CHAPTER53 [SHE SAVED HIM]
Aarohi changed into the sterile hospital attire.
She wore dark blue surgical scrubs.
A disposable surgical cap covered her hair.
A surgical mask covered half of her face.
Sterile gloves covered her hands.
And over everything, she wore a sterile surgical gown.
From outside she looked like every other surgeon.
Calm.
Focused.
Professional.
But inside...
She was falling apart.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The operation theatre doors opened.
Aarohi walked inside.
Bright white lights illuminated the entire room.
Monitors continuously beeped.
Doctors and nurses stood in their positions.
And in the middle of the room...
Vihaan lay on the operation table.
Motionless.
His eyes closed.
An oxygen tube attached to him.
Bandages stained with blood.
Machines breathing along with him.
For a moment...
Aarohi forgot everything.
The surgery.
The doctors.
The operation theatre.
Everything.
Because this wasn't the Vihaan she had left one year ago.
The Vihaan she knew always looked strong.
Fearless.
Unbreakable.
But the man lying in front of her...
Looked broken.
His face had become pale.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
His cheeks looked slightly hollow.
As if he hadn't slept properly for months.
As if life itself had left him tired.
Aarohi just stood there.
Unable to move.
Unable to breathe.
Without realizing it, she slowly walked towards him.
One step.
Then another.
And another.
Until she was standing right beside him.
So close that she could hear the faint sounds of the machines keeping him alive.
Her eyes never left his face.
Suddenly...
A tear slipped from her eye.
She didn't stop it.
Didn't wipe it away.
She simply let it fall.
The tear landed on the bed beside him.
"Dr. Aarohi?"
A doctor's voice brought her back.
She blinked.
As if waking up from a dream.
For a second she looked around.
Everyone was waiting for her instructions.
She took a deep breath.
Then another.
She closed her eyes.
And when she opened them again...
Dr. Aarohi Mehra was back.
The world's best heart surgeon.
Her face became calm.
Professional.
Emotionless.
She looked at the monitors.
"Vitals?"
The anesthesiologist answered immediately.
"Blood pressure dropping intermittently. Pulse weak. Oxygen saturation stable."
Aarohi nodded.
She looked at the scans again.
"Scalpel."
A nurse immediately placed the surgical scalpel in her hand.
"Forceps."
"Ready, Doctor."
"Suction ready?"
"Ready."
"Emergency medications?"
"Prepared."
"Blood units?"
"On standby."
She nodded once.
Then looked at everyone.
"Let's start."
Silence filled the operation theatre.
Nobody moved.
Nobody blinked.
Because they all knew one thing.
This surgery was going to decide whether Vihaan lived...
Or died.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The first incision was made.
The operation theatre became completely silent except for the sound of machines.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Sweat formed on everyone's foreheads.
Aarohi remained focused.
"Retractor."
A doctor handed it to her.
"Suction."
The nurse quickly complied.
She carefully continued.
Every movement precise.
Every decision calculated.
Nobody could believe it.
The woman who herself was injured...
Was performing one of the most complicated surgeries of her life.
Then suddenly-
"Doctor, BP is dropping."
Everyone looked at the monitor.
The numbers were falling.
"Blood pressure eighty over fifty."
Aarohi didn't panic.
"Increase fluids."
"Done."
"Prepare one unit of blood."
"Ready."
"Continue."
Minutes passed.
Then-
"Doctor..."
A nurse's voice shook.
"The fragment is visible."
Everyone looked.
There it was.
The bullet fragment.
Dangerously close to the heart.
One wrong movement.
And everything would end.
The entire room became tense.
Nobody dared breathe loudly.
Aarohi stared at it.
Then at Vihaan.
Then again at the fragment.
Her fingers tightened around the instrument.
She knew.
One mistake...
And she would lose him forever.
A doctor beside her whispered,
"Dr. Aarohi... we should slow down."
She took a deep breath.
Then said calmly,
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Her eyes never left the heart monitor.
"We don't have that luxury."
She carefully adjusted her position.
"Forceps."
A nurse immediately handed it to her.
"Everyone stay absolutely still."
Nobody moved.
Not even slightly.
The entire operation theatre seemed to stop breathing.
Then slowly...
Very slowly...
Aarohi moved the instrument.
Her entire concentration focused on one point.
Another millimeter.
Then another.
And finally...
She removed the fragment.
Everyone released their breath.
But before relief could settle-
BEEEEEEEEEP.
The monitor went flat.
Everything stopped.
A nurse gasped.
"Doctor...!"
Someone dropped an instrument.
The entire operation theatre froze.
And Aarohi...
Simply looked at the monitor.
Then at Vihaan.
For the first time...
Fear appeared in her eyes.
"No..."
She whispered.
Her hands didn't trembled even slightly.
Then she closed her eyes.
One deep breath.
When she opened them again-
The surgeon was back.
"Start CPR."
"Adrenaline ready."
"Charge the defibrillator."
"Charging!"
"Clear."
Shock.
Nothing.
"Again."
Shock.
Nothing.
"Again!"
Shock.
Silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Then-
Beep.
Another beep.
And another.
The heartbeat returned.
The entire operation theatre exhaled together.
A nurse almost started crying.
A doctor smiled in relief.
And Aarohi...
Simply closed her eyes for one second.
One tiny second.
As if thanking God.
Then she opened them.
Looked at Vihaan.
The monitor continued to beep steadily.
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
Vihaan's breathing slowly became stable.
