Part 35 20th May 2019

Shaurya's POV

I didn't realize when I slept and when open my eyes it's almost to 10am. I quickly rushed to the bathroom to take a quick shower and rushed to the hospital. When I reached the hospital I saw Sonal and Vicky was outside her room. They told me Mehak woke up and doctor is checking her that's why they waiting outside. The doctor came out and I asked her how is she, Dr Kaur pulled me aside and told me, that she is still in the state of shocked of the event and she have advised police officers not to disturb her till she fully recovered for taking her statement. They have removed the cervical collar from the neck and she can talk a little. Is better to talk to her slowly and asked her what happen instead forcing her to talk out.

I went inside the room and Sonal was sitting next to her. She tried to make some conversation with Mehak but all she gets was only her blank emotionless face or gentle nods. Usually when Sonal and Vicky together, Mehak is the loudest her laughing sound will fill up the air around the space but today it was completely different. Her condition shatters my heart into million pieces.

It was almost night and I asked Sonal to go back and rest. I asked Vicky to see what to do at the hotel and my other business sites as I will not involve in anything till Mehak gets well. He promised to take care of everything and both left from there. I walked a bit in the corridor to relax my sore muscles. I went inside Mehak's room she is sleeping I sat beside her taking her hand in mine kissing it gently not want to awake her from sleep. The blue black marks on her neck has reduced, except for some scratch and bruises is still visible. I remembered what the doctor said, is not good to force her to talk much about the incident. Sonal told me before leaving, she is very quiet since she gain conscious only answering by her eyelid movements. When the food comes she refuse to eat too, Sonal tried to feed her but she did the same. Only when an elderly nurse came in, she manage to take some spoons of the soup. Suddenly I heard a noise like a taking deep breath and I looked at Mehak who is still eyes closed but she started mumble something, her hands moves in the air as if putting up a fight . I quickly went closer to her trying to hold her hands, she started to cry and I heard her saying please let me go, she couldn't breathe normally and this scares me, I immediately pressed the button for help. I hold both her hands so she don't harm herself , some standby nurses and doctors rushed in and the nurse asked me to stay back as one of the doctor ask the nurses to hold Mehak's hands and he quickly injected her with sedition. She calm down a bit but her tears didn't stop immediately. Unknowingly my eyes welled seeing her and the doctor approached me explained that she had a panic attack its normal after such incident happens patient will be having flashes of the incident once in a while during their sleep or even when they are awake. He patted on my shoulder and leave from the room. I walked slowly to her and I wiped the tears away from her cheek. Her lips still tremble in fear. The nurse adjusted her IV and said, it must be very painful and scary moment for her that she can't sleep too. I didn't react as my heart crushed seeing her condition. She left the room after asking me to call her if any help needed. I sat down carefully after caressing her head and bend to peck her forehead. I wonder how long does Mehak needs to fully recover from the trauma she suffers now.

After two weeks, Mehak has fully recovered from the physical wounds including the ankle injury but the past two weeks she didn't speak even a single word not to me or even to Sonal and Vicky. This worries me very much. Even when Dr Kaur tries to talk to her, she turns away. Most of the time she looks at the window from her room. Her face always void of expression. Sonal tries to talk to her but even to her she didn't say anything except being silent all the time.

As usual Sonal came in the morning and asked Shaurya to go and rest and comeback. He didn't even had time to shave or trim his beard as he always rush back to the hotel to accompany Mehak in the hospital. Sonal was trying to cheer up Mehak by showing some of their musically videos they did before. But she did nothing only Sonal continues talking.

Sonal was trying to distract her by showing their old musically/Tik Tok videos but Mehak didn't react much for them. Her silent behavior causes tremendous uneasiness to Shaurya and others. Even Dr Kaur mention that she will suggest to go for psychologist so she can go through the counselling sessions in order to combat with the emotional turmoil that Mehak is going through silently. She didn't let out any cry but she always in some sort of deep thinking. She eats very little and lie down most of the time. Shaurya back to the hotel to freshen up and someone knocked on Mehak's room door, Sonal replied yes come in and two men entered the room. Seeing some strange men in the room caused a sudden fear crawls in Mehak's spine. She started to get sweaty and her heart beat increased. Sonal gets up from her seat and asked who they are. They introduced themselves as the investigating officers for this case and they are here to enquire Mrs Mehak Khanna. Their strict tone and their muscular body and their facial features made Mehak even uneasy. She didn't want to meet the officers.

Officer Srikanth: Mrs Khanna we follow up with Dr Kaur and she told us that you are fine and you are able to talk now so we would like to ask few questions.

Sonal: Officer, please don't ask anything now, wait for Mr Khanna to be here as well.

Officer Srikanth: Miss please, we need to get her statement before we start our investigation. We waited quiet sometime as we were told not to disturb the patient but since she has recovered we need to record her statement now.

Sonal: Whatever it is please wait as her husband has to be here too, he went back to hotel and will be back any moment.

Officer Srikanth: We are government officers not paid by you people, please let us do our duty now. You are interrupting our duty and you too can be prosecuted if disrupt our duty.

