Chapter 49

Sanchi was struggling for life inside the operation theatre while the family stood clueless and helpless outside, praying hard for her well-being. It was only Dheeraj who had noticed the absence of Vihaan from the hospital and informed Virendra about it. The both of them could only come to a conclusion that Vihaan must have gone searching for help somewhere.

Before Dheeraj could dial Vihaan's number, Sanchi's doctor came out of his cabin and stood facing Vidya. Looking straight in her eyes, he gave a small smile. "We have found a donor for Mrs. Bundela. We will quickly shift her to OT for the surgery."

"A donor!" Vidya exclaimed on the top of her voice. "Are you sure? Who is the donor? If it's truly the case, please operate on her immediately."

More than an hour had passed since Sanchi was being operated and one of the nurses moved out of the surgery unit to update the family about her condition. Vidya and the rest were sitting next to one another with their palms joined together in prayers. The obvious worries of Sanchi's wellness were getting depicted out of their affectionate emotions for her.

"Mrs. Bundela's condition is stable now. She has been operated and the bullets have been removed from her fractured bones. There are still some underlying risks so the doctors are keeping her under observation for some more time." The information provided by the nurse brought a great relief to the whole family.

"What about the donor? It's not like the person can keep on donating huge amounts of blood from it's own body risking it's own life!" Vidya asked, cautious of the truth behind transfusions of blood.

"The urgent blood was required till the operating time period and Mrs. Sanchi was lucky enough to have found a donor in time. We were worried for her post-surgery as the single donor couldn't keep on donating blood. But now, even this problem has been solved." The nurse gave a little smile, causing Vidya and the family to exchange glances at one another.

"Are you sure?" Vidya asked her again.

The nurse placed a palm on Vidya's shoulder gently before uttering, "Yes ma'am. There's this blood bank from Indore which has just sent their aids for us. They said that it was on the orders of Mrs. Bundela's husband, Vihaan Sir."

"So Vihaan has been out searching for help for Sanchi!" Dheeraj gasped, rubbing his eyes. "But where is Shaurya? He too has been missing since long."

The nurse looked up at Dheeraj and responded, "He is inside donating blood to Mrs. Bundela. He is the only donor who you all were asking for but he had refrained us from disclosing before the deed was done."

Vidya and her family held their breath in astonishment before the former muttered, "You are lying, nurse. Shay... I mean Shaurya has the blood phobia and he's scared of vaccines since childhood. That's the reason why we didn't know his blood group at all... He was already feeling nauseated after seeing Sanchi's blood and the accident... Are you sure he has been donating blood since then?"

"He is doing it for the sake of saving Mrs. Bundela's life. He was ready to even do it post-surgery but thankfully, the aids from the blood bank arrived in time. We will be shifting Mr. Trivedi to the general ward soon. He has grown extremely weak," The nurse replied, taking a step backwards to disappear for her duty. "He came like a blessing in the last minute. Hadn't he approached us to test his blood group and hadn't it matched with Mrs. Sanchi's, we couldn't have saved her life!"

When the nurse was gone, Dheeraj took out his cellphone and gave a call to Vihaan, informing him of the same. Gliding down the stairs of the temple and skipping steps, Vihaan rushed his way to the hospital at once. In less than fifteen minutes, he was in the same corridor Sanchi was admitted into, gasping for breath. All he wanted to do was to only see Sanchi's face and assure her that she was alright.

*****

Sanchi was later shifted to the general ward after the major operation. Her condition was much better than before and she had regained her senses in a couple of hours. Shaurya was taking rest in the male general ward and was enquiring about Sanchi's situation every minute that passed. When he was told by the family about the success of her surgeries, he requested the doctor to allow him to meet her once.

"How are you feeling now?" Shaurya asked Sanchi upon entering the female ward, gently caressing her hair.

Sanchi, who was lying on the stretcher with her right arm tied to a sling, opened her eyes weakly to look at Shaurya. "Why did you risk your life by dona-ting so much of blo-od for me, Shay?"

"Who told you?"

"The nur-se."

Shaurya threw a brilliant smile at her before taking a closer look in her eyes. "Didn't I promise you that the hurdles will always have to cross me before touching you? I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from the gunshots but this is the least I have done for my little kitten."

