"Rahul" Juhi repeated again to bring Shashank's attention towards the door.. Shashank was equally stunned to see Rahul standing at the entrance... His feet refused to move while Juhi walked away from him towards Rahul.
"Hi Rahul... What a surprise... I wasn't expecting you here..." Juhi stammered trying to hide her nervousness..
"Well... is it a pleasant or unpleasant surprise... you tell me first.." he grinned
Juhi tried to fake a smile saying "yes it is a pleasant surprise.." chewing on the last two words
"Well, I have an investors meet tomorrow here at Pune.. so I thought I could spend sometime with you while I'm here... and you also mentioned you would be coming back home only next week... so ..." his voice trailed looking at the blank look on her face
"Aren't you happy seeing me here Juhi.." he questioned her
"Nothing like that Rahul.. It's just that I wasn't expecting this kind of a surprise...." she faked a smile again
Meanwhile Shashank ended up chatting with an old colleague, while his eyes and ears remained fixed towards the entrance..
Rahul looked up and acknowledged Shashank with a smile... and walked towards him followed by Juhi..
Shashank excused himself from his colleague and walked towards them...
"Hello Rahul... Indeed a pleasant surprise..." Shashank said
"Hello Dr Shashank... Pleasure is all mine.." he replied
"All good sir..." he asked Shashank
Shashank nodded his head and acknowledged with a "Thank you"
"I must say that was a very stunning dance by the both of you, Dr Shashank... and Juhi, you are looking gorgeous in this saree.." he further added
Words froze in their mouth.. Juhi turned crimson red while Shashank also felt the heat.. There was an awkward silence..
Shashank tried to ease out the awkwardness"Now that you are here with us this evening, please join us for dinner, Rahul..." he said
With a big smile plastered on his face, Rahul replied " Thank you Dr Shashank.. but I plan to take Juhi out for dinner tonight once she is done here.." looking at Juhi..
Juhi was stunned .... and so was Shashank..
She did not utter a word...
Shashank felt suffocated.... Briefing a nod he said.. "Please enjoy your evening while you are here..." he ended their conversation formally excusing himself and walked away
Pulling out his bow tie he shoved it into his coat pocket... Unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt he walked towards the bar section.. he needed a drink...
Anjali who was standing at a distance having a candid conversation with her bestie noticed all the drama that had unfolded post the dance performance...
Excusing herself she walked towards her dad who was standing near the makeshift bar counter with a glass of whiskey in his hand...
Shashank acknowledged Anjali's presence with a smile... " Is that Rahul..." she asked him
Shashank nodded his head
Both father and daughter's eyes were fixed towards the door where Juhi stood along with Rahul without a single word being spoken....
On the other side, Juhi decided to leave with Rahul... She knew how awkward it was for both Shashank and her with Rahul around...
"Rahul, I ll just be back in a minute..." She said and walked towards Shashank and Anjali...
"Dr Shashank" he looked up at her when she called out his name... "I'm leaving with Rahul... I will be back later tonight...and..... I will be fine ...." she said
Shashank nodded his head since words failed to come out of his mouth...
Both refused to look into each other's eyes...
Anjali stood as a mute spectator with a glass of wine in her hand... She acknowledged back Juhi with a smile as Juhi bid her bye and walked away....
Shashank gulped the remaining amber liquid at one go while Anjali stood clueless sipping her wine..
Placing her empty glass on the counter, she tucked her arm around Shashank's and said "May I have the pleasure of dining with the most handsome man in this room..."
Shashank blushed... For that moment he chose to forget everything that was hurting him... "Pleasure is all mine, beautiful lady.." he smiled and walked arm in arm with his daughter towards the dining area ..
As they drove towards Hotel Conrad where Rahul was staying, Juhi sat in absolute silence looking outside the window... She hated such surprises.. Seated beside her in the backseat of the car, Rahul noticed that she hadn't uttered a single word ever since she left the banquet hall...
Moreover the proximity Shashank and Juhi shared while dancing was bothering him at the corner of his mind although he tried to shrug aside the thought telling himself they were just associates and good friends...
" Juhi.. what happened... why are you so quiet... is something bothering you... aren't you happy to come along with me...." he questioned her
Letting out a deep breath she answered " it's just that I am extremely tired... both physically and mentally ..." looking down at her entwined hands
Neither of them spoke again till they reached their destination
Rahul opened the car door for her and held out his hand... hesitantly she placed her hand in his and alighted from the car.. They walked towards the table reserved for them...
Sipping on his glass of wine, Rahul kept staring at Juhi who was once again lost in her thoughts, swirling the wine in her glass...
