Murderer & Princess

6. Guilt.

Happy reading!

********

Kaira hugged him back and rubbed his back to calm him down. She noticed Rohan walking into her cabin with a worried look as she was doing this. She raised her eyebrow at him asking him what happened but he just nodded in a no. Ayush broke the hug and kissed her forehead asking, 'Doll, you're okay, right? Rohan told me everything that happened today.' She sighed and said, 'Bhai, I am absolutely okay, don't worry.' He kissed her forehead and kept her close to himself. He said, 'Vihaan is so dead.' Kaira closed her eyes to calm down and said, 'Bhai, he got belted by Rohan, he was scared throughout the meeting, I'm sure he isn't going to do anything. Please let it go. If you do something, dad will get to know and I don't want him to know, please?' He understood her point of view and agreed to let it go.

Ayush wanted to take Kaira home and let her rest since she actually had a pretty bad day. Ayush told Rohan that they'd meet some other day. Rohan agreed and asked them to get back safe. Ayush and Kaira reached home. As soon as they did, Ayush asked her to take a shower and come since she looked very exhausted. She agreed and went to freshen up. She came back to the hall after freshening up and sat down for dinner. Raj and Nalini asked her about her day, but she just briefly said that she had a lot of meetings to attend but otherwise it went smoothly. They had dinner and Kaira went to her room saying she had some work. She got back to her room and started making the summary of the presentation. She was done with the work in about half an hour. She had enough for the day so she went to sleep. She fell asleep instantly. 

Rohan went home too after Ayush and Kaira left. He had dinner and went to the study because he was not feeling sleepy and had nothing to do. He decided to ask Ayush if he's doing fine. The trio boy gang has always hated Vihaan and the fact that it was Kaira who was involved, wouldn't let him be sane. He called him and the first thing he said was, 'Ayush, your best friends are always there with you, stop removing your frustration on the poor sponge ball.' He instantly loosened the hold on the ball. He sighed and said, 'I don't know how I forgot to warn Kai about that asshole. it didn't even strike me. I was so happy about her working with you that it slipped out of my mind.' For an unknown reason, Rohan felt guilty and said, 'I'm sorry, Ayush. Even though I was present at the office he dared to do that to her, I'm sorry.' Ayush realized what he is thinking and said, 'Ro, enough. Let the guilt go. I don't blame you at all. Kaira is all fine because you were around. It's time you let go, Rohan. We've all been trying to get you out of it, it's time you start putting in efforts. We hate to see you like this and you know it. Start socializing and for f**k's sake, schedule your life like a civilized human. Get out of your study room and go watch something. You deserve all this.' A few drops of tears dropped from his eyes and he said, 'No, Ayush. If I deserved everything that you mentioned, I wouldn't have been in jail!' 

Ayush sighed and was at a loss of words. He expected this to be coming soon. Aryan and he noticed how he had been trying to mask his emotions for quite some time now and the burst-out day was coming soon. People think Rohan is someone who never expresses anything, but only his boys were aware of what an innocent baby lives behind the mask he puts on. Ayush knew he had to cheer him up. He would have rushed to Rohan's house but he knew he wouldn't be quite happy with that and said, 'Rohan, please. If you didn't deserve happiness, Aryan would not be your best friend. So seriously, stop thinking about all this. Grab a glass of whiskey and go watch something on Netflix, I'll drop in some recommendations. If you wish to sleep, please get some sleep. Stop thinking about all this nonsense. You sound like you're starting to believe what the news writes about you, and that's not the Rohan I know. The Rohan I know is far stronger so chin up, okay? I will have to call Aryan otherwise.' Rohan wiped the tears and said, 'Alright, I'll get out of this zone and do something else apart from work. I don't want Aryan to know about his, so please?' Ayush smiled and said, 'I won't. It's your space to tell him, and you should, but whenever you want to.' He agreed and said he'd go watch a movie and sleep. Ayush knew that when Rohan decided something, even if it's something as small as a movie, he will stick to it. 

Ayush kept the call and was still worried about Rohan but he knew he had to let him fight the demons that stay inside his head. He went to Kaira's room and saw her fast asleep but all work papers were scattered on the bed, so he cleared it up, kept it on the table, and sat beside her. He stroked her hair and was thinking about Rohan. He would often come to her room and sit beside her and comfort himself. Kaira just had to be physically present next to him for him to feel better. She was his peace and vice versa. He kissed her forehead and went back to his room wishing her a silent good night. He decided to call it a day and sleep. 