Sonal before say anything further, she took her mobile to call Shaurya but the other officer confiscated the mobile from her hand saying that no phones are allowed during investigation. She prayed that Shaurya comes as fast as he can now.

Officer Srikanth: So Mrs Khanna, what happened on that day? Can you please tell us?

Mehak didn't want to speak anything about that horrific night again. She wishes that, that part of the memory taken away or fade away on its own from her as she doesn't want to go back to that moment anytime in her life. She always feel like when she want some happiness in her life it didn't get completed it was taken away from her in a rude manner. She felt herself like God has hated her for being mean to everyone around her, for being a bad wife to her husband, to being a bad daughter to her family and that's why her most sacred part in her, her virtue was taken away by an unknown man in a cruel way. She can remember the part she dressed up happily and Sonal did her makeover and dropped her in the hotel and she entered the lift to the party room. She can recall the moment how she and Shaurya danced like the fairytale prince and princess then how she tailed Shaurya to ask for forgiveness and she wanted to ask him to start anew on their broken relationship but just then everything crashed like a dream. She can see flashes of the man with the horrible mask chasing her in the dark and how he beat her up till she felt unconscious. Dr Kaur tried to talk to her asking about the event but she didn't open her mouth at all. She cannot share her inner turmoil the ugly tragic to anyone as she is afraid of everyone will outcast her. She still remember when Ajay and Rohit kidnapped her and they planned to rape her as revenge but Shaurya came to rescue her on time. Though she was stabbed and later survived it took her sometime to be normal. It was all her family presence and Shaurya who helped her overcome her anxiety. It was also then Shaurya wants her back in his life and his daily dose of love fiasco keep that horrible memory away. Now this officers in front of her asking her, what happened, how many people were there and etc. causing her disgusted on herself. She shut her ears with both her hands and started to pull her hairs in order to calm herself but the voice of the man in mask and the officers kept echoing in her mind.

She screamed to leave her alone but the officers didn't give in to her screams. Even Sonal asked them to stop asking any questions but she has to quiet when officers warned her not to interrupt. Their penetrating tone makes Mehak perturbed and she feel like the room is spinning and the echo of voices together with the flashes of the incident keep haunting her. She can't stand there anymore and she dragged her feet to the washroom and locked herself in.

Shaurya's POV

I rushed back to the hospital and walked quickly to her room. As I came out of the lift to her room I saw some crowd outside Mehak's room. I stride towards her room and heard some commotion I quickly open the door and saw Sonal, Dr Kaur and another two men knocking the door and calling Mehak. Dread feeling piled on me as I asked all to move away and I bang on the door with my forearm twice and on the third attempt the door break. I went in and my the scene in front of me just made my whole world crumbles down and whatever in me its depleted, Mehak was sitting under the shower, crying .

She was soaked from head to toe, I rushed to turn the shower off and in between I got wet too. I quickly carried her and asked everyone to move away and placed her on the couch nearby and asked Sonal to help her change and I walked out of the room with Dr Kaur and the other two men. I didn't want to cry in front of these people and I looked at Dr Kaur and these two men asked who are they? They introduced themselves as the investigating officers and they are here to interrogate Mehak.

Dr Kaur: Officers didn't I tell you the patient is emotionally unstable and she will need some time to open up about the incident? Why you all are don't understand the seriousness of this and coming to investigate now?

Officer Srikanth: Doctor please try to understand, we are government servants and we need to follow procedures. We already waited for past two weeks to record statement so we can't wait any further. How if the criminal already run away from the state? So please stay away and let us do our duty.

Dr Kaur: Officer we understand you are passionate about your duty but as a doctor I need to take care of the wellbeing of my patient. She is mentally not stable. How if just now she did something like committed suicide etc.? What will answer to her family?

I can't stand this and I looked at the doctor with my most ferocious look.

Shaurya: Look officer, if anything happened to my wife I will make sure severe action taken against you and Deputy Commissioner of Police is my close contact.

Officer Srikanth: Sir your wife has been attacked and now you don't let us to investigate so how to find the criminal? Do you think the criminal will come on his own to own up his crime? So please let us talk to your wife, we need to know what happened actually.

In the meantime the crowd was getting large there, and Sonal opens the door and looked at us, I quickly went in to check on Mehak. She was changed to another set of clothes and I saw her arms had fresh scratch marks. She didn't had that when I was leaving. Nurses were applying some creams on her as her tears were flowing out and she sniffles in between. She hung her head low and when I called her Mehak she slowly lift up to see me. Her tears started to burst out like a dam when see me there. I walked quickly to her and wrapped her in my arms I don't care if she refuse me but I just want to make sure she is okay. But she didn't struggle or push me away, I rubbed her back slowly to calm her down. That's when the officers and doctor came in.

Dr Kaur: Officer is better not to continue this investigation now, she is not in the state to talk about it. Please leave the hospital.

Officer Srikanth: Doctor...

That's when Mehak said I will tell what happen that night. When she uttered that I pull herself from me and said you don't need to do that, it's okay. She muffled slowly, no I will talk.