My Ruination

Chapter 25.

~Maahira~

The only recurring thought in my brain was Rudra. How did he of all people had an accident? Was his condition serious? Ofcourse he was. Or else he wasn't the type to head to a hospital unless it was a damaged organ. I wanted to ask Zaeden who had informed him of this and how critical was Rudra but my tongue felt frozen. Even during the long summer day, my hands and feet were frozen cold and everything felt wrong in my stomach.

I had taken a quick 2 minute shower as soon as he got the phone call and changed into a whirt tshirt and jeans, ready to go all by myself with Markov but Zaeden had announced that he was taking me and I really didn't have the energy to argue with him. I know he doesn't care about anyone in my family, especially my brother since he tried to help me flee but he was going nevertheless. We reached the hospital in record time and I checked the room number with the receptionist. We reached just in time to see Rudra in a pale blue hospital gown, being wheeled out of the ICU, towards an operating theatre. His face was cut and bruised, some of them even on his arms as an IV drip needle was secured in him, held by one of the nurses. He looked so broken and weak, something he didn't even look like when he had lost control of his bike and skidded on the highway during heavy rain.

Athira and Suman were seated on the chairs on the sides, sobbing into each other and Antara and Arjun were on the opposite side, leaning against the wall and watching nervously. Antara is the first to spot me as she straightened and whispered, "Maahi..." Suman's head snapped straight, her eyes red as she glared me down and bared her teeth like she was some wild animal. She got up and strided towards me, her arm splayed out in an action as if to slap me but Zaeden pushed me behind himself at the last minute and Suman paused, right before him, her open palms now closing into fists.

Suman has never been physically violent with me before so this came as a shock to me. Was she simply mad that I showed up here for her family and 'brought bad luck'? "Feeling like a very doting husband, are you?" She begun maliciously, still glaring at me, "Don't worry, that won't be for too long before she brings doom on you and your son."

Zaeden's shoulders were locked tight with the strain of controlling himself when he does not want to. "It's not her fault." He muttered. He knew exactly what happened to Rudra, he knew the reason for his condition but he didn't tell me and somehow it's getting chalked up as my fault.

"Oh, but it is her fault. She just had go out and expose her identity so she could hurt my family. And hurt Rudra, the only person who loved this godforsaken girl in my house." She spewed as my father walked out from the doctor's cabin from the end of the corridor and walked towards us.

"I begged you to sign the contract, didn't I? I called you yesterday and explained how this marriage will bring nothing but issues and humiliation for this family and you pretended to listen. I was ready to let go of an important financial asset to have you freed but you were suddenly feeling loyal to him." He said, "Rudra was in East-Sussex, returning after checking the progress of our new bank when the tabloids started following him. They were two cars and in a bike, trailing him to get his statement about you. The driver was trying to get them off and they ultimately crashed."

My throat dried up and my feet froze. Rudra was followed by the tabloids because of me? When I rejected my father's deal, I thought I was doing the right thing, that the news he had shown me was just the consequences of his actions. But I never could have imagined in any worst case scenario that my brother would also have to suffer the bashing when he has being nothing but loving to me.

"You heard that? Now get out of my sight before my son wakes up and disowns you himself." My stepmother sneered and a tear gathered in my eye. He will do that and he should do that after what I put him through. I looked at Athira and even though, there is no conviction in her eyes, she doesn't really disagree with any blames. The same goes for Antara and Arjun. Antara only spoke to me when she felt slightly brave enough to defy her mother and also because, her daughter had taken a liking to me. None of them really were my family.

The doctor, a man in his fifties, rushed out of the room and everyone circled him, bombarding him with questions. "How is he, Dr Martin? Is he is not very critical, right?" Suman questioned, a tear flowing down her eyes.

"We see a broken rib and some internal bleeding from an organ. Aside for some hairline fractures and glass abrasions, he will be fine but it will be a difficult night of healing for him." The doctor said, reassuring them. "Now, he has lost a lot of blood from his wounds and we need a donor to give him blood. He is an O+ so is anyone from his family an O+?" He questioned but everyone, suddenly went silent slowly looking at me like I was some white ghost.

There were only two people in this family with O+ blood group. "I will give him my blood." I said but before I could move, Zaeden held me back and groaned, "Fuck no. You're not having needles poked into you when you're so scared of them." He looked at the doctor, "You cannot arrange the blood from a blood bank?"

"O+ is a rare blood group and the nearest blood bank that has that blood is in Birmingham, 2 hours away. And we do not have that kind of time." The doctor stated and before this argument could get any further, I interrupted, "It's okay. You can take my blood." Besides Rudra was suffering with so much, couldn't I just tolerate a little prick of a needle?

The doctor led me to another room and Zaeden followed me. Dr Martin didn't like him hovering above him like a dark cloud but he was too scared to ask him to leave. I laid down on the bed as he checked all my vitals and asked me for any of my ailments. After he cleared me fit to give blood, the nurse handed him the syringe and he removed the sleeve of my tshirt, sterilizing the place. I closed my eyes tight as I imagined every other painful thing that had happened to me before, events that had ripped open my heart. I think about the time when my father wouldn't be around and my stepmother would lock me in my room for almost all day with a glass of water. I think about how Rudra got slapped when Suman learned he had built a whole pantry shelf in my room so I wouldn't have to be hungry all day.

How he cheered on me when I had played a role of a nurse in the background in middle school even though his mother forbade him. My heart squeezed painfully that I had someone like this land up in a hospital ward. When I opened my eyes, the blood had been withdrawn and taken away by Dr Martin and the nurse was taping the area of the needle, her hands shivering and teeth chattering as Zaeden stood at the foot of my bed, glaring at her like a cannibal.

"What happened here?" I questioned but the nurse took the tray with the forceps, used syringes and cottons and ran out of the room. I realized that Zaeden might have threatened her and the doctor too as I folded my arm towards myself and rose up, really looking at him.

On one hand, there was my family who had so many issues with accepting me and forced me to obey them and blamed me for everything wrong happening with them. And then there was Zaeden, on the other hand, standing here with me like it was his prime responsibility to protect me and throwing threats around like confetti even though he was so cold, heartless and broody. Arjun entered the room with a glass of orange juice, handing it to me with a thankful smile.

"Drink this up, it will make you feel better." He said and left immediately after. Even after this entire fiasco, I wasn't considering signing any deal that could end this marriage rightfully and it wasn't because I didn't want someone else to take my decisions for me. And that idea scared me.

I finished the juice and Zaeden took the glass from me, "We're going home so you can rest. Neerja will take care of you." He gave his palm for me to hold but I said, "No. I am not going home. I am staying here for my brother."

"You've already done your part. I will ask Markov to bring you back again when he wakes up." He ordered, the impatience radiating off him in loud waves. "No, I am not going home until he wakes up. This was a mistake anyway." The words fumbled out of me without much thought.

That makes him pause. He fully rotated to face me, shoving his hands into his pockets, his chest straining in his suit as he said, "What was a mistake?"

"I should have signed the deal and I am sure my father's lawyers could have figured a way around the no-divorce clause of your contract. I didn't and now, my brother is suffering."

"Your brother is suffering because of your father. Your identity was bound to come out some day and I will not keep you hidden to protect his reputation." He closed towards me, tipping my chin up to look at him, "And I thought you were smarter than your family to figure out that you're not getting rid of me ever. You could have legally gotten an anulment but I will not hesitate to use all the illegal methods and force required. Your acceptance of this marriage or lack thereof, means nothing to me." With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving me with in a confusing mess of emotions.