This is OS if for my PreRish AT members 🤗❤️
Title Credit WaqtZaya
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‘Mr Bajaj I am sorry but we can either save your wife or your child…’
The doctor’s words from a few minutes ago kept echoing in Rishabh’s head as he sat in the passage staring absentminded at the white ceiling. He closed his eyes and felt his tears rolling down his cheek as he recalled the events of the day
~~~~
*Same Morning*
Prerna was busy preparing breakfast for her husband when her phone started ringing, since it was an unknown number she avoided it once or twice but when she got a call from the same number for the third time she finally answered it, before she could speak she heard a hoarse voice from the other hand
‘Ghar se nikalne se pehle apne pati ke saath jitna waqt bitana hai bita lo, kyunki aaj shaam vo zinda laut ke nahi aayega..’
The line went dead even before Prerna could process those words. She almost felt her knees give up and clutched the end of the kitchen platform to support herself. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before she tried the same number again but since it was blocked number her calls were getting disconnected automatically
‘Hey Bhagwan.. Yeh kon tha jo Mr. Bajaj ke jaan leni ki dhamki de raha tha?’
Prerna spoke to herself as she walked to their room with his breakfast
‘Itna toh janti hun ki unhone apne past main bohut dushman banaye hain lekin kaise pata karun ki kon tha? Aisa bhi ho sakta hai ki kisi ne mazak kiya ho.. lekin agar vaki main koi Mr. Bajaj ki jaan lena chahta hai toh … nahi.. main aisa nahi hone de sakti… unhe rokhna hoga…’
Rishabh was almost ready to head downstairs for breakfast when he saw his wife enter the room it, and though she had a smile on her face, he felt that she was tensed about something, he could figure it out by her body language and he immediately rushed to her and took the tray from her hand. He placed it on the coffee table and came back to her
‘Kya hua? Kisi ne kuch kaha aapse? I am sure Mrs Basu hi hongi… unhone phir se aapko kuch…’
‘Nahi.. Kaki Maa ne kuch nahi kaha vo ..’
‘Vo kya? Agar unhone kuch nahi kaha toh aap itni pareshan kyun hain? Kisi aur ne kuch kaha kya?’
‘Mr. Bajaj kisi ne kuch nahi kaha.. bas aise hi thoda thaq gai hun shayad issliye…’
‘Toh rest kijiye na… aapko pata hai na aapko iss halat main aise bhi kaam nahi karna chahiye… your delivery date is barely a few weeks from now..’
‘Kaam ke wajah se nahi…’
‘Toh kya baat hai? Because I am sure that something is troubling you.. tell me the truth…’
Prerna shut her eyes in frustration and tried to frame a concrete sentence. She didn’t want to tell him the truth and worry him more, in fact she was worried about his reaction to the reason behind her worry, having known him for the past seven months, she had understood that Rishabh could go to any extent to protect his family, but he wouldn’t care when his own life was in danger and she couldn’t let him risk his life.
‘Bas Mann bechain ho raha hai.. kuch galat hone wala hai aisa feel ho raha hai…’
‘Itni si baat? Aapko bechain ho rahi hai aur galat intuitions ho rahe hain issliye aap tension le rahi hain? Janti hain na aap yeh bina baat ka tension theek nahi hai aapki health ke liye?! Stop thinking so negatively and take some rest, I am sure you’ll feel better…’
Rishabh scolded her as he escorted her to bed by holding her hand, he made her lie on the bed and was about to leave when Prerna caught his hand taking him by surprise
‘Can you stay at home today? Please!’
Prerna said almost in a whisper but it was loud enough for Rishabh to hear it, he nodded his head and sat next to her. She thought that the best way to save him right now was to make sure that he didn’t get out of the house at all, Rishabh started stroking her hair until she fell asleep and as he heard her soft snores he got up from the bed after placing a soft kiss on her forehead
‘I am sorry, but I have to go, I’ll be back before you wake up…’
Rishabh whispered to her and left the room, he turned back to glance at his wife once more before he left for office. He didn’t feel good for leaving her in such a worried state but his meeting was really important, he sighed heavily and finally departed for work
——
Prerna woke up and immediately panicked when she didn’t see Rishabh in the room, she went to check his study and didn’t find him there either. Her heart started beating heavily when she realised that he must have left after she fell asleep
‘Chandu… Chandu…’
She summoned their house help as she walked in the kitchen
‘Sir ko office Gaye kitna time hua hai?’
She asked him with urgency in her voice, she hoped that it was not too late to reach Rishabh and get him home safely.
‘Ma’am almost ek do ghante ho gaye honge…’
‘Okay, jake Ram se kaho gadi nikalne ke liye’
‘Vo aaj chutti pe hai Ma’am. Uski tabiyat kharab thi..’
