OUR OBSESSIONS - FATE of LOVE

Chapter 9

Dhruv

As I stood before her door, my hand hovering just above the bell for the second time, a sudden crash shattered the stillness, a glass breaking, the sharp sound slicing through the air.

A wave of panic surged through me, sharp and cold.

"Esha, what happened?" I called out, my voice trembling with anxiety.

But only silence answered me, deep and suffocating, and with it, a chill that gripped my heart in its vice.

My pulse quickened, terror clawing at my insides, gnawing at me with the unrelenting fear of what could be waiting just behind that door.

The weight of dread became unbearable, and with a surge of raw adrenaline, I kicked the door open, my heart pounding in my ears.

What I saw when I entered made everything inside me go still, Esha lying motionless on the floor, as though life had abandoned her entirely.

The sight struck me like a blow to the chest.

My heart slammed against my ribcage, lodging painfully in my throat, and choking me with the fear that she was gone.

*No...* I forced the thought away, unwilling to surrender to that possibility.

I mustered all the strength I had left, hoisting her into my arms with a tenderness born from a place of deep, desperate care, cradling her as though she were a fragile, precious thing-like a bride in my arms.

With shaky hands, I fumbled to start the car, my mind racing with frantic thoughts.

I tried calling Joshi, but the phone rang unanswered.

Desperation clawed at me, and I left a message, hoping it would reach him.

I slammed the accelerator down, the engine roaring as I sped toward the hospital, my heart in my throat the entire way.

When we arrived, I rushed her inside, carrying her as quickly as I could to the ward. There was no time to waste.

The urgency in my voice was sharp as I called for Divi to examine her.

Divi, a colleague of Joshi's, had always seemed like a calming presence, but tonight, there was no calm. She bent over her for what felt like an eternity, scrutinizing her with a focus that made the world around us seem to slow to a crawl.

Finally, she broke the silence, but her words only deepened my frustration. A high fever of unknown origin, she said. That was all.

The anger that had been brewing inside me exploded, raw and unchecked. I shouted at Divi, oblivious to the hospital's sterile surroundings.

My voice reverberated through the sterile air, each word laced with helplessness and fury.

Divi flinched, startled by my outburst, just as Joshi entered the room, the tension in the air thick and palpable.

It was Joshi who finally explained the truth. Esha's fever was a result of her period-nothing more.

A flood of realization hit me like a tidal wave.

She had always suffered from irregular cycles, enduring pain that often forced her to stay home, yet she never once let me see her struggle.

She hid it, every time, behind that strong, independent façade.

But now, here she was, vulnerable and unguarded, exposed in a way that both surprised and saddened me.

I had never seen her like this before.