Breaking the deafening silence after few minutes he called her "Juhi.."
Getting no response he placed his hand over hers and called her name again...
His action startled Juhi and she came out of her deep thoughts... "I'm sorry I was lost in my thoughts..." she apologised
She tried to pull her hand out of his hold but he held her firmly ..
"Why do I feel that while you are physically present her with me but mentally you have left behind your something precious.. I mean your mind, back at the banquet hall..." he quipped
Juhi looked shocked... " You seem to be reading too much... I told you I'm tired..." she cut him straight
Letting out a sigh he spoke "Juhi we need to speak... it's almost a month since we had a conversation.... please...." he said
"There is nothing to speak, Rahul..
I have already told you what I want... and my decision remains the same..." she said in one breath
" Yes I do remember all that you have said Juhi.. but do you also remember what I asked you for...?? Give me one valid reason why you don't want to give us a second chance...
You remember..? He questioned her
" I don't owe you any explanation, Rahul...
It's my life and my choice..." she stressed in each and every word
" You do owe me an explanation, Juhi because you are my legally wedded wife..." he fumed fisting his hand on the table...
" Tell me one thing, are you in love with someone... is that why you don't want to give us a second chance..." he glared at her
" No I am not..." she answered not meeting his gaze
" Either you give me a valid reason or I surely have my way to find out the reason myself ...
You know me well.. I can be as bad as good as I can be...
And remember one thing Juhi, I will never give you a divorce no matter what... I'm ready to wait as long as you want and I'm sure someday you will accept this relationship..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she nodded her head in negation... She tried wiping them off without anyone noticing her..
Rahul felt guilty that moment... At the same time the waiter came along with the food... Juhi stopped him from serving on her plate saying " I'm full already.. thank you.." leaving the waiter perplexed..
Picking up her phone she booked a cab.. While Rahul started to nibble what was served on his plate, Juhi sat staring at her phone screen..
Few minutes later, a message beeped on her phone indicating the arrival of the cab..
" Enjoy you dinner, Rahul.." she stood picking up her purse and turned to walk when Rahul spoke " So it is Dr Shashank.. right..."
She stood rooted to her spot her back facing him.. Her feet froze.. Without looking back at him she replied "Good night Rahul.." and walked out
She felt breathless and tears clouded her eyes..
Back home Shashank and Anjali retired to their respective rooms... Shashank began to feel uneasy.. Maybe it was because of the alcohol, he thoughts
Throwing his coat in the bed , he began to roll up his sleeves.. His vision began to blur... His head began to hammer.. his vision doubled... he knew he was having a black out... Just when he picked up the glass of water from his bedside table, he blacked out and fell face down on the bed dropping the glass on the floor shattering it into pieces ...
Anjali was alerted by the glass shattering sound.. She sensed something to be wrong and hurriedly walked to his room..
Her heart stopped beating for a moment when she found him face down on the bed motionless...
She rushed to him and turned him face up and tried waking him up... " Dad... what happened to you... Open your eyes.." she literally shook him
Seeing no response she immediately picked up his phone which was lying on the bed and called Sanjivani and asked them to send the ambulance...
The ambulance arrived in ten minutes time.. and they quickly shifted him to the ambulance.. Throughout the drive back to Sanjivani , Anjali cried inconsolably holding his hand between hers.
While Shashank was wheeled into the ICU.. Anjali realised she needs to inform Juhi.. Picking up her phone, she dialled Juhi's number.. The line on the other end kept ringing... "Pick up the call, Dr Juhi... Pick it up.." she muttered as she dialled her number for the sixth time ...
As the cab sped through the streets, Juhi sobbed quietly... She felt vulnerable ... there was an unknown grief building inside her... All she needed was a tight hug from Shashank..
That was her home...
She yearned for his comfort ...
Rahul's last words kept ringing in her head... Eventually it had to come out to head.. she thought
Paying the cab driver she walked inside the gate to an eerie silence..
Shambu who was pacing to and fro rushed seeing Juhi with tears in his eyes...
" What happened Shambu .. Where is Dr Shashank and Anjali..." Juhi asked
"Madam ji, after returning back home from the dinner party, Sahab collapsed in his room...So Anjali madam called the ambulance and they have taken him to the hospital.." he sobbed
Juhi froze... She felt like someone pull the rug out from under her feet.. her world collapsed once again...
With tears streaming down her face, she rushed outside the gate and thankfully spotted an auto rickshaw.. She literally pleaded the driver to take her to her destination and the good old man obliged seeing her haggard state.. He must be godsend .. she thought..