‘Theek hai tum jao…’
Chandu gave her a nod and left as she tried to call Rishabh
‘Mr. Bajaj phone kyun nahi utha raha.. abhi tak toh office main hona chahiye unhe..meeting main hote toh bhi at least ek text toh kar hi dete phone cut karke… par vo toh call answer hi nahi kar rahe…’
Prerna blabbered to herself and Anurag who was passing through the passage saw her looking so worried and walked to her
‘Are you fine?!’
‘No… I mean... yeah.. main theek hun…’
Anurag knew that she was lying and he was hurt about the same
‘Prerna I know that we don’t share the same friendship that we used to, but dost nahi toh kya hua hum ek ghar main hi rehte hain, at least uss nate se mere saath apni problem share kar ke dekho.. shayad main help kar sakun..’
Though Prerna was not sure if it would be a good idea to share all the details with Anurag, she didn’t have any other option right now. Maybe he could actually help her to protect Rishabh and get a hold of that mysterious caller, by the time she finished telling him everything her breathing had become uneven, Anurag realised that she was so worried for Rishabh that her own health was getting affected and she didn’t care about it
‘Don’t worry, Mr. Bajaj ko kuch nahi hoga.. main tumhe unke office le chalta hun.. and please itna stress mat lo tumhari bhi tabiyat kharab ho rahi hai..’
‘Mujhe meri fikar nahi hai filhal… tum bas mujhe Mr. Bajaj ke paas leke chalo…’
Prerna turned towards the door and walked hastily, ignoring Anurag’s calls asking her to be careful, once they got inside the car she called Rishabh’s most trusted employee Mehra, she knew that he was the only one who could give her accurate update about Rishabh’s where beings, as soon as Mehra answered her call she spoke with urgency
‘Mr. Mehra… mujhe Mr. Bajaj se baat karni hai.. please unhe phone dijiye na…’
‘Ma’am, sir toh abhi tak office aaye hi nahi hain… in fact main Toh Abhi apke ghar aane wala tha check karne ke liye… vo mera phone bhi answer nahi kar rahe the…’
The phone spilled from Prerna’s hand after listening to Mehra’s words and her act made Anurag halt the car mid-way
‘Prerna.. kya hua?’
‘Mr. Bajaj... office …. vo pohunche hi nahi..’
She spoke with great difficulty, as her breathing had become uneven once again.
‘What?!’
‘Haan… Mr. Mehra ne bataya… Anurag vo agar office nahi pohunche toh kahan gaye?? Kahan hain vo abhi??! Kahin sach main unhe kuch ho toh nahi gaya… vo vo…’
‘Prerna calm down… relax… kuch nahi hua hoga unhe.. maybe unki gadi kharab ho gai hogi issliye der ho gai office pohunch ne main… tum shant raho.. breathe…’
Prerna tried to take deep breaths and calm herself down, as all the negative thoughts ran through her mind. Anurag picked the phone from the footboard and called Mehra once again
‘Mr. Mehra, please Mr. Bajaj ka phone track kijiye Abhi.. aur unki location immediately send kijiye.. aur jahan bhi vo hain wahan aap ho sake toh police ke saath aajiye main aur Prerna aapko vahin milenge …’
Within five minutes Mehra had sent them Rishabh’s location and Anurag drove to the place as fast as he could. It was a small warehouse in the end of the city, Prerna got out of the car and almost ran inside but Anurag caught up with her and stopped her in her tracks
‘Prerna andar khatra ho sakta hai.. we should wait till Mr. Mehra arrives with the police’
‘No Anurag.. main wait nahi kar sakti… Mr. Bajaj ki jaan khatre main ho sakti hai, please mujhe jane do..’
She tried to free her hand from his grip but Anurag’s hold was too tight. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed from inside the warehouse, in the moment Anurag’s grip became a little loose and Prerna finally ran inside the house.
‘Mr. Bajaj…’
She yelled as she pushed the door open and was shocked to see Ronit lying on the floor, he was clutching his stomach in pain while Rishabh stood there with a little blood oozing from his forehead
‘Prerna..’
