Same day, xyz hospital-

After talking to the dean at her hospital, avni had returned to check on neil& has been with him most of the time

Night-

Neil was peacefully sleeping in his room (with his chains removed) when someone entered his room& locked the door through the master key

The person had hid his face with a mask-only his eyes were visible
He covered neil's mouth, waking him up immediately
Neil opened his eyes-only to see his wildest nightmares coming true-
There he was, back to torture& refresh all of his wound- be it internal or external

He tied neil's hands& feet with ropes, covered his mouth with cloth so that he cudnt scream& whip lashed him brutally with a belt

Meanwhile avni who was in her cabin- busy with a file, thought of checking up on neil
Thankfully her cabin& neil's room were on the same floor
She walked down the hallway, only to listen to the most frightful sounds coming from neil's room
Though they were low, yet audible enough for her to realise that​something was wrong

She knew that whosoever the person is, deffo has the master key cz door wasnt latched- it was locked
She had to act extremely careful
She first recorded the entire scenario in her phone& then swiftly open the latch by her hairpin& got hold of the person

Everything happened so soon that the person who was beating neil didnt get the chance to understand what was going on
She removed the mask from the person's face& the face which came out left her biwildered
Still maintaining a strong grip on the intruder, she rang the emergency bell& the intruder was under the arrest of the authorities

Avni& neil stared at the person while the authorities left the room with him

Avni was holding a sweating& scared neil in her arms as if protecting him from all the evils in the world while he was clinging onto her as if his life depended on her

Avni knew that she cudnt leave neil in this state so she informed her parents that she needs to stay back as its an emergency-tho it was WAY more than just an emergency-someones life was terribly at stake
She wiped off his tears& sweat with a cloth& made him lie down, assuring that she was with him while he held her hand as it made him feel secure
He lied down but sleep was far away from him- he had anyway lost all his sleep in past 10-15 yrs& now what he had started receiving in past5 months was also snatched from him today

To divert his mind a little, avni started a convo& for a change, neil did respond
Thankfully the trick worked& his eyes started getting heavy
Soon he dozed off to sleep while avni just smiled at the progress in his condition
She too slept off on the chair, randomly scrolling her phone

Late night, neil's room-

No...no plz dont do this again..i beg u....plz dont beat me....
What harm have i done to u?
Plz dont do this...
Help! help! somebody plz help!
Plz save me!!
He had tears of helplessness in his eyes
Neil woke up with a shock- he had sweat beads on his head& was sobbing& shivering horribly in extreme fear
Avni also woke up with a jolt-
She switched on the light& recieved a tight hug from a frightened neil

N-wo phir aa jayega
Wo zrur aayega muje phirse maarne
Wo phir.....
Neil was sobbing inconsolably

A(patting neil's back)-neil relax
Ab koi nhi ayega
Men hu na tumhare paas?
Jo hona tha wo shaam ko ho chuka h& jo aya tha wo ab under arrest h
Mere rehte tumhare saath kuch galat nhi hoga-thats my promise
She still didnt pressurise neil to tell her abt whom was he addressing in his nightmare cz she wanted him to open up to her but on his own wish-not under pressure

After lot of effort, avni was finally able to convince neil& he slept off
Now she was even more firm abt her decision

Next morning-

All the formalities were done& avni went to neil's room
He had just freshened up& was silently sitting on his bed, lost in his own thoughts which were broken by avni

A-i have a gift for u
(She hands him a packet covered with gift wrap)

N-whats this?

A-khol k dekho
(He unwraps it& sees a half sleeve shirt& a jeans)

N-but for whom?

A(frowning)- for the warden who takes rounds of the hospital
Obviously its for u
Now get ready bcz we are going out

N-well i can go to the park in my uniform as well-whats the need of this?

A-we arent going to the park

N-then?

A-we are going somewhere else where u cant wear yr usual uniform-its kinda prohibited

Avni's riddles were confusing neil every passing moment
She came near him& held his shoulders lightly

A(in her most sincere tone)-u are getting discharged neil

Neil cudnt believe his ears!

N-wha...what did u say?

A-YOU ARE GETTING DISCHARGED

N-but....

A-i will answer all your questions but not right now
All the formalities are completed
Now just get ready

Neil was still not able to believe at what was happening-it was still sounding like a dream to him which will break once he wakes up
Nevertheless, he went to change

Few mins later when he returned, avni was awestruck- he looked extremely dashing as if a fashion show model
She somehow stopped drooling over his looks &came back to reality

A-lets go
She took his file from the reception& left with neil, but not before checking it for all the necessary documents
Everyone in the staff was thrilled as to how in a span of mere5 months a doctor was able to cure a patient-so much so that he got discharged!

In the car-
Neil sat on the passenger seat while avni started the car& they drove off

N-avni where are we going?

A-sabr ka fal meetha hota h janaab

Neil sighed while she turned to him only to see that he hadnt put the seat belt on
She made a face& stopped the car in corner of the road& after opening hers, she moved towards him& pulled his seatbelt but in the process, she landed herself up on his lap
They shared an intense& pretty long eyelock which was broken
She fastened his belt &moved back to her seat
There was utter silence throughout the remaining drive

After about 25 mins, avni stopped the car in front of a mall
Neil gave her a confused look while she entered the parking zone, parked the car& got out while neil followed suit
She took her purse& locked the car after which they moved towards the mall

In the mall-

Avni was blabbering stuff regarding him& his improvement while neil was awestruck by his surroundings- the last time he saw a mall was as a child- but never after that
Avni took a glance at him& smiled

They moved towards a gents casual wear store where a salesman escorted them& fetched them sizes& designs

A-look im not a shopaholic so i can be a little weak at all this so plz bare with me
Neil smiled &tried on different apparels
After about 45 mins, they proceeded towards the billing counter
They hadnt shopped much- only 2/3 bags- unlike avni's sis rhea who was a total shopaholic
Initially while trying on stuff neil felt that he had become a mere dummy on whom avni was trying her shopping skills-trying one shirt after another but he didnt complain at all cz he too, was enjoying it
Soon neil understood the reason behind this shopping spree-

He only had 1pair of jeans& shirt which he was wearing when he was admitted in that hospital
Also, all he came to the hospital with was a mentally tortured mind so he didnt have any luggage& avni wanted him to start his life afresh& hence she brought him shopping

Avni did the payment &after filling their almost empty stomachs at a cafe in the mall,they moved towards the parking lot &soon drove off

Throughout the day neil had only wondered-
How could someone be so selfless?
Doing so much for a stranger whom she had met just 5months ago?
Had he misunderstood her since the beginning?
Should he forward his hand towards her the way she has done?
Or was it all a facade &he was again gonna suffer in coming days?

All these questions were yet to be answered

To be continued

A pretty long update i guess?
I loved writing the part from where neil was lost in his thoughts till the end but at same time, only i know how i wrote the initial part- i literally started sobbing
Though im just writing- just feel how wud a person feel who wud actually be going through all this

Anyway, do vote& leave yr views in comments as well