Chapter 77: He Is My Home

The afternoon was filled with laughter.

The Eid celebrations were still going on.

The children were playing in the courtyard.

The elders sat together talking over cups of tea.

Veeresh stood near the veranda, speaking to one of his senior managers on the phone.

Veeresh: "Yes... send me the documents by tomorrow morning."

He rubbed his forehead for a moment.

A dull pain had begun to build behind his eyes.

He ignored it.

Veeresh: "No, we'll discuss the next phase after I return..."

Inside the house, Poornima was helping Shabana clear the dining table.

But all morning, she had been feeling uneasy.

The strange restlessness that had started the previous day still hadn't left her.

She couldn't explain it.

Every few minutes, her eyes searched for Veeresh.

Her heart felt unusually heavy.

"Why am I feeling like this?" she wondered.

She looked towards the veranda.

Veeresh was still on the phone.

For a second, he pressed his fingers against his temple.

Poornima frowned.

"Is his migraine troubling him?"

Before she could walk towards him...

Veeresh suddenly stopped speaking.

The phone slipped from his hand.

His vision blurred.

The world around him spun.

And within seconds...

He collapsed onto the floor.

Thud!

"Veer!"

Poornima screamed.

The sound echoed through the house.

Everyone turned in shock.

Mahesh, Mahendra, Haji, and the children rushed towards him.

Poornima reached him first.

She fell to her knees beside him.

Poornima: "Veer!"

She gently held his face.

His eyes were closed.

There was no response.

Her hands began trembling.

Poornima: "Veer... open your eyes."

Nothing.

She shook him gently.

Poornima: "Please..."

Still nothing.

Fear gripped her heart.

The uneasiness she had felt since yesterday came crashing down on her all at once.

She looked around desperately.

Her voice broke as she shouted,

Poornima: "Call an ambulance! Please!"

Mahesh immediately took out his phone.

Haji hurried to bring water, while Mahendra checked Veeresh's pulse.

The children stood frozen.

Aadhya covered her mouth with both hands.

Ayat started crying.

Aarhan clung to Yash.

Aarav stood rooted to the spot in disbelief.

Yash quietly placed a protective arm around his younger siblings, though his own eyes had filled with fear.

Within minutes, the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics carefully lifted Veeresh onto a stretcher.

Poornima refused to leave his side.

She climbed into the ambulance and held his hand tightly.

The siren wailed as it sped towards the hospital.

Inside the ambulance, she kept looking at his unconscious face.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She whispered over and over,

Poornima: "Please wake up."

She tightened her grip on his hand.

Poornima: "You promised you'd always tell me if you wanted to leave."

Her voice trembled.

Poornima: "Don't leave without saying anything."

She remembered every little moment...

The purple saree.

His teasing.

His smile.

His "Poons."

Her heart broke.

Closing her eyes, she silently prayed,

"God... Allah... whoever is listening..."

"Please keep him safe."

"Take anything from me if you must..."

"But don't take him away."

A sob escaped her lips.

She looked at him again.

For the first time, she understood what her heart had been trying to tell her since yesterday.

Veeresh was no longer just her husband.

He had become her peace.

Her strength.

Her family.

Her home.

And she wasn't ready to lose her home.