It had been a week since I broke up with Sarthak, yet he still came to see me every single day. He kept trying to explain himself, but my heart refused to accept him again. I knew my baby would grow up without a father, but my self-respect mattered more than anything.
Today, Manya was at the hospital with me.
"Sammy, are you okay? I'm sorry on behalf of my brother. I think it was just a misunderstanding between you two."
"What do you want me to say? That I should forgive him after everything he did? Manya, I stood by you through your heartbreak, but just because it's your brother, you expect me to forget what he did? Shame on you."
"No, I'm not saying that. Just… forget it. It's his fault, not mine. Please listen to me now."
"What happened, Manya?" I asked, sensing her panic.
"I'm pregnant. What do I do now?" she cried.
"With whose baby?"
"Jai's. What should I do? He doesn't love me. I'll have to marry him. My heart—he broke it—and now I'm pregnant with his child. What do I do?" She was crying uncontrollably.
"Don't panic. Tell him to take responsibility. Call him. Calm down."
She called him, putting the phone on speaker so I could hear.
Jai answered, "Hello? What happened? Why did you call? I'm in a meeting. Say it quickly."
Manya whispered through tears, "I'm pregnant."
"What? I'm coming. Where are you?"
"Firestone Hospital."
"I'll be there in some time. Just wait."
He hung up, and Manya broke down again. Watching her tears felt like someone was dragging a knife across my chest.
After some time, Jai arrived.
"Manya, let's go for the check-up," he said in a deep voice.
"Okay…" She wiped her tears and followed him. He held her arm and led her to the doctor's office.
After a while, only Manya came back. A report was trembling in her hands.
"Where is Jai? How's the report?" I asked.
"The doctor called him to discuss the baby."
"Oh—he's here," I said as Jai walked toward us. His face looked… defeated. Like he was carrying a weight too heavy for him. He held another report in his hand.
"What happened?" Manya asked him.
"Manya… abort the baby," he said quietly.
Her hand flew straight to his cheek—a tight slap. But even through the sting, his face held a pain that didn't match his words. His eyes were wet, but she didn't notice. She was already drowning in hurt.
"Why are you doing this to me? That night—you couldn't control yourself. I was drugged. You could've taken me to a hospital, but you didn't. And now you don't want to take responsibility, so you want me to abort the baby? Never. My only mistake was loving you and thinking you'd own up to what you did. But I was wrong. Shame on you."
She cried harder and ran out.
Jai tried to go after her, but I stopped him.
"What's going on? Your face says you don't want the abortion. Sarthak told me you love her. Then why are you doing this?" I asked.
He broke.
"There's a complication in her pregnancy. If we try to save the baby… we'll lose her. It's a choice—her or the baby. We can have more children later, but I can't live without her. My sister Alana died. My mother went missing. Only my father is left. I have no one else. Just her. I told her to abort because I want her alive, not because I don't want the baby. What do I do, Samira? I love her." His tears fell freely.
"Go tell her the truth. Don't confuse her. And marry her."
"Okay." He dashed out, leaving me alone and anxious for Manya. I could understand their pain even more now—I had a life growing inside me too. Jai wasn't wrong; he was trying to save her. She had to understand that.
After some time, Manya rushed in, crying, and hugged me tightly.
"My baby… they're going to abort it. If not, I'll never get to see a life with Jai—two babies fighting like me and my brother. If I choose him, my baby won't survive. But if I choose my baby, my future with him becomes impossible. I want him… and I want the baby," she sobbed into my arms.
"Don't cry. He's trying to save you. He loves you and can't live without you. Please forgive him and stay with him."
She pulled back and looked at me through swollen eyes.
"Then try to understand my brother too. Sammy, he loves you. You didn't see him the day you left abroad. He was broken. For the first time in years, I saw him crying—begging God to bring you back. Every tear of his shattered me. The letter you wrote… the videos he made… the photos he took of you—he looked at them every second. Every minute. All the time. You can't imagine. If it were your brother Aarav instead of mine, and he was crying like that, could you watch it? Crying like a cruel, rude, devilish man turned to a pleading child… only because he loves you."
She choked on her words.
"You don't know how he lived those five years. They felt like fifty to him. And you're not even letting him explain once. What if he is protecting you again, just like Jai is protecting me? He comes every day to the hospital, just to catch one glimpse of you, hoping you'll talk to him."
Her voice finally broke.
"Sammy, forgive him. I can't watch him beg and cry again."
Every word hit me like a shockwave. I never imagined he had cried for me… begged for me. A man who seemed so cold, so harsh… breaking down for me.
The thought left me trembling and tearing up, sinking under the weight of regret. I cried until I fell asleep, my dried tears tight on my cheeks like little crystals.
Jai took Manya home, leaving me alone in the hospital room, asleep.
Sometimes you really have to listen to someone else to learn the truth — the way I learned it from Manya today.