He drove through the dark and narrow alleys of Mumbai in search of the thing he desperately wanted at the moment. At last he stopped his car in front of a dimly lit place. The name board of the place was hanging precariously on a single nail and the bulb near was flickering ready to be fused out anytime. He looked around to see if anyone was around, the road was deserted except for a badly damaged car parked to one side of the door and a guy who was lying on the road drunk. He swallowed the thick lump in his throat and was about to set his first step in to the shop, when something grazed his other leg. He turned at once to see what caused that creepy feeling and found a cat looking at him with its bright big yellow eyes, the whiskers spread out and he heard the cat meowing loudly. He stilled looking at the cat. As much as he wanted to go in to fulfil his need he couldn't. His past flashed before his eyes, the struggle he had to go through and his entire family who supported him. He felt that he was betraying them.

Just then the doors of the shop flew open

"Boss, long time" the stout guy said taking a long puff.

He turned around and walked to the car as fast as he could but he was chased by the person. He wasn't the same gullible person. He had grown to become an entirely different person. He was still the same person to his family but not to anybody else and now it was time to become the Avinash Nanda. He couldn't fall prey to the man standing behind him. He knew the guy and his ways too well. He sat down in his car and slammed the door shut. The guy kept knocking the window, which forced him to bring it down

"You forgot us altogether boss" the guy said.

"Let's see, what exactly is your stature that you are leaning against my car and asking me questions" he asked.

He saw the icy glare in his old client's eyes. His eyes were so cold and lifeless. A chill ran up his spine. He had seen him through the video camera and had come out when he had hesitated but what could have changed his stand all of a sudden he wondered. He had a wonderful chance to make quiet a bit of money but all went in vain. None would have noticed that video camera for it was hidden. It was precisely installed to let him know about prospective clients and a way to escape from the police. He mumbled a silent prayer when he saw Avinash at his door step.

"Rakesh" Avinash called out to him.

"Boss" he turned at once and ran towards the car hoping luck really sided him today.

"Hide that fucking camera before you get caught" he replied with a smirk and started the car.

That's when he noticed the camera visible under the light bulb and the broken name board made no help to conceal the camera either as much as he thought it would. One needed sharp eyes to spot that shit and his client was indeed smarter than he thought. In the end, he laughed before closing the doors of his little place with the thought that his client wanted him safe and that meant he would definitely benefit from his rich client.

Akhil paced outside the Chopra's house waiting for his brother. He was worried for him. It had been ages since his brother had gone missing without letting anyone know about his whereabouts. Aadhya had refused to talk to anybody except for her brother and father. She had chose to remain silent even with her mother. She had opened up with everybody on the day of holi but today she was another person. His wife, Shraddha had simply ignored his questions and said it wasn't her place and her friend needed space. In fact she had chosen her friend over him. He felt jealous. He couldn't help but smile how childish he was behaving but this was the first time.

"Where on fucking earth were you Avinash Nanda" Akhil yelled as soon as he saw his brother stepping out of the car.

"I had gone out" he said hoping he was off the hook.

"Hell you were out. You better tell me" Akhil asked his brother gritting his teeth. Akhil did not fail to notice the guilt and the disappointment in his eyes. "Did you ?" Akhil asked doubtfully.

His face fell at the question. Before Avinash could explain himself, he felt a sharp sting on his cheek. It wasn't the assault that weakened him at the moment, but the sudden lack of trust he saw in his brother's eyes. Probably, his decision to even go there was wrong but only if he was trusted he thought ruefully.

"I don't know what else you have done. But Aadhya isn't talking with anybody. It's like she has gone in to a shell" Akhil said angrily and walked in to the house leaving Avinash behind.

The slap suddenly did not matter to him. He was definitely upset with his brother but wondered what went wrong with her. She definitely did not sound herself or even behave herself, earlier when they had met. But deep down he knew and his instincts about her were right. For a moment, he wondered if he should have been persistent about making her talk to him. The damage was done and he was going to fix it. Not because what Akhil thought but her emotional well being mattered to him. With this thought in his mind, he waited no second and entered in to the house.

