AvNeil - A Special Bond of Destiny

Chapter - 4

Finally, the day to kickstart his plan of action was here. Neil got ready and headed downstairs to the garage. DD had lent his bike for his work. He needed to ensure that he somehow got the house before anyone else could lay their hands on it. He started his journey towards Andheri. However, while he was on his way, riding towards his destination, he noticed a group of people who seemed to be ganging up on a lone stranger on a bike. The man was dressed up in black from head to toe and was also donning a black helmet. The group of people were circling him and were trying to block his way, almost as in a way to rag him. The stranger who had a puny build, had stopped his bike and seemed to be trapped amidst these vultures. Neil stopped his bike to find out what all the commotion was about. He walked up to the men who were circling the strange man and asked them what their issue was. In response, the men started manhandling him. Enraged, Neil decided to teach them a lesson. He fought against them and tried to beat them up black and blue. They almost immediately fled from the place after having failed to bring him down. Neil dusted himself and turned to walk towards the stranger. As he was almost about to approach him, the stranger suddenly just started his bike and drove off from the spot. "Wow...What a thankless idiot! People these days have no regard for the ones who help them. I spent my valuable time on this guy and he didn't even bother to express his gratitude. Bloody hell, I have already wasted enough time. Let me get back to my work.", he muttered to himself annoyed, as he looked into his watch and realizing that he was getting late. He got onto his bike and continued his journey to his destination.

"Welcome to the house. I am Mr. Chopra and I stay along with my wife on the first floor. I have the ground house for rent. It would be Rs.20,000 per month. So, if you are satisfied with it, we can talk further" he said. Neil had one look at the house and immediately made up his mind to take it. He had no time to waste. "I would like to sign up for this house immediately by giving you the token advance. How much would that be?" he asked. "The house advance would be Rs.50,000. Once I have that, I can hand over the keys to you" said Mr. Chopra. Neil immediately paid him the cash amount and said "I would like to move in immediately. I shall sign the rental agreement as soon as you have it ready." Mr. Chopra gave a satisfactory smile, and handed the keys of the house to Neil. He walked inside as he remembered what DD had said. Indeed, the house was small, but it was a very small price to pay for the bigger gain – staying in close proximity to the love of his life. Also, as it was already semi-furnished with the basic necessities, it was an added advantage as this meant that he need not spend more money towards furnishing it. His heart leapt with excitement as he drowned himself in Juhi's thoughts. He broke out of his reverie and walked slowly towards the window. He drew the curtains apart and had the first glance at the house opposite him. There it stood, Vidyut and Juhi's house, in all its grandeur. It definitely looked gigantic and pretty lavish from the outside. As he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the voices of laughter from outside. Almost instantaneously he hid himself behind the curtain with only his eyes peeping out. A wide smile spread across his face as he saw Juhi's face. He was lost, or rather mesmerized in her beautiful face adorned with laughter. But then his happiness was short-lived as he witnessed Vidyut walking and hugging Juhi from behind. His face contorted with immense anger as he clutched his hands tightly onto the window sill, not realizing that his knuckles turned white almost. It was then, that he heard a click at his door.

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Avni had an early start to her day. She could hardly sleep well as she couldn't contain her excitement on thinking about the probability of how soon she will be reunited with Vidyut. She got dressed hurriedly and picked up her bike keys, along with her backpack. She walked down to the garage, donned the helmet, started the bike and rode off. She thanked her stars for having taken bike lessons earlier this year. Coupled with the fact that Sunehri's father had left his bike here before moving, things had worked out more perfectly than she could ever have imagined. After having reached a certain junction, she realized that she was being stalked by few men on their bikes. They blocked her way and forced her to stop her bike. The area was pretty isolated and there was hardly a soul in that street. She could take them on single-handedly, only if there were just a couple of them, but right now she was encountering five of them. Tackling them together at once would be difficult for her. Also, her mind was mainly focused in thoughts of somehow bagging that house. That was her main priority right now and not picking up a fight with a group of ruffians. She realized that these men had no idea that it was a female beneath all that attire. Maybe they wanted to extort some money or valuables from her. As she stopped her bike and sat, she offered a mental prayer to God as to somehow get her out of this predicament. Almost instantaneously, as though God had heard her prayers, she heard the sound of another bike approaching them. The stranger stopped seeing the commotion and parked his bike. He walked towards them and as he approached closer, she spared a glance at him. Albeit she could not clearly see him from a distance through her black helmet, she realized that it was a young man, well built and slightly taller to her. The stranger questioned the men and in just a few minutes a war of words had turned into a big commotion involving physical fights. Much to her relief, by the end of it, the men had fled from the place. The stranger slowly started walking towards her. She realized that she was extremely grateful to him and in fact was contemplating thanking him. But then her eyes suddenly fell on her watch. "Shit I am late!" she exclaimed to herself, started the bike and rode off suddenly, leaving the man perplexed. She realized that this act of hers was extremely selfish but she just couldn't wait any longer. She had to get the house at any cost. Already those idiotic group of men had cost her a lot of her precious time.

"I am sorry, but I was running out of time, but I am indeed indebted to you Mr. Stranger" she thought to herself as she drove along the way towards her destination. When she reached, she immediately met up with landlady, Mrs. Chopra. "I apologize for making you wait Mrs. Chopra. I was held up due to some unforeseen circumstances and I took a detour which made me land in a huge traffic jam. You know how terrible the traffic here is!", she said. "That is completely fine my dear. I understand.", replied Mrs. Chopra smiling. "The house rent would be Rs.20,000 and I expect an advance of Rs.50,000 upfront. If this is fine with you, we can seal the deal. As I already told you over the phone, it is semi-furnished" she added. Avni just thanked her stars that she could make it on time and was able to get the house. She did not even want to spare a look at the place due to her desperation. "I would like to move in immediately. Please accept this advance amount" said Avni, as she handed her the money. "Okay. Great then! Here are the keys as promised. You can check the house and we can sign the rental agreement tomorrow" said Mrs. Chopra smiling gently, as she handed the keys to her. Avni smiled taking the keys and walked down to the ground floor. She called Sunehri to inform that she had bagged the house after all. Sunehri was elated for her friend and told her that she would have her luggage delivered to her new house by the next day. As Avni proceeded towards the house, she immediately noticed Vidyut and Juhi coming out of their house. Her face lit up in happiness on seeing Vidyut, but in the next instant it was replaced by a frown, as she saw Juhi hugging Vidyut tightly. Fearing that she will be noticed by them, she immediately put on her black scarf and helmet on to cover her face. Her Vidyut. She held back the tears that threatened to fall down any instant. She faced the door, unlocked it with her keys and turned the knob to open it.

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Hello Readers..I know I had promised an Avneil meet in this chapter but I'm sorry if I disappointed you. They are close to meeting in the next chapter and I shall try and give a quick update :) These chapters take quite some time to write,  so any feedback would be appreciated. Irrespective of whether it is positive or negative.  I would love to hear from you.  How are you all finding the story so far?
Do let me know :) I'll be back soon.