Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
VIREN
I threw on my clothes and stayed out on the balcony, staring out into the darkness of the ocean.
Sunaina was crazy! She couldn’t just issue an ultimatum like that.
Accept you love me, otherwise, divorce me.
What nonsense! I had no intention of doing either. Wait…what was I saying? Of course, I was going to divorce her because our wedding contract had an expiry date set out in very clear terms. Why was I even considering otherwise?
Strange, but when we drew up the contract, there was no clause suggesting what to do if we both wanted to stay married. Neither Sunaina nor I ever anticipated that possibility. But now, it was all I could think about.
Was she right? Was I…was I falling in love with my wife? And why did that possibility not terrify me as much as it should? It was the last thing I ever wanted, and yet, I was beginning to warm to the idea. Slightly. Only a little. I mean, I wasn’t head-over-heels in love or anything ridiculous like that.
Fine! I was willing to admit the possibility that I was maybe…a little in love with my wife. But only within the acceptable standards of sanity. Nothing too outrageous. Like I loved Sufi. Only with a lot of sexual attraction thrown in. There! I had found a decent middle ground that gave us both what we wanted without compromising everything I believed in. I hoped that was enough for Sunaina because this no-sex rule was proving to be very difficult, even for one night.
I craved Sunaina like an addict craved his next fix.
Fuck it! Why was I still here? I could just go home and tell her I loved her - within reason - and get on with the best part of the evening.
I raced to the door and threw it open, only to find Sufi standing on the other side, his hand raised to knock. But that wasn’t what worried me. It was the look in his eyes - shocked, and absolutely ravaged.
A cold hand clutched at my heart because I had seen that look many times before. I knew what it meant.
“Sue…” he began, licking his dry lips before he could get the words out.
My head began to reel and I thought I was about to pass out.
“Sue just had an accident, Mr C. She’s in hospital,” he said, his voice choked with tears.
A guttural cry rose out of my chest and rent the air.
And my last coherent thought before we raced to Sunaina’s side was that I was about to lose the only woman I had ever loved. And I was such a bastard that I hadn’t even told her how much I loved her.
W e rushed into the ER and found a team of doctors waiting to brief us. The Chief Medical Officer, the chairman of the board, and the heads of almost all the departments were in attendance and were clamouring to talk all at once, but I had only one question for all of them.
“Where is my wife?” I roared.
They led me to her bay immediately, and my heart almost gave out at the sight of my beautiful Sunaina lying in that bed, covered in blood, with all those tubes connected to her.
“How is she doing?” I asked, keeping an eye on the monitor, hoping the steady beeps from all the machines meant she was still with us.
They briefed me as best as they could.
“It’s still too early to tell, Mr Chaudhry. She has a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, and a possible head injury. We’re checking to see if there’s any internal damage. As soon as she’s haemodynamically stable, we will take her into the OT.”
“What does mean?” I asked hoarsely. These were just words. They didn’t tell me if Sunaina would make it.
“She’s lost a lot of blood. We need to fix that before we begin to operate on her,” the surgeon explained in simple terms.
I thanked him and allowed Sufi to lead me out to the waiting room where I found Daima waiting for me. She looked as if she had aged ten years all of a sudden.
“How did this happen, beta?” she asked, bursting into tears after I briefed her on Sunaiana’s condition.
I let out a bitter laugh.
“All I can say is that I am cursed, Daima. I’m cursed never to have love in my life.”
“Don’t say that,” she said sharply. “Sunaina is still alive, isn’t she? My girl is a fighter, Viren. She will hold on. For your sake, if not for ours.”
“Boss, there’s some bad news,” said Sufi, who had been speaking to one of the doctors. “The chauffeur who was driving Sue’s car, Ramesh, just succumbed to his injuries.”
I closed my eyes in despair.
Would the tally of losses in my life never end? What kind of curse was this? Poor Ramesh had been serving our family for over forty years. He would be missed.
“Sufi, make it clear to his family that he was blameless in this accident. You know how the media likes to twist things around. And pay all his hospital and funeral costs. We’ll figure out a hefty settlement for his family after Sunaina’s surgery.”
F our hours later, we were still in the waiting room. Sunaina had been in surgery for over two hours, and it was going to take a lot longer before they could bring her out.
I sent Daima home with Sufi because she needed to be there when Aisha woke up to break the news to her.
“Get some rest, Mr Chaudhry,” said a nurse sympathetically as she brought me a cup of coffee. “She’s going to be in surgery for a few more hours.”
I leaned back in my seat and shut my eyes because when they were open, all I could see was Sunaina’s expression when I told her I could never love her.
