𝕍𝕚𝕣𝕒𝕙

《 Prologue One 》

"Dur raho tum!" Manjiri yelled between her tears as Akshara walked over to Neil's body to pay her final respects. "Tumhari wajahse mara hai woh! Main tumhe usse alvida nahi kehne dungi!" she blamed her.

"Maa aap aise kyun keh rahi hai?" Akshara cried, shocked.

"I have said it once! Teen jaane gayi hain aaj tumhari wajah se aur kya karna chahti ho? Dur raho!" Manjiri roared. She aggressively held Akshara's hand and pushed her. The push was so hard that Akshara was about to fall due to its impact, but fortunately, Shefali supported her before the untoward thing happened.

"Neil!" Aarohi whimpered, caressing his lifeless face. She got up suddenly and faced Akshara. "Meri maa ko toh chheen hi liya tha na tumne? Ab mere pati ko kyun chheena? Humesha meri khushiyaan kyun chheen leti hai tu Akshara?" Aarohi brought up the past and blamed her further.

"Maine kuchh nahi kiya hai. Please let me see Neil for one last time, please!" Akshara pled, walking closer to Neil's body, away from Shefali's support.

"Akshara, let it be. Woh dono already bohot hurt hain aur tang mat karo! You go to the room." Abhimanyu intervened.

"Abhimanyu yeh kya tareeqa hai baat karne ka? Woh bhi toh hurt hai na? Beemar bhi hai. Upar se sab usse blame kiye jaa rahe hai." Mahima chided Abhimanyu, not being able to look at Akshara's state. She felt something was amiss.

Hearing everyone blame her, Akshara started feeling dizzy. Just as she was about to collapse, Mahima held her. "Neil marr chuka hai! Jo zinda hain unhe toh baksh do!" Mahima said, frustrated at everyone's behavior, especially Abhimanyu's, who did not even move when Akshara collapsed. Her doctor instincts kicked in, and she immediately took Akshara to the room with Parth's help.

~❈~

Parth laid Akshara on the bed as Mahima walked in with her medical bag.

"Mom, what happened to her suddenly?" Parth asked Mahima, concerned about his sister-in-law's condition.

"She is unwell—both mentally and physically! She has just miscarried. No amount of stress is okay for her right now. Mujhe samajh hi nahi aa raha Abhimanyu aur Manjiri itna inconsiderate kyun behave kar rahe hai." Mahima answered, frustrated. She checked Akshara's vitals and administered an injection to help her gain consciousness.

Mahima and Parth sat in the room, waiting for her to wake up. Shefali walked in after a little while.

"Parth woh..." she trailed off, trying to control her tears. All the happenings had taken a toll on her too.

Parth walked to her and hugged her quickly to console her, "Kya hua?" he asked.

"Tumhe neeche bulaya hai. Neil ko le jaana hai."

Parth nodded sadly, "Mom?"

"You go. Someone needs to stay with Akshara, too," Mahima said.

"Okay. Shefali I guess tum bhi mom ke saath ruk jao, Shivaansh bhi kabse nanny ke paas hai." Parth said, and Shefali acknowledged him with a slight nod.

Parth left the room, and Shefali went to sit beside an unconscious Akshara.

"How is she now?"

"Not very good. She needs a lot of care; the recovery is difficult. Abhi maine injection diya hai par admit karna pad sakta hai. She is extremely weak."

"I cannot process whatever is happening. Ek din mein sab kuchh bikhar gaya! Abhimanyu-Akshara, Neil-Aarohi babies ke aane se kitna khush they aur ab yeh?" Shefali spoke her mind, tears streaming down her face. She was heartbroken too. Ever since she came into the Birla household as a daughter-in-law, she had never seen the entire family together and happy. But the news of Akshara and Aarohi's pregnancies had brought lots of joy to the house.