He was horrified… He left her hands and looked at the blood on his hand… Before he could react, there was another gunshot… She gasped again… He looked behind her and found the shooter ready to shoot again… He took the gun from her hand and fired at the shooter; right in the middle of the shooter’s forehead instantly killing the shooter… Her legs were about to give away but her held her closer… “Am… Ammi ka khayal… rakh… rakhiye…” she could only utter those words… She looked into his eyes with a smile and slowly lost her senses… “Haseena ji…” he whispered… He quickly picked her up and carried her to his car… Instead of lying her down on the back seat, he made her sit in the front and drove to the nearest hospital…
Meanwhile, at the Banquet Hall, KS was looking for HM… “Ammi… MS kaha gayi??” “Beta unhe kuch kaam aa gaya tha… Toh baher gayi hai…” Ammi replied… “Lekin…” before KS could complete Ammi was called by someone… “Are Karishma Didi aap kab aaye??” Mansi asked excitedly… “Hum ko aake kafi time ho gaya…” “Chaliye na… Stage pe chalte hai… Abhi rasam shuru ho jayegi… Ammi bol rahi thi…” KS was confused now… Ammi knew HM was not here then how was the engagement taking place… “Tum chalo hum Santu ko leke aate hai…” KS made an excuse and rushed to SS and PS… “Pushpa ji… Suniye…” “Kya hua??” PS asked… “Humari kuch samajh nahi aa raha…” “Kya samajhna hai aapko??” “Dekhiye… MS kahi chali gayi hai… Kuch kaam se… Aur Ammi yeh baat janti hai… Aur abhi rasam shuru karne ka baat kar rahi thi… Humko kuch samajh nahi aa raha… Dulhan ke bina sagai kaise hoga?? Aur Ammi itna shant kaise hai??” “Samajh toh hume bhi na aa raha hai abhi… Chaliye chalke MS ki Ammi se puchte hai…” PS suggested… “Chaliye… Chalo Santu…” KS said and three of them made a beeline towards Ammi’s direction…
They reached the side of the stage where Ammi was arranging things… “Aayat aajao beta…” Ammi called out… A beautiful petite lady walked over to Ammi elegantly… She was dressed in a gorgeous lehenga, light jewellery and a beautiful dupatta over her head… Ammi blessed her and warded off any evil eyes… Aayat smiled at Ammi and hugged her… Ammi held her hand and guided her on the stage… Zubair was already waiting there… His face lit up when his eyes fell on the Aayat… Mansi brought the rings decoratively arranged on a tray full of rose petals… Both picked their respective rings… Mahipal Singh patted Zubair’s back and gestured to go ahead… Both exchanged the rings and all the guests applauded and blessed the couple… KS, SS and PS were watching the events unfold before their eyes with shock; their eyes bulging out… CC who had walked up to them was also in same condition… Suddenly PS shrieked, “Mubarak ho Santu…” “Haan Pushpa ji…” and both hugged in excitement… “Baap re baap… Matlab hum sab bina kisi karan hi dukhi ho rahe the… Aur Anubhav Sir ka halat toh kitta kharab ho gaya tha…” CC said… KS had recovered from the shock but still had questions… Why did MS ask about Anu Bhaiyya and then hurried away? She thought… The thought made her restless and she pulled out her phone to call her brother…
AS had reached the hospital and had carried HM inside… The Doctors rushed her to the Trauma Centre and asked him to complete the formalities… He was informed she needed to be operated immediately and was rushed to the OT… The doors closed and the red light lit up… His heart was beating at an unrealistic pace... Suddenly his phone rang… “Hello…” he said without looking at the caller ID… “Bhaiyya kaha hai aap?? MS aapke saath hai kya??” KS asked… “Behna… Has… Haseena ji… goli… City Hospital…” he uttered broken words trying to convey the message… “Ka…?? Hum aa rahe hai… Aap ghabraiye mat… Hum abhi aa rahe hai…” KS said horrified and ended the call… Within no time everybody had reached the hospital…
AS was seated on the bench outside the OT… He was staring into the oblivion unable to comprehend the situation… She had informed him of the imminent threat but he chose to ignore it… Today she was in this state just because of him, he thought… “Anu Bhaiyya…” KS called out but he did not respond… She called out again with a broken voice but he did not move… CC moved ahead and placed a hand on his shoulder… “Anubhav Sir…” he said and squatted down in front of him… AS looked at CC, his empty eyes changing… For some unknown reason, AS was easily comforted by CC these days… He showed CC his hands stained with HM’s blood, as if saying he was responsible, remorse clearly visible on his face… CC nodded in a ‘no’ and hugged him while AS hugged him back… The ever-strong KS broke down and hugged PS… Mansi had already dug herself in the arms of her father who himself was on the verge of breaking down; after all his daughter was fighting death… SS was still in shock while only Ammi stood her ground… One look at her and it was evident HM had gained her strength from her Ammi as inheritance; her ability to stay calm in the face of any problem…
CC broke the hug and got a glass of water for AS… Once he was sure, AS was ‘Ok’, he summoned a ward boy to clean AS’s hands… Others had settled down but SS was still standing petrified with her back to the wall… CC went and held her shoulders… She looked at him and tears started streaming down her face… She was happy few moments ago as her MS was not getting engaged to someone else and there was still hope for MS and AS to be together… But now she was afraid… She hugged CC and broke down… He comforted her and made her sit beside PS… By then the ward boy was done cleaning AS’s hands… “Sir… Ka hua tha??” he asked AS… “Hum jyada kuch nahi jante… Haseena ji hume dhundte hue park mei aayi thi… Unhone kaha humari jaan ko khatra hai… Hum dono baat kar hi rahe the ke achanak unhone hume zor he khicha aur fir…” he gulped unable to speak ahead… CC placed his hand on AS’s hand… “Fir goli chali… isse pehle ki hum kuch kar pate ek aur goli chali… Humne peeche dekha toh…” he looked at Mahipal Singh(MP) and Mansi… “Genda bandook taane khadi thi…” he completed… MP’s expressions changed, his eyes were spitting fire… He was angry beyond measure… “Humne use wahi goli maar di…” AS said… MP calmed a little… “Cheetah… Niyantran Kaksh ko suchit kariye… Park ko seal kare…” AS said… “Ji Sir…” CC said and left to inform the control room…
The red light outside the OT turned off… Everybody was desperately waiting for the Doctor to walk out…
