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“I don’t want to go. Please understand—I want to stay here.”

“There’s no point. My men are here, and the hospital staff is excellent. If anything happens, we’ll be informed immediately. I’m not sending you home—my penthouse is nearby. We’ll go there. You’ll eat and rest. Tomorrow morning, when he’s moved, we’ll be here with him. If you stay here tonight, you won’t sleepor rest, and then you will be in no condition to care for him tomorrow.”

Chitrali looks helplessly at Jhankar, who agrees with Vikrant and says,

“Mom, we’re not going far. Vikrant’s penthouse is nearby. If you don’t feel comfortable, we’ll come right back.”

Chitrali nods. Vikrant moves forward and signals them to follow. Both women start walking behind him. Jhankar looks back toward the ICU, about ten staff members are stationed there, clearly showing Raghunath isn’t alone. A soft smile appears on her face. Vikrant opens the car door for Chitrali, who looks at him and sits inside. Jhankar joins her in the back seat. Once Vikrant sits in the front passenger seat, the driver starts the car. Jhankar looks out cautiously, uneasy about being far from her father. She isn’t troubled by Vikrant’s arrangements, but there are many things on her mind she wants to discuss with him. Yet, despite his consistent assistance at the hospital, she finds it difficult to articulate her thoughts. They reach a building in ten minutes.

“Please come…”

Vikrant shows them the way and immediately brings them to his penthouse. As soon as they arrive, the working staff present there warmly welcome them and say to Jhankar and Chitrali,.

“Ma’am, food is ready. Please freshen up quickly. This way, please… we’ll show you your room.”

Both of them follow the staff, and Vikrant, seeing them go, immediately heads to his own room. All three of them have their dinner comfortably, and afterward, they go to their respective rooms to rest. Jhankar is very upset. She looks at her mother, who has fallen asleep due to excessive fatigue, but she needs totalk to Vikrant, which is why she’s feeling increasingly restless. She looks at the clock—it shows 10:30. She knows he won’t be going to sleep so early, but the entire day at the hospital has been so hectic that she feels completely disoriented. Still, she exits the room and begins scanning the surroundings. She doesn’t see anyone around. As she moves slightly forward, she notices a girl walking toward her. Spotting her, Jhankar immediately asks.

“Where is Vikrant?”

“In his room, ma’am.”

“Where is his room…?”

“Please come…”

IN VIKRANT’S ROOM

“I’m very happy with your work, doctor. You’ve handled Jhankar very well. And if there are any issues in the future, make sure you explain things to her in such a way that she doesn’t worry too much about the bill or anything else. No matter how much the medicine costs, tell her the minimum amount… Just take care of Mr. Raghunath. I don’t want any shortcomings in his treatment.”

“OKAY SIR…”

Vikrant puts down his phone and stands comfortably near the window. A knock on his door prompts him to turn around. Jhankar is standing there. He looks at her.

“Yes…”

As soon as she hears his deep voice, Jhankar looks at him, then calmly walks inside and speaks.

“I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I’m listening.”

“I want to know how much money you’ve spent on Papa’s treatment so far, because I don’t want to owe you anything.”

“Okay… Sure. I’m not very informed about that right now because the doctor hasn’t given me any bills yet. Once the bill arrives, you can settle it then. So far, I haven’t spent even a single penny on Uncle’s treatment—I’ve only arranged for him to be admitted to the hospital.”

Jhankar can only nod slightly because she really doesn’t understand him. He is very calm and speaks to her like a gentleman. Jhankar spends her entire day at the hospital these days, and in front of her mother, she doesn’t want to talk to Vikrant about anything, which adds to her distress. Because of this, she’s always looking for an opportunity to speak to him privately and comfortably, since she cannot read his behavior at all—his demeanor could change in any direction. She returns to her room, lies down next to her mother, and tries to sleep, but she is unable to rest. All she knows is that she has become perplexed within herself because everything is happening one after the other, making her situation even more overwhelming.

~~~~

Both Jhankar and Chitrali have a smile on their faces because Raghunath is responding well to the treatment. The doctor moved him to the ward in the morning, and when he opened his eyes in the evening, he saw everyone. However, the heavy medication hindered his speech, and the doctor, not wanting him to experience any stress, decided to let him rest for now. Both Jhankar and Chitrali have been sitting near Raghunath for a while, but Jhankar's eyes are only on Vikrant, who is constantly talking to the doctor every hour and trying to understand everything very well. As soon as Vikrant enters, he notices Chitrali and gives her a slight smile.

“He is responding very well to the treatment, and the doctors are also thrilled with his progress. But no matter what happens, he will have to stay here for the next seven days. Even after that, if he doesn’t have any problems, then the doctors won’t keep him here. But I say we should keep him in the hospital for a few more days because at least we’ll be sure that he doesn’t develop any new issues.”

Jhankar feels a great sense of relief upon hearing his words, while Chitrali gently holds Jhankar’s hand and speaks to Vikrant.

“You are absolutely right, but we’ll see all that later. Right now, it is a matter of immense relief that he is responding very well to the treatment.”

Vikrant doesn’t say much; he just nods his head after listening to her and goes outside so that both daughter and mother can sit comfortably and talk to each other.