Treat it."
Gauri let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "You really think I'll listen to you?"
"Mrs. Yashvardhan."
That was enough to make her pause.
Just for a second.
"I'm not your doctor," she said, her voice colder now, controlled, like she was forcing distance between them.
"Phir bhi ho."
Before she could step away, he pulled his shirt aside.
And just like that-
everything shifted.
Blood.
Too much of it.
Dark. Spreading. Wrong.
Not a scratch.
A gunshot.
Her breath caught, barely noticeable, but enough. The wound wasn't small, wasn't something that could wait. It demanded attention... whether she wanted to give it or not.
"You need a hospital," she said quickly, forcing her voice steady.
"Tum ho."
"I said no."
"Phir dekhna band karo."
That made her freeze.
Because he was right.
She was still looking.
Still calculating.
Still thinking like a doctor.
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
"This is serious..." she muttered.
"Phir theek karo."
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Her mind told her to walk away.
To leave.
To not get involved.
But her instincts had already made the decision.
"Don't move," she said finally, stepping closer despite everything in her resisting it.
A faint smirk touched his lips.
Because he knew-
she hadn't agreed.
She had just stopped refusing.