ka intezar kar raha hun main jis din Aaru thik ho gaya na uss din aap iss ghar mein toh kya iss shahar mein bhi nazar nahi aaoge kisiko!" he shot a deadly glare at him 

"socho agar main apne bhai ke liye aapki baat maan sakta hun, zaalil ho sakta hun toh usi bhai ke liye aapko jaan se bhi maar sakta hun.." he fumed in anger

Poonam tapped his arm lightly trying to calm him down. He rolled his eyes towards her and it turned moist in a few seconds. He goes back upstairs to his room. 

Poonam stared at Nitin and Kavya who didn't have any regret for their deeds. Poonam followed Vikram and saw him standing near the balcony. She took slow steps towards him, she heard his silent cry. He turned and placed his head on her shoulder. She placed her hand in between his hair and began to console him. 

"jab tumhe nahi dudh paaya tha na main.. Aaru ki haalat bahut kharab ho gayi thi Poonam! meri baat nahi maan raha tha toh majbur use kamre mein band karna pada mujhe.. aur maine nahi bheja use.. maine nahi" he breaks down in her arms. 

A tear escaped down her eyes seeing his state. "tum toh aisa soch bhi nahi sakte janti hun main.. aur hamara Aaru beemar hai na isliye kuch bhi kah raha hai apne chote bhai ki baat ka bura thodi mante hai haan?" 

"nahi bardasht hota hai Poonam! tum use kaho mujhe pehchan le.. please" He pleads her. She parted the hug and cupped his face. 

"Vikram hum use deemag pe zor nahi daal sakte hai yaad hai na doctor ne kya kaha tha haan? sab thik hoga bharosa rakho waqt par" she said

He shook his head positively. Poonam smiled a bit "now come on.. mere paas tum dono bhaiyon ko sambhalne ke alawa aur bhi kaam hai! ab bacho ki tarah rona band karo" she wiped tears from his eyes. 

Here, Kavya and Nitin were discussing inside their room. 

"aap kuch karte kyun nahi hai? main toh tang aa gayi iss Poonam se.. " she said angrily. 

"dono ek ho gaye hai itni muskil se dono ko alag karke sab kuch apne mutti mein kiya tha.. ab kuch aisa karna padega jisse Poonam ki takaat hi aadhi padh jaaye"  Nitin said

Kavya thought something and smiled "aapka matlab hai ki?" 

"haa.. aur jald aisa karenge hum" Nitin made plans again to break the family. 

One fine day, Poonam had gone to the office for emergency work. Vikram had been sitting on the couch and watching Aarav playing with his toys. He doesn't trust those creepy people so doesn't leave him alone for even a single second. Even if he had to, he kept him under the observation of a trustworthy person.

Vikram's phone rings and he picks it up "hello.."

"Sir.. Poonam mam ka accident ho gaya hai aap jaldi se hospital aa jayie" the voice said.

Vikram was shocked "What??"

"Kaunse hospital mei?" he asked tensely

"City hospital bahut khoon bah raha hai unka" the voice said

Vikram ends the call, he calls Poonam but her phone is switched off. He eyed Aarav for a moment, he rushed out of the room and shouted "Maria.."

Maria comes out of the servant room "ji sir.."

"Poonam.. Main jald aata hun tum Aarav ka khayal rakhna aur kuch bhi ho turant mujhe phone karna" he instructed her and left the house immediately.

He sat inside the car and rushes towards the hospital.

At AV office

Poonam had been busy attending the international conference. The client seems to be impressed by her strategy and agrees to invest. A smile appeared on her face "Thank you so much looking forward to working with you" she greeted and ended the call.

"Can't wait to share the news with Vikram" she thought. She picked up her phone and turned it on. There were 10-15 missed calls from Vikram.

She calls him and he picks up his call. He questions her in a panic tone "Poonam.. Kya hua tumhe? Tum thik ho na? Zyada chot toh nahi lagi tumhe?"

