Another day was done, stores were closed, and the streets were filled with people going back to home, to where they rest their tired bodies. Avni was no exception, her tiredness made her limp hang like wet laundry on a cold still day. She felt like every of her muscle was giving into gravity. What she want at that moment was a shower, a nice warm bed and a solid night of dreams. Her phone buzzed in her bag. She pulled out the phone, flip it open and it was text from the only person she dreaded for, the only person capable of ruining such a nice evening.

    Avni marched into the Khanna mansion, stood in his living room and her sights took in Neil, lying down on the couch.

    "What do you want Neil? Been here two times today, I got you coffee and even took your car to the wash. So tell me. What do you want this time?"

    "I'm hungry."

    "You are hungry?" she let out an exhausting sigh. This was definitely game to him. Neil had more than 10 maids in his house but still chose to make her life hard by giving her such task. She dropped her head like a withered flower and sauntered towards the kitchen with Neil right behind her. He took a seat by the kitchen counter, stroked his bottom lip as he watched her like missing a detail could mean the end of his life.

     She seemed so beautiful, so simple, and so different from everyone, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he when she undid her ponytail, shook out her hair,and tied it back up again. Why no one else's heart went wild when she cast her intense gaze. He had not missed a single one of her gestures, everyone was an indication of her character.

     "You know we haven't really talk..." Neil prompted to start a conversation. "So how was your day? Were there lots of customers?" he waited for her response and when there was none, he said. "I'm trying to be friendly to you, reaching out but no you...you are so guarded."

    "Why do you tell me to cook when you say I'm terrible?"

    He rubbed his chin. "You are a good cook."

    She looked at him from the corner of her eyes but said nothing.

    "Tell me why do you like cooking? Have you always want to be a cook, do you want to own a restaurant? Did your mother teach you how to cook?" He dropped into topics he knew she was passionate about but she didn't comment.

    Avni never met her mother but all she knew about her was that she was a professional chef and that was enough to spark her interest in cooking. She was not close enough to him to share that with him.

    She slide the plate across the counter and over to him, picked up her bag to leave. "Enjoy your meal."

    "You can't leave not until I finish."

    Avni threw her head back, pulled out a stool and sat in front of Neil. Her hand popped against her jaw and looked straight at him, he flashed a smile at her, and then she silently looked away.

    "When did you and Ali meet?" he took in the first bite. 

    "Did you know we were friends?"

    Avni lowered her gaze to her fingers that drummed against the table.He swallowed. "So you knew....I'm not surprised."

    It wasn't the way he said it but the tone he use that led her to ask. "What are you getting at?"

    "You obviously wanted to get close to me and used Ali. You don't have to keep playing hard to get, it doesn't suit you."

    She threw her head back and laughed. Neil looked at her for a few seconds, his spoon stopped in mid-air, that wasn't the response he hoped for.

    "You are not only self-centred but delusional too." She pushed herself up and treaded out of the kitchen. "I'm out of here."

    He ran after Avni, into the living room, grabbed her by the shoulder, spun her around, and slammed her against the wall. "You don't have to hide your feelings for me anymore." He lowered his gaze in attempt to meet her fluttering eyes. "Are you nervous?" his voicebecame soft and gentle. Totally unusual of himself.

    Avni could feel his breath on her face and his forehead on hers. Her heart pounded in her chest and she didn't like it. She didn't like the feeling, the feeling of being so close to him. She lowered her lashes, too startled by the intensity in his gaze to keep looking at him. "What? Nervous? Why? No way."

    "Then look at me." He tipped her jaw up to get the attention that she didn't want to give. "I have a perfect answer for you," she smirked.

    A knee to his groin brought Neil down, sending shock waves of dull nauseating pain deep into his abdomen. Avni bolted for to the door, but stopped halfway to look back at Neil. His grimace was like that of man who had bitten into a sour fruit. He groaned in pain and lowered himself making no effort to stand straight. Guilt descended onto her and she rushed to him.

    "Does it hurt? Is it broken?" she reached for his belt.

    "Let me check"

     Neil sprung up. "Check what?" his voice squeaked.

    "Just wait."

    Avni continued to move toward him with every step he took back until she finally got a grip onto his hand. 

    "Will you stop struggling?"Neil staggered back into an arm chair and fell back. She tripped, fell onto him and they both rolled off the couch. She landed face down on Neil. He looked straight at her and his coal black eyes drilled into hers. She felt like she was staring into an endless stretch of midnight sky. Its depth resembled that of a black hole in space, an air of eeriness and unsettling warmth emanated from his gaze.In that instant, Ali walked in. "What are you two doing?"

    "Ali? This is not what it look like" Avni pushed herself off from Neil and stood upright.

    "It looks like you tripped and fell on him."

   "Well yes, exactly. You see I kicked him, 'down there' and I was feeling guilty and wanted—

    "You were feeling guilty?" Neil asked in an amused tone that Avni skin crawl.

    "Only for a minute but you totally deserved it."

     Ali chimed in, "but what are you doing here by this time of the night."

    "It's a long story," She answered.

    "She couldn't pay her debt, now she is my slave. It's not really a long story." Neil shrugged.

    "Slave?" Ali turned to her. "And you agreed to this?"

    "It just sort of happened." She pulled Ali to seat and took a one beside him. "Don't worry, Tomorrow is the last day, after tomorrow Neil and I are done.

     "Tomorrow?" Neil checked his phone calendar. "It's already been a week?" they agreed for a week but he didn't realised it came so soon.

    "Fine, then come let me drive you home. It's late."

    Ali droved her back to her house and stopped the car in front of Avni house.

    "I'm surprised you agreed to that or have you forgotten about high school?" Ali didn't attend the same high school with Neil and Avni but he was quite aware of the kind of person he friend was back then.That was how they first met, he had come to visit Neil at school and met Avni crying from one of Neil attacks. Ali knew why Neil acted out, damn it he understood it but sometimes he wished it didn't have gone this far.

    He could have tried harder to change Neil and make him see the pain he caused, Neil may have scarred Avni but what could a 16 year old boy do, he managed to stay by Avni side and cheered her up every time she was down. Hopefully she would finally forgive Neil and he would redeem himself for not helping her more.

    "I have not forgotten about that too." How can she ever forget? No matter how she tried, Neil presence reminded her abusive childhood. Only Ali knew about it, somehow, Neil blocked it and lived comfortably and she hated him for that even more.

    "Neil is not a bad person...he is just a bit misunderstood. I know I'm asking a lot but give him a little break."

     The next morning, Avni strolled into the Khanna mansion, her footstep tapped on the chessboard patterned tiles. "Good morning Abhi," she grinned.

    "Good morning miss Avni. You must be happy that you are leaving us, miss?" Abhi said. "Today may be my last day here but I will definitely miss you, Abhi...honestly I don't know how you work for him."

    The lanky secretary sighed. "Mr Neil can be a bit rude, demanding, overbearing, spoiled, and unappreciative-Neil stood at the top of the stairs and gave a loud cough alerting them of his presence.

    "...kind and a good boss you learn to love over the years." Abhi digressed and fleeted away like a dizzy moth.  

TO BE CONTINUED...

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