Chapter 74: chapter 74

Nidhi came back home and rested for the whole day, and next evening she decided to go shopping to buy something for her mother and grandmother..When she was selecting sarees ,she heard someone calling her name..The voice seemed to be familiar and when she turned around she saw Kabir's mom standing along with a cute 5 year old girl with two cute  pig tails.. she has   big black eyes and a cute chubby face.. she looked extremely adorable..how can she not recognize her, that's Avani.. Her heart felt content when she saw her.. Smile appeared on her lips and she walked forward towards Avani..But wait, will she recognize me.. I left her when she was just 3 years old..Kabir's mom caressed Nidhi's face and asked with a lot of motherly love," How are you Nidhi??"She always treated her as her own daughter.."I am good..  ", Nidhi replied..She was hesitating to call her mom because there was no relationship between her and Kabir. and if she calls her aunty she may feel bad..Kabir's mom understood her dilemma and said," You can call me Aunty if you are not comfortable calling me mom beta".."No mom, I will not call you aunty.. you have always treated me like a mom.. ", Nidhi spoke in a determined voice..Nidhi kneeled down and stroked Avani's hair. "Hi Avani ,you look so cute.. Can I kiss you?? ",she asked. "You can ", Avani replied..Nidhi lifted Avani in her arms and gave a kiss on her cheeks..Avani was staring at her continuously as if she was trying to remember something..She started stroking her finger on her cheeks in a habit to show she was thinking something..."What are you thinking, Avani??" ,Nidhi asked with a smile on her lips..I was thinking whether it's you whose photo is my dad's wallet..Nidhi's heart² skipped a beat when she heard her.A pale smile appeared on her lips, she slowly put her down, stroked her head and said," No Avani it must be your mom's photo not mine.. you are mistaken" "Avani ,shall we go and see your dress ?? "Kabir's mom tried to divert her seeing the awkwardness on Nidhi's face..Yes grandma,but you select all old fashioned dresses. I want trendy ones .. "cute aunty can you help me choose the dress ?? My birthday is this weekend and all my friends will laugh at me if I wear something  that grandma chooses. "Nidhi laughed at her words and said," of course sweetheart let's go.."Smile appeared on Kabir's mom's lips when she saw Avani holding Nidhi's hand and walking forward..she wished Nidhi to come back to her house and hold Avani's hand forever.. Avani didn't remember Nidhi as she was too small when she left, but Avani  felt very attached to her..It's very rare for her to talk with strangers but here she got attached to her at first glance..Nidhi selected a few dresses for Avani which Avani loved and later she selected all the accessories including matching shoes.Avani was too happy to shop with Nidhi..When they were  tired of shopping they walked towards the restaurant and had dinner..This is the first time Nidhi felt so happy after one and half years..While leaving ,Avani asked Nidhi to lift her , kissed Nidhi and said, "Aunty you should come to my birthday party without fail.. I will wait for you and will not cut the cake till you come.. Grandma ,quickly tell  cute aunty the address of the hotel dad booked for my birthday"..Kabir's mom told Nidhi the hotel name and said, " Nidhi, we will be happy if you attend the party.. we are not inviting any relatives and family friends..  so you need not to worry about people judging you..there will be only Avani's  school friends and their parents..Nidhi was speechless when she received the invitation.. How can she attend the party? If she goes there, she has to face Kabir and things get difficult after the events with Kabir a few days back..Nidhi  smiled forcefully and said," I will try".."Avani will be happy if you attend", Kabir's mom patted her shoulder and left the place with the little girl...Avani waved her hand to Nidhi, turning back again and again , she was reluctant to leave Nidhi..*****Kabir was waiting for her daughter in the living room.. He came early today and got to know from servants that his mom and Avani went out shopping..Kabir stood up when he heard the car sound and  came out..Avani ran into his arms when she saw her dad at the door..He lifted her in his arms and kissed her cheeks.. " So my little princess did a lot of shopping today" ,he said, seeing the shopping bags in the driver's hands."yes dad all because of the cute aunty""Cute aunty?? Who is she?? ", Kabir asked with a smile on his lips.."The one whose pic is in your wallet and whose photos are also in your phone", Avani said..Avani has seen Nidhi's pics in Kabir's phone while playing with it . Kabir's smile froze when he heard