My Nepenthe

Chapter 49

Happy birthday lakshmi_priyanka_ Many many happy returns of the day. Sorry wish karne mein thoda late hogaya.😛😜

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"Will she be alright?" Gauri heard Mithila ask the doctor just as she along with Omkara walked into the lounge outside the critical care unit .

"She is okay for now but we have to keep her in the ICU for one more day. We are doing everything to get her well soon," the doctor assured.

Mithila gratefully nodded her head and the professional left the room to continue with his rounds.

"Mithila ji," Gauri called her friend gaining her attention.

"Gauri, thanks for coming. I was so worried," the elder one said rushing to her and hugged her close.

"I should have come sooner Mithila ji. How did this happen?"

"I had no idea she would resort to this Gauri," the latter explained as a tear streamed down her face.

"Did you tell Arjun sir about this?"

"God, no. I advise that you also keep this to yourself. He doesn't need more guilt trips for helping a girl."

Gauri nodded her head in agreement.

"I heard the doctor say that Himani needs to stay in the ICU. What exactly happened to her?" she asked next.

Mithila hesitantly looked at Omkara for a second or two before she spilled the truth.

"Sh...she overdosed Gauri," she said.

Omkara's heart plummeted in his chest as the meaning of the words sank in.

Did she mean...?

As the dark phase of his life flashed before him like an ugly picture, he couldn't help but feel a chill pass through him.

His bitter past, the expectations, the betrayals laughed at him while his weakness taunted him vilely.

"Overdosed?" he heard his wife's confused tone.

He knew exactly what that term meant. But will he ever be able to explain it to his wife?

Mithila sighed and shook her head.

"I did not tell you this because I thought Himani was out of it. I thought it was all in the past but she relapsed."

"I am not able to understand anything Mithila ji. What are you talking about?"

"Himani was addicted to drugs Gauri. Drugs which give you euphoria, a wrong escape from reality. Taking them is not good for health," she explained, emitting a shocked gasp from her friend.

"Oh my God," Gauri whispered.

"When I and Arjun sir first found Himani in an inebriated state in our college more than a year back, we rushed her to a hospital and got to know of her habit. She was so angry at us for breaching her privacy. She refused to talk to anybody regarding the matter."

"For some reason, Arjun sir made it his job to make her understand that she is destroying her life. I too helped him."

Gauri silently listened to the story, not once interrupting the narrator.

"It was very difficult at first but slowly she warmed up to us. We thought she was over it. From the last six months, she was clean and now this," said Mithila in utter disappointment.

"I...never knew she was going through all that," Gauri said and looked at her husband who dared not meet her eyes.

"How would you know Gauri? Not only is Himani an impulsive girl, but she is also a private person. She wouldn't have told you and I did not want you to think anything bad about her."