Nidhi slowly raised her eyes.
They were filled with pure confidence.
The doctor who had been speaking against her till now was stunned.
Mahendra ji's breathing was getting weaker with every second, and the ventilator alarm was getting louder and faster. Hearing the alarm, Nidhi calmly opened her needle case.
Everyone was shocked.
Panic spread inside the operation room.
What was Nidhi about to do?
Was she really going to use acupuncture here?
"This is an operation table! Are you serious about using acupuncture here?"
one doctor shouted in panic.
"The patient is in a critical condition right now. He won't be able to tolerate this. If you don't know what you're doing, step aside and stop wasting our time!"
Nidhi didn't pay attention to anyone and began the procedure.
All the doctors and nurses were terrified.
Outside, Shubham clenched his fists tightly.
This girl has unbelievable courage,
he thought to himself.
"Stop this nonsense right now!"
one doctor finally lost his patience and rushed toward Nidhi.
"Enough!"
Dr. Ram scolded him sharply.
"Let her do what she's doing. Don't disturb her."
Just then, a nurse spoke up,
"Mr. Malhotra has ordered that we all must follow Miss Nidhi's commands."
Hearing Shubham's order, the angry doctors fell silent.
After a moment, one of them said coldly,
"Fine. Do it yourself."
As soon as Nidhi inserted the needle, blood slowly started coming out of Mahendra ji's mouth.
Everyone was shocked.
Even Kailash ji, standing in the observation room, panicked. He turned to Shubham and said nervously,
"Sir, is she doing the right thing? His condition looks worse. Why is he bleeding all of a sudden?"
But the very next moment, Shubham noticed something unbelievable.
After the blood came out, Mahendra ji's condition slowly began to stabilize.
The ventilator alarm stopped.
All the doctors stared at the scene in shock.
"He's out of danger now,"
Nidhi said calmly as she removed the needles.
"You can continue with the remaining procedures."
The doctors looked at her in disbelief.
"If you hadn't rushed so much, just a few needles would have been enough,"
Nidhi said, looking directly at the doctor who had doubted her.
Everyone was stunned.
Dr. Ram finally understood what she had done.
He recalled every step of Nidhi's procedure.
Brilliant… so that's how she did it,
he thought.
He had learned acupuncture too, but only after watching Nidhi did he truly understand how it should be used.
The other doctors were confused and asked him,
"Dr. Ram, did you understand it? Please explain to us too."
"Sir… Miss Nidhi…"
Yug, standing in the observation room, was so shocked that he couldn't even complete his sentence.
The rest of the doctors lowered their heads in shame and began preparing to shift Mahendra ji.
When Nidhi stepped out of the operation room, she saw Shubham walking toward her, still holding her bag on his shoulder.
She was surprised.
But she didn't let it show on her face and said formally,
"Mahendra ji will regain consciousness by tomorrow. But please—no nutritional soup like today."
"Got it,"
Shubham replied, looking into her mesmerizing eyes.
There was a strange glow in his gaze.
"You must be tired. Let's have dinner somewhere nearby,"
he offered gently.
"There's no need. I need to go home,"
Nidhi replied.
It was already 7:30 in the evening. She took her bag and checked her phone.
Just as expected, there were two missed calls from her mother.
She immediately called back.
"Sorry, Mom. I was busy."
Shubham, standing nearby, watched her quietly.
With every passing moment, Nidhi's presence was starting to affect him deeply.
How and why is she so attractive… and so incredible?
he wondered.
"Yes, I'm coming home now,"
Nidhi said and ended the call.
Just then, Shubham's calm, deep voice came from behind,
"I'll drop you home."
"Please drop me at Emerald Park. I've parked my car in the garage there,"
Nidhi said.
Shubham was confused.
Emerald Park?
That parking area was still under construction and not open to the public.
Why was Nidhi's car parked there?
Even earlier, he had picked her up near the Holy Cross Church—a place that had turned into ruins.
What was she doing in such places?
Nidhi was becoming a mystery for him.
A mystery he couldn't understand…
and for the first time, he didn't hate that feeling.
Instead, he was starting to enjoy it.
The feelings rising in his heart for Nidhi made him smile unknowingly.
"Do I need to return this?"
Nidhi's voice brought him back to reality as she pointed toward Keshav's equipment.
Shubham nodded with a formal smile.
After returning the acupuncture tools, Nidhi passed by Kamini Dadi's ward.
She couldn't stop herself and peeked inside.
Kamini Dadi was still unconscious.
Looking at her, Nidhi got lost in old memories.
She suddenly remembered her childhood—
a day when she had returned home from school and found her grandmother lying the same way.
Back then, Seva had been extremely scared.
Nidhi was still lost in her thoughts when she suddenly heard voices.
She turned around and saw Alok and Maya walking toward her.
They had received a call from the hospital a short while ago.
They were informed that the VIP ward booked for Kamini Dadi was about to expire, and they needed to come and clear the bill.
However, neither of them expected to see Nidhi at the hospital.
The moment Maya saw Nidhi, her face darkened. She grabbed Nidhi roughly and snapped,
"You… what are you doing here? What do you want from Mom now? Oh… I get it now."
She sneered coldly.
"Your parents are poor, and now you can't adjust with them anymore, right? That's why you came back to Mom—to beg for money."
She stepped closer, her voice sharp.
"We have no relationship with you anymore. The doors of our house are closed for you. Don't even think about coming back there ever again. Do you understand?"
Seeing Maya behave so rudely with Nidhi, Alok quickly pulled her back, worried that people might notice and start gossiping.
Then he frowned and looked at Nidhi, saying in a controlled tone,
"Nidhi, what are you doing here? You should have been with your family, shouldn't you?"
Just then, Maya added with a nasty expression,
"I don't think she even stayed there. She must have run away after seeing how bad her family's condition is. And now she's here to ask Mom for help."
Hearing this, Alok forced a fake smile and said,
"Anu, I know you lived a luxurious life for eighteen years. Your biological parents can't afford to give you that lifestyle."
He gestured toward Kamini Dadi's room.
"But look at your grandmother. Coming here again and again with expectations of money isn't the right way, is it?"
Then he added softly, pretending to be kind,
"Tell me what you need. I'll try to help you."