When love entwines....

Part 31

For the first time Shashank felt he shouldn't have survived the brain surgery.. he was better off dead than stay alive and turn her world upside down... He swore never to get drunk again..
As he sat on the couch covering his face with both his hands, the main door clicked open and Anjali walked in..
She had returned back from Mumbai... and wanted to freshen up before going to the hospital.. Anjali was surprised seeing her Dad at home at that part of the afternoon..
"Hey dad.." she said
"Hi beta .. you are back..." he tried to force a smile..
She was shocked seeing his haggard state.. and also noticed the empty bottle of whiskey lying on the floor beneath the couch..
"Dad.. What are you upto... is everything alright.." She dropped her bag and walked towards him and sat next to him..
Shashank refused to maintain an eye contact.. he didn't want his daughter to see how vulnerable her dad was right now..
"Nothing Anjali.. it's just that I had a little more than usual .. plus I felt I deserve a day's break from work so here am I ..." he lied
"Dad.. I know you better than you know yourself.. Stop lying.. Is everything alright between you and Dr Juhi ?? She questioned
"Anjali.. let me freshen up .. and please order something for lunch .. I'll catch up with you in awhile.." saying this Shashank walked to his room and shut the door closed..

Anjali understood something was gravely wrong.. Her Dad wasn't a man to get senselessly drunk like this.. He had never done this before.. And being a hardcore workoholic, his version of taking a day's break was another lie...
She had loads to deal with.. she sighed and walked to her room picking up her bag..

Standing under the hot shower, his vision blurred as pain slipped through his eyes as tears.. The guilt was burrowed..
I deserve this and even more for hurting her.. he said to himself.. He stood under the shower until he felt his legs give away .. Stepping out he changed into comfortable clothes and walked down to the living room..
Anjali was already seated on the sofa..
She smiled and asked his to sit next to her..
Why haven't you shaved , Dad?? She asked
"I'm on relaxing mode today, Anjali.." he joked..
"C'mon Dad everything that you have been doing today , you haven't done them like in ages.. so stop lying and spit it out.."
"Anjali .. it's nothing .. you are just overreacting"
"Dad..." she glared at him
He knew she wasn't going to keep quiet unless he tells her.. After a brief pause he spoke
"I goofed up big time , Anjali..
I hurt Juhi.. I'm not sure she will forgive me.."
Anjali was confused..
"Dad.. I'm sure you didn't do anything intentionally.. tell me what exactly happened.."
Shashank narrated everything that happened..
Anjali sat speechless listening to her dad..
"Dad, you have fucked up big time.."
"Anjali... Language .." he glared
"Sorry Dad .. I meant you messed up big time..
Now what next..." she asked
"Nothing.... I will just have to wait.. She needs time and space and I respect that..
It isn't going to be easy but I have no choice either..."
She rubbed his back and rested her head on the nook of her dad's arm.. She felt helpless seeing her dad so helpless..
After a brief silence she spoke.. "I love you, dad.."
"I love you too, beta .." he placed a kiss on her hair..

During the later part of the evening , Anjali chose to rest for sometime, while Shashank relaxed himself on his easy chair.. his mind never leaving Juhi .. looking at his phone every now and then hoping to hear from her ..
And now that Anjali was back, he didn't want his daughter worrying for him.. so he pretended to appear normal.. but failed miserably every single time..
Dinner was a silent affair .. the usual dad-daughter banter continued and Shashank did feel a bit lighter.. Bidding good night, Shashank walked into his room shutting the door behind.. He suddenly felt a wave of dizziness hit him.. Shaking his head off he walked to the bed.. His vision blurred.. He sensed he was having a black out and that was his last thought before he fell on his face on the bed unconscious..
A while later he regained consciousness and tried to get up but his head was throbbing and his neck was stiff.. He managed to sit against the headboard sweating profusely...
Gaining some sense he realised he had passed out for quite sometime.. Was it because of the stress or alcohol... or was it something even more than that.. he decided to wait and watch ..
Gulping a glass of water he tried to sleep..
He lay in his bed thinking about her
' I love you so much that I do not know what to do '.. he sighed
The pain in his heart moved to his eyes.. and he fell asleep gradually..
The next morning Shashank woke up with his eyes feeling heavy with fatigue.. He decided to shower and so walked into the bathroom.. The hot showered relaxed him a bit.. Walking back to his closet after shower, he felt the same wave of dizziness hit him again.. He knew something was serious .. He managed to sit on the couch and started taking in deep breath .. he again knew he was going to have a black out.. Bracing himself for the same he eased himself on the couch.. After few minutes he opened his eyes .. he was dizzy, sweating profusely.. Was it the recurrence of the tumour??? Only a scan will confirm .. he thought
Also he didn't want Anjali to know about it till scan report was out..
He already felt exhausted even before his day had begun..

It was another usual day at work.. Not a minute did she leave his mind the entire day...
He missed her.. missed everything about her...
His mental agony along with the recent physical anxiety had drained him out... He remained seated in his cabin all day long...
Towards evening he decided to get an MRI done on himself without the knowledge of anyone especially Anjali..
He called Rakesh, the MRI technician to his cabin.. Rakesh walked in and Shashank closed the door behind him..
"Rakesh .. I need a favour from you.." he said
"Please tell me Doctor.. Anything for you.." he replied
"I need you to perform an MRI scan on me later today..."
"Sure sir, Is everything alright .." he asked worried
"I'm not sure Rakesh... but this should remain just between you and me... I don't want anyone else knowing about it not even Dr . Anjali..."
"Oo.. Ok Doctor..." he stammered
"We will do past 8 pm today ..." Shashank confirmed..
Thanking him Rakesh walked out of his cabin sweating ... He had always admired Shashank and had great love and respect for him..
Something doesn't seem right... he thought
Looking up towards the sky through the window he said a silent prayer ...

Juhi kept herself engaged visiting her parents... she was visiting them after ages.. She felt better being home.. But no matter how much she tried her mind always went back to Shashank.. There were lots of decisions to be made this time...

Fifteen minutes past 8 , Shashank walked in.. He made sure Anjali had already left... Rakesh looked like a nervous man performing MRI for the first time... There was something on Shashank's face that really bothered him since evening...
The procedure went on for about 30 minutes..
Shashank changed from the hospital gown to his suit and walked back to Rakesh...
He sat with Rakesh and started scrolling through his MRI .. His Palms started sweating... What he feared had turned true... there was a recurrence of tumour in his brain.. and it was very evident on the scan... Rakesh sat rooted to the spot.. speechless
Shashank took in a deep breath.. He noticed the ghostly look on Rakesh's face and put his arm around his shoulder...
"Rakesh .. this remains just between you and me.. ok..
No one I mean no one knows about it.."
"Sir, Dr Juhi is the treating surgeon .. she should know about ..." Shashank cut him in between.. "Not a word out of this room, Rakesh..
I will deal with this.. I hope you will respect my privacy .. Copy these images on to a pen drive a give them to me .." he said
"Sure sir.." Rakesh stammered and did so
Thanking him Shashank walked out of the MRI room smiling sadly at how his fate plays a hand every time he wanted to be happy ......

Thanks for all the love, guys
Keep them coming
Next part will be posted on Wednesday..
Have a lovely Day 😊