Tears filled Sanchi's eyes. The pain in her newly operated wounds was not as powerful as the bond of their cute relationship. Shaurya's love for Sanchi was incomparable, he adored her more than any blood-related brother would.

"Shay!" Sanchi tried spreading her arms out at Shaurya to throw him a hug. "You return-ed my life to me."

Shaurya caught hold of her arms, pushing them down gently. "You are not supposed to strain your wounded arm now. Besides, stop thanking me for whatever I have done and take ample of rest. Remember what I did is out of my brotherly love for you."

Lightly wiping the tears off her face, Sanchi gave out a light smile. "I love you the sa-me, Shay, and I would do any-thing for you if I get a cha-nce in the future."

As Shaurya stroked Sanchi's hair with caress, the entire family members entered the hospital room. Sanchi's eyes hovered around in search of Vihaan but he wasn't amongst them. Adjusting her head at the center of the pillow, she softly conversed with every member of the family. Though she was fatigued from the major operation, finding the family members around her imparted her the comfort she needed. They assured her that she would be able to return to her normal self very soon.

*****

Having changed into a cleaner shirt and trousers, Vihaan arrived at the hospital late in the night. He was longing to meet Sanchi, the one woman for whom his heart yearned for. He was madly in love with her though the realization took so much of his time. The great news of Sanchi's survival and Shaurya's dedicated love for his sister had filled Vihaan's heart with pleasure.

Vihaan had already spoken to Sanchi's doctor to shift her to the private ward from the general one. He wanted to provide her with every comfort she required and it compelled him to take the decision of spending the night at the hospital itself. He had assured the family members that he would be staying the night there and that they should return to the farmhouse. They had also decided that until Sanchi improved on her health and got discharged from the hospital, none would be returning to Indore.

Not a single minute could Vihaan allow himself to stay away from Sanchi or avert his watchful eyes from taking care of her. Stepping into the private room where she was, Vihaan stood gaping at a sleeping Sanchi. She was lying stretched on the bed snorting in deep slumber, a soft smile surrounding her feather-like lips.

The sight of the bandages wrapped around her delicate skin ached Vihaan's heart. He was in the habit of noticing people's wounds and bloodshed, he was also the reason of inflicting wounds on many criminals. But Sanchi was special, entirely different for his own sentiments. She was the one for whom he had fought against his own restricted emotions to ultimately accept his love for her. She was the one whose image had found it's space into his skin, engraved for the lifetime.

Vihaan chose not to disturb Sanchi as she was sleeping peacefully after taking the medicines. Noiselessly tiptoeing towards the comfy seat next to her bed, he settled himself on it. He stared at her beautiful and innocent face for quite some time. The more his passionate eyes continued seeing her face, the brighter it became. Keeping his delightful gaze on her, Vihaan didn't even realize when he fell asleep on the seat with one of his palms resting over her unhurt arm.

*

The daylight broke and Sanchi was the one to wake up first. Opening her eyes as feebly as she could, she saw Vihaan's sleeping figure next to her bed. With a rapid shocked expression on her face, she tried sitting upright on the bed. Her back ached, the wound near the spine extremely hurt her.

Gorblimey! Sanchi expressed a sigh of disappointment and annoyance, to the sound of which Vihaan's eyes opened automatically.

"Sanchi, are you alright?" Vihaan quickly jumped out of his seat and held her shoulders in close proximity. "I know the wounds are hurting but believe me, you'll be fine very soon."

Vihaan's dazzling black eyes were seeping into Sanchi's distressed brown ones, pooling them into a voiceless love exchange. He wouldn't let anything to harm her again and she wouldn't let her wounds to hurt her anymore when he was around. He had always been her comfort zone and she adored it.

"Not much," Sanchi uttered slowly, dropping her forehead against the side of his chest.

The wound from the tattoo next to his chest hurt him when she placed her head against it and he moaned in pain. Tightening his knuckles on her shoulders, he tried hard to bear the strain. He had been applying the ointment in time and the wetness of the liquid was felt against Sanchi's forehead.

"Vih-aan, is it wet here?" Sanchi asked surprisingly as his shirt was unusually clinging on to his chest like a second skin.

