Chapter 73 – Between Life and Death

The last moments of the twenty-fourth hour were slipping away when suddenly the monitor shrieked—sharp, rapid beeps cutting through the room.

“Her pressure is dropping!” the nurse shouted.

The door burst open, doctors rushing in with urgency. “We need to stabilize her—now!”

Veeresh froze, his blood turning to ice. He gripped Poornima’s hand tighter, refusing to let go as they surrounded her bed.

“No! No, don’t take her from me!” His voice cracked like glass. “She’s mine, you hear me? She’s my wife! My Poornima!”

A nurse tried to move him back, but Veeresh shoved them off, collapsing to his knees beside her bed. His forehead pressed against her cold hand, his tears dripping onto it.

“Poornima, fight! You promised me… you promised! Don’t leave me!”

His father rushed forward, wrapping strong arms around his broken son. Veeresh turned into him like a child, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching at his father’s kurta.

“Appa!” he cried out, his voice hoarse. “She’s slipping away from me. I can’t live without her. Don’t let her go!”

Raghav Raj’s own tears fell, but he held Veeresh tight, one arm around his trembling shoulders, the other cradling his tiny grandson. The baby stirred, letting out a soft cry, as though he too was calling for his amma.

Raghav closed his eyes, lifting his face upward, and prayed with all the strength of a father and a grandfather.

“Please, God… bring her back. I don’t ask for riches, I don’t ask for power. I just want my daughter-in-law to open her eyes. Let me see her smile. Let me spend time with her, hold her hand, call her my daughter. Please, don’t take her from my son, don’t take her from this baby.”

He pressed his forehead against Veeresh’s, both men trembling, both crying, both clinging to hope as the doctors fought for Poornima’s life.

Inside that room, it was no longer just medicine and machines—it was love, desperation, and prayer holding her soul from drifting away.