I tried a few boxed breathing techniques Aisha’s therapist had taught her over the years, but as soon as I tried to relax, my brain suddenly threw up a flash of memory from the past. It was quite hazy, which meant it was really old. I remembered Daima coming into my bedroom with tears rolling down her face as she explained to me that my parents had gone to heaven. And that they were never coming back.
I don’t remember ever having cried for them as a child because Daima had replaced my mother long before her death, and my father was more of an authority figure than a friend. But now my eyes welled up. Not in their memory but for the little boy who had just lost his parents.
I jerked open my eyelids and forced back the tears just in time, for Sunaina’s friend, Dhruv, came marching up to me, dressed in scrubs.
“Viren, I just heard about Sunaina’s accident as soon as I came out of another emergency surgery twenty minutes ago. I’ve spoken to her surgeons, and trust me, Sunaina is in good hands. I’m going into the OT now to observe her surgery from the viewing area, and I’ll keep you posted every thirty minutes. All right?”
I barely had the courage to nod. He clapped me on the shoulder and raced back the same way he’d come.
Sufi returned with another cup of coffee, and I downed it like medicine because I needed the caffeine right now.
“Her boy toy is going into the OT to keep an eye on her,” I said numbly.
Sufi gripped my shoulder in sympathy.
“She’s going to be fine, boss. You know that,” he said bracingly. As if he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me.
“Any news about Ramesh’s funeral? And the truck that hit them? Did the police find it?”
“Ramesh’s funeral will be held in the morning around ten,” said Sufi.
“I’ll be there,” I promised.
“Boss, you need to stay here with Sue. I will go on your behalf,” he argued, but I shook my head.
“I have to go, Sufi. I owe him the courtesy of attending his funeral after everything he’s done for us.”
“All right, boss. As for the truck, cops stopped it halfway across the city after multiple bystanders called the police helpline to complain about the incident. The driver is in custody.”
I managed a nod and kept my eyes on the double doors in front of me. What did I even expect? That Sunaina was somehow going to walk out through the door?
“Why don’t you close your eyes for an hour while I keep watch? And then we can switch,” suggested Sufi.
I didn’t bother telling him that I couldn’t sleep until I knew she was fine because I owed it to him to try to get some rest. If I didn’t rest, he wouldn’t rest either, and we both needed to be alert tomorrow.
Again, I tried the same boxed breathing, and again, the same thing happened. Only this time, instead of my parents, I got a call about Deven and Disha. In my mind’s eye, I saw how I had identified their mangled bodies. And how I’d had to wake up little Aisha and tell her what had happened. And the aftermath. My body jolted at the memory of holding her as she screamed in terror every night for almost two months after her parents died. Again, tears welled up in my eyes. For Aisha, this time. And for Deven and Disha who would never get to see her grow into a beautiful woman who was the best mix of both her parents.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I gave up on rest and opened my eyes to find Sufi weeping silently. I put my arm around him and held him as he cried.
“I know, Sufi Singh,” I whispered. “I know.”
He shed the tears I just couldn’t right now. Because crying for Sunaina meant I was giving up on her. And that I would never do. I would sit here and pray to a god I didn’t even believe in to save the woman I loved. I’ll do anything you ask , I chanted silently. Just let her live.
Three hours later, the team of surgeons came out looking as exhausted as we felt.
“The surgery went well,” said Dhruv, speaking for them. “We’re optimistic about the results, even though it’s too soon to say anything. She will be under observation in the recovery room for the next few hours before we move her to the ICU. God willing, we should be able to move her there by evening.”
I sent up a short prayer of thanks and thanked them all.
It was already eight in the morning, and by Dhruv’s estimate, they would move her to the ICU around 4 pm.
“I need to attend a funeral this morning, Dhruv,” I said worriedly. “The chauffeur who was driving her died on the spot, and he’s being cremated in a couple of hours. Will Sunaina be okay if I go to the funeral? I don’t want to leave her, but I have to do my duty by Ramesh.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll stay with her while you attend the funeral.”
“Thanks, man,” I said gratefully and went home for a quick change of clothes before the funeral.
Ramesh’s family was understandably heartbroken. I spent some time assuring them of all my help before they began his last rites. As I stood by the burning pyre, I started getting flashes again. But instead of the past, I kept seeing Sunaina lying under the logs instead of Ramesh.
The first time it happened, I almost jumped on the pyre to save her from the flames before I came to my senses. But it happened again and again until I could take it no more. I paid my respects to Ramesh and left the crematorium, my eyes burning with unshed tears. For Sunaina.
They allowed me to go into the ICU and see her for five minutes that night, even though she was still heavily sedated. She was still connected to all the tubes and was heavily bandaged, but I could see more life in her unmoving form.
As I stared down at her, I ran a finger gently over her hand and made a silent promise to her. She was in this state because of me. Because of my cursed life. I was going to free her from this curse, even if it was the last thing I ever did.