Arranged In Love!

The Dread!

(A/N: Statutory Warning: Keep your hankies/boxes of tissues handy and buckle up your seatbelts as this as well as the forthcoming chapters are going to be one hell of a roller-coaster ride! Don't say I didn't warn you about it! 😂😂😂
Disclaimer: Crying is injurious to health! Crying causes heartache! 😂😉😋🙈
Without much further ado, here is the next part! ❤
P.S.: Listen to the song 'Jaane Nahi Denge Tujhe' from '3 Idiots' and 'Kal Ho Naa Ho (Heartbeat Instrumental)' from 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' to get the feels!! 🙈😂)

Numb.

That is all Dev felt as he took a seemingly lifeless Sona; covered in blood; in his arms! He felt as if someone​had taken away his everything; which was true, since Sona was his everything!
The others just went numb too! It took them a few seconds to comprehend the dread of what had just happened! And after it dawned upon them that Sona had met with an accident; perhaps a fatal one; they all rushed to the spot.
"Sona-Sonakshi aakhe khuli rakho! D-Dekho main hoon na! Main tumhe kuch nahi hone doonga bas tum akhe khuli rakho Sona! Please please please!", Dev pleaded to an almost unconscious Sona, tears streaming down his face; mixing with Sona's blood.

Thinking fast, Anant put his name to use and​ called for an ambulance citing an emergency! A few minutes later the ambulance arrived and Sona was already being sped away to a hospital in Mumbai. Since Anant was a respected and well-known personality, his request for creating an emergency corridor for the ambulance as well as the request to the hospital personnel to keep everything ready for Sona to be operated or such, upon, had been granted at the word go.
The turmoil the family felt was heartbreaking! Sona was such an integral part of their lives that a scratch on her and the world had to face their wrath, and now she was swinging between life and death! Tears flowed down their eyes non-stop and every one of them was praying for Sona's life! Anant had also asked their driver to collect their belongings from the farmhouse and drop them off at the Mansion, explaining to him the horrendous situation that had eclipsed them.
Raj had called up Vihaan and Shriya informing them of Sona's accident, and the duo had immediately frozen! Sona was not just like their younger sister, but she was their younger sister!

All this while Dev had not spoken a word; his eyes never left Sona's face! He kept muttering pleas to her; begging her to wake up, but to no avail! His Sona was now wired up to the life-supporting system and an oxygen mask to keep her breathing steady; her skin​ paled, her clothes blood-red!
Ishwari and Anjali were trying to console Asha, but they had no courage; the men's condition was nothing less.
Soumya was shattered just like Dev; but a lot less than him, of course! Sona meant a lot to Soumya too; she was not just her sister-in-law law but her sister, her best friend, her confidante, her family! Plus she had to see her brother break down silently, bit by bit and he seemed lost too; which was so unlike her brother! She was scared too! The thought of losing her Sona Bhaabi and along with her, losing Dev too, somehow, terrified her to her guts.
Dev's face gave nothing away as his expressions remained blank; but the way he was pleading to an unconscious Sona to open her beautiful eyes and wake up, could make anyone feel some part of the trauma that he was going through!
After a mentally excruciating journey of one hour fifteen minutes; which had been cut down from nearly two hours; the ambulance entered the emergency corridor of the 'Leelavati Hospital', the best in Mumbai, and Sona was immediately rushed to the Operation Theatre (OT) on priority basis!
While Sona was being taken away to the OT on the stretcher, Dev had tightly enclosed her hand in his own. As they stood at the threshold of the OT, one of the nurses requested Dev to leave Sona's hand, so that they could take her in! But even the thought of getting Sona out of his sight, haunted Dev and he just looked at the nurses with a pleading look on his face. But they could not grant him the request and silently indicated Anant and Raj to tug Dev back; which the duo complied to! A lone tear escaped Dev's eye as Sona's hand slipped out of his; and the doors of the OT closed with the red bulb atop it turning red a minute later, indicating the beginning of Sona's surgery.
Dev hit his back against the wall adjacent to the OT and slid down to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. Soumya instantly scooted next to him on the floor, hugging him by his shoulder, whilst crying fervently. " She's going to be okay Bhai! Woh Sona Bhaabi hain! She's very strong, she'll be fine soon!", Soumya tried assuring Dev and somewhat, herself too!
It had been more than three hours already since the doctors had begun operating on Sonakshi, yet there were no signs of the operation getting over. Nurses had rushed in and out of the OT, but none spoke a word about Sona's condition; worrying the family even more!
When the doctor finally came out of the OT; after a prolonged surgery; with a stoic expression, the family's hopes wavered and faltered! "We have put our best into this! But Miss Bose has lost a lot of blood and the impact of the hit had been so powerful that she has sustained some internal injuries as well as internal bleeding! The next twelve hours are crucial; if she does not gain consciousness in these twelve hours she might slip into a coma or it could be fatal too.", the doctor told them, and added, "All I can suggest is, pray to God and hope for a miracle! Because, when medical knowledge and expertise fails, prayers do help!", and left, patting Bejoy's shoulder, sympathetically!
'Coma' and 'Fatal', were the only two words that Dev had registered, and that made him break into pieces, yet again! From the corner of his eyes, Dev saw a lady crying in front of Lord Ganesh's idol, with folded hands! He got up, staggering on his feet, and walked to the idol, when somebody stopped him - Natasha Gujral!