• Eternal Night •

21

"Then?"

"Then, what?" Mallika sighed. "Annika left."

Om rolled his eyes. "Of course. Why did you think that this was a good idea Shivaay?"

"That's what I am trying to explain to him since last night. He just does not get it..." sighed Mallika. She forwarded a spoonful of oats in Shivaay's direction. He silently ate it.

"What happened, Bhaiya?" asked Rudra noticing Shivaay's silence.

Shivaay let out a breath. "Nothing."

In the heat of the moment, Shivaay had not corrected the nurse. He wanted to see if Annika at least spoke up then. He wanted to provoke her. He was dying to see some emotion in her, some reaction, some heat. If it was jealously that got her going, then so be it. But like always, it all felt futile. She had left. Silently. He didn't know what else he could do. Staring at the trees outside the hospital window, he ate whatever Mallika was feeding him.

"Shivaay?"

He felt a hand on his head and he looked up to see Jhanvi. He gave her a pale smile. "Morning Ma..."

She smiled and bent down to kiss his feverish forehead. "How is my favourite boy doing?"

"Not so good..." he said truthfully.

She took the bowl from Mallika's hands and sat down in front of him. "You will feel better when you finish this."

Shivaay nodded. Gently pushing the spoon in his mouth, Jhanvi mumbled, "By the way, had Annika come here last night?"

Mallika tiredly pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes."

"Okay..." Jhanvi bobbed her head. "After that, she had come to the Mansion. You see, we all had gone to talk with her yesterday and Papa jee had asked her to take a concrete decision. But before she could answer, we got a call about Shivaay so we had to leave."

Shivaay held his breath in anticipation. "And?"

"Well," Jhanvi swallowed hard. She held Shivaay's hand and said, "She does not want to keep hurting you, Shivaay. She wants to leave."

The room and Shivaay went utterly still for a while. Even his last-ditch effort had gone to waste. He just nodded and mumbled, "It's fine. I expected it."

His chest heaved. "I hope she finds peace in her life."

Om pushed the table aside and took Shivaay in a hug. Holding his head, he whispered, "I am so sorry, Bhai. So sorry."

Shivaay's eyes fluttered closed and he let his head fall on Om's shoulder. He could hear Mallika, Rudra and Jhanvi talk to him in soothing tones but he could hear nothing. He couldn't help and wonder how his heart was a problem for him everywhere. And perhaps, it was also going to take him towards the darkness in the end.

**********************

"Even if they apply for divorce right now, the court will tell them to go to a counsellor. So how about we send them to a good one ourselves?" asked Harsh.

Prithvi stared at the white wall in front of him and answered, "Do you think Shivaay is in the position to attend counselling sessions right now? He is gravely ill, Harsh. The onus of this relationship shouldn't have been on him. All he needed to do was to get better. I am not blaming Annika but we shouldn't even be having this conversation. It's terribly inhumane."

Harsh held his head. "I know. I know. But what should I do Papa? Hai meri ladki bewakoof. Kya karu? I tried to talk with her. She is just...she just refuses to listen. And why do you think I am doing this? I don't want to lose Shivaay either. He is like my son."