Eternity

Chapter 60

As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

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Zayan paced back and forth in the cold, sterile waiting area, his thoughts a jumbled mess as he tried to make sense of what was happening. The hospital lights above flickered slightly, adding to the already oppressive atmosphere. His heart thudded in his chest, each beat growing heavier with every step he took. He couldn’t sit still. The adrenaline pumping through his veins kept him on his feet, his mind racing as images of Ayzal flashed before him.

He stopped for a moment, running his hands over his face as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. His fingers trembled slightly, betraying the calm facade he was attempting to maintain. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not after everything had finally seemed to be going well between them. After months of tension, they had found a delicate peace with each other. They had laughed, shared quiet moments, and for the first time, Zayan had felt like maybe—just maybe—they could build something real together.

He couldn’t lose her. Not now.

The doors to the operating room opened, and Zayan’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes darted toward the doctor, who approached with a slow, deliberate pace. Zayan knew something was wrong just from the look on his face—the heavy, serious expression that doctors always seemed to wear when delivering the worst kind of news.

“Mr. Zayan,” the doctor said softly, his voice calm but filled with gravity. “I am afraid we need to discuss some... difficult possibilities.”

Zayan’s heart dropped, his legs weakening beneath him. “What do you mean? Is Ayzal...is she okay? Is the baby...?” His voice was barely a whisper, strangled by fear.

The doctor looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and professionalism, his eyes locking onto Zayan’s as he spoke. “Right now, we are doing everything we can for both your wife and the baby,” he said slowly. “But there are complications. Severe ones. There is a high chance that... we may not be able to save both of them.”

The words hit Zayan like a punch to the gut. He felt as though the ground had disappeared beneath him, leaving him suspended in a void of terror and disbelief. His knees buckled slightly, and he staggered back into the chair behind him, his head spinning.

“What...what are you saying?” he finally managed to ask, his voice thick with fear. “What are you saying I have to do?”

The doctor’s gaze softened with empathy, but his words were no less brutal. “We are going to do everything we can to save both, I promise you that,” he said, his voice steady but grave. “But in the event that we can’t... we need you to make a decision.”

“A decision?” Zayan’s voice cracked, disbelief clouding his face.

The doctor nodded slowly, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a clipboard with a set of documents attached. “If we reach a point where we have to choose between saving your wife or saving the child... we need your consent on how to proceed. These papers... they give you the authority to decide which life we should prioritize.”

Zayan stared at the papers as if they were something out of a nightmare. His mind raced, unable to wrap around the gravity of what was being asked of him. How could anyone expect him to make that kind of decision? To choose between the woman he had wronged and the child they had barely begun to imagine? It was too much. It was impossible.