can you mend the broken✓(Editing)

1 : HER CONDITION

The room was cloaked in silence, broken only by the hum of the air conditioner and Shehnaaz's ragged breathing. She lay unconscious, her features pale and tense. Sidharth sat beside her, gently running his fingers through her hair, his eyes not leaving her face for even a moment.

Suddenly, her body jerked under the quilt. She shivered despite being fully covered, her lips trembling as she mumbled in her sleep.

"No... He is someone else... My baby, please come back. Don't go... Please don't leave me..."

She shot upright with a jolt, sweat beading her forehead, her eyes wide in fear. Sidharth froze for a second, stunned.

"Shehnaaz..." he whispered, gently cupping her face. "Shant ho jao... I'm here. Main kahin nahi jaa raha."

But instead of relief, fury flooded her eyes.

"Toh chale jao!" she snapped, pushing his hand away. "Nahi chahiye mujhe tumhari koi bhi help! Jab zarurat thi meri baat sunne ki, tab toh tumhe main sirf ek problem lagti thi! Jaise main koi insaan hi nahi hoon!"

"Shehnaaz..." his voice faltered. He had never seen her like this-so broken, so furious.

"Irritating thi main, right?" she continued, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Ek baar... sirf ek baar pucha hota, ki kyu call kar rahi hoon... kyu Germany aayi hoon!"

Her voice cracked as she broke into sobs, hugging herself tightly like trying to hold in her pain. Sidharth stared at her, disbelief etched on his face.

"G-Germany?" he stammered. "What... what are you saying? Tum mujhse milne aayi thi?"

Shehnaaz gave a bitter laugh. "Tumhe yaad bhi nahi... obviously. Main aayi thi. Tumse milne. Par mila kya? Tumhare woh shabd... 'Akal nahi hai, sirf chehra sundar hai'... woh sunne ko mile."

Sidharth's eyes widened in horror. His heart dropped. He had said that-once-in frustration, venting to a friend when work was overwhelming and her calls had felt like interruptions. But... he didn't know she had heard it.

"You were there... that day?" His voice was barely a whisper now.

"Unfortunately, yes, Mr. Shukla," she said coldly. "I heard everything I should've never heard."

Sidharth's hands trembled. "But... the baby...? Tum pregnant thi?"

Tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Thi," she said, voice cracking. "Par ab nahi hoon. Kyu? Kyunki main stress aur heartbreak se guzri hoon. Jab mujhe tumhari zarurat thi, tumne mujhe reject kiya, ignore kiya... aur maine sab kuch akeli jhela."

She reached for a bottle of pills on the side table. Sidharth's eyes darted to it instantly, and before she could take one, he grabbed her wrist.

"Shehnaaz, yeh kya hai? Kyu le rahi ho yeh medicines? Tum thik ho?"

"Tumhe kya lena dena!" she snapped, jerking her hand away. "You're no one to ask."

"I'm your husband," he said firmly. "And I have that right."

"No, you don't!" she screamed, pushing him. "You lost every right the day you made me feel like nothing! Tumhari wajah se main maa nahi ban payi..."

Her words hit him like a dagger.

"Nahi!" Sidharth raised his voice slightly, panicking. "Main kaise... Shehnaaz, I wasn't even there! How could I have known? How could I have-"

"Tum yahan nahi the, par vahan toh the na?" she interrupted, eyes blazing. "Tumhare shabd ne mujhe tod diya. Jab tumne kaha tha ki 'Shehnaaz sirf dikhti hai sundar, par dimaag nahi hai'... us din mere andar kuch mar gaya, Sidharth."

He stood frozen. His hands, once trembling with concern, now hung lifelessly by his side. She picked up the pills again, but this time he didn't stop her. He couldn't move.

"I don't want to feel anything anymore," she said softly. "Emotions? Mujhe nahi chahiye. I just want peace. And tumse chutkaara."

Sidharth clenched his jaw, his own eyes moist now. He knelt in front of her.

"Shehnaaz... I'm sorry. Main janta hoon main selfish tha, careless tha... par main tumse pyar karne se dar gaya tha. Mujhe laga... agar zyada kareeb aaya, toh sab kuch bigad jaayega."

"Bigad toh sab kuch ho hi gaya," she whispered.

"I was scared," he said brokenly. "Par ab... main har darr se ladunga. Bas ek baar... mujhe mauka do sab kuch theek karne ka."

Shehnaaz turned away, covering her face as tears soaked her palms.

"I can't trust you anymore," she said in a choked voice. "You shattered me, Sidharth. And no apology can undo that."

There was a long pause. Silence, heavy and suffocating, settled between them.

Then she whispered, almost to herself, "Just go... please."

Sidharth stood slowly. He took one last look at her-his wife, the woman he had once dismissed in his immaturity-and then walked out, carrying the weight of guilt that might never be lifted.

---

Do you think Sidharth can still mend her heart? Or is it already too late?