Aryan on the other hand, had the worst night. He couldn't stop crying. His mother wasn't able to do anything to stop him. It had been 2 hours since he had been crying thinking about a part of him, which left him. His mother was now getting worried and wanted to call Ayush or Rohan but couldn't since Aryan had warned her not to. In no time, before she could decide what to do, Aryan's voice had muted down. She was hoping he stopped crying and went to his room, but to her shock, he was lying on the floor. She panicked and called the servant. She asked him to take him to the car as she called the driver. She sat at the back seat with Aryan's head on her lap. She was crying uncontrollably and was constantly kissing his head while tapping his face asking him to wake up. She knew the situation was out of control so she decided to call Ayush but she noticed that she hadn't carried her phone so she asked the driver to rush to the hospital. They reached in about 10 minutes and were hoping the doctor was available at this hour. The receptionist told the ward boys to get a stretcher and shift him to a room while Aryan's mom asked the receptionist to call the owner and inform him that Aryan is admitted to the hospital. She nodded and saw Anita (Aryan's mom) running along with the stretcher. 

Rohan had fallen asleep barely a few minutes ago when his phone disturbed him. He saw the caller ID and was hoping it wasn't anything bad. He picked the call and the voice said something which panicked Rohan. He immediately rushed out of his house grabbing his phone. Yes, the call was from none other than the hospital reception. It was Rohan's hospital. He was hoping it wasn't Aryan but to his dismay, it was Aryan. He was trying to call Ayush on the way but his phone was switched off. He couldn't call on the landline number since he didn't wish to wake Ayush's parents so he decided to call Kaira. Kaira woke up since her phone was right next to her ear. She saw the caller ID and looked at the time. Her sleep immediately vanished and panicked. As soon as she picked the call, Rohan said, 'Kaira, wake Ayush immediately and ask him to rush to the hospital.' Kaira was shocked and before she could ask anything, he hung up. She rushed to Ayush's room and woke him up saying Rohan called him to the hospital immediately. She noticed Ayush panic so she said, 'Bhai, please change, I'll drive you to the hospital. I'll be back in 2.' Ayush didn't disagree since he knew he wasn't in the state to drive and both the drivers were on a leave. Kaira immediately changed and rushed to the car taking the keys and her phone. They immediately left and Ayush told her to rush to "Lifeline Hospital" She nodded without questioning. It was about a 20 minutes drive from their home. Kaira kept her hand on his and said, 'Bhai, everything will be fine, don't worry.' He sighed and wondered how is she so mature. She didn't bother questioning him who was at the hospital and what had happened. All she knew was, she had to be there for her brother. He closed his eyes and said, 'Aryan's admitted at the hospital, for the 4th time in 10 months.' Kaira's eyes went wide open and she went numb. She didn't expect this, Ayush noticed it and said, 'We'll discuss this later on. Let's reach quickly first.' They reached in another 15 minutes. She handed over the keys to the valet and both of them immediately rushed inside. They rushed to his room and saw Rohan trying to calm Anita who couldn't stop crying saying, 'Aunty, Aryan is strong, he'll fight this, I promise.' Yet, she couldn't control herself. Kaira couldn't see this and grabbed a glass of water from the water dispenser which was right there. She handed it over to Ayush and asked him to give it to her. He rushed to them and Rohan immediately sighed a breath of relief seeing him. He grabbed the glass of water from Ayush and gave it to Anita saying. 'Aunty, please drink some water. You have to be okay, to take care of Aryan.' Ayush backed him up and said, 'Yes, aunty. We're all here for you and him, please drink some water?' She finally tried to calm herself and had a few sips of water.  

Rohan asked him to take over through his facial expressions. Ayush understood and sat beside Anita while Rohan got up and went to the other corner. Kaira noticed and filled another glass for him and went towards him. She forwarded the glass to him and that's when he noticed her. He nodded in a no so she forcibly made him drink a few sips. He gulped it down and stood in silence staring into space. Kaira was very bad with such situations so she just rubbed his arm and said, 'He'll be okay, Rohan. We all have to be strong.' This was it for Rohan, He burst out crying and sat on the floor. Shock would be an understatement to what Kaira felt. She had no idea why everyone was crying so much, all she knew was it wasn't a small thing. She sat next to Rohan and rubbed his back, but it didn't do anything. She just gave him a side hug and he hugged back tighter. He put his head on his shoulder and was just muttering, 'I deserve to be in that place, not Aryan.' She just kept rubbing his back and asking him to relax. After a few minutes, Ayush came to them and said, 'He's out of ICU but the doctor wants to talk to us.' Rohan looked up to home from Kaira's shoulder and nodded in a no helplessly. Ayush was trying to be brave, and Kaira knew it. She stood up and made Rohan stand up. She rubbed a few of her tears and asked Rohan to do the same and said, 'Come, let's go. Everything will be fine. We have to be strong.' Ayush looked at her with helpless eyes while she just blinked at him and asked him to trust her. Rohan did as she said and the 3 of them walked to the doctor's cabin. Kaira decided to stay outside but Rohan grabbed her hand and took her inside. The doctor was looking at the files. He sighed and said, 'The situation has aggravated. He is out of danger, for now, you have to take a call and decide soon. The time you had earlier to decide, is reducing time and again.'

