Birds of a Feather

Chapter 66: Second

After what felt like ages, Ved finally arrived, holding out a report for her to read.

"Here," was all he said.

"Just tell me what's wrong Ved," she said, ignoring the file and meeting his eyes, utterly exhausted.

"Heart attack, which I'm sure you have diagnosed by now. He needs an angiogram, and then a stent depending on how many coronary arteries are blocked."

It was quite a harmless procedure all things considered; there was at least one good news. "Ok, do it then. I will fill out the paperwork."

"Yeah, they are taking him to the operating room right now."

Khushi nodded.

Ved, however, sat down beside her. "What's going on?" he asked her seriously.

"What do you mean?"

"You are not panicking about your father, you are lying about Arnav–"

"I'm not lying–"

"Oh please, anyone who met Arnav would know that he would be here with you right now. Which only makes me think, he doesn't even know where you are... What happened? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"You're a good friend Ved," Khushi said with a forced smile. "And I really do appreciate you trying to be here for me. But what I really need from you is to be in that O.R. and make sure my father's procedure is successful. Can you do that for me?"

Ved understood her dismissal.

But she could see in his eyes that he was struggling to decide whether to agree or argue. Thankfully, he decided on the former. Patting her shoulder in sympathy, he left with a quiet sigh.

Khushi continued waiting in the empty hallway, her mind refusing to process what was happening. She vaguely wondered how long her father's heart had been bothering him, for a blocked coronary artery did not happen overnight. And more importantly, how come he never told anyone about it.

But who would he have told?

Vihaan had left, taking with him the last piece of normalcy Alok probably had. Khushi's contempt for him had always been an open secret. And Garima was dead in every sense of the word. So, who was left?

It was submerged in these thoughts when she heard him.

"Khushi! I was so worried! You left your phone at home–"

Arnav came skidding to a halt in front of her. Judging from the tone of his voice, she knew that his eyes would be strained and his forehead, crumpled.

He was worried. For her.

Normally she would have found his concern touching, but at that moment, in wake of everything she had witnessed, it only made her mad. He had no business worrying about her. Keeping her eyes strictly on the floor in front of her, she refused to listen.

"How is he doing?" Arnav continued, dropping down on the bench beside her, clearly not seeing anything amiss. "Ved was saying that he needs a stent put in... is that true?"

Damn Ved. He knew her too well.

"Khushi?"

It was getting harder and harder to ignore him.

He gently nudged her shoulder. "What's wrong? Are... are you worried about your father?"

Khushi didn't look.

Panic was beginning to set in Arnav's voice. "Can you hear me? Khushi?"

She took a deep breath, realizing with a heavy heart that talking to him was unavoidable.