ALWAYS YOU

THE FINALE -PART 2

Abhimaan

"...there's a risk she could lose her memory permanently." The doctor's words echoed endlessly in my mind, long after he left the room. My wife may forget me? Forget the love we shared, the moments we've built together? She may never call me "Mann" again, never hold me the way she used to. Worse, she might not even look at me with the same warmth.

I shifted my gaze to Veer, sitting quietly beside me at Amara's bedside, his head buried in his hands. My heart clenched for him. I knew he was lost in the same thoughts as I was.

The fear that his "little light" might never call him *Bhaiyyu* again, might never remember or love him the way she did. How could he be sure that the new Amara would accept him as his old Amara once did?

I sighed softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "At least she's alive and safe," I murmured, half to him, half to myself, trying to cling to some semblance of optimism.

His eyes met mine as I continued, "Even if she forgets us, she'll still be my Jaan, and your little life. My wife. Your sister. We'll make her fall in love with us all over again. I mean... I can. I'm not so sure about you, though." I shrugged, attempting to lighten the moment.

Veer raised an eyebrow, some life returning to his face.

"Excuse me, Maan?" He quipped, his tone a touch defensive. "You should be worrying about yourself. My relationship with her is in our blood-far stronger than whatever you've got."

"Whatever-"

I was cut off by a phone call from Kabir. "Abhimaan, as you instructed, we used the clues from Nalini Rajvansh's recording and gathered all the evidence of Priya Rajvansh's crimes. We've handed everything over to the press, and now the world knows the truth. Both she and Ayaan are in custody for the murders and the attempted murder of Amara, along with several other charges."

"Good. Let them get used to prison life for a few days . Very soon, we'll escort them to hell. What about Ayaan's nudes?"

"They've been leaked," came Adi's voice this time. I nodded, though they couldn't see me.

"How's Mara doing? We're on our way to the hospital."

I exhaled deeply, recounting the situation before ending the call. Beside me, Veer's soft voice broke the silence.

"What's taking her so long?" His eyes stayed fixed on our sleeping beauty, worry etched on his face. It had been two hours, fifteen minutes, and twenty-five seconds-far longer than the doctor had predicted.

"All we can do is wait," I replied.

Neither of us dared to touch her, too afraid that if she awoke without her memories, she might recoil from us as strangers. We decided to wait and introduce ourselves first, taking baby steps to reintroduce her to the lives we once shared.

The doctor came in again, checking on her progress. He explained that the delay in her recovery was due to her low immunity; it might take a bit longer for her to wake. I made a mental note to personally oversee her diet once she was back on her feet.

By the time Kabir and Adi arrived with dinner, we ate quietly in the hospital room. Adi left soon after to handle arrangements for the following day, leaving Kabir with us. Zade stood outside as our guard. I encouraged both Veer and Kabir to rest on the spare bed; Veer needed it more than anyone, being a patient himself.

He resisted at first, but Kabir, in his usual dramatic fashion, chimed in, "You two can go to hell. I'm getting my beauty sleep. I'll be the only one Mara will warm up to because I won't look like a zombie, unlike you two." Veer shot him a horrified look after glancing at his reflection on his phone, then silently lay down without protest. Kabir and I exchanged knowing smiles.