Bulging his eyes, he withdrew from her and helped her to lie down on the bed. Rubbing his palms together to avoid her question, he responded weakly, "You are uncomfortable, Sanchi. Take ample of rest now."

"Vih-aan..."

"I'm listening." Vihaan replied, his head drooping down as he shifted towards the bedside table and began unfurling a few packages and cardboard boxes.

"What are all the-se now?" Sanchi asked, her head turned towards him.

Vihaan stole a quick glance at her before continuing with what he was doing. "I have fetched these fresh and new cotton dresses for you because you need to wear clean clothes at the hospital. The clothes that they provide here aren't that prim because they are used by many. I didn't like it."

Sanchi was both amazed and appalled with Vihaan's care towards her. She couldn't believe her ears until he settled the clothes next to her. "Vih-aan, you bou-ght clothes for me!"

"I didn't. My ghost did it on my behalf last night." He let out a small chuckle. "Here are some raw fruits and fruit syrups for you. Your nurse told me that you are reluctant to consume the boiled and not-so-spicy foods here. Can't you keep your fondness for spicy foodstuffs aside for a few days?"

"But the foods are rea-lly taste-less. I don't like tho-se at all." Sanchi pressed her lips together in annoyance.

Vihaan took a random step towards her. "If you don't eat the foods according to the doctor's instructions, you will have to stay back at the hospital for many number of days. Will you like it?"

"I will be fit and fine with-out having to go thro-ugh these foods also," Sanchi retorted, frowning her forehead.

Vihaan stood adjacent to her side, clutching hold of her palms affectionately. "It hurts to see you lying helpless on a hospital bed. Even if you don't want to consume plain foods, you will have to do it for your family, for the people who love you, and.... for me."

Blinking her eyes twice, Sanchi let the fresh trail of tears to trickle down her cheeks. A lone promise from her could bring a satisfactory smile to his face. "I don't want to stay back at the hos-pital at all. I will follow all the instruct-ions religi-ously. I just want to return home."

Cradling Sanchi closer to him, Vihaan wiped her tears with the tips of his thumbs. He tried maintaining every gentleness with her as a little movement on her part could pain her. He continued speaking while raking her disheveled hair, "For once I thought I had lost you, Sanchi... You scared all of us... Promise me you won't do such a thing again..."

"Un-less it con-cerns your life," Sanchi replied sternly, keeping her eyes intact with him.

"Why won't you listen to me?" Vihaan chided raising his voice. "You can't risk your life for me. Do you understand?"

Their argument-like voices forced the nurse to enter the room hurriedly and stand abreast them. "You are not supposed to stress yourself, Mrs Bundela. Don't you know it?"

Vihaan threw a stern look at Sanchi before turning to the nurse. "I was trying to explain the same thing to her but she wouldn't listen."

"Wives always fail to listen to their husbands." The nurse laughed at Vihaan's puckered face and adjusted Sanchi on the bed. "Now you must move out of the room, Sir. It's her wound dressing and changing time. We'll have to freshen her up. You may always come back later and explain her."

The blush on his cheeks was easily visible as Vihaan chose to leave the room without responding again. His love for her was newly born out of him only to share every moment of his life worth living for, with her. Imagining his own life without her was now next to impossible.

*****

Vihaan spent his entire day chattering and taking care of Sanchi in a way he had never done before. From feeding her the medicines in time to making her feel comfortable were some of the things he was doing willingly. When Vihaan was peeling and cutting fruits for her in the evening, Sanchi continued watching over at him with the unexpressed love she possessed for him.

As he settled the slices of apples, bananas and ripe papayas on the plate, Sanchi passed a quick smile to herself. The entire world was aware of Vihaan's arrogance but it was only Sanchi who had witnessed the softer side of him.

"Vih-aan, why are you look-ing after me in such a way? Is it beca-use you want to repay for what-ever I did for you?" Sanchi asked, remembering the earlier incidents that had taken place between them.

Placing the plate beside her on the bed, Vihaan took his seat next to her. Ushering a slice of fruit into her mouth, he laughed. "You still remember those old things! The situation is different now, hickory. I am not trying to repay anything but doing everything with my own will."

"I don't even know whe-ther I'll be able to walk again or remain dis-abled for life. Doctors are too con-cerned for my dama-ged spine." Sanchi exhaled a deep air of grief and regret, causing Vihaan to frown his forehead.

