Part 27

Shubman wraps his arm around Ishan as if shielding him from anything that could harm him.

His heart ached seeing the redness under his eyes , the choking cries of Ishan seem to squeeze his heart out. “Shh nothing's going to happen to your mumma hmm. I am here”

Ishan's body was trembling, his heart pounding as he nuzzled his face in the crook of Shubman's neck. “P..please make her okay .. please” he pleaded,muffled.

Shubman felt the burning tears on his neck and inhaled a deep breath. He tightened his arms, holding Ishan closer, his finger tracing comforting circles on his back .

He gently wipes the tears away , kissing Ishan's forehead.”I will hmm . I will do everything in my power to make sure she's okay” he whispers, the weight on his heart going heavier.

He has been observing Mrs Kishan's condition since that day she fell in front of him. He knew something was amiss ,he just didn't expect that the extent was this high.

He wished he could tell this to Ishan sooner so at least he could be prepared for such an unfortunate situation to arrive but he was bound by Mrs Kishan's promise.

She just didn't want to Worry Ishan in the new phase of his life. It was already hard to make him agree to the marriage and if he knew something about this , he wouldn't have ever agreed.

Shubman placed a few more light kisses on top of his head. “Look at me, Ishan,” he demanded softly as he cupped his face in his palms, his thumb tracing Ishan’s cheeks .

“I promise you , she will be okay . Be strong hmm”

Ishan stared back at Shubman's eyes and nodded. He opened his mouth to say something but he again Burst into tears. He was confused and in denial .

Why does his mother need surgery? Wasn't she okay? If she wasn't okay , why didn't she tell him? Why?

He wanted to ask but the words never left his mouth and all he could do was cry because at this moment he didn't care about all these whys.

He only surmised to see his mother , happy and healthy.

Shubman knew what Ishan was going through and what kind of scenarios were going in his mind.

He kissed Ishan's forehead again,his lips lingering there for some moment.

Shubman was dreading the beholding future. True, he could save Mrs Kishan for now . But the keyword was now. Mrs Kishan has glioblastoma , a type of brain tumor. It spreads very rapidly and the survival rate is almost non-existent.

He didn't have the heart to tell this to Ishan.

Mrs Kishan means the world to Ishan and if suddenly someone robs him of this , he wouldn't know how to survive. He couldn't bring himself to do that.

Mr Hope ,clad in scrubbs, hands over the CT scan of Mrs Kishan to him .

With his one arm still around Ishan, he looked at the CT scan . His brows frowned upon seeing The results. Handing it back, he asked,”Is everything ready?”

On the queue, He gently traced his thumb on Ishan's cheeks reassuringly and reluctantly got away from him to prepare for the surgery. Giving one last look at Ishan ,he glanced back At Mayank and nodded at him , implying to take care of Ishan.

Mayank quickly complied and holded Ishan. He himself was very tense , Mrs Kishan was like a mother to him too. He helped Ishan to sit on the chair in front of the OR.

“Mayank….” Ishan sniffled, burying his face in his palms . The world suddenly felt dim to him as the gloominess surrounded him. His entire body trembled and his heart seemed to be oozing with pain.

Mayank took a huge breath and placed his hand on Ishan's back , rubbing it. He was trying to console him but words weren't forming in his mouth seeing Ishan like this .

“She is going to be okay hmm.” He stared and gazed down at Ishan who hugged him immediately. “I am scared, mayank. Why did she have to go through surgery? What if something goes wrong with this? …” he bit his lips to stop the sobs.

“don't say that. Aunty is like one of the strongest women I have seen and I am sure she will be okay in no time. Just pray for her right now and also didn't Shubman say he will do his best? He is an excellent surgeon and definitely would save aunty, nothing's going to be wrong.” Mayank consoled him as tears formed in his eyes. He was also scared because a surgery on the brain is in itself very dangerous judging by Shubman's earlier expression. There was something more than what met the eyes.

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Ishan was staring at the ot’s entrance with blank eyes. His head leaning on Mayank's shoulder, his dry lips ceaselessly murmuring to the lord for Mrs Kishan's safety. But his mind was elsewhere, wandering to the times he spent with his mother.

His cocoon of thoughts abruptly broke with Mrs Gill’s voice.

As soon as she got to know about Mrs Kishan, she panicked and came here . Her heart melted seeing Ishan and she hugged him in a motherly embrace. God knows what kind of turmoil he is going through.

Feeling the warmth, Ishan wanted to let out the emotions bursting in him but his body remained still . It was suddenly very hard to reciprocate the hug as he sharply inhaled a breath.

“I am okay mummy ji” he said through his shaky vocal.