Rohan looked at him with hopeful eyes and asked, 'Siddhant, we don't have a solution for this here?' Dr. Siddhant sighed and said, 'I'm afraid, Rohan, the solution here is not that effective. You can take the hit and miss, but it's about his life. One thing goes wrong, things will never be back to how it is. Things are in control now.' His mother sighed and said, 'Doctor, we want him to be fine, but what are the chances that the procedure you recommended is 100% safe?' He said, 'Nothing is 100% safe, ma'am. The chances of survival via this procedure is 95%.' She was frustrated and said, 'What if Aryan's case falls into the 5% category?' Ayush who was standing behind her rubbed her arm asking her to calm down. she apologized immediately. The doctor smiled and said, 'That's okay. I understand where you're coming from, ma'am. He will lose his life eventually if we keep delaying, rather take the positive chance you're getting.' She nodded and looked down. Rohan said, 'Give us about a maximum of 15 days to take a call.' He nodded and told them they can meet Aryan now. They nodded and walked out. Kaira stayed back since it wasn't best to ask any of them what is happening. Kaira looked at the doctor and said, 'Doctor, what had happened to Aryan?' He looked confused and asked, 'And you are?' She said, 'Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm Kaira, Ayush's sister.' He nodded and said, 'He has been facing Hemorrhagic stroke. This is when a blood vessel burst in your brain. This happened to him about 2 years back, but nothing aggravated until today. The only way to cure this is surgery, and the best surgeon for this is in Canada. Ma'am has been skeptical since the start but I understand her concern, there are chances she might lose her son forever, but she will even otherwise. I hope they come to a conclusion soon.' She was numb listening to all of this and asked, 'What was the reason Aryan had to be admitted today?' 

He sighed and said, 'Often when your brain can't take the amount of pressure you put on it, it refuses to function and that makes your body go numb and you generally faint. I believe he must be overthinking or over-exerting himself.' She nodded but wasn't in the state to even say a word. The doctor handed her a glass of water. She took a sip and put her head behind. She closed her eyes and tears rolled down her eyes. She didn't know the Aryan she knew all this while has much worse problems in life than anyone could even think about. She walked out of the doctor's cabin in a haze when she bumped into someone. She didn't look up and just apologized. She was about to walk off but the person grabbed her hand and hugged her. She realized it's Ayush and hugged him back tighter and let the tears flow out of her eyes, freely. Ayush could only rub her back to calm herself down but he was not strong enough to help himself, forget helping her. Rohan noticed them as he walked out of Aryan's room and walked up to them. He wiped his tears and kept one hand on Kaira's head and the other on Ayush's shoulder. Ayush looked up and gave him a helpless look while all he could do was just stare back. No one knew how they were supposed to convince each other. Anita walked to them and asked Ayush to go meet Aryan. He understood that she couldn't see him in that condition so he just kissed Kaira's forehead and asked if she wanted to tag along with him but she refused since she didn't have the strength. He wiped her tear and asked her to sit down and drink some water. Rohan took the cue and went to grab her a glass of water. He asked Anita to go back home since the 3 of them are going to be here for sure and they don't want her to fall sick. She agreed since she could trust them and went to bid goodnight to Aryan.

Meanwhile, Rohan went to Kaira and handed her the glass of water. She smiled at him and took a sip from it. Neither of them knew what were they supposed to tell each other so Kaira just rubbed his arm and said, 'He'll be okay, Rohan.' He faintly smiled and asked, 'You're convincing yourself, Kaira?' She bit her bottom lip to try and control her tears but the traitors fell off her eyes. Rohan said, 'Aryan is in this place today, because of me. I wonder why he is still my best friend. I wonder why his mom doesn't hate me. I want to do everything possible for him, just to make sure he is fit and healthy, but it's not my place to make a decision. I just hope his mom decides soon.' Kaira had no idea why was Rohan telling her all this, but she knew she cannot question him so she just said, 'Aryan will be fine, Rohan. My gut says it. You know, I believe this is all a test for all of us. It's a test for you to understand that Aryan isn't in this place because of you. I don't know why you said that neither am I in a place to ask you why you said that. I can just say one thing, start loving yourself. Your friends don't like to see you this way, I'm sure.' Rohan gave her a grateful smile and sighed in relief she didn't question him about his past. She decided to go to the canteen to grab a coffee for all of them. Rohan went into Aryan's room while Kaira went to get coffee. Ayush frowned not seeing Kaira with him so he just mouthed a coffee. 

