Sunaina's POV
It's been three days since we are in the hospital. The doctors said that the bullet has just escaped his heart and he is in a critical state. If matters get worse, he might fall into a coma. My feet went numb on hearing this. I couldn't help but blame myself for all this. If it wasn't for me then he wouldn't have been targeted.
"It's okay Sunaina. You should really go and take some rest." I looked at Karan who just brought a cup of coffee for me to drink. I looked at him teary eyed and shook my head in denial immediately. I looked around and found Abhay, Mansi and Gayathri Devi sitting on the side of the ICU. Tears were falling off Gayathri Devi's eyes which made me feel worse. I never expected this to happen to him. I still remember that dreadful night.
(3 days ago)
I left Preeti to take care of that killer and went ahead to be by his side.
"Suna...ina..." I pushed away the crowd and went down to hold his hand tightly. My fear to lose him has gotten stronger. Even under so much pain, his last words came out only to reassure me.
"Do...not worry....." He touched my cheeks that were already smeared with his blood. "I am not...easy....to....kill." saying this, he fell into an unconscious state.
"Arjun? Arjun you can hear me right?" Was all I could say to him.
"Please stop joking. It's not funny Arjun...you...you were trying to tell me something. Tell me...I won't interrupt you. But please talk." My eyes let go of all the tears, it had accumulated for so long. In front of someone I was in love with was lying down. How could this happen? How could I let my guard down? I knew his life was in danger. That was the sole reason, I was here. Then how he is in this state?
"Move it...move it...everyone. Don't crowd this place up!" I heard Karan push away the rest of the crowd.
"Sunaina! Sunaina!" He shook me back to reality and I looked at him with swollen eyes.
"Take him to the hospital. There's no time to delay. I have already called in an ambulance. They would be here soon." My mind wandered off the rest of his words. I seemed to be in a trance. Soon enough, Arjun was taken away in the ambulance and I went along with him. Sitting by side in the ambulance, I held his hand tightly. Karan was sitting right next to me. He looked at me apologetically.
"Sunaina...I will get to the root of this. I promise." Everything seems to be falling deaf on my ears. My eyes only fixed on the unconscious Arjun.
If something happens to him, I will never be able to forgive myself.
We reached inside the hospital and he was immediately taken inside the operation theatre. "Who's from his family?" The doctor asked. I raised my hand and the doctor asked me to fill out some forms while they start with the procedure. I did as I was asked to do and then all I could do was just wait. Karan seems to have already informed Abhay and they also reached the hospital an hour later. Mine and Gayathri Devi's eyes met a few times and I was too ashamed to face her. I couldn't protect her son despite promising to do so. Preeti along with her butler joined me the next day. Her hug let out those sealed tears again.
"Gullu...go and atleast eat something please. You have not eaten anything since morning." Her voice clearly displayed worry.
"You are her friend right?" Karan interrupted her. She looked at him and nodded.
"Please ask her to put something in her mouth. She hasn't eaten anything since yesterday." Preeti heard his words and looked at me with concern.
"I am not hungry." My voice seemed like a whisper now. "Let him wake up. We can eat then."
"But you have to take care of yourself. Please Gullu...don't punish yourself like this." Preeti said almost in a pleading tone.
"Your friend is right. Go and eat. We are here." I looked at the direction of the speaker and saw Gayathri looking at me with cold eyes. I deserved this. I have let her down. I nodded at her and left with Preeti. My tears still not willing to stop.
Was bringing me to this world a good decision afterall?
Preeti's POV
(A day ago)
I brought Sunaina to the hospital cafeteria. "Sunaina...what do you want to eat?" I asked her hoping for a positive answer but she ended up saying that she isn't hungry at all. Exasperated, I got her a steaming bowl of maggie. She looked at the bowl blankly and that's when I realised that I have to feed her as well so that her stomach atleast gets something inside. I asked Shawarma to grab me a spoon and he did the needful immediately. On getting the spoon, I mixed the masala broth well and added a bit of springs onions to it. Sometimes having a butler is not that bad. You can ask him to bring you anything and he will fetch it for you without a flinch. I mixed the noodles well and brought the spoon near her mouth.
"Eat up. The more you delay here, the more you will be late to go back to ICU." I tried to negotiate and it worked. She finally ate. I started feeding her little by little and within fifteen minutes she finished it off. After she was done, Shawarma got a mexican burrito and put it in front of me. I looked at him in confusion. He understood my eyes and replied obediently.
"Milady, you need to maintain your energy as well." I nodded at his words and started digging in when I suddenly remembered something.
"Shawarma...please go back. I have something to talk to Sunaina about." He nodded in obedience and left us two alone. I looked at Sunaina and she was still in a trance.
"How long is this Karan guy with you all?" My question seemed to have startled her.
"A month I guess."
"Did you realise how similarity he bears with that obnoxious ex of yours?" I had already read in the chapters that Karan looked like that son of a dog, Nikhil but the resemblance is too uncanny. I met him just today and I have already started to hate him. Although he did try to help Sunaina and bring Arjun to the hospital, but there's something that is bothering me. I can't exactly pinpoint it but still.
"I know. But he is just a client."
