Humnava Mere ♥️

United

Shwetha hurried as she arranged the dining table. Just then the bell rang.

"Lagta hai guests aa gaye." She opens the door. "Oh, tum dono bhi aagaye. Chalo acha hai." Shwetha greeted Vidyut and Ahaana.

"Avni kaha hai?" Ahaana asked.

"Kitchen mein hai." Shwetha replied.

"Main uski help karti hu." Ahaana went to the kitchen.

"Aunty, Neil ka gussa kuch thanda hua kya?" Vidyut asked.

"Nahi beta. Wo toh ek hi zidd pakadke betha hai." Shwetha informed.

"Yeh Neil bhi na. Hume kuch karna hoga, warna pata nahi Neil aage kya karega. Yeh Misti ka bhi ghar hai." Vidyut sighed.

"Hum sab toh thak gaye hai usse samjhate samjhate. Ab toh Avni ne bhi usse baat karna chhod diya. Pata nahi kiski nazar lag gayi hai iss ghar ko." Shwetha commented as she placed the dining mats on the table.

"Aap chinta mat karo. Iss dinner ke baat mein Neil se baat karta hu." He reassured her.

"Kya baat karni hai mujhse?" Neil came up behind them and heard them talking about him.

To say that the family was walking on eggshells with Neil would be an understatement. It had been a week since Neela had taken Misti with her and the entire family was hell bent on making Neil realize how wrong it is to forcibly make her go away from her own house. But he just refused to listen altogether. Even Avni had tried a couple of times after to sort the issue between them, however, paying heed to Neil's warning, Misti kept her distance from Avni and barely talked to her.

The bell rang again and distracted Neil from Vidyut and Swetha's conversation. But as soon as the he opened the door, his anger came rushing back. There stood a nervous Misti behind Neela staring at her toes. Seeing the anger in Neil's eyes, Neela glared at him.

"Don't." She warned, and his eyes softened, looking at his mother-in-law. Holding Misti's hand, Neela pulled her to her side and walked inside, holding her head high and completely ignoring Neil.

Neil shook his head and shut the door, meeting the family in the living room. As soon as he entered, he rolled his eyes as everyone fawned over Misti. Yuvraj literally crushed her with his hug as commanded her to not leave him with the boring adults. She awkwardly shifted on her feet, unsure of what to say. Avni rushed to her side, asking her about school, if she was eating properly, and just her health in general. Neil watched Avni's face fall as Misti pull away from her move towards Neil. Briefly looking up guiltily, she dropped her gaze as soon as she met her father's. The fear in his daughter's eyes for him absolutely crushed him, but it was necessary.

Ignoring everyone else, Neil walked to the corner and answer a few emails while waiting for other guests to arrive. A harsh slap on his back diverted his attention.

"How are you doing?" Vidyut asked, holding two glasses of Pepsi and handing him one.

Taking the glass from him, he took a sip. "My wife and mother-in-law hate me, my only daughter is scared of me, and my family is treating me like an outsider. So yeah, I am doing great." Neil listed with sarcasm.

"To be honest, you deserve it." Vidyut shrugged when Neil narrowed his eyes at him. "She is a kid, Neil. It's what they do. They make mistakes."

"A mistake that might've cost us our lives. Avni was injured. Yuvraj is recovering from the trauma he experienced, and she involved Siddarth too who was my responsibility." Neil stated.

"She was there too, Neil. You ever imagine the trauma she might've been through. After everything, she might've thought that she was home safe, back in her father's protection. But you? You pushed her away, threw her out, placed boundaries on her? Look, I don't know much about kids but this is not parenting. This is torture. You were angry and wanted to prove a point, but you are stretching it now. Stop this before it ruins what you have with your family." Vidyut pointed out and then left him with his thoughts.