Rohan cleared his throat and Aryan looked up giving a small smile which wasn't taken very well with Rohan since he was continuously glaring at Aryan. He turned to Ayush for help but he just raised his hand in defeat which made Aryan frown. He whined and said, Rohan, c'mon. You can yell at me all you want at home, I am fine.' Rohan lost his cool and said, 'Fine? Seriously? Do you have any idea what aunty is going through? Do you have any idea how all of us are even feeling? Do you know the doctors have started putting pressure to make a decision? You promised to call us the last time you landed in the hospital because of your panic attack! Um, before that, Kaira is here and she shall be coming into the room anytime soon. She knows now, so it's up to you how you want to handle.' Aryan looked at Ayush and he just shrugged his shoulder.

Kaira walked in with a tray of 3 coffees. She handed it to Ayush and Rohan while taking one for herself. She smiled at Aryan which he returned. She sat on the stool next to his bed and asked, 'How are you feeling now Aryan?' He patted her hand kept on his bed and said, 'I am feeling better than before, thank you for asking. I am so sorry for putting you all through this.' She shook her head in a no and smiled. Ayush couldn't be thankful enough to Kaira for not questioning anyone and putting anyone in an awkward position. She decided to keep the mood light hence kept the conversation casual. Meanwhile, Rohan decided to go out and take some air. Ayush followed her blinking at Aryan who got worried. Kaira kept her hand on his and said, 'Rohan will be fine, Aryan. He thinks he's responsible for what you're going through. If you are so worried, start taking care of yourself. The decision is now yours and your mom's to make. None of us have a say in it. Don't put yourself or any of us through this again.' He smiled through tears glistening in his eyes. She got up and hugged him while he hugged her back tighter and let a few tears flow down. He had no idea since when he started trusting her so much, all he knew is that he did and he did not regret it. 

On the other hand, Rohan walked out of the hospital and stood trying to gasp some air while staring at the sky. He felt someone's presence next to him and saw Ayush next to him doing the same thing. A smile broke on his face. Ayush smiled at him too before they hugged each other. Rohan let out his tears come out and said, 'I cannot believe Aryan is the one who has to face the consequences of my f*****g mistake. I don't even think the guilt is going to let me look into his eyes anymore. I don't think I can do this anymore, Ayush. I don't deserve to have such friends. This is not what my karma has to give him.' Ayush sighed and said, 'Ro, if that is the case then walk out of here. It sounds so easy to you, right? We are literally like triplets. We know each other in and out. Your karma is giving you only what you deserve. Aryan's health has nothing to do with you, and fix that in your thick skull. Stop blaming yourself, Rohan. It's seriously enough. You are now testing our patience. You're right now failing at the test you're given. This is your f*****g chance to prove it to yourself. You cannot just give up. You've been thrown under the bus a lot, Rohan. The Rohan I know is not so weak. You have seen the worst of life. And if this is going to make it any better then I spoke to dad and asked him to contact the doctor in Canada. Dad knows a few doctors in Canada who are helping him to contact the doctor easily. Apparently, the doctor will be available to speak by coming Friday. I thought we could all come down to the hospital so that Dr. Siddhant could speak to him directly and explain the situation.' Rohan broke the hug and immediately wiped the tears and looked at him with hopeful eyes asking him if it was actually true to which Ayush just nodded and gave him a bright smile. Yes, Aryan wasn't free of the disease but this was the progress they were looking for. 