The oxygen levels improved.
The doctors finally relaxed.
Aarohi looked at the monitor for a few seconds.
Her shoulders, which had been stiff the entire time, finally loosened.
It felt as if she herself had started breathing again.
One of the doctors smiled.
"He's stable now, Dr. Aarohi."
Aarohi simply nodded.
But deep inside...
She felt like she had gotten her heartbeat back.
She looked at Vihaan one last time.
He was still unconscious.
His face looked peaceful now.
As if he were just sleeping.
She stared at him for a few seconds.
Then quietly turned around.
"Shift him to the ICU."
"Yes, Doctor."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The operation theatre doors opened.
Everyone immediately stood up.
Anjali's hands were trembling.
Mr. Singhania's eyes were red.
Karan looked equally nervous.
As soon as they saw Aarohi coming out, they rushed towards her.
Aarohi removed her mask.
Her face looked pale.
There was exhaustion in her eyes.
But she still managed to speak.
"Don't worry."
Everyone looked at her hopefully.
"The operation was successful."
For a second...
Nobody reacted.
As if they couldn't believe it.
Then she continued softly.
"He'll regain consciousness after some time."
The next moment...
Anjali broke down.
Tears streamed down her face.
Before Aarohi could understand anything...
Anjali hugged her tightly.
Aarohi froze.
"Thank you, beta..."
Anjali cried.
"I don't know kaise tumhara shukriya ada karu."
(I don't know how to thank you.)
"I know mere bete ne bohot galtiyan ki hain..."
(I know my son has made many mistakes.)
"But you still saved him."
She cried even harder.
"Thank you, beta... thank you so much."
Aarohi didn't say anything.
She simply stood there.
Because after years...
Someone had hugged her like a mother.
Slowly...
She raised her hand and lightly held Anjali's back.
Her own eyes became moist.
After a few moments, Anjali pulled away.
Mr. Singhania stepped forward.
He looked at Aarohi for a long time.
Then he slowly placed his hand on her head.
The same way a father blesses his daughter.
"We are proud of you, beta."
Aarohi looked at him.
"You are truly extraordinary."
Her eyes immediately lowered.
Because...
The word beta still affected her.
Karan also stepped forward.
He looked guilty.
"I'm sorry, Aarohi."
She looked at him.
"I doubted your capability."
"I shouldn't have."
Aarohi shook her head slightly.
"It's okay."
"No," Karan said.
"It's not okay."
"I forgot that before being someone's wife... you're Dr. Aarohi ."
"The doctor who has saved countless lives."
Aarohi gave him a faint smile.
Then suddenly...
Her vision blurred.
She blinked.
Everything looked hazy.
Her head started spinning.
The pain from her injury was increasing.
She slowly pressed her fingers against her temple.
Everyone noticed.
"Aarohi? Are you okay?" Karan asked worriedly.
She immediately removed her hand.
"Yeah..."
She forced a smile.
"I'm fine."
Then she looked at everyone.
"I'll just check the files."
Nobody suspected anything.
She turned around and quietly walked away.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
She kept walking.
Past the ICU.
Past the reception.
Past the corridor.
Until she finally reached outside the hospital.
There was a small playground nearby.
A few swings.
A slide.
A couple of benches.
The place was almost empty.
A cool breeze passed by.
Aarohi slowly sat on one of the benches.
And for the first time since reaching India...
She was completely alone.
She looked at her hands.
They were still trembling.
A few moments later...
Her eyes filled with tears.
She whispered to herself,
"Kyu...?"
(Why?)
"Kyu aaj bhi main usse itna pyar karti hoon?"
(Why do I still love him so much?)
Her voice cracked.
"Kyu usse takleef mein dekhkar main khud ko rok nahi paayi?"
(Why couldn't I stop myself after seeing him in pain?)
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Kyu main yahan bhaagi chali aayi?"
(Why did I come running here?)
She laughed bitterly.
"He broke me..."
"He destroyed me..."
"He took away my reason to live..."
Another tear fell.
"Phir bhi..."
(Still...)
"Phir bhi main uske paas bhaag kar aa gayi."
(Still I came running back to him.)
She covered her face with her hands.
A sob escaped her lips.
"Pure ek saal..."
(An entire year...)
"Ek saal main usse door rahi."
(I stayed away from him for one whole year.)
"Maine khud ko kaam mein dubo diya..."
(I buried myself in work.)
"Maine khud ko majboor kiya usse bhoolne ke liye..."
(I forced myself to forget him.)
"Par main usse bhool hi nahi paayi..."
(But I couldn't forget him.)
Her shoulders started shaking.
"Kyu, Aarohi?"
(Why, Aarohi?)
"Kyu tune usse itna chaha?"
(Why did you love him so much?)
She looked at the sky.
As if asking God for answers.
"Tujhe uski halat dekhi kyu nahi gayi?"
(Why couldn't you bear seeing his condition?)
"Khud ko dekh..."
(Look at yourself.)
"Tera kitna blood loss hua."
(You lost so much blood.)
"Tujhe khud khade rehne ki taqat nahi hai..."
(You don't even have the strength to stand.)
"Phir bhi tu nahi ruki."
(Still you didn't stop.)
She closed her eyes.
And finally admitted the truth she had been running from for an entire year.
Because no matter how much she hated him...
No matter how broken she was...
No matter how far she ran...
A part of her heart...
Still belonged to Vihaan Singhania.
Wait for next part......
Hope you like it....??