Chapter 40: Chapter 37

The sterile, cold corridors of the hospital felt suffocating, the air thick with a tension that had been building since Siya had been rushed in. Every second felt like an eternity to Raghav as he sat, hunched over on a bench in the waiting area. His white shirt, once pristine, was now drenched in Siya’s blood, the red stains soaking through the fabric. His hands shook as he clasped them together in prayer, his forehead pressed against his knuckles.

“Please, God… please don’t take her from me,” Raghav whispered, his voice broken, barely audible as he trembled with fear. His heart felt like it was being ripped apart with every beat. “I promised her… I promised her I would protect her. Please… let her live.”

The waiting room was filled with the presence of others, but none of their faces seemed to matter to Raghav at that moment. He couldn’t look at anyone. His mind was consumed by the sight of Siya, her body crumpled in his arms, her blood staining his hands as he tried to stop her from slipping away. The memories of her last words to him, her voice so weak, played over and over in his mind.

“She knew I’d come for her…” he muttered to himself, his voice breaking. “She knew. And I… I couldn’t protect her in time.”

Behind him, voices began to rise, cutting through the air like knives, drawing his attention unwillingly. It was Mr. Singhania, Siya’s father, standing with his fists clenched, glaring at Mr. Desai, who stood a few feet away, his arms crossed.

“This is your fault!” Mr. Singhania shouted, his face flushed with anger. “Your son is the reason my daughter is lying in that damn operating room, fighting for her life. Your son has caused this mess!”

Mr. Desai stood unmoving, his face hard, his voice as cold as ever. “It’s not my fault if your daughter acted foolishly and ran into danger. She made her own choices. If you want someone to blame, look at her.”

“You can’t be serious!” Mr. Singhania snarled. “She did it to save Raghav! She was trying to protect him, and you—”

“Enough!” Mr. Desai snapped, his eyes narrowing with disdain. “Nobody asked her to play the hero. She chose to put herself in that situation. You’re not going to blame me for her mistakes.”

“You’re unbelievable!” Mr. Singhania’s voice trembled with fury as he stepped closer, almost seething with rage. “You’ve always been this way, haven’t you? Always hiding behind your arrogance. You didn’t care about your son’s actions, and now look at what happened! My daughter’s life is on the line because of you!”

The argument escalated, the two men glaring at each other, their words biting with venom. Raghav, still sitting on the bench, barely noticed them. His mind was too consumed by the thoughts of Siya. He wanted to scream, to shout at the world to make it stop—to make everything stop so he could focus on her. But his body was frozen. The weight of the situation was too much for him to bear.

Vasu stepped forward, trying to intervene, his voice shaky but firm. “Stop it, both of you. We’re all here because we care about Siya. We need to stay calm, for her.”

Samar, Siya’s elder brother, stood beside Vasu, his fists clenched, his face contorted with anger and frustration. He had been silent until now, but the sight of his father and Mr. Desai arguing like this, with no regard for what his sister was going through, was too much for him to handle.

“Enough, Dad!” Samar snapped at his father, his voice low but filled with raw anger. “This isn’t the time for your petty grudges. Don’t use Siya’s pain to settle old scores with Mr. Desai. You don’t even care about her right now. You’re just looking for an excuse to insult him. This is her life we’re talking about!”

Mr. Singhania froze, his face reddening with anger, but Samar’s words had hit a nerve. He opened his mouth to respond, but Samar’s glare silenced him. “You don’t care about her. You care about making Raghav and his family look bad. If you don’t leave her alone, I swear, I’ll make you regret it. Don’t you dare disrespect her like this. You want to blame someone? Blame yourself for not being there when she needed you most.”

Samar’s voice was sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade. His words hung in the air, and for a moment, no one spoke. The argument between Mr. Singhania and Mr. Desai had reached a boiling point, but Samar’s fury had shifted the atmosphere. Even Mr. Desai, ever composed, looked momentarily taken aback by the sheer intensity of his words.

Vasu placed a hand on Samar’s shoulder, trying to calm him down. “We need to stay united for Siya,” he said quietly. “This isn’t helping anyone.”

Samar took a deep breath, his chest heaving with the weight of everything he had just said. His gaze softened as he looked toward the closed doors of the operating room. “I just… I just want her to be okay,” he murmured, his voice quieter now.

As the hours dragged on, the heated argument slowly subsided, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. Raghav remained in his seat, his hands folded tightly in prayer, his head bent low, his heart aching with every passing second. His mind refused to accept the possibility of losing Siya. He couldn’t.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the door to the operating room opened. The doctor stepped out, his face grim but with a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.

The room fell silent as everyone turned to him, their eyes pleading for answers.

“How is she?” Raghav asked, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Can we see her?”

The doctor’s expression softened, but his words were firm. “She’s out of danger. We’ve removed the bullet. It was a close call, but she’ll be okay. She needs rest, though. She’s unconscious, and we can’t allow anyone to see her until she’s stabilized.”

Raghav let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His body slumped, as if the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. But there was still so much to fear. So much uncertainty.

“Can we… Can we talk to her?” Raghav asked, his voice trembling. “She’ll wake up soon, won’t she?”

The doctor’s expression grew more stern. “She’s still unconscious. It’s too soon. She needs time to heal, and I suggest you give her that time. It’s not just about the physical recovery; her body needs rest. Let her recover first. We’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

Raghav nodded, but the tightness in his chest didn’t ease. He wanted to see her, to hold her again, but he knew the doctor was right. She needed rest. She needed him to be strong—for her.

“I’ll wait,” Raghav said quietly, his voice filled with determination. “I’ll wait however long it takes.”

His eyes flickered to Mr. Desai, who had been quiet for some time, standing across the room. Raghav didn’t look at him with anger anymore, for him the most important thing was that Siya was alive. And he would do whatever it took to make sure she stayed that way.in this moment, nothing mattered more than Siya.

Mr. Singhania, on the other hand, stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable, but the words he had exchanged with Mr. Desai still hung heavy in the air. There was no real resolution between them. He needed to use this situation to grab Mr Desai's neck. Excusing himself he made a phone call, “We need to strike while the iron is hot. There is no better opportunity than this, Vikram bhaiya”.

“Are you sure of it, your little girl is quite difficult to control”, Vikram replied.

“There is nothing you can't control, save us”, Mr Singhania begged.

“Alright, let's meet my little niece, it's been 3 years”