He hadn't spared a glance at Akhil from the time he entered the house. The least, he expected from

his people was trust and his brother denied him that. He even noticed, how his brother looked at him from time to time. His mother's body language changed. She behaved like she knew something was off with them. Nothing missed her eyes. Just because his mother thinks something is wrong, he wasn't going to be amicable with his brother. He cared less at this point of time.

"I am going to meet Aadhya" Avinash announced and he noticed the way Rohit and Gautam behaved. Rohit stood up at once tensed and well, Gautam was in a dilemma plus worry has enveloped his face immediately.

He climbed two stairs at once and was followed by Rohit. At the last step, Rohit almost caught up with him and trapped him to one corner.

"I don't think she will talk today" Rohit said looking at her room.

"Let her decide that Rohit" Avinash said squarely.

"Man trust me" Rohit remarked.

"Well I would but not today. So move out of my way" he said and knocked at her door.

"Aadhya" he called out to her patiently.

Rohit looked at him with a "I told you so look" but soon his jaws dropped when the door opened. Avinash passed him a sly smile and entered the room leaving a flustered Rohit behind.

She looked pathetic. In fact, worse than how she had looked earlier. Her eyes swollen and her hair disheveled.

"This room looks like it was run down by bulldozer or better like something was stolen by a thief" Avinash remarked to test her mood.

She glared at him but spoke none. Well that was not too bad he thought. But both of them knew it was going to be a long night. He took a deep breath and stood in front of her. She raised her hands to push him away but he quickly grabbed her wrists and positioned it on his chest and looked at her.

"What happened" he asked.

He wasn't going to coddle her or give her any more time to brood. She had sulked enough and Avinash was infamous for dealing things the clichéd way. If a person mattered to him, he rather have them spelled out what worried them and then he would do anything to relieve them of their worry but simply mollycoddling them only made it worse.

"Well you have taken enough time to not talk with anybody and by the looks of it, you have brooded enough about whatever that is worrying you. So let's talk" he said and made her sit on the bed. He did not ask her permission this time. Manners took a back step. He sat down next to her and pulled her close to him. She jumped at the sudden closeness nevertheless, she calmed soon after she felt his hand soothing her back.

"It's nothing" she said and stared at the wall. She hadn't looked at him this time. In fact she made no contact with his eyes from the time he stepped foot in to the room.

"Do you want to go elsewhere and talk about it. Maybe a bit of fresh air and change of scene would help ?" He said to make her comfortable.

"Take me to the hospital. I want to be in the confines of my cabin" she said knowing that's once place where she could do better and she knew that Avinash wasn't going to leave her. Plus it was only right, he knew before anything.

"Then come" he said and dragged her out of the room.

She kept asking him for a few minutes to clean herself up but the stubborn guy gave her no chance. She had to simply follow him down the stairs and become the centre of attraction of everyone. Her mother leaped at once towards her but was held back by her father and she was grateful to him. His parents shared a knowing look with him and well Rohit being Rohit followed them but her father had managed to keep him behind much to her relief.

The journey was rather silent. In fact he raced through the roads as it was already well in to the night and the traffic was easing up. He hadn't questioned her or even looked at her way. His eyes were glued to the road and his hands firmly on the steering. They were soon in the confines of her cabin and he wasn't going to wait any further. He had even given her more time to brood and now it was time for answers.

"Tell me Aadhya" he asked impatiently.

"I want you to listen to me carefully, I had no intentions of telling you but now the situations are forcing me to" she said mustering the courage she needed to.

"I am all ears" he said and looked at her.

To be continued ~

The chapter was getting really long and so I have broken them in to 2 parts. I will update the next one in a day or two, till then give all your love to this chapter by liking and commenting. They do mean a lot to me. Thank you.