Present
Twenty days had passed since Sia lay in coma.
Ajay was in the despair phase. There was a constant influx of specialists he had requested from various parts of the country and abroad. Apart from using different medical terms, they all couldn’t help revive her.
His daughter was the only bright spark in his life who kept him from going completely under. However, caring for an infant was hard work. When he wanted to employ someone to help him with his daughter, Jo insisted that she be allowed to take care of his baby girl.
From the past twelve hours, his yet to be named daughter was away from him. She was at Jo’s house, resting and recovering from a slight cold.
“Ajay?” a voice asked over the phone.
When he didn’t respond immediately, the voice continued in an urgent tone. “This is Hari. I found something. Please meet me at your office in an hour.”
“You know I can’t, Hari. Tell me whatever it is on the phone.”
“Please Ajay. This might be big. I’m already here with Harsha and we are waiting for you.”
Ajay frowned as he decided whether or not to go. Then remembering that Sia’s uncle already knew about her, he didn’t want to take any chances. “Alright. I’ll be there,” he said, before ending the call.
For the first time since Sia’s accident, Ajay left her side to drive to his office. As soon as he reached, he barged in and spoke. “Why couldn’t you reveal that information at the hospital like always?” he demanded.
“We can’t risk anyone listening to us, Ajay. What I found might turn out to be huge. It could prove dangerous if the wrong people got an inkling of what we are about to discuss.
As soon as Ajay sat down in his office, about to listen to that information, he received a call on his cell phone.
It was the hospital.
“Is my wife, okay?” he asked anxiously.
“Mr. Manthena, your wife has gained conscious.”
Ajay was stunned with the news. And then, he felt ecstatic. “How is she?” he asked, getting up hurriedly from the chair and rushing out of the office building towards his car.
“She seems stable. A little disoriented, but fine. It usually takes a while for recovering coma patients to be completely responsive or to recall everything.”
“Tell her I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said before they ended the call.
Quickly, he dialed Jo’s number. “Jo, Sia has gained conscious! Please bring my daughter to the hospital,” he said.
After that, he drove like a maniac, trying desperately not to kill himself or anyone. But it still took him around forty five minutes to reach the hospital in the city traffic.
When he rushed inside the hospital room, he stopped short, outraged at the scene in front of him.
There were at least four members of the hospital staff trying to tackle his struggling wife.
“What the hell are you all doing to her?” he shouted at them furiously, rushing towards them.
They all froze. Including Sia, and she looked at him with tears running down her eyes, as well as a manic look on her face. He also realized that her body didn’t relax when she saw him. She appeared to get even more agitated.
“Where is my child!” she screamed at him. “Don’t you dare keep her away from me, you bastard!” she sobbed in a broken voice.
“Mr. Mathena, we tried telling your wife that you were on your way here, but she wouldn’t listen to us. She is trying to get out of the bed to get to you.”
Sia began to struggle again. “Answer me! Where is my child?” she shouted agonizingly.
Ajay moved even closer and kept his eyes firmly locked to hers. “I’m not keeping our daughter away from you,” he told her calmly. “She is with Jo, at her house. She’s on her way here.”
Slowly, her tensed arms began to relax. “Why is my daughter not with me?” she demanded.
“She’s a little sick. Nothing serious. Just a cold. Jo’s family offered to help because she wasn’t able to sleep well in the hospital.”
Sia sat up straight. “Is that even normal? She is only... three weeks old!” There was a panicked look on her face.
“Yes. It is apparently quite normal,” he told her in a comforting tone. She still looked around at the uniformed nurses. They nodded in agreement as well.
Sia shook her head. “I need to see her right now. Take me to her,” she asked. This time in a pleading tone.
Ajay looked at the hospital staff. “Please leave us alone.”
Letting go of Sia, they began to leave. “Please press the button for any help, sir,” one of the nurses instructed before leaving and closing the door behind them.
He sat next to Sia. And then, raising both his hands, held her face. She jerked slightly at the touch, but didn’t shake his hands away. “Baby look at me,” he insisted.
When she did, he looked at her reassuringly. “She is our daughter. No one will take her away from us. I promise.”
Her eyes welled up with tears. “It’s not just the others. I don’t trust you either. You had threatened to take away my baby,” she whispered.
His chest felt tight, listening to her words. “I know I said those things before we got married. And I also know that it’s difficult for you to trust me right now. But I promise that I will never threaten you or hurt you again, baby.”
He didn’t give her a chance to reply. Pulling her close, he locked their lips, kissing her gently, adoringly, fervently. He savored the feel of her warm lips. The warmth that signified to him that she was safe and alive, and with him.
Sia didn’t respond, and her lips stayed stubbornly still. But he didn’t give up. He tried harder. He kissed her deeper, harder, and with more determination. She must have felt some of the passion and longing that radiated off him. Because soon, her body shuddered, and her lips finally moved underneath his. They continued kissing, until there was a knock on the door, that made her pull away and look towards it.
It was Jo with their daughter.