Poonam was confused by his question, she said "Vikram calm down.. Mujhe kuch nahi hua hai main conference mei thi isliye phone band kiya tha"

Vikram halted the car and his eyes became wide "What?? Tumhe sach mein kuch nahi hua?" he asked in disbelief.

"Haan Vikram.. Infact main abhi ghar ke liye hi nikal rahi thi hua kya hai?" she asked

"No... Aaru" he panicked and dropped his phone to the side. He takes a U-turn and rushes towards the house.

Poonam calls him again, but he keeps the phone on speaker "Poonam tumhe kitni der lagegi ghar pahuchne mei?" he asked

"Vikram mujhe 20-25 minute lagenge hua kya hai?" she asked tensely

"Mujhe ek phone call aaya tha usne kaha tumhara accident hua hai.. Isliye tumhe baar baar phone kar raha tha mai.. Par tum thik ho matlab Aaru" he began to have negative thoughts.

Poonam scolded him "tumhara deemag kharab hai kya Vikram? Tumne Aaru ko akela chod dia.. Jaldi ghar pahucho" She ends the call and immediately leaves the office.

At Home

Steve Maria's husband comes to the bungalow and argues with Maria. Nitin and Kavya exchanged glances with each other.

They entered Aarav's room and called him with their softest tone "Aarav"

He had been busy watching his favorite animated show on iPad. Nitin walked to him and held his hand tightly. Aarav drops the iPad with his sudden tight hold and looked at him scared.

He forcefully takes him to the bed and shouts "baitho chup chap"

Kavya does something with the wire, Aarav sees the two wires and remembers the shock treatment in the mental hospital. "Nahi..dard hoga.. Chodo chodo" tears brimmed down his eyes.

"Do..st.. do..st" he cries

"Shh.. chup" Nitin showed his eyes to him "bahut jhel liya tumhe itne saal se.. Ab aur nahi"

Aarav bites his arm and runs away from there. He hides in the store room and takes a heavy breath. Nitin smirks, he closes the door of the room and puts a lock on it. Aarav panics seeing the darkness in the room. He bangs the door "kholo.. Darr lag raha hai aaru ko.. Dost.. dost"

Vikram halts the car in front of the bungalow, he rushes in and sees a few guests in the house. The music was playing and it seemed like Nitin had invited business associates.

Nitin smiles at him as Vikram won't make a nuisance in front of society.

Vikram moves to the bedroom but finds it empty. He sees the two wires and a fear passes down his spine. He remembered the doctor's words.

"Ek bhi electric shock uski jaan le sakta hai Vikram.. Khayal rakhe use zabardasti kuch bhi yaad dilane ki koshish mat karna"

Poonam reaches home and the scenario in front of her shocks her. These people are having a party at home. The music had been playing on loudspeaker, even if Aarav cried for help no body would be able to listen to his voice. She glared towards Kavya who passed her victory look. 

 She rolled her eyes upstairs and saw Vikram running in the corridor in search of Aarav.

Aarav was banging the door hard but his voice couldn't reach anyone due to the loud music. He cries miserably "Dost.. dost.." it has been hours since he had been locked inside. He began to lose consciousness and collapse on the ground.

Vikram sits in the corridor and tears slip down his eyes. Poonam bends down and held her hand "room mei.. Wo wires hai.. Aaru kaha hai Poonam?? Mujhe bahut darr lag raha hai kahi use kuch ho gaya toh?" he asked panicked

"Nahi kuch hoga Vikram.." She was scared too but she didn't let it appear on her face. She cupped his face "chacha chachi chahte hai hum unke aage jukh jaaye par aisa nahi hoga Vikram.. Tum shant rahoge kuch nahi hoga Aaru ko mera dil kah raha hai na..."

He hugged her tightly "tootne mat do mujhe Poonam.."

