Arnav held on to her hand tightly as they wheeled the stretcher into the hospital. He held on to her, like it was the only thing which bound him to the world. He felt as if he would fade away into nothingness if he ever let go of her. He looked at her beautiful face, so calm, it seemed as if she were merely asleep. Like she would wake up any moment, open her eyes to look up at him and smile that angelic smile of hers. Her smile could heal everything, he thought. No matter how much pain he was in, her smile always made him feel like he'd come home.
"Please wait outside, all of you" the doctor said, stopping Arnav and the others from entering the operation theatre. Arnav clutched the doctor's hands.
"Do everything you have to" he said, his voice trembling "anything. But please don't let her leave me. Don't let her d-" he gulped, fear gripping his heart at the very thought of uttering that word aloud. "Make her come back, doctor. Please..."
The doctor nodded and patted his hand sadly. He felt sorry for this man. He could see it in his eyes how much this woman mattered to him. He could see that this man actually loved her. That true love, which people think doesn't exist in the real world, existed here. Right in front of him. Their love encouraged him. Inspired him to make sure he did everything he could, to make the girl live.
"Please wait while we carry on with the operation" Dr. Verma said "this might take a while as we don't know how deep the bullet penetrated or whether it hit her spinal cord or not. But please don't loose hope. Have faith. im sure everything's going to be fine".
The agony of waiting helplessly, doing nothing, tore Arnav apart. Guilt burnt him inside out. He strode to and fro continuously, not having the courage to sit down. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find his Di looking at him with tears in her eyes.
"Di? Are you all right? How's the hand?" he asked her, looking at her now bandaged hand, which had recieved a huge cut when Shyam had thrown her onto the floor. Not saying a word, his Di hugged him. She hugged him with all her warmth, affection and love. She hugged him like she used to years ago, when he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, calling out to his mother. She hugged him like a mother would hug her son.
"Im so sorry, Chhote. Im so, so sorry. I should have listened to you. I should have known that you would never do anything to hurt me purposely. I should have trusted you. But i didn't. I was blinded by love. Love for a man who was an animal. He didn't have a heart. I chose him over YOU, chhote. Look what its got us into. He was about to shoot you, chhote! He shot khushiji!" she sobbed hard, regretting every single word she'd said to her beloved brother for trying to take away taht vile creature from her life.
"This is what you get if you don't trust the people who love you the most", she thought.
"Di. Please stop. Don't say all this. You were wrong then, i won't deny it. But you've accepted ur mistake now and you're here. With me. And that's all that matters. Just promise me you'll never abandon your chhote again"
Anjali nodded. "I promise. I swear on our mother, chhote. i wil never, ever leave you again."
"Bhai?" said Akash, who had just arrived.
"What happened?"Arnav asked "Did they catch him? I'm going to the police station NOW. MAIN USE ZINDA NAHI CHODUNGA!" he screamed.
"Bhai, stop!" Akash said, almost fighting to stop Arnav from thundering out of the hospital. "They caught him, bhai. Our men had to chase him for quite a while before his car broke down and they finally caught him. he's safely behind the bars now. But now is not the time for you to go there. You should be here. Please, bhai." Akash said, frantically trying to calm his brother down.
Arnav clenched his fists in anger. He didn't know what to do. He wouldn't leave him alive. He would rip him apart, limb by limb, making him suffer the way he's made all of them suffer. Especially khushi. Khushi. Her name was like a gust of cool wind to his flaming mind and soul, soothing him, comforting him, healing him. His khushi. The only one who could make him smile and the only one who ever would. Without her, Arnav Singh Raizada couldn't exist anymore. Akash was right. He'd deal with the world later. Khushi needed him now. And he would be there for her this time. Always.
The next three hours seemed like an eternity to him. He wasn't even sure he'd taken in a proper breath since the operation started. All he could do was pray. Yes. For the first time in his life, the mighty ASR prayed. He prayed to God to give his life back. Khushi was his life and if there was a God somewhere up there, He would never take her away from him. He might not be a believer, but she was. And her God would never break her trust. And Arnav was ready to put his faith in that trust. Khushi considered devi maiyya to be her best friend, right? Best friends don't desert people when they need them the most. And Khushi needed her friend now. And he knew it'd be all right.