They decided to head back since they both felt light. They walked into the room and saw Kaira and Aryan laughing. A smile spread across both their faces, Aryan smiled seeing then and so did Kaira. Ayush said, 'Kai, I'll drop you back home, Rohan and I will stay here tonight.' She raised her eyebrow at him and said, 'Really? Do you think I will actually leave? I am staying here tonight. It's anyway past 2 AM. Aryan you please go to sleep now.' Since he was under medication, he fell asleep in less than 2 minutes. They decided to go out of the room and discuss since they didn't want to disturb him. Rohan said, 'Kaira, Ayush is right, you should go home. Plus there's even office tomorrow. Obviously, we will be going late. Your reporting time for tomorrow will be 11 AM tomorrow since I'll be coming late too. Get some sleep, since we will be having a long day tomorrow.' Kaira understood the situation and said, 'Alright, I'll go home. And bhai, you don't have to drop me, I'll go by myself.' Before Ayush could say anything, Rohan said, 'Ayush, you also go home. I am here for the night. Anyway, there is place for just one of us to sleep, so go home and get some sleep. Come back by 9 in the morning so that I can go back home to freshen up for work. That sounds okay?' Ayush nodded and said, 'Sounds good to me. I'll get your breakfast tomorrow or send it with Kaira to work. Aunty will come tomorrow afternoon so while she's here I can go to the office for a bit.' Rohan nodded and hugged him goodbye. Kaira side hugged him and followed Ayush, asking him to take care of himself and Aryan. 

Rohan went back to the room and adjusted Aryan's blanket neatly and decided to sleep. He kept thinking about why Kaira never asked him what he was talking about, or didn't make it weird for him when he cried. He was grateful for that because he didn't have answers to give her. He fell asleep thinking about her. Meanwhile, Kaira sat in the car and put her head on the dashboard with frustration. Ayush just patted her head and said, 'Dad arranged an appointment with the Canada doctor on Friday. I am hoping it's going to be something positive.' She looked up and scrunched her forehead and asked, 'When did you tell dad about Aryan? And why didn't any of you even tell me about all of this?' He sighed since he knew this question had to come one time or the other. He said, 'I told dad around 2 months back. It was really tough to get an appointment with that doctor, but dad somehow managed it. Kaira, such things are just hard to say. It was not my place to tell you about it. And out of the blue how do you expect any of us to tell you Aryan is dealing with a life-threatening disease?' She nodded in understanding and just let out a shaky breath and said, 'I hope everything will be fine.' He nodded and said, 'Two things. One, do not tell dad that Aryan, Rohan, and I are friends. He doesn't know Rohan and I are friends so we want to keep it that way as of now. Two, don't ask Rohan anything personal. He doesn't share it with anyone, he might or might not open up to you, and you don't want to see the cold side of Rohan, trust me.' She nodded and decided to do as he said but asked, 'I understand why not to talk to Rohan but why haven't you told dad you're friends with Rohan?' He said, 'Rohan didn't want them to know. I don't think I can tell you why he doesn't want them to know, but yeah, he has his reasons and we should respect it.' He nodded and said, 'Don't worry, I shall  make sure he doesn't know about it.' 

They drove home and went to sleep since it was already late. Ayush woke up the next morning and woke Kaira asking her to get ready and take some breakfast for Rohan. She got ready and went down to see everyone was waiting for breakfast. Raj was shocked seeing everyone running late and said, 'How come both of you are running late?' Kaira looked up at Ayush and he said, 'We both had gone to the hospital last night, we came back at almost 3 AM. Aryan was admitted to the hospital.' They started asking questions and finally, Raj said, 'I'll try preponing the doctor's appointment to tomorrow, I'll be back.' Kaira asked Ayush who was sitting next to her after Raj left, 'How do I ask mom to pack breakfast for Rohan? She'll ask me a thousand questions.' He told her he'll handle it and turned to Nalini saying, 'Mom, could you pack breakfast for one of Aryan's friends who is staying with him in the hospital?' Nalini nodded and said, 'Of course, I'll pack it.' Kaira sighed and continued eating. She went to her room after she was done eating to gran her bag and other essential things before leaving for office.' Ayush put the food in Kaira's bag before anyone could see it. Meanwhile, Raj came back and said, 'I have spoken to the other doctor, he said he'll try his best to talk to Dr. Joseph, who is the specialist, and try getting us an appointment for tomorrow since it's an emergency case. He'll revert back to me post-lunch, so I'll keep you updated.' Ayush and Kaira breathed a sigh of relief and were hoping for the best. They both left from home. Ayush dropped Kaira to work since it was on the way to the hospital and went to the hospital.  She entered and everyone was staring at her. She walked to her cabin and left her bag on the table. The receptionist walked into her cabin and said, 'You're lucky Rohan sir is late as well, otherwise you'd have been fired for being so late to work.' She sighed and efficiently lied saying, 'Thank god. I over-slept.' She nodded and walked out after giving her a sheet of people who called regarding the deals pending. She sighed saying good luck to herself.

*******

Hey guys!

I hope you liked the update. Did you expect this?

Do let me know in the comment section! <3 

Love,

Janvi Jain