74. HOSPITAL
AAROHI
It has been six days. Six long, silent, suffocating days. The hospital room feels smaller with each passing hour.
The white walls, the steady beeping of machines, the faint smell of antiseptic it all presses in on me, like something I cannot escape. I sit on the bed, knees drawn slightly inward, fingers tangled in the bedsheet. The IV needle is still in my hand.
But I barely feel it anymore. Because my mind, My mind hasn't been here for days.
It's been with him. Every moment. Every word.
Every look. Every silence. I close my eyes slowly.
And I see it again. That moment. Those papers.
His signature already there. My breath shakes.
"I didn't even let him finish..." The realization doesn't come suddenly.
It has been building. Slowly. Painfully. Over these six days. At first, I was angry. No, Not angry. Broken. Shattered. Like everything I believed in just... disappeared. But then His words. His voice. His eyes. That day in the hospital. They didn't leave me.
"I didn't want the divorce..."
"I told them to cancel it..."
"I love you..."
I press my palms against my eyes tightly.
Tears slip out anyway. "I didn't listen.
.." Not even once. Not properly. Not calmly.
I didn't give him a chance. Not even a single real chance to explain.
My hand slowly moves to my stomach. A soft, instinctive touch.
My babies. Our babies. "He changed..." I whisper.
And this time It doesn't feel like a doubt. It feels like truth.
I remember everything. The way he started caring.
The way he watched over me. The way he fed me.
Fought with me. Laughed with me. Stayed awake for me.
The way he held me Like I mattered. Like I was his world.
A tear rolls down my cheek. "He wouldn't leave me.
.." Not like that. Not after this. Not after. .. everything.
"I was wrong..." The words come out broken. Heavy. Filled with regret. "I was so wrong..." My chest tightens painfully. Because now Now that I understand He's not here. I don't know where he is. I don't know what he's doing. I don't know if he's okay. And that unknown It's terrifying.
My thoughts are interrupted by the vibration of my phone beside me. I freeze. Slowly turning my head. The screen lights up. One name. Maa.My breath catches. His mother. For a second I don't move. My fingers don't reach for the phone. Because fear Fear grips me instantly.
"What if..." My throat goes dry. "What if something happened..." I shake my head slightly. "No... no..." But the fear doesn't go away. It only grows.
The phone keeps ringing. Louder. More urgent. With trembling hands, I finally pick it up. My fingers hesitate for a second. Then I answer. "Hello..." My voice is barely there.
On the other side There's no greeting. No calm voice. Just crying. "Maa...?" My heart starts pounding. "What happened?" Her sobs only grow louder. "Aarohi beta..." Her voice breaks completely.
My grip on the phone tightens. "Maa please... tell me... what happened?" My voice shakes uncontrollably now. "Veeransh..." My breath stops. "...he didn't come home..." Her words come in broken pieces. "...for a week..." My mind goes blank. Completely blank.
"And... last night..." Her crying turns uncontrollable.
"...his accident..." The world around me freezes.
"...with a truck..." My hand goes numb.
The phone almost slips. "...he's in the hospital.
.." I stop breathing. "...ICU..." The phone falls from my hand.
Hits the floor. A dull sound. But I don't hear it.
"Veeransh..." The name tears out of my throat. Not a word. A scream. Everything spins. The room. The walls. The air. A nurse rushes toward me. "Ma'am, calm down—"
"I have to go..." My voice is panicked. Broken. "I have to go!" I pull the IV out of my hand. The needle comes out roughly. A sharp sting. Blood. "Ma'am what are you doing?!" "I have to go!" I don't listen. I don't stop. I don't think.
I run. Barefoot. Out of the room. Through the corridor. Ignoring every voice behind me. "Ma'am you can't!"
"Stop!"
I don't stop. Because there's only one thing in my head nowHim. Outside, the sunlight hits my eyes harshly. But I don't slow down. I look around desperately. "Taxi!" My voice cracks.
One stops. I get inside immediately. "City Hospital.
.. fast... please..." The driver looks at me once.
Sees my condition. And doesn't ask anything.
The car starts. And I sit there Hands shaking.
Breathing uneven. Heart racing like it might burst. "Nothing will happen to him.
.." I whisper. Over and over. Like a prayer.
"Nothing will happen..." But my tears don't stop. When the car finally stops I don't wait. I get down and run inside. The hospital feels bigger. Colder. Scarier. "ICU... where is ICU?!" Someone points. I run again.
And then I see them. His mother. Suhana. Standing outside. Crying. "Maa..." My voice breaks completely. They look up. And the moment they see me They rush forward. We collide into each other. Holding tightly. Crying. "Aarohi beta..." His mother's voice trembles.
"I want to see him..." I say immediately. Desperately. "Where is he?" She points toward the ICU room. I walk toward it. Slowly now. My legs feel weak. Heavy. And then Through the glass I see him.
Lying there. Still. Bandage around his head. Oxygen mask covering his face. IV lines attached. Machines around him. My breath shatters. "No..." A whisper. Broken.
"This can't..." He looks... So lifeless. So far. "Veeransh..." My hand lifts slightly toward the glass. But doesn't touch it. A doctor walks toward us. "We need to operate immediately." I turn toward him instantly. My heart pounding. "He has lost a lot of blood."
Everything inside me freezes again. "We cannot say anything yet..."
"No..." I shake my head. "No... please..." "After the operation, we'll know more." They start moving him. Taking the bed toward the operation theatre. "No wait..." I step forward. Tears blurring everything.
"Veeransh..." My voice breaks again. But he doesn't respond. Doesn't move. The doors close. And he disappears inside. I stand there. Frozen. Empty. Broken. My hands fold together automatically. Trembling. "Please..." I whisper. To no one. To everyone. "Please save him..."
"I was wrong..." My voice shakes uncontrollably. "He told me the truth..." , "And I didn't believe him..." Tears fall endlessly now. "This is my fault..." His mother holds my shoulders. "Beta... don't blame yourself..."
But I shake my head. "No..." "If something happens to him..." My voice breaks completely. "I won't be able to live..." Time passes. But it doesn't feel like time. It feels like punishment.
I don't sit. I don't drink water. I don't eat. I just stand there. Looking at the closed doors. Waiting. Praying. Breaking.
Because inside Is my husband. And this time I don't want to lose him. Not like this. Not after finally understanding him. Not after finally... loving him the right way.