“You told me you were only going home, not to heaven,” he barked.
The nurse blinked, taken aback by the tone. “Sir, please. This is a hospital. Keep your voice down.”
Mishti’s hand caught the nurse’s fingers in reflex. “It’s okay. He is my husband, and that’s his normal tone,” she mocked.
The nurse, although confused, her face immediately softened. “Your wife is stable. She’s lucky. You should thank God it’s just a few contusions. Nothing major.”
His eyes hovered over her bruises again, then at her pale face and sleepy eyes. After their argument last night, she might have packed her bags and left. And this is where she ended up.
“I need to talk to my wife. Alone. Please leave,” he snapped at the nurse.
The woman hesitated, then sighed and left. Mishti tried to sit up, but she felt dizzy as pain flared through her temple. When she reached blindly for support, without wasting a second, Karan reached her and barked. “Stop moving.”
The doorknob clicked that very instant, and a lady doctor stepped inside. She looked young…neat hair, glasses pushed up on her head and a bit disappointed at what she just witnessed.
“Mr Wadhwa,” she said. “I’m Dr Komal from the emergency unit.” She moved toward the bed and, with sure hands, helpedMishti into a sitting position while still keeping her eyes on Karan. “She’s under my care since she arrived this early morning.”
Karan’s impatience was still there. “When can I take her home?”
Dr Komal’s mouth flattened. “Never.”
“What?” Karan barked.
Komal sighed. “I meant, a patient needs care and love, not intimidation. The nurse told me, and I clearly saw the way you reacted and behaved with her ever since you arrived. So, if this is how you want to treat her back home, then I am sorry, we are not letting her go with you.”
Mishti was tongue-tied, whereas Karan was already fuming.
“Don't presume you can stop me from taking my wife, Doctor,” Karan threatened. “In fact, a single call from me and you'll be shown the door from this hospital. After that, feel free to try your luck at some NGO—protecting women from‘intimidating husbands’sounds like a job that would suit your talents.”
“Karan…” Mishti whispered, completely shocked by the way he was talking to Dr Komal.
But Komal just smirked.
“I wouldn’t expect any less from you, Mr Wadhwa. It’s billionaires like you who give a few charities to hospitals and then think you can decide their fate. But unfortunately, that’s not how it works here. And if I ever join an NGO, I’ll make sure it’syourname on the wall as my first mission to save an innocent woman from her husband.”
Mishti immediately intervened. “Doctor, I am sorry…he’s shocked I’m in this condition. That’s it. You are overthinking.”
Komal’s eyes softened for a half-second in Mishti’s direction, then hardened back on Karan as she announced.
“Well, her injuries are minor,” she said. “A few bruises and some soft-tissue trauma to the shoulder. Her CT scan was clear. Labs are fine. She’s stable, otherwise. Yet, she needs six hours of observation, neuro checks, and rest. And I still won’t sign her out until I am sure, you being her husband, don’t neglect her care. That’s not acceptable. And if anyone mistreats her while she recovers, I will be the one to call the authorities.”
Karan stared at the doctor, trying hard not to argue back over her personal comments. “Fine. Prepare the discharge papers. I’ll take her home after 6 hours.”
“Okay,” she nodded and left.
The moment Komal exited the room, Mishti bristled.
“I am not going home with you. I want to go to the Goel mansion.”
Karan’s patience snapped again. “If you wanted to go there, then why did you givemycontact details at the hospital? Why did they callmehere?”
“I didn’t give your information. Some Dr Pratham Sharma recognised me as your wife and asked the staff to call you.”
Karan remembered Dr Pratam Sharma. He was a respected, old surgeon, very famous in the city.
“Thanks for coming,” Mishti continued. “You can leave now. I’ll make my way to the Goel mansion myself. I can manage.”
“You can manage? Yeah, right. Just like how you left for the Goel mansion, yet managed to wake up in a hospital bed.”
