Ten days had passed, but Sia remained in coma.

During that time, Ajay had gone through every possible emotion. From being absolutely terrified about not seeing his wife’s smile again, to being overjoyed when the doctors had told him that there was some hope of her waking up as her vitals had stabilized.

But at the moment, he was just angry. Angry at himself and also at her. He went back to blaming himself for putting her through so much, and then, he blamed her for not wanting to fight back harder.

As he held one of her limp hands in his, the anger soon turned into despair. “Please wake up, Sia,” he begged.

“Jay...” a voice interrupted him. And when he ignored whoever it was, “Jay, please look at me,” the voice demanded softly.

Tearing his eyes away from his wife’s face, he turned towards the voice, angry at that person for not leaving him alone in his misery.

It was Jo. Seeing her, his anger dissipated. But soon, another feeling was trying to take over. Panic.

Jo was holding a small bundle in her arms. And he knew that the small bundle was his daughter. And he also knew that he was yet to see his daughter’s face or acknowledge her in some or other way.

But he couldn’t find the courage to do so. His chest cramped at the thought of Sia being stuck in this hospital bed with tubes coming out of her mouth and lying still, while their daughter demanded attention with her cries filled with health and vitality.

Turning away from Jo and his daughter, he looked at Sia’s still form again. “Wake up, baby,” he whispered again.

“Jay, look here,” Jo pleaded with him. “I know you are hurting. But you need to be there for your daughter. She needs you too.”

He knew Jo was right. He knew he was being a coward, but it was too painful to even think of looking at the infant’s face. Over the past ten days, thoughts of whether the baby girl resembled him or Sia ran inside his head. And if the baby looked like Sia, he knew he’d be even more devastated and finally break down.

“I c-can’t, Jo. I’m really grateful that you are able to take care of my daugh—” He broke off and took a deep breath. “Thank you for taking care of the baby, but I can’t look at her right now. I’m sorry.”

Jo’s face fell and she looked extremely disappointed with him, but with a look of determination, she moved closer, and stood right in front of him. “I know it’s hard, Jay. But do you really think Sia would be fine with this? With you not bothering to look at your daughter?” she asked. “No mother will ever understand or forgive someone who has rejected her child.”

Ajay’s mind rebelled listening to those words. He wasn’t rejecting Sia’s and his child.

Then what exactly do you call it? A voice in his head whispered.

Jo was right. He needed to man up and take responsibility even if it hurts him.

Slowly and reluctantly, he lowered his eyes towards the small bundle in Jo’s arms. He couldn’t see the face clearly, because the small infant was completely wrapped up in blankets from head to toe.

“Is she going to be... hungry soon?” he asked.

“No. I just fed her and changed her. She’s sleeping,” Jo replied softly. When he just stared at the bundle with longing and guilt, Jo stretched her arms towards him. “Go on. Take her, Jay.”

Nodding his head, he stretched his slightly trembling arms to carefully take the tiny bundle out of Jo’s hands. And then, he almost broke down when he finally saw his daughter’s face for the first time. He choked with an overwhelming emotion as he felt her warmth in his arms. His lungs constricted as though they weren’t big enough for the deep breath he had to take.

His daughter was perfect. Even though she was still wrinkled and red with a scrunched up face while sleeping, she was so beautiful. On instinct, he got up and held her closer to his chest, and rocked her in a soothing motion.

He stayed that way for a while. “I want to hold her for some more time,” he told Jo, not taking his eyes of his daughter.

Jo placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “She’s your daughter, Jay. You can hold her however long you want. I’ll be back in a couple of hours for her feeding.”

He looked at Jo with immense gratitude filled eyes. “Thanks Jo,” he said.

“You are welcome,” she replied with a smile.

“Tell me what to do. I want to take care of her.” He felt ashamed that he didn’t know how to take care of his own daughter. But Jo made it easy for him. She didn’t chide him and over the next few minutes, she gave him instructions on how to feed and change an infant.

“I don’t know what my daughter or I would have done without your help these past ten days,” he told Jo earnestly.

“You both would have done fine. And there is no need to thank me, Jay. You have always been my support when I needed it. This is simply me returning the favor for all those times,” she said, smiling.

“There is no favor to return, Jo. I’m lucky to have a friend like you. Even though I don’t deserve it for the things I’ve put you through lately.”

Jo smiled and touched his cheek gently, giving him a reassuring hug that included him and his daughter. “None of it was your fault, Jay. I understand.”

He wrapped his free hand around her. “Thank you, Jo. For everything.”

“You are welcome,” she murmured with a soft smile. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need me for anything.”

“I will,” he said, and when they both turned towards the door so he could walk her out, their eyes clashed with a set of angry eyes.

The eyes belonged to a tall man who was giving them a furious look. Apart from Sia’s friend Anjali, Sia didn’t have any other visitors he didn’t know personally. Apparently, that was about to change.

Ajay didn’t know how he felt about that.

The tall man with a scar on his face sneered. “At least have the decency and respect to carry on with your cheating somewhere else. Not next to your wife, who by the way is in coma.” The man spat out the words.

“What? That’s not—” Jo began until Ajay squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

“Jo. Let me walk you out. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll see you soon,” he said, gently leading her out with his hand that was still wrapped around her.

After seeing Jo off in the parking lot, he headed back into the hospital room.

Ajay recognized the man. He was the same man that Sia had been visiting and talking to quite often. And right then, that man was standing by Sia’s bed with a tormented look on his face.

Ajay knew that the man was helping Sia with her revenge on the Naidu family. But what he didn’t know was why.

“Are you a friend of Sia’s?” Ajay asked.

The man dragged his gaze away from Sia to look at him. “Yes. I also work for her company,” he replied with a hostile look.

Ajay knew that the man was lying. But he played along. “Sia never mentioned about you to me before. What’s your name?” he asked even though he knew it was Varun.

“Varun,” the man replied curtly.

Ajay didn’t say anything. He held his daughter and sat on one of the empty couches available in the room.

“What did the doctors say about Sia’s recovery?” Varun asked.

“They said she is showing signs of recovery. And some of the specialists I’ve consulted think, she should have woken up by now.”

Varun frowned. “I see.”

 And then there was no more talk. Varun stayed for a while and then left quietly.

Over next few days, Varun visited Sia often. And whenever Jo visited around the same time, Varun sneered at Ajay and Jo, obviously misunderstanding their relationship. But Ajay didn’t care about such petty misunderstandings. He was too absorbed with the caring of his daughter and also talking to more specialists who could possibly help Sia wake up from the coma.

“Are you sure you want to continue setting things in motion before even Sia recovers?” Harsha asked Ajay one day during the hospital visits.

“Yes. I know she will wake up. And when she does, I want us to be prepared.”