Chapter 50

(Half-century and I didn't even realize 🤓)

***

Vihaan met Sanchi's doctor in his cabin, who had raised his concerns regarding her partially damaged spine. The post-operative repots weren't either bad or weren't that great, it was somewhat less than normal. The bullet had passed only an inch away from her spinal cord and the injuries would take a little time to heal. 

Sanchi was lucky enough to have survived the gunshots and it was only a matter of many more days that her wounds would also disappear. As the doctor suggested, he was expecting complications but the reports nullified his fear. A little tension was still lurking because of the delicate structure of the injuries and that Sanchi would be facing difficulties while walking. Her back would ache like the breaking of many bones at once without the painkillers. Sanchi should need extra support while performing regular daily functions and that she should remain under ample of rest and great care during her recovery period.

Almost a week passed by, with Sanchi admitted in the hospital. The family had returned to Indore after a couple of days since the time they had received the great news of Sanchi's reports. However, only Vihaan stayed back at Omkareshwar to look after her and remain by her side always, and maybe forever.

Spending eight days at the hospital, Vihaan didn't miss a single day to take care of Sanchi. From feeding the medicines in time, discussing with the doctors, fetching the fruits and juices, reading her favorite novels aloud to her during free time, making her talk to the family over phone and lovingly peeking at her during sleep, he was doing all of it religiously.

Sanchi's health was improving and the doctor arranged her discharge papers on the ninth day. The stitches were undone and certain strong antibiotics were cut down from the list. Her excitement to return home had risen considerably, addressing to the fact that they would be leaving for Indore on the very same evening.

By the early evening, the formal procedures were completed and the doctors suggested Vihaan to visit any nearby hospital at Indore for the future checkups. The nurse tidied Sanchi up in a new cotton dress for her departure and the excitement of the former knew no bounds.

The moment Vihaan entered the hospital room, Sanchi's immediate gaze fell on him. The atmosphere around her turned hazy when the sharpness of his passionate eyes came to her view. Vihaan, on the other hand, took time longer than expected to initiate their conversation. Stretching out his palm, he offered his helping hand to her.

"Finally Vih-aan... I'm getting dis-charged from this hos-pital... I got pretty bored and piss-ed sitting on the little bed for so ma-ny days." Sanchi chirped, dragging her feet clumsily towards him.

"Do you have a problem listening to me?" Vihaan wrapped his arm around the small of her back, helping her to walk as comfortably as she could. "How many times shall I tell you not to rush or try walking all by yourself?"

Gripping the sleeves of his shirt, Sanchi clung on to him like a homeless bird who had just found her nest. "I was try-ing to share my excite-ment with you. This hospital had unwill-ingly become a part of my life, filling the rough days with bore-dom."

Vihaan cocked his head particularly towards her direction, gently sweeping her off her feet. With Sanchi cooping in his arms, he walked down the aisle of the hospital building. He had already hired a private van to fetch them to Indore after her discharge from the medical formalities. 

Sanchi's compulsive eyes bore deeper into his, as he carried her to the van with great care. Vihaan had his eyes fixed to the road before them, even though his heart was also fluttering for having Sanchi so closer to him.

Settling Sanchi carefully in the backseat of the van, Vihaan took a seat beside her. Covering her palm with his, Vihaan muttered, "By the way, you are not the only one who got pretty bored and pissed sitting on the little bed. Even I had been facing the same along with you. Basically, we both shared the same pain!"

***** 

The members of the Bundela mansion were joyously overwhelmed with the advent of Sanchi and Vihaan. After the dangerous battle of life and death, Sanchi was finally back to the house in a much better condition.

Vidya and Dheeraj passed each other a quick smile when they saw Sanchi in Vihaan's arms, who were making their way through the main door. Shaking their heads in amusement, Vidya and Dheeraj crossed their arms against their chests.

"You have entered the house, Vihaan. You can put her down." Dheeraj chuckled, causing a blush to appear on Sanchi's cheeks. "Since mom is not using her wheelchair anymore, Sanchi can use it for a few days until she heals."

Laughing aloud, Vidya punched Dheeraj's arm. "She can only use the chair when Vihaan isn't around, plus, Vihaan's room is on the first floor. They need to climb the stairs the way they are now."