Hearing the pseudo reassuring words, The anxiety increased in her heart as she mumbled in her mind to make things easy for Ishan.

Sensing that Ishan doesn't want to open up , she didn't pry much and broke the embrace. She looked at Mayank , who immediately said greetings to her in acknowledgement.

”Um, I should go and inform the HR regarding the sudden leave,” Mayank said, standing up. Earlier he was afraid to leave Ishan alone but with Mrs Gill here , he can go in relief.

Ishan nodded and sat in his earlier place , folding his arms . His gaze still settled at the luminant scarlet glow of the bulb on top of the entrance.

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Mayank was walking towards the exit but someone grabbed his wrist making him stop in his walk.

He angrily craned his head to look at the culprit but frowned seeing Abhishek. His face contoured in worry.

“What happened to Ishan?” Abhishek asked , his voice a bit gruffed , seemingly like he had been running.

He was going to talk to Ishan after his blatant display of Anger towards him but when he saw that neither Ishan nor Mayank was there. He asked their colleague who witnessed the earlier fiasco and found out that Ishan had to go to hospital. He was filled with Anxiety.

Did something happen to Ishan? This was the only thought he had in mind as he dashed here.

Mayank sighed before telling the circumstances to him. Abhishek patiently listened to him as the constricting in his throat dissolved. Atleast Ishan was safe.

Abhishek took a step to go and meet Ishan but Before he could do so , Mayank stopped him to see where he was going.

“Don't. Ishan is not in the best state of mind and he might say something you won't like” he was mostly concerned about Ishan at this moment however he also didn't want Abhishek to get hurt by Ishan for him.

Abhishek chuckled sadly and sighed. Ouch .

“Ah I see..” he started “uh by the way , i already notified the Management head of your and Ishan's half day leave . Also I took The project Mr Singh has given Ishan to complete.”

Knowing Mayank, he would definitely do the project on behalf of Ishan . Therefore Abhishek decided to do the project himself so as to not increase the burden on Mayank.

Mayank understood Abhishek's intention as his heart melted at the sweet gesture. “Ah, thank you.”

He smiled at him as Abhishek mirrored him. Although he was still unsettled deep inside.

Abhishek started walking away but Mayank called out his name and sprinted near him. He hesitatingly said,”does the dinner offer still stand from that day?”

Earlier Abhishek suggested having dinner together but he refused because he was genuinely befuddled to do that time . And now that he made up his mind, he would embrace his feelings wholeheartedly rather than burying them.

Even if there would be no future for them together,he wouldn't regret that he didn't even try.

Abhishek looked at him puzzled yet nodded,

“yeah..”

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Shubman came out of the operation theatre, his bones were exhausted to hell after performing the surgery. Although the surgery went successful, Mrs Kishan still had to wake up and only then could they say anything.

He was met with an overwhelming scene as soon as he got out . Mrs Gill was caressing Ishan's hair fondly as he had his eyes closed from burn out.

A small smile tugged on his lips as he walked up to them. Ishan heard the footsteps and turned his head. He springs up seeing Shubman and hitted him with continuous questions regarding his mother.

“We have to wait till tomorrow to have a clear understanding of her condition. Don't worry mummy ji  is going to wake up real soon” for how long ? Depends on God's will.

Those words remained in his heart .

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Mrs Gill has gone home after Shubman's persuasion and now it was only Ishan and him.

He wanted Ishan to go home too and rest but his stubbornness is out of this world.

He gazed at Ishan's dimmed eyes which always have a sparkling glow in them but at this instance they look so black and lost. Ishan was slouching on the couch , looking like a vulnerable little child.

He walked up to him and knelt before him. Taking the cold hand in his hand , he intertwined them .

Ishan looked back at Shubman.

“Ishan.. I am here and everything is okay . Everything will be okay .” he softly said but the gravity in his simple words was more than what it seems.

Ishan had been hearing these repetitive things from everyone but nothing touched his heart like this one did as the bottle of emotions he had been storing broke , he cried voicelessly .

Shubman hugged him without any more words and just let Ishan be him. Each cry was slicing Shubman's heart as he just continued embracing him while still kneeling down.

I will always be there for you, Ishan. Shubman made a promise to himself and kissed on top of his head.

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Author’s note:

Did you guys see Ishan's fantastic knock?🥵🥶

Damnnnn 134(78). Take a bow, Captain Ishan!! 💫

(Ps: why do I cringe whenever I try to write romantic things ?. Like they sound so passionate in my mind but when I pen it down . It just looks bleh cringe🙃🫠 . I seriously need to improve my writing skill asap )

Anddd Merry Christmas  in advance !!!🎄✨🔔🎅