Rishabh whispered her name to himself, he couldn’t believe that she was here, he took slow steps towards her
‘Mr. Bajaj…’
Prerna whispered his name once again walked up to him, she smiled in relief that he was fine and was about to run and hug him when she saw Ronit stand up, her eyes grew wide in shock as she saw him reach for the gun and point it towards Rishabh who was walking to her
‘Rishabh…’
Prerna screamed his name and ran to him, she pushed him to a side as another shot echoed in the room followed by a loud thud, Rishabh turned to see Ronit on the floor with blood around him as the police rushed inside the house followed by Anurag and Mr. Mehra
‘Prerna…’
Rishabh rushed to Prerna as her body became numb and her knees gave up, he caught her in his arms in time before she hit the hard floor
‘Aap theek hain…’
Prerna whispered as she cupped his face with her hand, Rishabh nodded his head, he noticed Prerna’s eyes become droopy and felt something warm in his hand, it took him seconds to realise that she was bleeding
‘Prerna…’
‘Rishabh…I…’
‘Don’t … don’t close your eyes… Mehra… ambulance bula… abhi…’
‘Itna waqt nahi hai… hume gadi main hi Prerna ko hospital leke jana hoga…’
Anurag suggested as his helped Rishabh get up from the floor and pick Prerna in his arms, they rushed to the car and Anurag started driving fast towards the nearest hospital while Rishabh tried to make sure that Prerna was conscious and stop her bleeding by pressing on her wound with his napkin
‘Aap ko kya zaroorat thi iss tarah se mujhe push karne ki… agar aapko kuch hogaya toh…’
‘Agar…. aapko… kuch ho jata... toh…’
Prerna tried to speak with heavy breaths, Rishabh shook his head negatively gesturing her to not stress herself so much
‘Abh kuch mat bolo… just try to stay awake…’
Rishabh gently patted her face to help her stay conscious, he tried hard to not fall weak in front of her, he couldn’t afford letting her now that he was scared right now
‘I love you.. Rishabh…’
Prerna spoke in a whisper before she closed her eyes, Rishabh felt his own body become numb as she lay unconscious in his arms
‘Anurag… make it quick… we don’t have time…’
He commanded urgently and tried to wake Prerna again, he checked her pulse and was thankful that at least her plus rate was still normal, but he feared that it would be too late till they reached the hospital.
——
In the next 10 minutes they had reached the hospital and immediately a doctor had started treating Prerna, she was rushed into the operation theatre, Rishabh kept phasing up and down in the passage as he waited for an update about his wife while Anurag recorded his statement with the police and gave them a brief about their history with Ronit, and Mehra completed Prerna’s admission formalities.
As soon as the doctor came out Rishabh rushed to him and bombarded him with questions about Prerna
‘Mr. Bajaj, apki wife lucky hain ki goli sirf unke arm ko chuke pass hogai, lekin unka kafi blood loss ho chuka hai, unke stress aur iss trauma ka asar baache par bhi ho raha hai and even the child is now restless, hume immediately unki delivery karni padegi, but complications kafi badh gaye hain, Mr. Bajaj I am sorry but we can either save your wife or your child… unn dono ko baccha pana kafi mushkil hoga…but we will try our best…’
Rishabh felt his body becoming numb once at the doctor’s word. He just gave the doctor a nod and sat on the nearest bench as the doctor went back to treat his wife. He asked Anurag and Mehra to leave him to be on his own and take care of everyone else at home
‘I don’t want anyone to know about this until we have an update on Prerna, especially Kukki and Prerna’s family.. unhe bina wajah tension nahi dena chahta main…’
‘She will be fine Mr. Bajaj..’
Anurag assured Rishabh that Prerna would be fine and he would take care of rest of the things and left with Mr. Mehra
~~~~
‘Mr. Bajaj…’
Rishabh’s chain of thoughts broke when the doctor called him out. He quickly ran to him and asked for an update
‘How are they? Vo theek hai? Prerna? Baccha.. say something…’
‘Mr. Bajaj relax… your wife and your child both are fine, by some miracle we were able to save the both of them…’
Rishabh shut his eyes in relief and ran his hands his hair to compose himself
‘You can meet them now, we have shifted them to a private room’
‘Thank you…’
Rishabh gave a weak smile to the doctor and walked into the room, his eyes got teary as soon as he saw a sight of Prerna, IV tubes were connected to her body, he was about to walk to her when he heard a soft cry and turned towards the crib that was placed in the room, he saw their daughter wriggling in the crib.
He gently picked her up in his arms and rocked her, the baby stopped crying immediately but Prerna had already woken up because of the cries
‘Rishabh…’
She called him out softly and gestured him to come to her, Rishabh walked to her with their daughter in sat on the bed next to her, Prerna smiled at him as she looked at their daughter
‘Bilkul aapki tarah dikh rahi hai..’
Rishabh spoke in a low voice and hoarse voice, Prerna realised that he was trying to hold back his tears. She placed a hand on his shoulder making him look at her and questioned him through her eyes
‘Meri jaan bachane ke liye aapne apni aur humari beti jaan khatre main daal di thi…agar aap dono main kisi ko kuch ho jata toh?’
‘Kuch nahi hota… jab tak aap humare saath hain mujhe aur humari betiyon ko kabhi kuch nahi hoga…’
‘Iss baar aapko maaf kiya… lekin next time aap aisa stunt kabhi nahi karengi..’
Rishabh spoke in a soft yet stern voice and Prerna nodded her head before resting it on his shoulder, Rishabh kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes while hugging their daughter close to his chest and savoured this moment of happiness.
~~~~~~~
Part 2 - Pg 5
Waiting for your likes and comments !! ❤️
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