Shadows of Same Face

Chapter Nine: Shadows Amidst the Vows

The joyous melodies of the wedding came to a screeching halt, replaced by piercing cries and hurried footsteps. Dhruv lay unconscious on the floor, blood staining the once pristine white of his sherwani. The bullet wound near his heart was a haunting reminder of how quickly happiness could turn into despair.

The ambulance sirens wailed, cutting through the silence that had engulfed the crowd. Nandini knelt beside Dhruv, her lehenga smeared with his blood, her trembling hands desperately gripping his. “Dhruv, please… don’t leave me. Not like this,” she whispered, tears cascading down her cheeks.

Her father, Raman, placed a hand on her shoulder, his own face pale with fear. “Nandini, we must let the doctors take him. He’ll be fine,” he tried to assure her, though his voice quivered with uncertainty.

Sneha, Dhruv’s younger sister, stood frozen, clutching her mother Anumita’s arm. “Why would someone do this to Bhai?” she cried, her voice breaking. “Who could be so cruel?”

Abir, Dhruv’s best friend, clenched his fists, his jaw tight with rage. “I have a feeling who it might be,” he muttered under his breath, exchanging a knowing glance with his wife Suhana.

“Abir Bhai, this isn’t the time for suspicions,” Karan, his younger brother, interjected. “Let’s focus on praying for Dhruv Bro’s life.”

The hospital waiting room was a somber place, filled with the muted sobs of family members and the echo of hurried footsteps. The doctor emerged, his face grave.

“The bullet missed his heart by a fraction. But the damage is severe. We’ve managed to stabilize him for now, but the next 24 hours are critical.”

Nandini felt the ground beneath her slip away. She clung to Suhana, who enveloped her in a warm embrace. “He’ll make it, Nandini. Dhruv is strong,” Suhana murmured, though her own tears betrayed her composed demeanor.

Meanwhile, Abir paced the corridor, the weight of unspoken words bearing down on him. Karan approached him, his brow furrowed. “You think it was… her, don’t you?”

Abir nodded, his voice low. “Tarini. Who else would go to such lengths? Her obsession with Dhruv was always unsettling, and now it’s turned dangerous.”

Back in the waiting room, Sneha looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with determination. “If it was her, we have to stop her before she tries again. Bhai doesn’t deserve this.”

Anumita placed a hand over Sneha’s, her own anguish evident. “First, we need Dhruv to recover. Everything else can wait.”

As night fell, the family sat together in a tense silence, each lost in their thoughts. Nandini, unable to bear the stillness, quietly made her way to the ICU. She stood by Dhruv’s bedside, her fingers lightly brushing his hand.

“Dhruv,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I can’t lose you. Not now, not ever. You promised me a lifetime together. Please… wake up.”

Unknown to them, in the shadows of the night, Tarini, still masked, watched from afar, her gaze fixated on the hospital. Her twisted love for Dhruv had turned into a dangerous obsession, and in her mind, this was far from over.

The question lingered in the air: Would Dhruv’s love and determination pull him back from the brink? Or would Tarini’s obsession shatter their world again?