She buries her face in my chest, her fingers clutching my shirt in desperation. “God, she was alone… I should’ve gone home last night… it’s all my…”
“No.” I pull back just enough to look her in the eyes. “Don’t even go there. This is not your fault. Do you hear me?”
She doesn’t reply right away, just looks up at me through tear-filled eyes and hiccups, “I can’t lose her, Sidharth. I can’t—”
“You won’t,” I cut in, my voice firm. “She’s in good hands.”
“Take me to her,” she pleads, her voice so fragile it nearly breaks me.
I nod. “Let’s get dressed. I’ll drive us.”
Tears keep streaming down her face, and it’s killing me. It’s fucking ripping me apart to see her like this. I slide one hand into her hair, the other locked tight around her waist, holding her together as she breaks down in my arms. Her sobs wreck me, each one soaking through my shirt, straight to my skin. And it guts me, at how useless I feel right now, knowing I can’t do a damn thing to take her pain away.
Chapter 27
Nisha
I sit by Sunita Aunty’s bedside, gently holding her hand as I watch her. Her face is pale and unnervingly still. The only signs that she’s still holding on are the faint rise and fall of her chest and the steady beep of the monitors.
My head pounds and a dull ache pulses in my heart. Every part of me is screaming that I’m the reason she’s here. I know Sidharth told me not to blame myself, tried to make me see sense, but I can’t help it. The guilt clings to me like a noose around my neck, tightening with every breath. If I hadn’t stayed over, if I had just gone home like I was supposed to… maybe none of this would’ve happened.
My fingers tighten around hers as my mind drifts back to the moment I reached the hospital, every muscle in my body wound tight with fear. I didn’t breathe, not until the doctor said she was stable and out of danger. Only when I was finally allowed to see her did my lungs remember how to work.
I thought maybe seeing her with my own eyes would calm me, but it didn’t. Even after hours of sitting by her side, my heart refuses to settle. Because she still hasn’t opened her eyes. I must’ve asked the doctor a thousand times why she wasn’twaking up. And every time, he just looked at me with quiet reassurance and explained that her body was simply recovering. At her age, after everything she’s been through, healing would take time. She’s okay, he said, and her sleeping is actually a good sign.
“Hey,” Sidharth says softly, placing a hand on my shoulder, breaking me out of my trance. But I don’t look up. My eyes sting with unshed tears as I keep staring at Sunita Aunty, willing her to wake up.
“You need to rest. You’ve been sitting here for hours,” he murmurs.
I shake my head, my grip tightening around Sunita Aunty’s hand. The thought of leaving her even for a moment twists my insides.
“I can’t leave her,” I whisper. “She needs me.”
“And I need you to take care of yourself too,” he says, crouching beside me. “She’s out of danger, Nisha. The worst is behind us.”
I blink back the tears and finally look at him. His eyes are trying so hard to hold me together when I feel like I’m falling apart.
“I know,” I whisper, my throat tightening. “I just hate seeing her like this… lying in this hospital bed. It doesn’t feel right.”
“I know it doesn’t.” He reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Seeing her like this… it guts me too. But she’s a fighter, Nisha. She’s going to wake up. And when she does, she’s going to need you to be strong.”
I nod slowly, tears welling in my eyes again as I glance back at Sunita Aunty.
Aunty, please wake up. I miss your voice. I want to hear you fuss over me for skipping meals, nag me about how much of a mess I look. Not like this. Pale and silent, surrounded bymachines and wires. This isn’t you. It feels painfully wrong. And I hate it.
“I think Sidharth’s right, Nisha,” Inspector Viraj’s hesitant voice cuts in from across the hospital room. “You need to go home and get some rest. I’ll stay here and call you the moment she wakes up.”
I turn towards him. His arms are folded across his chest, his uniform creased from long hours, and his eyes carry the weight of fatigue. He looks just as worn out as I feel.
I shake my head automatically. “I’m fine.”
Inspector Viraj gives me a weak smile, then glances over at Sidharth. There’s something unspoken in the look they share, something I can’t quite place. But I don’t have the energy to question it. My mind is already tangled with worry and guilt. And before I can stop myself, I blurt out the one thought that’s been clawing at me from the inside.
“It’s all because of me,” I whisper, my voice cracking under the strain. “If I hadn’t left her alone… if I’d just gone home like I was supposed to, this would’ve never happened.”
Sidharth’s hand comes up immediately, cupping my face as he gently turns me to look at him. “I told you, this isn’t your fault. Stop beating yourself up, Nisha,” he says, his eyes locked on mine. “You couldn’t have known. You’re not responsible for what some twisted bastard did.” His thumb brushes away a tear. “You hear me? This. Is. Not. On. You.”
I know he wants to pull me out of the guilt that’s swallowing me whole, but if I could let it go, I already would have.