Nani came to sit beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Chhote?" she said. Arnav looked up into her tired, old eyes which were now filled with concern and lover for her grandchildren. "What went wrong, chhote?" she asked him. Arnav sighed. He knew he had to explain everything this time. He looked at where Khushi's family sat together, all of them shedding silet tears for their beloved daughter. He saw the woman who was responsible for his mother's death, sitting right in front of him. But strangely, he didn't feel any anger. Or maybe there was nothing left for him to feel right now.
"Dadi came to my room before the wedding" he started. Nani looked confused.
"Sumi?" she asked "why? And speaking of her, where is she? I haven't seen her since we came here".
"She won't be coming back, Nani".
"What do you mean, chhote?"
"I sent her back to her ashram. We were fine without her for so long. We were happy. And then she came back and took away our happiness. I will not let anyone do that to my family, Nani. No matter who that person is, I won't allow them to shatter our lives".
"Chotte-" nani said, but Arnav didn't let her speak.
"She came to me and told me about the woman responsible for mamma's death, Nani. She told me everything. She'd known the truth for so long, but she chose to tell me today. On my wedding day. She never wanted this marriage to happen, Nani. Everything she said, those kangans, her blessings- everything was a lie. The truth tore me apart, Nani. But what shattered me, was Dadi's intentions. She was so caught up in her revenge plans that she forgot about me. She forgot about all of us".
"Chhote, who- who was the woman?" Nani asked, her voice shaking. She remembered that fateful night, when her whole family had been broken apart. All these years she had tried hard to keep everyone together, but those memories still haunted them. Every day.
"It doesn't matter, Nani" Arnav replied. She looked at him, shocked that he, of all people, would say such a thing. "Yes, Nani. It doesn't matter. Not right now". Nani nodded, understanding his pain. He was right. The truth didn't need to come out now. All that mattered at the moment, was Khush
"Mr. Raizada?" called the doctor, who had just emerged from the OT. Everyone had been so caught up in their own thoughts, that no one had noticed him. But now they all gathered around him.
"What is it doctor?" Payal asked, desperate to know how her little sister was. Everyone could see Arnav's pain. But no one knew what Payal was going through.
Arnav pushed his way through everyone, to stand in front of the doctor. "What is it, doctor?" he asked "Do you need anything? More blood? Medicines? Anything? You name it and it'll be here. I can-"
"No, no, Mr. Raizada" Dr. Verma stopped him. "Im here to tell you that we have managed to extract the bullet from her body. But we suspect that there might be some complications in her case. The bullet damaged certain nerves and we really cannot say anything until and unless she regains conciousness". He patted Arnav's shoulder on seeing his shattered expression. "Don't worry, Mr. Raizada. Everything is going to be fine". He then turned to Payal.
"excuse me?" he asked her "are you the patient's sister?". Payal nodded. The doctor motioned her to follow him.
"What is it, doctor?" she asked, afraid of what he might say. Dr. Verma made sure they were well out of earshot of the others.
"Im sorry, this is not something I could've said in front of him" he said, gesturing towards where Arnav sat, his head leaned back against the wall, eyes raised heavenwards, as if thanking somebody high above.
"What is it?"
"Its about khushi. This is a complicated case, Mrs. raizada. And im not sure whats going to happen next".
"What do you mean, doctor?" Payal asked, forcing herslf to be strong. She needed to stay calm. it wouldn't help if she broke down. Her amma, babuji and buaji needed her.
"Ok. I will make this short. We are going to keep her under observation for 10 hours. If she doesn't regain conciousness by then, im afraid Mrs. Khushi Raizada might slip into coma. Or worse, die".
The sound of glass shattering made both of them look up. And it wasn't a pleasant sight. Arnav swayed where her stood. He'd been going to get a glass of water for Di when he'd heard the doctor say those words. "She might slip into coma. or worse, die". His world spun. He reached out for something to hold on to, but came up with nothing. He was vaguely aware of someone calling out his name before the darkness engulfed him.
okay i know what you must be thinking... kabhi khushi ko goli lagti hai, kabhi asr behosh ho jata hai...😕 but l promise you... this is NOT a sad SS!!!! Just gimme some time to even out the situation and then there'll be lots of fun...😊
PLEASE don't forget to leave your comments... its really very encouraging to read all your views... also it helps me decide the track...😃 Anyone who wants a pm, buddy me... until next time, then!!!😊
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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