A lopsided grin appeared on Vihaan's lips as he clicked his tongue. Taking a cue from their speeches, he responded with a light chuckle. "Yeah right, I have trust issues with a few people so I'm Sanchi's carriage for the time being. She would ride the weirdo cart when I'm really not around her."

Vidya tilted her head towards Dheeraj before turning back to Vihaan. "You don't seem to be very happy with us around you or maybe you believe that we won't be able to take care of her as much as you have done in so many days."

Sanchi slammed against Vihaan's chest lightly, showcasing the urge to put her down. "Vih-aan, let me stand. I need to ta-lk to her."

"You aren't going to stand on the floor for a long time unless the doctor allows you. Haven't you heard what he said? Your limbs are temporarily affected by the spinal injury and it will take time for recovery." Vihaan warned her in his usual voice.

"Why can't you be as go-od as you were just a wh-ile ago? Why do you have to sh-ow that you are the only God of Arro-gance ever kno-wn to the world?" Sanchi argued, before rotating her eyes to catch a glimpse of Vidya's grieving face.

Dheeraj paved his way near Vihaan, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "You are wrong, Sanchi. As far as I realize, Vihaan hasn't yet forgotten of how Vidya and our mother had behaved with you during my abduction case. He still considers them to be unfit for looking after you."

Sanchi widened her eyes, breathing heavily. "That was a diffe-rent issue, Vihaan. I was fit and fine then, and was support-ing a murderer. Do you rea-lly think Vidya or maa can ign-ore my health condi-tions and put my life in dan-ger again? They both love me more than you can ima-gine."

"Fine then, I believe you. You consider that they are the only people in your life who love you. None other individual in the universe has anything to be done for you or for your well-being!" Vihaan hissed, his voice growing deeper within.

Tears pricked Sanchi's eyes as her mind wandered to her own parents who hated her. She was lucky enough to have found truest members in the Bundela as well as the Trivedi family, persons who loved and respected her. Before she met them, she had been thrown out of her own house for possessing so many flaws in her. She had no one to love her, except for her grandmother, of course.

Biting her lower lip, Sanchi uttered slowly, "I rea-lly have no one in the uni-verse other than these peo-ple to call my own."

Pressing his lips together in a thin line, Vihaan felt the stabbing pain inside his chest. The depression caused into his heart because of the unconditional love he possessed for her was hurting him. He was bound to misinterpret Sanchi's reply even though it was only a casual answer coming from her.

Dheeraj interrupted quickly to slacken their argument further, "Will you both stop fighting over petty issues? We can always discuss later as to how and who will look after Sanchi. At the moment, Vihaan needs to fetch her to their room so that she can take rest after the hectic journey."

As Vihaan turned to leave with Sanchi still in his arms, Vidya wiped her eyes as she faced him. "Vihaan, I know I didn't try to apologize to you even for once. Maybe I was scared but I honestly wanted to. I blamed you for killing your own brother and even put up conditions before Vanya so that she stopped supporting you. I used my friendship with her to my advantage. But... She is my soulmate and I did face a thousand deaths when she was battling for life inside the OT. I can never put her life at risk... Give me a last chance, please."

With Vidya's folded palms and genuine apologies, Sanchi couldn't keep her tears to herself. As the water droplets trickled down her cheeks, a sharp pang of pain ran across Vihaan's chest. Shaking his head in a positive gesture, he answered, "See Vid... I mean sister-in-law, I hold no grudge against you. Your reaction was normal like any other wife would have exhibited. It's just that... I don't want to take a risk with Sanchi's life this time. She needs to get cured as soon as possible."

A small smile appeared on Vidya's lips when Dheeraj patted Vihaan's cheek. "Little brother, you can entrust Sanchi's responsibilities on Vidya without much worries again. She wouldn't let you down this time and a major advantage of it is that she is a doctor too."

Vihaan nodded, reciprocating in agreement. "I won't deny her but she may take up the job of looking after Sanchi once I rejoin my duty at the bureau."

"Dad prayed for an extension for you and the rejoining letter will only arrive after some more days." Dheeraj smiled, rubbing Vihaan's back lovingly as any elder brother would. Nobody could ever read Vihaan's mind as much as his own brother did at times.

