"Are the designs for the next show ready? I need them by the afternoon so that I can approve them and send them for further work." My assistant nods and hands me a file. She is a nice girl. Doesn't speak much, but gets the work done.
I've known her for the last six months, that's how long I've been working in this office. Inspite of all I thought, this job was truly made for me. I work very limited hours and all the workload and stress is kept faraway from me on special orders from my father in law, owing to my pregnancy.
He didn't seem as conflicted and distasteful of me working here as I initially imagined. He even helped me settle down at work and guided me at every step possible. Maybe I shouldn't connect dots of the past to my present just because I can.
I haven't been much worried about all those things in a while. Being occupied with other stuff. Work and home, both have been great. I very recently entered the final trimester of my pregnancy. I've turned into a football and honestly, I am not bothered by it. Shivansh doesn't let me be.
He still looks at me with the same love and adoration. His love and care have honestly made me lazy. I don't even like waking up in the morning and coming to the office but work comes first. My phone rings on the side and I smile. Think of the devil.....
"Shivansh?"
"How are you my darling wife? Has our child troubled you enough yet?" I smile, rubbing a hand over my stomach.
"He or she has been pretty quiet today."
"Well that's a surprise." It's true. Our child loves to ruin my sleep with the storm they kick up in my stomach. I was extremely worried at first until my gynecologist told me that it was fine. I just have a super excited and energetic baby.
I feel a kick right that second and I laugh. "Seems like we summoned it." I can feel him smile through the phone. He has adored the idea of a family with me for a really long time. I wasn't aware of it until very recently. He showers me with all the love that he can and I bask in it like a needy brat. But I am allowed that comfort so it's fine. We talk a while until I decide it's time to go home.
I finish my final report and submit the designs before leaving the office and sit in the car. I learned how to drive as well. I knew how to do it earlier but I wasn't good at it.
Halfway through my drive I feel specifically uneasy. My baby hasn't moved in a while. This does not happen. I turn to the side of the road to pull over but it doesn't work. The breaks don't work!
Fuck! No no no no....... please not now.
I push it again and again with might strong enough to break it but it doesn't work. Lucky for me the car hasn't gone out of control but I can't seem to stop it or slow it down. I do the only thing I could think of. I call my husband. I let it ring through the system in the car as I try to find ways to stop this bloody car without causing much damage to myself or my child.
Tears cloud my eyes but I wipe them away. I can't let my vision deceive me just yet either.
"Darling?"
"Shivansh!" My sob breaks free. I couldn't hold it in further and his panic greets me through the phone. "What happened?! Where are you? Why are you crying?"
"I am in the middle of nowhere. I can't help but just d-drive. The breaks." Sob. "The breaks aren't working Shivansh, I tried everything. I am scared."
"What the fuck!! Okay, okay, can you manage to send me your location? I'll find you wife, don't panic." I make a humming sound from the back of my throat, trying to manage my phone in a hand while keeping my eyes on the road. It's pretty empty right now, thank goodness.
After a while of just ideally driving, I try to pull my feet away from the accelerator but the slope of the road doesn't help my case and having command on my vehicle, no matter how small is very important for me.
I see a car right behind me and before I can panic, it comes to my side and the window rolls down. Mine follows right after. "Calm down darling! I won't let anything happen to you or our baby."
I have no idea how he intends to stop my vehicle from driving me into the face of death but I trust him more than anything else. "What do you plan to do?" I scream through my window, my voice shaky and panicked. He doesn't give me a response, he looks around, probably to find a way out of this unharmed.
None of our cars slow down, we race each other across the empty road until it's not empty anymore. It all seems like a nightmare until my panicked eyes meet those of my husband's. He isn't panicking. He is calm, sure of his decision. This is the first time I see tears blur his eyes as he looks at me, memorizing everything he can. He drives further and rams his car in between mine and the truck.
I lose control of the wheel as my cars hits into his and comes to a stop, no harm to me for the airbags worked but my husband wasn't that lucky. My lungs give out as I cough while falling out of the car. All I see is a wrecked car, turned upside down and a bloodied hand falling out of it. His last words to me before he jumped in, come back to my mind and chill my spine.
"We were doomed from the start."
🌸
I have always hated hospitals. They reek of death and loss. They bring life to some but from where I am sitting, with enough blood on my hands to not let me know peace ever again, I hate them. I sit on a chair, crying like I lost everything, which I did.
My father in law and Vidyut stand further away from me, talking to the doctor who has said nothing other than how difficult it would be to save my husband. I haven't seen my mother in law. She must be so hurt but I don't have it in me to go look for her.
My cries get louder when I feel my child kick. When the ambulance picked us up from the accident site six hours ago, they made sure to check me too, no matter how much I screamed at them to just keep my husband fine. There was so much blood. His head took the main hit. He broke a rib or two as well. But the blood. I had never seen so much blood in my entire life. My baby kicks again. I rub a hand over my belly.
"Was that why you were so quiet today? You knew of the doom coming at us? That your father would be in such a place?" Another kick and my eyes fall shut.
What would I do without him? I didn't even know who I truly was until I met him. He made me the woman I am today, gave me the love I so craved in life. He mended my broken heart only to leave it shattered. My ears ring with heartbreak until my name pulls me out of it.
"Amaira."
I look up to see the woman who doesn't look like the person I knew before. She has changed so much. Veera walks closer and kneels infront of me. She cups my cheek and wipes my tears away, shaking her head. She looks more mature, stronger. Tears cloud her eyes, until she blinks them back. I haven't seen her since she got married five months ago and moved to Mumbai.
I look up and find her husband standing there as well. A little further away but close enough to know if he is needed. He looks at me, puts a hand to his chest and bows slightly. It's his way of giving respect. Something I figured during the time of their wedding. But today his eyes hold sympathy too.
And why wouldn't they, all he sees is a pregnant woman with bloodied clothes, sitting in a hospital and crying because she might lose her husband. My own family rushes in with my grandfather missing. And I am thankful for it. I don't have the energy to deal with that monster. Shruti isn't here either. She went to her own parents house since she is very close to her due date.
Veera moves away and stands beside her husband, giving my family a chance to come closer to me. My parents and brother hug me, trying to console me and telling me how everything would be alright. I so hope to God it's true.
The doctor finally approaches us all, his face tells me it's not good news and dread fills my stomach, nausea making my head swirl. My brother and Veera help me stand.
"We managed to save his life." His words make everyone heave a sigh but he takes the peace away the very next moment. "But now, he is in a coma. We don't know when he will wake up."
There it is. The doom. I lose my balance as everything around me starts to blur. I don't know who holds me up but I feel better when I am settled on the chair. A bottle of water is in front of my face the very next second and I look up at Veera's husband with hurt and a little gratefulness. He pats my head in understanding.
My father in law speaks next. "We will take him home. He will be surrounded by family and maybe that way he will recover soon." Nobody questions him. The doctor agrees to start the procedure as well. My mother in law still hasn't shown her face and that seems alarming. Her son is in the hospital.
Where is she?
🌸
So.........yeah.
What did you guys think? Do let me know.
See you guys soon.