Chapter 23: Between Life and Love
966 Words
The rain fell mercilessly the night Arjun Malhotra met the accident.
Metal screamed against metal. Glass shattered. Screams cut through the dark highway. By the time help arrived, Arjun lay unconscious, blood staining his shirt, his pulse faint but alive.
Doctors fought through the night.
“Critical,” they said. “Unstable.” “Pray.”
For the first time in years, the Malhotra empire was powerless.
---
The news reached Lina the next morning.
She was reviewing designs when Neha froze mid-sentence, her phone slipping from her hand.
“Ma’am…” her voice trembled. “It’s Mr. Malhotra.”
Lina’s heart stopped.
“What about him?” she asked calmly—too calmly.
“He was hit by a car. He’s been unconscious for days. The doctors say… he may not wake up.”
The room spun.
It felt as if someone had driven a blade straight through her chest.
Lina stood up abruptly. “You may go,” she told Neha.
She locked herself in her room that night and cried until her throat burned.
“I hate you,” she whispered into the darkness. “So why does it hurt this much?”
---
She stayed away for weeks.
Because seeing him would mean forgiving him.
And she wasn’t ready.
But love does not listen to pride.
One night, wrapped in a scarf and darkness, Lina slipped into the hospital through a side entrance. No reporters. No family. No one to recognize her.
She stood by the door of the ICU for a long time before entering.
Arjun lay still, machines breathing for him, his face pale but familiar. The man who had broken her heart… and owned it.
Her knees weakened.
She sat beside him and took his hand.
“You always do things your way,” she whispered. “Even now.”
She wiped his face gently, her fingers trembling.
“If you wake up,” Lina said softly, tears falling onto the sheets, “I will forgive you.”
Her voice broke.
“I will forgive you… and marry you again.”
Arjun did not move.
But beneath the silence, he heard every word.
---
Days turned into weeks.
Lina came every night—quietly, secretly. She fed him soup drop by drop. Cleaned him. Spoke to him as if he were awake.
Sometimes she scolded him. Sometimes she cried. Sometimes she just held his hand and said nothing.
One month passed.
Doctors called it a miracle that he was alive at all.
Lina called it torture.
---
That evening, she entered the room irritated, exhaustion written all over her face.
“Enough,” she snapped, standing over him. “Do you enjoy watching me suffer?”
She picked up his hand and noticed his watch—the one he never removed.
“If you don’t want to wake up,” she said bitterly, unclasping it, “then I’ll take this as a goodbye gift.”
She slid it into her bag.
“With this, I’ll remember you,” she said softly. “You can die in peace now.”
She turned and walked out.
The moment the door closed—
Arjun’s fingers twitched.
His eyes opened.
And he smiled.
---
“Doctor,” Arjun said weakly later that night, when the room was empty. “Do not tell my family I am awake.”
The doctor stared. “Why?”
“Because,” Arjun whispered, “my life depends on one woman… and she needs to come back on her own.”
---
The next day, Lina returned as usual.
She stood by his bed, arms crossed. “You are really stubborn.”
She cleaned him carefully, adjusted his pillow.
“You’re clean now,” she muttered. “You can die in peace.”
She sighed heavily, her voice breaking despite herself.
“Do you know how much I’ve suffered?” she whispered.
“You didn’t believe me. You didn’t defend me when people humiliated me.”
“You broke me… and now you want to leave me with all this love?”
Tears streamed freely now.
“Where do you expect me to put it, Arjun?”
“Just pour it on me,” a voice said softly.
Lina froze.
Her heart slammed against her chest.
She looked down.
Arjun was staring at her.
Awake.
Smiling.
“You’re awake?” she gasped, stepping back instantly.
“Well,” she scoffed, regaining her composure, “I heard you were hit by a car a month ago, so I decided to come today. Just today. So people don’t say I’m heartless.”
Arjun raised an eyebrow weakly. “Only today?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “What relationship do we have?”
“I thought,” Arjun said slowly, “it was you who came every night… telling me you’d forgive me and marry me again if I woke up.”
Lina blinked. “Did I say that?”
He smiled wider. “Why not just admit it? You still love me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she snapped. “Love doesn’t disappear overnight.”
“Then come back to me,” Arjun whispered. “I promise… I’ll protect you this time.”
She crossed her arms thoughtfully. “Hmm.”
She leaned closer. “Since the whole city knows you’ve been chasing me nonstop, I’ll give you a chance.”
Arjun’s eyes lit up.
“But,” Lina added firmly, “you will pursue me properly.”
She stood up. “And we’ll see if you can win my heart again.”
She walked out with her head held high.
Arjun laughed softly, staring at the ceiling.
“She hasn’t forgiven me,” he whispered.
“But she hasn’t left either.”
And that was hope.
- Writer