***** 

Vihaan opened his eyes early the next morning, glancing over at a sleeping Sanchi on his bed. He didn't have a comfortable sleep on the sofa last night but he yet managed to pass the few hours. As soon as the sunlight peeked through the white linen curtains of the window, Sanchi's beautiful face glimmered against the brilliant golden gleam of sunrays. 

"I could spend the entire day by just devouring the innocence on her face and not get tired even by an inch!"

Vihaan was only a couple of feet away from Sanchi. How he frantically wished to erase the barrier between them and take her as his own! But then, he knew he was a man who couldn't force his choices on her or claim her as his own against her consent. She was both sensitive and weak from the major operations, and taking care of her was his first priority.

His love for her was sincere and he was ready to do anything to win over her heart. He could go to any extent to make her fall in love with him. His romantic feelings and passionate affections for her had already initiated their arrivals, but he was self-determined not to give the fluttering emotions a liberty at the moment. Sanchi was severely injured and sick, and mentally pressurizing her with his own expressions of love could adversely affect her health if she failed to reciprocate to him. 

An hour later, when Vihaan returned to his room, Sanchi was already awake in bed and struggling to move out of the comforter. Rushing towards her, he caught hold of her shoulders instantly and rebuked, "I instructed you to call for me whenever you don't see me around, didn't I?"

Giving him a disapproving look, Sanchi folded her legs in a cross. "So am I supp-osed to stay lock-ed up in the room with-out having to do any-thing?"

"Unless the doctors certify you that you are well and good, you will have to. It's an order," Vihaan spoke in a loud voice, causing Sanchi to frown her forehead.

Vihaan settled the cups and plates on the nightstand, parted the curtains to the window and folded the comforter neatly beside her. Sanchi lowered her head to grab a view of the table and scrunched her nose in annoyance. "Am I going to have my break-fast here? I al-ready warned you that I am not go-ing to stay lock-ed up inside a single room like the hos-pital but you... You mi-ght be a cop forcing crimi-nals to stay ins-ide a locked cage but you can't dic-tate me."

Vihaan raised his eyebrows in frustation, bulging his eyes. "You were dying at the hospital without blood, why don't you get it goddammit! You caused me to face the near death experience without you. Your loss could have been so detrimental for me... And..."

Vihaan clicked his tongue in realisation of the confession he had just uttered before Sanchi. In a fit of rage and trance of annoyance, he simply blurted out the things he had faced in her absence.

Trying to seep into the wordings of Vihaan, Sanchi's eyes blinked with excitement. "You faced so mu-ch for me as if! How Vih-aan? I know I'm your spe-cial friend and any-one else who is rela-ted to me will feel exa-ctly the same way as you had. No-body can take it easily to see a human life get-ting lost."

Vihaan simply nodded, aware of the fact that Sanchi had spoiled the mood and the heat of the confession. "I genuinely told you about how I had felt. I don't know about the rest of the family. Maybe they were also feeling in the same way for the fear of losing you."

Sanchi's excitement slumped in disappointment with Vihaan's reply, confirming her failed expectations from Vihaan. "I want-ed to say exa-ctly the same thing. They al-so care for me but they aren't try-ing to lock me up the way you are. I feel too suffo-cated."

"I know you don't like being dictated or put into shackles. You are a girl who can fight for her freedom but right now, your health is the main concern. Once you are up on your limbs, I won't restrict you anymore. It's not possible for you to travel all the way downstairs or upstairs each time," Vihaan explained as humbly as he could. "Besides, even I'll be there with you to assist you always. You are not going to stay all by yourself."

Sanchi took a deep breath and sealed her lips in silence. Two minutes into quietness and Sanchi spoke again, "Why do we end up ar-guing each time? Why can't our thou-ghts just match even for once?"

Vihaan smiled at her before holding up the cup near her mouth. "Maybe because we were born to only fight with each other. Now finish this drink along with the morning dose of medicines."

"Boil-ed foods and her-bal drinks at home too!" Sanchi exclaimed with displeasure when she got a proper view of the nightstand. "These are meant for you beca-use you poss-ess a strong lik-ing for them. I'm los-ing my taste buds now."

"You will have to do as directed. I can't help it." Vihaan expressed strongly before Sanchi gulped down the bitter liquid and the tablet. "That's like an obedient girl."

