Two simultaneous screeches from the door, and Vaanya halted in the same position of holding Abhir's throat, as the couple turned to look at their respective brothers standing at the doorstep with shocked faces.
"Vaanya daura pad raha hai kya? Mere bechare jija ka gala daba rahi hai tujhe sharam nahi aa rahi, Birlas ki nikammi aulad?" Kartik roared at his sister, walking inside the ICU with heavy steps towards Vaanya to haul her away from Abhir.
But as Kartik held Vaanya's wrist, Abhir did the same, but the slightest different in Abhir's grip was, that he held Kartik's wrist with a toothy smile.
"Kartik, do you really think she can hurt me?" Abhir wiggled his eyebrows to motion Kartik towards Vaanya's hand placement around his neck, that she wasn't even touching Abhir.
"So what if she isn't touching you? You're in a critical condition. We all know that. Yet Vaanya? Stop with your childish acts now, Vaanu. This is utterly disappointing," Kartik's creased eyebrows brought tears in Vaanya's eyes in an instant.
She has been rebuked by her mother since her childhood on her mistakes, and the only escape for her was her big brother or her grandparents who would always pampered her. Kartik always brought her chocolates or toffees whenever she had bad days.
But never for once in their entire lifetime had Kartik even glared at her in anger. And today?
Today when he ended up berating her, her heart broke in an instant that she just froze on her spot out of surprise.
Kartik turned around in fury, massaging his forehead to relieve from stress affer shouting at someone whom he has always treated like a princess.
"Frick it!"
Kartik regretted in his mind, but his body was still burning up after the heated moment, where he thought staying quiet would be a better option right now rather than pacifying Vaanya.
Atharva silently came to stand on the other side of Abhir's bed. Horrifyingly watching the siblings in the heated moment that ached his heart as well, likewise Abhir's.
He couldn't stand anyone shouting at his wife, even if it's her brother.
"Kartik," Abhir called in a plain tone. "It wasn't her fault, but mine. I was over doing things and annoying her, and we were just having our quality time together that we've been missing on. Vaanya would never hurt me, and we all know that really well," and his tone at the end would be termed as rough and stern.
Kartik gyrated to look at Abhir looking at him with a disappointed gaze.
"You shouldn't have shouted on her without knowing the reason, or even without carefully observing that she wasn't even touching me," Abhir boldly stated, not taking any insults coming his wife's way, even if that's from her or his family's side.
No one has the right to insult her, anyhow. Neither in front of him, nor behind his back too. It's unacceptable to her husband.
"Apologize to her," Abhir demanded.
Atharva and Vaanya both looked at him in a little surprise at his manly, gravelling deep tone that he used for Kartik, as none of them had ever witnessed Abhir in such a serious avatar before, except for the time when Vivaan insulted Vaanya in front of Abhir.
Kartik exhaled looking at Vaanya, agreeing to Abhir as he knew that he was right. He shouldn't have raised his voice at his little sister, and apologizing would be a better option than eluding the topic for future, and making it worse amongst them.
Kartik opened his arms wide for his sister, an apologetic face and lips tightly pressed into a thin, guilty line.
"I'm sorry, Vaanu," Kartik expressed his guilt, and Vaanya sadly pouted at her brother.
"Bhai, aap bohot bure ho," and with that, she jumps in his arms with a crying face, not wanting to remember how badly he chastised her a moment ago.
"Sorry mera baccha, I'm really sorry," Kartik hugged her tightly, gently stroking her hair as he planted a kiss on her head.
"But tu bhi to ajeeb harkate karti rehti hai saara time. Kya zaroorat thi apne pati ki jaan lene ki? Aisa bhi kya kar diya tha isne ki tu seedha maarne pe hi utar aayi isko, jab ki vo abhi abhi tere liye teen goliyan khake baitha hai yaha, huh?"
Kartik broke the hug, and cupped her cheeks, squeezing them to make her look up at him.
