Fated Ties

Chapter 36

The scene opens with the ambulance racing through the city streets, its sirens wailing desperately. Inside, Ruhi is seated beside Armaan, her grip on his hand tight and trembling. Her face is a portrait of terror and helplessness as she watches the paramedics work frantically to stabilize him.

**Ruhi:** (voice cracking, desperate) Please, you have to save him. He’s my whole world.

The paramedics exchange resolute looks as they continue their intense work. Armaan, barely conscious, manages a faint, pained smile as he turns his head slightly towards Ruhi.

**Armaan:** (whispering, barely audible) Ruhi... I love you.

**Ruhi:** (sobbing uncontrollably) I love you too, Armaan. Please, just hold on. We’re almost there. Don’t leave me.

The ambulance screeches to a halt outside the hospital, and the doors burst open. A team of hospital staff rushes forward, swiftly transferring Armaan onto a waiting stretcher. Ruhi tries to follow, her heart pounding, but the doors to the emergency room are closing as the stretcher is wheeled inside.

**Ruhi:** (grabbing the doctor’s arm with desperation) Please, is there any way I can stay with him? He needs me. I need to be with him!

**Doctor:** (gently, but with firm resolve) I understand this is incredibly hard, but we need to focus on getting him stabilized. We’ll do everything we can to save him.

**Ruhi:** (tears streaming down her face, voice breaking) I can’t just sit here and wait. Please, let me be with him. He needs me now more than ever.

**Doctor:** (sighing, trying to offer some comfort) I promise, we’ll keep you updated every step of the way. For now, you need to stay in the waiting room.

Moments later, the doctor reappears, his face a mask of seriousness.

**Doctor:** (urgently, with a note of grave concern) We need to take him into surgery immediately. He’s lost a lot of blood, and his condition is critical.

**Ruhi:** (pleading, tears streaming down her face, her voice desperate and hoarse) Please, do everything you can. Just save him. I can’t lose him.

The doors to the operating room swing shut with a soft but final thud, echoing in the sterile hallway. Ruhi stands frozen, her heart pounding in her chest, the weight of the moment pressing down on her. The sterile scent of antiseptic fills the air, but all she can feel is the crushing silence that now surrounds her.

Her legs, weak and unsteady, betray her, and she leans against the cold, hard wall for support. The coolness of the surface does nothing to calm the storm inside her. With a shaky breath, she slowly slides down to the floor, her knees folding under the immense pressure. Her body curls in on itself as if trying to protect her from the overwhelming fear and sorrow consuming her.

Tears, hot and relentless, stream down her face, tracing the contours of her cheeks before falling onto her clasped hands. Each drop is a manifestation of the helplessness she feels, the uncertainty that gnaws at her every thought. She tries to hold onto a sliver of hope, but the anguish is too deep, too raw, and it spills out of her in silent sobs. The hallway, now a witness to her vulnerability, feels like it’s closing in, the walls too close, the air too thin.

Ruhi closes her eyes, trying to find some semblance of calm, but the image of the person she loves behind those heavy doors is all she can see. The uncertainty of the outcome gnaws at her, and she tightens her grip on the fabric of her dress, as if holding on for dear life.

Ruhi’s mind drifts back to a painful memory from her childhood. The scene shifts to a younger Ruhi standing outside a hospital room, her face pale and frightened. Inside, her mother lies on a stretcher, covered in blood.