° ° °

"He'll be okay." Varun stated as he held shraddha's hand in his.

They had been sitting in waiting area of I.C.U for nearly an hour and still didn't get any update on shraddha's step father. She was finding it quite hard to take in all of this. No matter how much she hate a person, she always has a soft corner for every individual.

"I'm not suppose to feel like this." she said and varun looked at her.

"That man in there... my step father, he... he made my life living hell and here I am praying for his health. He sold me to you... and I'm sitting out here...." her voice started to break as she felt tears forming in her eyes but she didn't allow them to fall.

"It's nothing new shraddha." Varun said and she looked at him.

"You're like that. You've always been like that. Caring for others. Spreading love, positivity... no matter how much negativity is out there." he looked at her with a small yet genuine smile.

"You don't care how other person behaves with you... You're always determined to make the person in front of you comfortable and loved. And that's the thing which made it hard for a man like me to hate you. You're just so..... perfect." he told her and she looked at him amazed before letting out a soft chuckle.

"Perfect? I'm not even close to perfect, varun. Can't you see these bruises on me? These scars? How can you say that I'm perfect?" she said in a low voice and varun looked on.

"You know that's the flaw, we humans are only limited to see what the world wants us to see. Have you ever been to museum?" she asked him and he nodded in reply.

"Those structures in there, those art statues. They look so beautiful and perfect, right? But have you ever seen them closely? Have you ever tried to look inside them and see how empty they are." she spoke, her eyes fixed on the white wall in front of her.

"If only we are able to see those invisible bruises and scars on people, this world would be a much better place to live." she sighed.

"I'm sorry.." he said and she looked at him confused.

"Who's with Mr.Kapoor?" The compounder asked and they both hurriedly stood up.

"Follow me to the doctor's cabin." he told them as he started walking towards the cabin and they followed him behind.

They both took their respective seats and waited for the doctor to come. After a few minutes, the cabin door swung open and the doctor came in and sat on the seat in front of them.

"Ms.Kapoor..." the doctor started but was immediately cut off by varun.

"It's Mrs.Dhawan actually.." he corrected and Shraddha shook her head.

"Sorry... Mrs. Dhawan. Look, I'm not going to give you any false hope. Your father's condition is severe right now." the doctor told them. Varun gripped shraddha's tightly clutched hand.

"The accident has done some serious damage to his spinal cord due to which he's dealing with a spinal stroke right now." he told them.

"He'll get better right?" Shraddha asked with hope.

"Honestly, I can't tell you right now. His body below waist has become paralyzed and I'm afraid he won't be able to walk ever again. It's a miracle that he's still alive but not for too long." the doctor said making shraddha's breath hitched in her throat.

"Can I... meet him?" Shraddha asked.

"Sure. But be careful. Don't let him talk too much or try to provide any kind of traumatic thing." he suggested and Shraddha nodded in reply.

With trembling feet she entered the I.C.U ward. She was wearing all the precautionary things including mask, gloves, head cover etc.

She inhaled a deep breath upon seeing her step father on the bed with several wires attached to him and the beeping sound of machines were giving her anxiety.

"Mr.Kapoor!" she called him out as she stood closer to his bed and after a few seconds he opened his eyes.

"Sh-raddha..." he stuttered as he moved his gaze to look at her. He tried to move both of his hands but failed due to weakness.

"Careful. You're still under the influence of drugs." she said as she placed his hand back on the bed again but he caught her finger by his hand.

"I-I want to apologize..." he said with difficulty.

"Don't. You are advised to stay quite. We can talk about this later." she said and took a hold of his hand.

"I need to talk right now. I... don't have much time left." he told her and a tear traced down his cheek.

"I tortured you. I caused you.... pain. I... I... raised my hand on you and look.... look at me now.... I'm not able to even lay a finger on anyone...." he broke down into tears and so did she.

"Stop!" she shook her head while crying.

"This... is my punishment. I deserve all of this. Can... can you give me something?" he asked and she immediately nodded.

"Forgiveness. Please.... I need you to forgive me... please... make death easy for me... I... I'm... sorry." his breath grew faster as he started hyperventilating.

"Papa..." this was the first time after a long time she called him as her father.

"Doctor!!!" she yelled for help and the paramedics immediately rushed into the ward.

"Mam, I need you to step outside." the nurse backed her towards the exit.

"But he..." she tried to reach him.

"Mam, trust me. Let us do our job." she said and pushed shraddha out of the ward.

"What happened?" Varun asked and instead of replying she hugged him tightly and burst into tears.

"It'll be okay." he consoled her as he was lightly stroking her hair.

"I'm scared. It's like everyone is leaving me. I don't wanna be left alone." she cried on his shoulder.

"Hey... don't be so pessimistic. No matter what, you'll always find me standing in your corner." he whispered in her ear.

"Mrs. Dhawan." the doctor approached them and they immediately broke apart.

"His blood pressure got high but he's stable now. You guys need to stay here with him so we can discuss further procedures and other stuff." the doctor told them and left.

"Go home. I'll stay here." Shraddha told him and he shook his head in disapproval.

"I'm not leaving you." he held her hand in his.

"Rhea's alone at home." she said.

"Suresh can manage her. You need me here and I'm not leaving." he replied.

"She needs you not Suresh and I'll be fine. You can come tomorrow morning." she said.

"You sure?" he asked cupping her cheeks with both his hands and her fingers got curled around them.

"I'll be okay." she nodded and he kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you in the morning." he told her before separating himself from her.

"Take care!" he said and she nodded before he left the place.

° ° °