Pulling out her phone from her purse and as the screen came to life, she instantly cursed herself noticing 6 missed calls from Anjali... Her phone was on silent mode and she had forgotten to switch it back..
Her mind remained frozen... except for the tears that continued to roll down her eyes...
Thanks to the late hour, with hardly any traffic on the road, she managed to reach Sanjivani in twelve minutes..
Pulling out a five hundred rupee note from her purse she handed it to the driver thanking him and rushed inside without even bothering to take back the change...
Anjali who was pacing outside the MRI room rushed seeing Juhi..." Dr Juhi... Dad is unconscious... He is not responding... I have been trying to reach you for so long... please do something... please save dad..." she cried hugging Juhi...
"Anjali, get hold of yourself... Nothing will go wrong with Dr Shashank... He will be fine.. trust me.. you have to stay strong..." Juhi consoled her
Nurse Philo who was standing along with Anjali outside the MRI room walked towards Juhi and spoke in a low tone " Dr Juhi, I'm sorry I'm letting you know this information now, I should have found a way out to let you know earlier.. "
"What happened Sis Philo..." Juhi questioned
" Dr Shashank had a black out this afternoon while he was on rounds at the children's ward.."
"What" both Juhi and Anjali exclaimed..
" I helped him back to his cabin and helped him take the tablets he asked for... Even though I insisted that you and Dr Anjali be informed about the same that very moment, he blankly refused saying there was nothing to worry about and he will inform the both of you by himself... Although I wasn't convinced I stayed with him till he felt better and then left to meet you.. Meanwhile an emergency came up and I was assisting Dr Mehta.. When I returned back from the OT, you had already left ... I'm sorry Dr Juhi..." She sobbed
"That's alright, Sis. Philo... Stop blaming yourself...We knew this was coming..." she consoled her
Just then they wheeled out Shashank from the MRI room into the ICU..Juhi's heart sank seeing his lifeless body... Tears brimmed her eyes...
" You will fight this for us , Dr Shashank.. You will fight... " she whispered saying a silent prayer as she walked into the ICU.. She examined him.. Her worst fears had come true.. He had slipped into coma..
" We need to operate on him as soon as possible... And ask them to get me the scan reports at the earliest... " she instructed Sis. Philo
She needed to change into her scrubs.. walking into the changing room she closed the door behind her and leaned against the door...
" You can't leave me like this Dr Shashank... you can't.." she whispered
Unpinning her saree pallu, her thoughts went back to the events that transpired between them that evening... The feel of his breath on her back, the way her tied her dori , his fingers grazing her back with feathery touches and that tender kiss on her shoulder...his last kiss... she shut her eyes tight...
" I can't let emotions over ride me this time.. I can't afford to loose you, Dr Shashank.. I will get you back... Our love will bring you back.." she reaffirmed herself and walked out of the changing room..
She noticed the scans were already placed on her table... Reviewing them, she reaffirmed herself that surgery has to be done at the earliest since the growing tumour was increasing the pressure in the brain .. one of the main reason for his unconscious state...
She called for Sis. Philo and instructed her to get the OT ready along with the necessary preparations.. The surgery was scheduled for 6 am the following morning..
With few hours left for the surgery, she decided to spend time with Shashank in the ICU..
Walking towards his bed , she gently placed her palm on his forehead and moved upward ruffling his hair gently... " I love you.." she whispered
Pulling a stool she sat beside his bed.. She took his hand in between both her hands and brought it to her lips and placed a tender kiss..
" I know you can hear me Dr Shashank.. You have to fight this for us.. Anjali needs you... Sanjivani needs you.. I need you..." she sighed
"Please say something Dr Shashank... Silence doesn't suit you...or are you pretending to be silent because you are angry that I didn't have dinner with you..." she chuckled with tears rolling down her eyes.... taking his hands to her cheek and brushing it against them she continued...
" We have many more dinner dates, lunches, breakfasts to share and many more memories to be made , Dr Shashank... We have just begun our journey together... you can't leave me like this... I need you... Your Juhi needs you.. Despite all odds I promise you we will be together in this beautiful journey ahead.... and for that to happen you must fight ...." she wept resting her face on his hand which lay motionless on the bed beside him...
"I love you... and I can't live my life without you...I need you...and I know you need me to..." whispering sweet nothings, exhaustion eventually took over and she fell asleep..
Despite being unconscious, she was sure he heard every word she spoke , since they were connected by heart, mind and soul...
Soulmates... that's what they are...