Cross Roads

Bonus Chapter

A treat to you all in the form of this bonus chapter. It is related to the AvNeil's first anniversary, a brief description of which was given in the epilogue.

Happy Reading!

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Neil got up as soon as the alarm rang and hastily turned it off. He then looked sideways to check if Avni's sleep hadn't been disturbed due to the sound, thankfully, she was still in her sweet sleep. 

This was one of the changes in the last 6 months; he no longer missed his wifey's warmth early in the mornings although undeniably enough, he sure did miss the coffee she made for him. 

Beside her head lay the toy monkey Ali had gifted them on that fine Christmas. Seeing it, Neil's eyes immediately shifted to Avni's belly and a cloud of peaceful thoughts engulfed his mind. Three more months and they'd hold their baby in their arms. 

He leant in and kissed her baby bump and slowly whispered "Good morning baby. Don't trouble mommy, today is a big day."  This was, as he claimed, baby and daddy time only, unless, of course, Avni woke up and exclaimed "What are you doing?", which she naturally did a few seconds later. 

"That is a secret." Neil said, winking at her. They stared at each other and smiled warmly. It was that sort of smile that comes with too much of understanding and affection and is not coerced. "You're forgetting something." She whispered, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his neck.

Neil placed both of his hands on the side of her belly and decided to play along for a while. "What?" He asked innocently, smiling again when he felt her lips curving up as well. 

"That is for you to figure out, Mr. Supercop." 
"I'm not sure I will, little Ms. Architect." 

Avni broke apart and crossed her arms, a pout on her lips. "I'm not little." She snapped.

Mood swings X Neil, a new ship according to him which was sailing wantonly and without consent. 

"Yes you are." He laughed. "I'm not. I have a little kid inside me so I'm not little." She snapped again, hitting the toy monkey to vent out her frustration. "You're little for me." He said, watching her with amusement as she got off the bed and was about to slam the bathroom door when his next words made her stop.

"Happy wedding anniversary Avni." She looked at him, wearing her anger as her crown and eyebrows furrowed together. "I don't care." She snapped for the third time and did slam the door shut. 

Sometimes, her mood swings were bad and by bad, Neil meant the times when Poha or dal couldn't fix her mood. It was nearly time for the warming ceremony of Prakash's new building and she was still upset.

By evening, Neil could only rely on DD, who paid them a kind visit. 

"Oi! Jealous jethani!" Neil hissed at him, dragging him to the kitchen. "Don't call me that!" DD exclaimed, taking a plate and swinging it across Neil's head. For all of them, calling DD by that name was the best way to irk him in a moment and it was worth it. 

"Avni's angry with me." Neil informed. "You know, I'm waiting for the day when you don't piss people off on a regular basis." DD said sarcastically and took out a mango ice cream from the refrigerator which was basically a storehouse for all other ice creams. 

"Brahmastra." Neil christened the mango ice cream and went to Avni, who was getting dressed for the event. She was nervous, he could see it, perhaps due to other people's reactions on her big project. 

"Ice cream?" He offered and she accepted it in a go. "I'm so nervous." She remarked, holding his hand. Mood swings part 2. Before Neil could pin point when exactly she forgave him, she repeated that she was nervous.