Vihaan's moist eyes flickered, the fear of the same had gripped his thoughts too. "I think I've already told you that I won't let you fall weak. You're a fighter, you managed to fight death and return to life again. You'll have to fight again to return to normalcy. You're not supposed to surrender so easily."

Sanchi had fallen very weak to the major incident in her life. Losing enormous amounts of blood and temporary disability caused to her right arm including the lower back, grieved her. Lying down on the bed, she closed her eyes. She hated sleeping like a helpless human, she hated herself for not being able to come to help to anyone or perform her duties.

By the time night approached, Vihaan was seated in Sanchi's room, observing the nurse feeding her the boiled veggies, the boiled rice and a bowl of mixed soup. Sanchi felt like puking at the tasteless healthy foods but Vihaan's stringent eyes on her movements caused her to gulp down the bitter dinner.

After the nurse had left the room, Sanchi turned to Vihaan. "Stop sta-ring at me in such a way. I've eat-en all of it."

"I have been a witness so I know it. I have also seen the nauseating expressions on your face." Vihaan sounded witty as he tried suppressing a laugh.

Sanchi tilted her head towards Vihaan, who was shaking his legs in amusement. From trying to make her forget her pains to making her smile in annoyance, he was doing all of it. She could witness his calm composure and compassionate behavior towards her.

"You look so chan-ged, Vihaan... Espe-cially after my acci-dent," Sanchi intervened as Vihaan prepared to make his own bedding to stay the night over.

"Someone called me the 'gimcracks of arrogance' and the 'king of hearts' in her sleep. I'm trying to push aside the former in order to abide by the latter." Vihaan had a silly laugh when he saw Sanchi's face fading away.

Lying down on the bed, Sanchi delved deeper into her own thoughts. "Your beha-vior towards me keeps increa-sing my love for you. But as far as I remem-ber, you still regard me as your fri-end. You con-fessed during the game of hearts that you don't love any-one in such a way. I know you are tea-sing me because of my stupid murmur-ing in sleep. You mustn't bec-ome the 'king of hearts' even if you ever want beca-use the permanent condi-tion I've put myself into, I can never be a bur-den on you."

*

Vihaan randomly opened his eyes at the break of dawn when Sanchi's painful whimpers broke his sleep. Her agonizing breathing during sleep assured him that she was suffering from pain, a lot more than what she was expressing before him. Drawing himself closer to her sleeping figure, he brushed aside the lone strands of messy hairlocks off her forehead.

His palm grazed her discoloured cheeks and his thumb stopped nearer to her plush lips. The softness and delicacy that her skin contained could easily rise a molten tempest in Vihaan's heart. To see the love of his life in such a vulnerable state after knowing that he was only responsible for it, caused him immense pain. He was impatiently waiting for the bad times to pass like it was only one of his worst nightmares.

Cupping her cheeks gently with both his thumbs placed on her upper chin, Vihaan caressed her bottom lip. The dryness of her soft skin was proving of the amount of blood she had lost from her body and how much withered she had become inwardly.

A fresh droplet of tear fell from his eye onto her cheek as he planted a genuine and pure kiss on the top of her forehead. Only his heart knew how much he loved her, maybe more than he himself could imagine. Falling in love with her was never planned by him as love always happened unplanned. Maybe he was always in love with her but he took a lot of time to realize it.

A slight bang on the door cautioned Vihaan and he turned towards it. A nurse emerged through it with a soap bowl and a towel in her hands. "Good morning Sir, I hope Mrs. Bundela had a sound sleep. Did you notice anything unusual during her slumbering?"

Vihaan nodded his head in awkwardness. "She slept well the previous two nights but I think she is experiencing pain within her. She doesn't want to share the words of her pains with anyone. As far as I've known her, she has always been like this."

"Sir, she is under observation so you mustn't worry." The nurse placed the towel on the table before turning to Vihaan again. "Doctor has called for you and he is waiting at his cabin. The post-surgery test reports of Mrs. Bundela have arrived and he has certain important things to discuss with you."

"I will meet him right away." Vihaan departed, fear preoccupying his mind as he strode his way towards the doctor's cabin in