"Uh huh." Still not completely satisfied with the answer but decided to let it slide anyway.
"Hey Preeti...are you really Preeti?" Her words seems to be coming from a distance.
"What do you mean?"
"You are the first person who seemed to have been sucked in to this fictitious world after me." Her head still drooped low. "How did this happen? You didn't even read the novel to begin with."
How do I explain this to her that I am the author myself?
"Maybe the author has a role for me in this world?" I tried to reason in.
"I hate that person." The blood running through my spine ran cold at her words. "She is trying to kill him. I will never forgive her." Oh no! The thing I feared the most is now happening. Sunaina thinks all the mishaps of this story is Ayu's doing which means if she knows the truth about me being the author, she will misunderstand me for sure.
"Maybe she has no control herself." I tried to reason.
"She is the author! How can she not!"
"She clearly wrote in her notes that she has no control in here right?"
"Wait what?" Sunaina looked at me this time. "How did you know?"
"I just guessed it bish. Why are you cross questioning me!" On hearing this, Sunaina's shoulders drooped again.
"Sorry. My mind is messed. Don't be angry on me."
"Gullu..." I hugged her to comfort her. "I understand you and you know I don't get angry so easily." She nodded slowly and we stayed there like this for a while. I know I had to talk to her about the killer as well but I was well aware that she won't be able to process this in her mind at the moment. She needed a clear consciousness in order understand everything. The killer killed himself by poisoning and I couldn't bring out anything out of him. The only clue I had got from him is that he had a boss and he was successful in protecting him for now. But if he had this note for me then the boss must have guessed that I will reach there to catch the culprit. I have to make sure, Sunaina doesn't know about me being Ayu from anyone else before I get a chance to explain her. Let all this be over and Arjun returns home and I will tell her everything after this storm gets over. After fifteen minutes more, we went back inside the hospital again.
I saw Shawarma serving tea to Arjun's family members and Karan. They all looked tired. I was feeling kinda sad for them. They didn't deserve things like this. But what was making me worried is the appearance of this lookalike of Nikhil. When I had a first glance at him, I couldn't hide the shock I got. He looks just like him and nothing can be good if he or his lookalike is here. I remember how close he and Sunaina were. She really was ready to introduce Nikhil to her parents but something was really off about that guy. He used to fight with her at the smallest of things. She could never share her work success with him because then, he would start to create a ruckus or worse- hurt her dignity. There was this one time, when she was getting ready for her job interview and Nikhil fought with her slurring her with all kinds of accusations. I have told her several times to cut all ties with him but she is a softie to do that.
"I can't do that. He will feel bad. I think he will eventually get bored with me and leave." She used to say. That's when the break up happened. Nikhil left her and broke her confidence. I was really happy that the guy was gone but soon enough, he started contacting her again which in turn was not letting her heal. I was so exhausted to make her understand that eventually I gave up leaving it all in the hands of time.
"So a lookalike of Sunaina's ex huh?" I muttered to myself.
"Milady...what's wrong?" My butler interrupted my thoughts again.
"I need you to do a background check of a person." I explained him about Karan Singhania and asked him to fetch me whatever confidential information he can get.
No one can mess with my story and my best friend...no one!
(Present day)
Sunaina's POV
Preeti handed me over the sandwich. Corn and cheese- my favorite. I smiled at her realising how well she knows me. Ironically, I am having my favorite sandwich waiting for my loved one to wake up. My appetite didn't really matter now but I had to do it for her sake. She smiled at me as I took small bites and finished the sandwich. Ever since they were all called in after the accident, Gayathri Devi didn't utter a single word except for having food. I could very well understand that she was avoiding me. Probably she thinks me to be at fault. It wasn't wrong of her to think like that. She is the only one among Arjun's family who knew the truth about me. I couldn't protect his son at all. I shouldn't have gone to the other side of the hall. I shouldn't have let him follow me.
I shouldn't...have...fallen for him.
Thinking all this, I started to cry again. I am a loser...a big loser!
Abhay, Mansi, Preeti and Karan decided to go out of the hospital for a while and it was just me and Gayathri Devi sitting outside- waiting for the same person to wake up from his slumber. My hands joined together in a prayer stance when suddenly Gayathri Devi came towards me and sat down. Her eyes seems to be on fire. She didn't sleep even an inch since she came here. She probably wanted to take her son and return.
"How did this happen?" She asked me after not talking to me for three long days.
"I don't know..." I lowered my head. "At one moment we were talking and at the next, I saw-" I couldn't complete the sentence. It hurts too much to talk about it.
"You said you will protect my son."
I kept my head low. I know I failed her but most importantly, I failed myself. How much did I want to turn back time and go back to that day. How I wanted to get hold of the gun before it shot it's bullet at him. Even in the world of fiction, I was helpless.
"I am sorry. I couldn't protect your son we-" I couldn't finish my sentence because Gayathri Devi suddenly said something that made tears numb and fall again.
"Sunaina...I appreciate you trying but I think it's better that my son no longer stays with you and you move out."
Here's another update for you all. The mysteries are going to be revealed one by one. Thank you for staying by this book for so long. It really means a lot. I hope you guys love this book and it's living up to your expectations. ❤️❤️