Chapter 56: A Husband's Anger

The hospital room was dimly lit.

Poornima was still sleeping under sedation, her breathing steady but weak.

Veeresh sat beside her bed, holding her hand in both of his. He had not moved much since she was admitted. Every few minutes his eyes would go to the monitor, making sure her heartbeat was still there.

The fear of losing her had settled deep inside his chest.

A soft knock came from the door.

Veeresh looked up.

Ajay entered quietly.

His face was serious.

The moment Veeresh saw him, he knew something was wrong.

"Ajay?"

Ajay closed the door behind him.

"Appa... I need to tell you something."

Veeresh glanced at Poornima and then back at his son.

"What happened?"

Ajay walked closer.

For a few seconds he didn't know how to begin.

Then he took a deep breath.

"Ma heard some women talking yesterday."

Veeresh frowned.

"What women?"

"Village women."

The room became silent.

Ajay's eyes shifted towards Poornima lying on the bed.

"Ma heard them blaming her."

Veeresh's fingers tightened around Poornima's hand.

His expression hardened immediately.

"What did they say?"

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

The kind of calm that comes before anger.

Ajay swallowed.

"They said ever since you married Ma, only problems have come."

Veeresh stared at him.

Not blinking.

Not speaking.

Ajay continued.

"They blamed Rhea's situation on her."

"They blamed my divorce on her."

His own voice shook with anger.

"And they said you should never have married her."

A dangerous silence filled the room.

Veeresh slowly looked down.

His jaw tightened.

The veins in his hands became visible.

Ajay had seen his father angry before.

But this silence was different.

Much worse.

"They called her bad luck, Appa."

The words felt poisonous even while saying them.

"And..."

Ajay stopped.

Veeresh looked up.

His eyes were cold.

"Say it."

"They said she should leave the haveli."

For a moment nothing happened.

Then Veeresh stood up.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

The chair scraped against the floor.

His breathing had changed.

Ajay immediately knew his father was furious.

Not because people spoke against him.

Not because they questioned his marriage.

But because they hurt Poornima.

The woman lying unconscious on that bed.

The woman who had spent months caring for everyone.

The woman who loved his children as her own.

The woman he loved.

Veeresh turned and looked at Poornima.

Her pale face.

The IV attached to her hand.

The machines around her.

And suddenly he understood.

The sadness.

The silence.

The distant look in her eyes.

The forced smile during dinner.

She had been carrying all that pain alone.

While he never noticed.

A tear escaped his eye.

Not from weakness.

From guilt.

"I should have asked her."

His voice was barely audible.

Ajay lowered his head.

"Appa..."

Veeresh shook his head.

"She was hurting."

"And I was so busy with everyone else's pain that I didn't see hers."

His eyes remained fixed on Poornima.

"I failed her."

Ajay immediately stepped forward.

"No."

But Veeresh wasn't listening.

He gently touched Poornima's forehead.

The anger inside him was growing.

Every time he imagined her hearing those words.

Standing alone.

Questioning herself.

His heart broke.

"She would never hurt anyone."

His voice cracked.

"She spent her entire life helping people."

Another tear rolled down his cheek.

"And someone made her feel like a burden."

Ajay had never seen his father like this.

The proud Veeresh Thakur looked shattered.

Like someone had attacked a part of his soul.

After a few moments Ajay spoke again.

"Appa..."

Veeresh looked at him.

"Zara knows."

His father's expression changed slightly.

"What did she say?"

Ajay hesitated.

Then answered honestly.

"She said if this happens again..."

"She'll take Ma back to Delhi."

The words hit Veeresh immediately.

Ajay continued softly.

"She said she won't let her mother get hurt again."

The room became silent.

Veeresh looked at Poornima.

Then away.

The thought alone hurt him.

Poornima leaving.

The haveli without her.

The mornings without her tea.

The evenings without her waiting for him.

The temple rituals.

The small arguments.

Her smile.

Her voice calling him "Thakur ji."

Everything.

Gone.

His chest tightened.

For the first time since entering the hospital, fear appeared again.

Not fear of death.

Fear of losing her emotionally.

Fear that she might decide she didn't belong in Rajgarh.

Fear that she might decide she was better off away from him.

Veeresh slowly sat down beside her again.

Then lifted her hand carefully.

Holding it against his chest.

His eyes became moist.

"No."

His voice was firm.

Ajay looked at him.

"No one is taking her anywhere."

The words weren't possessive.

They were filled with love.

With desperation.

With the fear of a husband who couldn't imagine life without his wife.

Veeresh looked at Poornima.

"You are my home, Poons."

His voice broke.

"You hear me?"

His thumb gently brushed her hand.

"I spent years surviving."

"Then you came."

His eyes filled again.

"And now they think I will let you walk away because some people cannot control their tongues?"

He shook his head.

Never.

Ajay quietly wiped his own tears.

Watching his father like this hurt.

Because every word was true.

Poornima had changed their lives.

She had become the center of their family.

The person everyone turned to.

The person who held everyone together.

Veeresh leaned closer to her.

"If you want to go to Delhi for a few days, I will take you myself."

His voice softened.

"If you want to stay there for months, I will stay with you."

Another tear rolled down his cheek.

"But don't leave me because of them."

He lowered his forehead onto her hand.

His shoulders trembling slightly.

"Please."

Ajay quietly looked away.

Because for the first time in his life, he was seeing not the Sarpanch of Rajgarh.

Not the respected Veeresh Thakur.

Just a husband.

A husband deeply in love with his wife.

Terrified that the woman sleeping on that hospital bed might wake up believing she didn't belong with him anymore.