Abhir and Atharva both smiled looking at the duo, mending things between them.
"Vo to aap isse hi pucho," Vaanya scrunched her nose angrily at Abhir as she cutely narrated how Abhir annoyed her with the bouquet prank.
"Ye kutta kamina, ullu ka pattha aadmi kahi ka- Revanth ko bolta hai ki jo bouquet vo iske liye laya tha, usse vo dobara leke aaye par ye bole ki vo kisi ladki ne bhijwaya hai iske liye," she told with child like expressions.
Kartik's gaze wandered towards Abhir in astonishment and anger.
"Or pata hai bhai? Isne mujhe baad me darawani bhi bola tha," Vaanya told with victorious expressions, happy that now Abhir will be reprimanded by her elder brother, but she didn't expect the tables to turn around like this.
"Darawani bola tujhe?" Kartik exclaimed with big eyes, looking at Vaanya's fake gloomy expressions.
"To isme kya galat bola? Ye to sach hi hai," Kartik says with a serious gaze.
"Kya bhai? Aap sach me bohot gande ho," Vaanya cried, making the boys in the room laugh at her reaction and how easy it was to trigger her.
"Acha on a serious note," Kartik shushed everyone to have a concerning conversation. Abhir secretly motioned Vaanya to sit beside him with a pleading expression.
"Bhai is here-" Vaanya eyed her husband while standing behind Kartik.
"Please-" Abut Abhir pleaded again with his eyes, coercing Vaanya to listen to his request.
And just to make it look normal, she very causally slips beside him on the bed, and Abhir circled his arm around her waist, slightly caressing her side belly while Kartik took a seat beside his bed, and so did Atharva, opposite to Kartik.
"How did this happen? What went so wrong and horrible that guns were used, huh? And I deny to hear excuses like 'nah it wasn't big' or 'oh we'll manage, it's all control now'. No. I want the truth, or you guys are well aware about my connections. It won't be hard for me to know each and every detail about Abhir's accident,"
Kartik eyed the couple with his arms formally folded under his chest.
Vaanya and Abhir took a quiet glance at each other. Their eyes quickly exchanging words to make a decision about what story should they make up, or must they spill the truth?
Vaanya's brows danced, asking Abhir for a solution. But Abhir who was gently caressing her back earlier, now stroked her back twice in a swift moment to tell that he got this.
"Well," he initiated. "The truth is, that I was working late on my sights outside the city from past one week. There's my secret base, and has a lot of security all around due to it being build in a secluded place. So after a week of this happening, Vaanya doubted that I'm probably having an external marital affair, and to confirm that, she secretly visited my place without any information,"
Abhir tightly pressed his lips seeing Vaanya gawking at him, totally dumbfounded when he actually revealed about her doubting him for the external marital affair.
"Iss baar nahi chhodungi mai tumhe, chatur chirkut Agnihotri. Ab dekhna tum bas, kya haal karti hu mai tumhara,"
Abhir gulped, but acted normal as he knew he had the protection of Kartik as of now, rest he can wind up by using the gunshot wounds. Simple.
Coughing once, he reverted back his attention to Kartik to continue with his story.
"So, as soon as my PA, Revanth told me that Vaanya has arrived, we quickly sent all our guards on duty to hide in the bunglow, and I ran to see her out of shock. But we didn't know, that sending off the guards would turn this bad, and a few stalkers who were behind Vaanya would actually come to the bunglow and attack us. Although, I got it covered by calling the police at the right time, and got them arrested the same time, but yeah, I got shot in the end as well sadly,"
And Abhir concluded the narration. He tried his level best to make it sound real, and it did.
"Really guys? Vaanu seriously what's wrong with you, huh? You can't trust a man like Abhir? External marital affair? Seriously Vaanu?" Kartik exclaimed, disappointment all over his face that buried Vaanya's heart in deep agitation.
