Page 79 of Only With You

Something in me screams that she is not messing and genuinely needs help. I start hurrying around the room, as I quickly pull out my jeans and t-shirt from my cupboard. “Give me a few minutes, I will be there,” I say as I pull up my jeans.

“Thanks. Please don’t tell Mili anything about me being at the hospital. I don’t want her to worry.”

I don’t argue with her on that. Of course, Mili doesn’t need to know about this, not now at least. “I won’t.” Then, I hurry downstairs and find Alisha on the couch, having her coffee.

“Sweetheart, Soha just called up, saying that she has been admitted to the hospital. I believe she has met with an accident. I need to go and check on her,” I ramble as I stand in front of her.

Letting out a gasp, she is on her feet. I marvel how pure she is at heart, always worried about everyone else, even if she really detests them.

“Oh gosh! You need to go. Please call and update me once you reach the hospital,” she says as she hurries me out of the door.

After slamming my car door shut, I toss my mobile on the passenger seat, kickstart the engine, and pull out of the parking lot. Being the morning hours, there is hardly any traffic, so I speed to the hospital. Twenty minutes later, I turn into the hospital’s premises and park my car. Taking the first spot I see, I pick my phone, and sprint inside. Stopping at the reception desk, I notice an old lady behind the desk, busy typing something on the laptop.

“Excuse me, Ma’am, can you please tell me in which room Miss Soha has been admitted to?” I ask.

She looks up from her screen. “Give me a moment. Let me check, Sir.” She types something on the laptop and then looks up at me. “She is in room number twenty-three, on the third floor.”

“How do I get there?” I ask, looking around.

She gives me a polite smile and points out in the left direction. “Walk down the corridor and you’ll find the elevator. Take the third floor. Once you step out, it’s the fourth room on your right.”

“Thanks,” I say as I make my way, walking down the busy hallway.

Once I enter the lift, I snap my eyes shut, and pull in a deep breath, preparing myself for what’s waiting for me on the other side of the door. A minute later, I slowly enter the room. Soha’s eyes are closed, so I assume she hasn’t realised she has a visitor. I take the moment to study her. Soha’s legs are wrapped in a cast, and her hands are bandaged. She has another bandage wrapped around her forehead.

“Soha…” I murmur, as my feet move to her and I sit on the chair next to her bed.

She slowly opens her eyes and turns to look at me. Her eyes are bloodshot with tears filled in them. My first thought is to demand and ask her what made her land here. But instead, I find myself asking in a soft tone.

“You okay?”

She nods her head and sniffs. “Yes.”

“I know this is not the right time, but if it’s not too much for you, can you tell me what happened?” I ask her.

“I messed up in a real bad way this time,” she whispers.

“Tell me, Soha,” I urge her to continue.

“My boyfriend… h… he did this to me. The one you saw me with at the mall. He is not a good guy. Getting into arelationship with him was a bad idea. I had no damn clue all along what I was exactly getting myself into. I didn’t know he was a drug addict when I started dating him. I know I am a futuristic girl and I love partying, dating, drinking and all, but trust me, I have never done drugs. I thought with time, his addiction would die but it didn’t. And every time I would threaten to leave him if he didn’t stop, he would beg me to give him time and a last chance. And like a fool, I would give him. He would often ask me to give money for his drugs. Unwillingly, I would give him, thinking at some point he would stop asking. But when I realised it was just getting worse with time, I decided to end it. Last night, when he asked me to give him a huge amount of money, I refused,saying he could go to hell. That pissed him off, and he beat the shit out of me for saying no to him. As getting me to the hospital was not enough for him, he even threatened to kidnap Mili and sell her.” Her eyes are horrified as she whimpers, “Please, Ranveer, don’t let that happen. Please save my daughter, our daughter. He’s threatened me, and I’m scared something might happen to Mili.”

I felt as if my heart was lodged in my throat as my brain processed her stilted, pained words.

“Why didn’t you inform the cops and get him arrested?”

“I don’t know if informing the cop is a smart move. I am scared to confront anyone.” She closes her eyes, like she is trying to gain strength. “And when he threatened me with Mili, all I could think of was you. I can only trust you to save her.” She opens her eyes.“I know you hate me. I know I played with your emotions when it came to Mili. But the selfish woman in me wanted to take advantage of how you felt about Mili and tie you to myself. Now lying here in the hospital bed, I have realised how selfish and wrong I was.” She fumbles as she adds in a terrified tone, “Ranveer… I… I’m scared. I don’t know how to protect Mili.”

Her words make me flinch. “I will not let anything happen to Mili,” I growl beside her, and it takes all my willpower not to lash out at her for getting us into this mess.

She sighs. “I know you would always protect her, but I’m scared of losing my baby. All these years, I never loved my baby. I have never been a good mother to her and have always treated her as nothing more than a cheque, which I would encash for my selfish needs.” Soha stops and bites her lower lip while tears pool in her eyes. Her voice is clogged with emotions as she helplessly gazes at me and then clears her throat. “But now I have realised what a fool I was to not give my daughter the motherly love that she deserved. Today, when I almost faced my death, my eyes opened to reality, and my life took a new turn. Mili is no longer a blank cheque to me. She is my daughter. My sweet little angel.” There is a twinkle in Soha’s eyes as she says those words. For a moment, I find it hard to believe but when I continue to gaze at her, I feel a ray of hope in my heart that Soha is beginning to become a mother in the true sense. She has begun to understand what unconditional motherly love is, maybe for the first time in her life. “Please don’t take my daughter away from me. I know you don’t want Mili to be raised by a selfish person like me. But I promise that once I am out of the hospital, I am going to change myself completely. I am going to get a job and take care of Mili. I want to be a better mother for her,” she says, the last word coming out in a whisper.

“I am not going to take Mili away from you. I am aware of the terrible blunders you have made in life; even I have made mistakes in life. No one is perfect. And what’s worth is that you have realised.” I look into her eyes as I add, “But Soha, I too want to be a part of Mili’s life. We have to put aside our ego for the sake of Mili.”

“I understand. I won’t stop her from seeing you.”

Just then, she winces in pain and groans, which reminds me of the reason I am here. “Where is that asshole now?” I thunder, murder in my voice, while my body is tense, and my hands clench into fists.

“I don’t know…”

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