There was a knock on the door and Vihaan allowed Vidya inside the room. Sanchi's chubby cheeks exploded into a brilliant laughter the moment she saw her best friend. "Vid-ya, how great to see you he-re!"

Vidya held Sanchi's shoulders lightly, helping her to get off the bed. "I'm here to help you with the things that Vihaan said he can't. You would like to use the bathroom now, maybe the shower or change into fresh clothes, etc."

A strong blush spread across Sanchi's cheeks the moment she heard Vidya. The thought of Vihaan helping her with the most restricted daily routine tasks clouded her mind. When Vihaan left the room with a heap of awkwardness, Sanchi turned to Vidya. "Wh-at do you me-an by 'he said he can't?'"

Vidya laughed, helping Sanchi to walk towards the bathroom. "He spoke to me early in the morning today and requested me to help you out with these from time to time. Secondly, I'll be here twice a day to dress your wounds regularly."

Sanchi nodded, taking the towel in her hands. "I see."

Vidya leaned against the door to the loo and whispered, "He really cares for you, Vanya!"

***** 

Sanchi kept sleeping throughout the day as a result of the effects of the strong medicinal drugs on her. Vidya visited her late in the evening to dress her wounds and Durga spent a couple of hours with her. When they both had departed, Sanchi's mind wandered as to where Vihaan was since she hadn't seen him much after the morning breakfast. He was there once during lunch to feed her the foods and the medicines, and later left the room after she had gone to sleep.

Sanchi also wondered whether her harsh behavior with Vihaan had hurt him or if he was out for some important work. Whatever or however his method of recovering her from the ailment was, his care for her was genuine. His points of views might be drastically different from hers, more specifically for being a cop. He loved loneliness and staying in the workroom all by himself. It was obvious for this particular reason that he preferred Sanchi's confinement in a single room for speedy recovery.

On the other hand, Sanchi loved the crowd and mingling with people. She hated loneliness and staying all by herself. But when it came to abiding by Vihaan's instructions, she knew she had to follow it in order to get cured as soon as possible. She couldn't deny or overlook the amount of care he was taking of hers since the accident.

Only one voice was capable enough to accelerate the rate of breathing for Sanchi. Vihaan was returning to his room and she could hear his sharp voice along the corridor. He was in a serious conversation with someone and the moment he barged into the room, Sanchi straightened herself on the bed.

"Look Sanchi, who's here to see you?" Vihaan said, waiting for the new visitor to enter the room.

"Arjun!" Sanchi exclaimed, finding his visit as a surprise.

Arjun sat down on a chair next to the bed and rested his elbows on either of his thighs. "Nobody informed me of this serious thing at all. I was still under the impression that you were holidaying at Omkareshwar until when Vihaan Sir disclosed the truth at the bureau today."

Sanchi stole a quick glance of Vihaan, who was grabbing his casual polo shirt and sweatpants from the cupboard. When Vihaan disappeared into the loo, she softly spoke, "Was he at the bur-eau today?"

"He was there in the early evening to collect news regarding the rejoining of his duty. When I met him, I knew that you must have also returned to Indore with him. But then he narrated about the deleterious incident with you and I shivered from the news." Arjun rubbed his palms together in nervousness.

"Oh Ar-jun, I'm fine you see." Sanchi moved on the bed a little. "Didn't Dhee-raj bro tell you ab-out it? He had joined the bur-eau ear-lier and even papa too."

"I confronted them after hearing it from Vihaan Sir. Both Virendra Sir and Dheeraj told me that they didn't inform about it to anyone. They couldn't afford to hurt or tense the people closer to you."

"But Vih-aan did it, right? He attem-pted to hurt the people clo-ser to me!" Sanchi whispered, sadness gripping her.

Arjun nodded vigorously. "No Sanchi, he didn't. He told me that you would feel better from the boredom and homesickness if you meet your close friends. This was the only reason why he called me here!"

To be continued...

A/N: The previous chapter got 80+ votes 🎉🎊.. Overwhelming and exciting moment for me 🥰!!

How sweet and caring Vihaan is, even though he is strict.. I like him <3 ! I like my readers too ❤ ! Xoxo :)