"Bohot acha mauke ka fayeda uthaya tumne, dagabaaz aadmi,"
"Ye papa Agnihotri ki badi aulad ka katal to mere hi haatho likha hai ab, tum bas ruk jaao Abhir, tumhe to mai batati hu ki asli biwi ka roop aakhir hota kya hai. Saare par ek baar me kat jayenge,"
"Sorry Bhai, but aap khud hi batao na. Jis ladki ka pati raat raat bhar ghar hi nahi aayega, or har roz site pe jaa raha hu, clients aaye hai, investors aaye hai, vo bhi raat me aaye hai bolke nikal jayega, uss ladki ko shaq hona to jayaz hai na?"
Vaanya also took her chance, and with an innocent face, covered it up for herself, threateningly eyeing Abhir.
"Oh- right! Abhir? Raat me hi clien—"
"Mera baccha,"
But as Kartik was about to question him with the fact that Vaanya stated, the door of the ICU flew open, revealing the Birla and Agnihotri parents.
Abhir's mom's eyes teared up seeing Abhir's entire chest, from his left shoulder to his lower abdomen being wrapped in bandages. Her heart clenched seeing her dear son in that condition.
Vaanya, Atharva and Kartik all stood up to stand on one side of the bed so the parents could come and meet their son and son-in-law together.
"Mera baccha, kaisa hai ab tu, Abhi?" Mrs. Chetna tried her best to control herself and not cry in front of her son, but she seemed to fail miserably at her task.
His mom very lovingly stroked his hair out of love and care.
"Maa, mai bilkul theek hu," Abhir smiled up at his parents, kissing his mother's palm as she caressed his face.
"Tujhe pata hai hum kitna darr gaye the jab doctor ne kaha ki tujhe major blood loss hua hai. Vo to acha hua ki humari Vaanu beti ne bina soche samjhe, ek second me apna blood donate kar diya, varna donor dhoondhne baith-te to kitna time waste hota or teri jaan ko kitna risk ho jata,"
His mom uttered.
And Abhir promptly gaped up at Vaanya who was standing on his right with her lips folded in a line with some feeling, that she didn't want to share.
It wasn't shyness or embarassment, she just didn't feel like her deeds should be praised out loud like that, because her belief is, "Do good with one hand in such a way, that your other hand doesn't get to know about it."
[Acha kaam aise karo ki, ek haath se karo or dusre ko pata hi na chale]
And that day, for Abhir, respect, love, adoration, and everything just reached beyond infinity for Vaanya.
Donating blood isn't a big deal. But her doing it for him, made it much, much more valuable for him. It meant everything to him.
Being with Vaanya makes him realise everyday, that how good it was to disagree with her condition of calling off their wedding earlier. It feels debatable to now live a life without her. Almost next to impossible of waking up everyday, and not having her beside him. No. He can't even imagine that anymore.
"Abhir, sleep now," and after a tiring day, Vaanya wearily utters, falling on the couch next to the door of the ward, as both the families left after having dinner together with Abhir, as they took a special permission to stay beyond visiting hours, and spend some time with him.
"Why? You're not sleeping?" He questions, seeing her drained and closing her eyes while she massaged her forehead.
"No, I'm sleeping as well," she replied without looking at him.
"Then come," he responds.
Vaanya looks up at him, confused about where he was calling her.
"Where?" She chuckled gazing at him.
"Of course here," he tapped on the space beside him, making place for her next to him to sleep together.
"No, Abhi. You're hurt all over. What if I kick or slap you while sleeping? And there's less space anyway on your bed, you won't be comfortable," she politely denied for his own health, in a low, strained voice.
"Vaanu it's literally just an inch smaller than a queen sized bed, and you're saying it's small?" Abhir surprisingly muttered.
"Are you trying to walk away fro
m me because I look ugly with these bandages?" His eyes grew large at the realisation as he spoke, making Vaanya get back to her active senses.
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