Bandhan

Accident

After ending the call, Chirag stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him. His face was flushed with anger, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. He couldn't believe what had just happened—the one person he never expected to hear from again, the woman he hated the most, had called him.

His mind raced with a whirlwind of emotions—betrayal, anger, confusion. After all these years, she had the nerve to reach out as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't abandoned them without a second thought. The sound of her voice, once so comforting, now felt like poison in his ears.

Chirag threw himself onto his bed, the mattress barely absorbing the force of his frustration. He buried his face in his pillow, but the tears came anyway, flowing freely down his cheeks. He had promised himself that he would never cry for her again, that she didn't deserve his tears. But the pain was too much, the wound too deep.

How could she call him after so many years? Did she think a few words could erase the past, that she could just step back into their lives? The anger inside him burned hotter with each passing moment, but it couldn't mask the hurt that was bubbling up from deep within. He had spent years building a wall around his heart, trying to forget the love he once felt for her, trying to forget how much it had hurt when she left.

But deep down, he knew there was no explanation that could heal the hurt. The years of silence had spoken louder than any words she could ever say.As he lay there, his body shaking with sobs, Chirag felt more alone than ever, trapped between the anger for a mother he had lost long ago.

The evening was filled with chaos at City Hospital as doctors and nurses rushed in and out of the emergency room. Savita Ji lay on a hospital bed, her body bruised and battered from the accident. An onlooker who had witnessed the crash had quickly called for help and admitted her to the hospital. Her condition was critical, and she barely clung to consciousness.

Weak and frail, her voice repeated the same words repeatedly, "Chinu beta, baat suno... Chinu beta, baat suno..." Her words were slurred, barely audible, but her tone had a desperate urgency.The nurse, noticing the phone lying beside her, picked it up. It wasn't locked—luckily, it had no passcode. She quickly scrolled through the contacts and found the speed dial list. The first number on the list was unmarked. With no other option, she pressed the call button and waited.The phone rang for a few moments before someone picked up.

"Hello?" came the voice from the other end.

Atharv had just returned home to grab some files before heading back to the office. The day had been long, and he was already mentally preparing himself for the work that awaited him. As he moved towards his study, the phone rang, its shrill tone cutting through the silence of the house.He paused, slightly irritated by the interruption, but then picked up the receiver. "Hello?" His voice was calm, expecting nothing more than a routine call.

"Hello, who is this?" The voice on the other end was professional but carried a weight of urgency.

"Yes, this is Atharv. Who's calling?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he sensed something was off.

"Sir, I'm calling from City Hospital. There's been an accident. We found a woman unconscious at the scene, and her condition is critical. The only information we have is from an identity card in her purse—her name is Savita Sinha. She's been repeatedly mentioning the name 'Chirag.' We found your number on her phone's speed dial."