"Nahi tootne dungi.. Tum ek baar phir Aaru ko dundho main neeche sab sambhalti hun" she said

"Agar Aaru ko kuch bhi hua na toh sabke saamne main chacha chachi ki jaan lunga Poonam.. Mujhe tum bhi nahi rok paogi" he said in determined tone

"Yahi toh wo chahte hai.. Aisa kiya tumne toh tum arrest ho sakte ho phir socho mere liye sab kuch sambhalna kitna muskil ho jayega.. Isliye bas Aaru ko dundho hmm" She caressed his hand and calmed him down. He takes a deep breath and gets up. He searches for Aarav again while Poonam walks downstairs.

Vikram closed his eyes and thought about Aarav. The memories flash in front of his eyes, he remembers a childhood incident.

Vikram and Aarav were playing hide and seek, and he searched for him "are Aaru kaha chup gaye ho tum?"

His mother laughed "dundho Vikram.. Aaj main bhi toh dekhun mera bacha kaise apne bhai ko dundh nikalta hai?" she asked

Vikram made a face "maa.. Aap hamesha Aaru ka saath deti ho jaldi batao kaha hai Aaru"

"Vikram main aur tumhare papa hamesha tumhari madad karne nahi honge.. Aaj hum hai kal nahi rahenge phir tumhe aur Aarav ko ek dusre ko sambhalna hai ek dusre ki takaat banna hai kamzori nahi! Apne dil ki suno mehsus karo" she pointed to his heart.

"Bhai.. Aaru ko dundho shh.. Secret jagah hai"

He tries hard to feel his brother presence around him. He sees childhood siblings running around the house and playing together. The innocent laughters he hears.  The little Aarav enters the storeroom in the basement and Vikram shouts "Aaru waha mat jaa.. Lag jayegi"

Vikram opens his eyes and takes a deep breath. He realised he hadn't checked the storeroom in the basement. "Store room.."

"kaunsa store room humne sab dekha hai Vikram" Poonam said

"neeche basement mei storeroom hai Poonam Aaru wahi hai" he said with curiosity

They got up and Poonam was about to move with him. She stopped and Vikram eyed at her "kya hua?  Chalo"

"tum jao Vikram main inpe naraz rakhti hun" she replied.

"lekin tumhe pata hai na Aaru ko tum.." he paused

"Jao Vikram.. He needs you" she said and walked downstairs to the hall. 

Vikram rushes downstairs to the basement. He sees the room locked, he gets the hammer and breaks the lock with it. He opens the door and finds Aarav lying down on the floor unconscious. Vikram kneels down and places his head on his lap "Aaru.. Aaru aankhein kholo"

Tears spread all over his face, he caressed his head "Please uth jaa tujhe kuch ho gaya toh main khudko maaf nahi kar paunga uth jaa please"

A few minutes later, Aarav slowly began to open his eyes. A smile appears on Vikram's face, Aarav shuts his eyes for a moment to get a clear vision. Aarav sees him and hugs him tightly scared "Aap kyu gaye? Dost bhi nahi thi.. Bahut darr laga" he said in a stammered tone.

Vikram rubs his hand in between his haris and clams him down "shh.. Kuch nahi hai main hoon na chalo utho"

Vikram helps him get up and takes him upstairs to the bedroom. Aarav was extremely frightened by whatever happened. Vikram saw a brush mark on his hand, he turned to get the first aid kit but Aarav held his hand tightly. He looked at him and requested him not to leave him alone. Vikram sits back "kahi nahi jaa raha hun main.. Koi kuch nahi karega.."

"Wo.. wo jhatke denge.." he said

Vikram refused "koi kuch nahi dega main hun na.. Aapki dost bhi hai ye lo dawai le lo" he forwards him the medicine and a glass of water. Aarav held the glass with trembling hands, Vikram held it as the glass was about to drop. He keeps it back on the side desk and Aarav lays down on the bed holding Vikram's hand tightly. 

❤ will be updating every Wednesday and Saturday.