Page 71 of Shattered

“Goodness, Akash, you scared me to death,” I chide, placing my hand over my heart.

“Kavya,” he softly whispers as he hurriedly enters and stands next to me. “I need you to listen to me.” He kneels down and gently cups my face in his hands. The fear reflected in his eyes twists my stomach into knots. I can’t shake the feeling that whatever it is, it’s going to be bad. Maybe even worse.

“Is… is it my sister?”My voice comes out in a shaky whisper, bracing for the worst.

He shakes his head. “It’s not about your sister.”

My heart pounds harder, and my hands instinctively clutch my stomach. I feel nauseous, praying desperately,‘Oh God, no, please, no.’

“Wh… what is it?” My lips quiver.

Akash swallows hard, giving me a torn look. “It’s Reyansh. I just received a call about him being in a car accident. He’s been admitted to City Hospital.”

Reyansh. Car accident. The message.The warning. It all hits me like a blow, and black spots swim before my eyes. I feel like I am about to pass out.

“Kavya, are you okay?”Akash’s grip tightens as he steadies me, concern evident on his face.

“I... Reyansh... Akash... He... I...” I stammer,the words tangled in my throat, unable to think straight, let alone speak properly.

“Kavya, he’s okay. I don’t know the exact details, but I can tell you that nothing will happen to him. Your love is too strongfor anything to truly harm him,” he tries to assure me, but I know better than to believe those words.

“I want to go to him,” I say, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.Tears well up in my eyes as I attempt to stand, butAkash’s firm hold keeps me in place. I frown at him, frustrated that he’s stopping me when he knows how much I need to be with Reyansh right now.

“Why don’t you take a few minutes to calm down first,” he replies gently, “and then we’ll go to him together?”

I shake my head. “No, I need to see him now, Akash! I won’t be able to rest until I know he’s okay. I need to get to him... now!”

He lets out a huff. “Fine, but I’m driving you to the hospital.”

I nod, rising to my feet quickly as we head out of the office. Just as we reach his car, Karan steps in front of me, blocking my path.

“Ma’am, I’ve been given strict instructions not to let you go to the hospital until I get the green signal.”

I take a step towards him, jabbing my finger into his chest. “I don’t care about your orders. Let me make one thing clear—you are not keeping me from seeing Reyansh,” I hiss, tears streaming down my face. All I need now is to go to Reyansh, hold him tight, and make sure he’s alive.

“But ma’am...”Karan begins, his voice uncertain,but I hold up my hand.

“I am going.You can follow me if you want, but don’t even think about getting in my way,” I say firmly, brushing past him and slipping into the passenger seat of Akash’s car.

A minute later, Akash gets behind the wheel and pulls the car onto the road without a word.

“Akash, please get there fast,” I whisper.

Akash nods, his focus on the road ahead as he gently squeezes my hand. “I’ll get us there as quickly as possible.”

I close my eyes and rest my head against the seat, my thoughts spiralling out of control.What if something happens to Reyansh? What if I lose him? What if he doesn’t get to see his baby?My hand instinctivelymoves to my stomach, clutching it as if I can protect both of them by sheer will. I feel like I can’t breathe.

Amidst all this, another fear grips me and comes to the surface, shedding light on the message I received earlier from the unknown number.The message... the warning... it’s all my fault. Reyansh is in the hospital because of me. I shouldn’t have gotten him involved in this mess.I dragged him into it, and now, he’s paying the price.Please God, let him be okay! Please don’t let him suffer because of my mistakes. Please don’t take him away from me. Please...

After what felt like an eternity,Akash finally pulls into the hospital’s emergency parking lot.Without wasting a second, we rush inside. At the reception, Akash asks for the room number, keeping a steadying grip on me as my legs threaten to give out.We make our way to the elevator and ride up in tense silence. When the doors open, we quickly turn right and hurry down the corridor until we reach his room. Outside, Reyansh’s parents stand by the door, their eyes red and filled with tears.

“How is he, Aunty?” I ask, rushing to Reyansh’s mom and grabbing her hands, my own tears falling freely now.

“He’s fine.The doctors assure us there’s nothing to worry about,” she says, pulling me into a tight hug. We both break down in tears, our emotions spilling over in that moment of relief.

“Is he really okay?” I ask, pulling away from the hug, needing to hear those words again.

“Yes, he’s fine, just a few cuts and bruises. Fortunately, the car was hit on the front side near the tyre, not the door,” Reyansh’s dad reassures us. “The doctor mentioned a mild concussion, but he’s stable. Nothing serious. It could have been much worse,”he adds, pulling Reyansh’s mom closer to him, comforting her in his embrace.

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