"He is going to be..."
"Don't!" Om snarled at his mother from behind clenched teeth. "Don't you dare! If you say one more word, I swear I am going to do something to you or me."
Jhanvi shut up at once. She just wanted to reassure her son who was watching the hospital staff bring back Shivaay from the latest catastrophe. But she understood that it was not a good time to engage him in a war of words. Perhaps, she had lost her chance forever.
She raked a shaky hand through her unkempt hair as she saw the Doctors compress her nephew's chest. Jhanvi watched Shivaay getting defibrillated thrice and regretted every single thing she had did to him. If she hadn't asked him to leave their home, he wouldn't be in this position. If only she hadn't misunderstood Shivaay, if only she hadn't blindly trusted her husband; none of them would have seen this day. She wouldn't be on the verge of losing all her children.
Jhanvi wiped her tears as the buzz around Shivaay slowed down. She could see that Annika was by his side now, holding his hand as she stubbornly had for the past five days. The nurse was wiping the gel off Shivaay's now bruised chest. Shivaay was alive for now. Jhanvi didn't know for how long though. A shooting pain stabbed her heart.
"What happened?" Om hounded the Doctor as soon as he came out.
He placed a hand on Om's shoulder. "Shivaay went into a cardiac arrest. But we were able to revive him."
Jhanvi heard Gauri, Shakti and Pinky burst into tears. Om cursed lightly. She herself choked on her words. "Cardiac arrest? How? This has happened for the second time this week! What's happening? What are fuck are you doing to Shivaay?"
The Doctor however remained calm. He answered, "Not us, Ma'am. It's because of the poison. It has affected Shivaay's body in a manner we don't understand completely. We are constantly monitoring him but he suddenly started to show PVCs and went into a full arrest. We hadn't anticipated this."
Jhanvi didn't buy the Doctor's words. "Of course, you hadn't!"
"Ma'am, trust us. It's a complicated case. We are dealing with something like this for the first time. His brain needs out paramount attention. We took the decision of an induced coma only because we wanted to make sure that all his senses, motor functions are protected. Even his breathing is deeply affected because of this. But now we understand that he is also very vulnerable with his heart. I have sought the help of a leading cardiologist. And we are shifting him to the ICCU. I want to apologize to you. Believe me, we are trying our level best to keep Shivaay alive..." the Doctor told her truthfully.
She harshly grabbed Om's arm and turned him around. Then she yelled at him. "I told you on the first day that we should take Shivaay back to Mumbai. We have some of the best doctors there. Why are you guys hell-bent on keeping him in this shit hole?"
"Because this is what I can afford!"
Jhanvi looked at Annika who was standing by the door of the ICU, visibly seething to see the commotion caused by her supposed family member. She apologized to the Doctor and he promptly left them alone.
Annika then walked towards Jhanvi and said, "For the last time, please leave me and Shivaay alone. I really don't wish to be rude to you. So I am politely asking you to leave. And to answer your question, I do not have the money to airlift Shivaay to Mumbai. Neither do I think that this is a bad hospital. Your husband has frozen all the accounts of my father-in-law and my two brothers-in-law. He does not wish to help us. So, Shivaay will stay here. And God willing, he will get better too."
Jhanvi resisted the urge to scream out loud. She couldn't understand why were they playing with Shivaay like that. She all but begged Annika. "How? We all just saw him be clinically dead for eight long minutes. Do you still think he will get better here? We need to take him to Mumba! Please! I have the money. Take it."
"I suggest you take your concern for Shivaay and yourself out of that door, Mrs Oberoi. Please do not provoke me to physically push you out or wring your neck. I am absolutely deranged right now and I will not be responsible for my actions..." Om screamed at Jhanvi.
"Om..." Jhanvi cried.
"Mom, please!" Gauri joined her palms in front of her. "If you ever had even an ounce of love for Shivaay Bhaiya in your heart, leave right now. Just let us be."
Despite the coldness she felt in her chest, Jhanvi nodded. She glanced at the sad faces of her family for one last time and walked out. All she wanted to do was to curl up in a corner and cry. But there was no time for that. She needed to do things. For Shivaay. For Annika. For her family. And the first thing she was going to do was to screw her husband over. His time was up.
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I hope you guys are liking it so far!