her..He looked at his mom and she nodded her head and said," yes it was Nidhi"..She took Avani from his arms and walked towards her room leaving Kabir dumbfounded..He was happy that Nidhi helped her daughter in shopping, at least she is not hating Avani because of him.He was happy about that..He took a deep breath and said" Thank you Nidhi"..Nidhi had mixed emotions in her heart after meeting Avani.. even though she didn't give birth to her she loved her like an own mother..Soon it was Avani's birthday.. Nidhi was in a dilemma. she was walking to and fro in her room unable to decide whether to go or not..Seeing her condition her mom asked ," What are you worried about Nidhi??" Nidhi didn't tell anything about meeting Avani and Kabir's mom to her mom.. she knew she would not like it.." Nothing mom, one friend invited me for a birthday party, just thinking whether to go or not? ."If she is important and if she feels happy if you go,then you should attend""Avani is  more than important to her."On the other hand Avani was dressed beautifully in the dress selected by Nidhi.. She is looking like a Barbie doll..All  her friends were coming  but her eyes were fixed on the entrance as if she was waiting for someone.." Princess , I think all your friends have arrived, shall we cut the cake??", Kabir asked.." Dad, can we wait for some more time, I am waiting for cute aunty"Kabir understood who she is referring to ,he  sighed,kneeled down,took Avani's hands in his and said," princess your aunty might be busy, let's not make  your friends  wait, they all are hungry" He tried to convince his daughter..Avani's face fell when she heard her dad.. When she was about to go on stage she heard the heels sound and turned around..Nidhi was walking slowly into the hall.."Cute aunty", Avani  shouted and rushed into Nidhi's arms..Nidhi smiled and lifted her in her arms, kissed her and said,"Happy birthday sweetheart"..She gave a kiss in  return and said," thank you cute aunty"..She got down from her arms and dragged Nidhi on to the stage to cut her cake." Nidhi finally gave up when she heard her heart.. she couldn't imagine Avani's disappointed face, she clearly remembered her saying she will wait for her and finally she is here"..Kabir's eyes were filled with joy and surprise when he saw her.. He never expected to see her here..when Kabir's mom saw Nidhi walking towards the stage she moved aside so that Avani could cut the cake with her parents.. and because of Avani it  happened exactly like she guessed..Kabir's mom walked towards the photographer and said," take as many pics as possible with three of them in one frame and try to capture Nidhi and Kabir alone"..Soon the cake cutting ended and all the children along with their parents started enjoying the food..Avani dragged Nidhi to one table and sat beside her. " cute  Aunty can you feed me?? ""Oh my!! definitely dear..",Nidhi started feeding Avani..Seeing the bond between mother and daughter Kabir captured the moment in his mobile without being noticed by Nidhi..He slowly walked towards their table sat beside Avani and said," Thank you  for coming, Avani waited for you"..Nidhi gave a faint smile and nodded.. she didn't look into his eyes.. but Kabir's eyes never left her for a second.Kabir didn't want to make things difficult for Nidhi so he didn't talk to her much.." Avani don't trouble your aunty, finish your food quickly" saying so he left from there and sat at a distant table and admired his wife and daughter from far..Soon the party ended .. Nidhi wished Avani once again and left the hotel..She drove the car by herself and on her  way back home her car stopped abruptly..She tried to start the car but it didn't start..She understood her car broke down and started booking the cab..Kabir's parents were in one car and Avani and Kabir were in another car on their way back home.When Kabir saw Nidhi's car on the road he asked his driver to  stop the  car and came out.."What happened ??", he asked ." Looks like the car broke down. I am booking the cab" ,she replied.."It's not safe to stand in the middle of the road at this time, it's already very late .. I will drop you home".."Cute aunty ,come come", Avani shouted..Nidhi too didn't want to risk standing on the road at this time so she agreed and walked towards his car and sat beside Avani in the back seat..Kabir didn't want to make her uncomfortable so he sat in the  copilot seat beside the driver..On the way, Avani felt sleepy and slept on Nidhi's lap..When the car reached the community, Kabir took  sleeping Avani from Nidhi's lap and his fingers touched her lap..She felt  current pass through her body.. and it was the same with kabir.But both of them didn't show it on their face and walked towards their respective houses