Sanjana, her hands trembling and voice breaking with every word, clasped her palms together and whispered, "Jai… please… forgive me…" Her breaths became rapid and uneven, her chest heaving with struggle.
Seeing her condition worsen, Jai panicked. He rushed to her side and tried to calm her, then shouted for the doctor at the top of his lungs. "Doctor! Somebody help!"
Startled by his urgent cry, the doctors and nurses rushed into the ward. The senior doctor quickly checked her pulse and glanced at the ECG monitor. He turned to the nurse and barked, "Prepare the injection, fast!"
Just then, a long beep echoed from the ECG machine… the screen displayed a flat line.
The doctor solemnly turned to the others and said, "She is no more."
Jai stumbled back a few steps, as though the earth beneath his feet had collapsed. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. He couldn't bear it. He dropped to his knees and screamed, "Sanjanaaaa!"
His cry pierced the silence. Hearing it, Abhay Ji and Shivani rushed into the ward. At the same time, Aman was climbing the stairs toward the corridor. He froze as Jai's scream reached his ears—then he ran toward Sanjana's room.
Inside, Jai was crumpled on the floor, broken. Abhay Ji knelt beside him and tried to console him. "Beta, please… gather yourself." But Jai was inconsolable, drowning in his grief. His pain echoed in his cries, moving everyone in the room to tears. Even Shivani couldn't hold back and began sobbing.
Aman burst into the ward, breathless. Seeing Jai, he went straight to him. "Sir, please, you have to stay strong." Hearing Aman's voice, Jai seemed to snap out of his trance. He turned and clutched Aman, weeping bitterly, "Aman, my whole life… she's gone…"
No one else in the room had the courage to say a word. Everyone just stood there, witnessing Jai's heartbreak.
Then, a ward boy walked in silently. He gently placed a white sheet over Sanjana's body.
That was the last straw.
Jai stood up abruptly. Seeing Sanjana wrapped in white enraged him. He shoved the ward boy aside and yelled, "How dare you?! Don't cover her like that—she's not gone! She's just resting, with her eyes closed. Move away from her!"
The ward boy, now on the floor, got up and stepped aside.
Jai pulled the sheet away from Sanjana's face, hugged her tight, and sobbed. "Sanjana, wake up… you can eat all the ice cream you want, I swear I won't be angry anymore. I promise. Just… wake up."
"Look… if you don't wake up now, I'll be mad at you forever. I won't speak to you again. Please, Sanjana… your Jai is all alone now. Maa is gone. Our baby is gone. Papa is in a coma. And now… you too? How can you leave me like this? I need you…"
Shivani, unable to bear the sight, ran out of the ward in tears. Abhay Ji followed closely behind.
Outside, she sat on a bench, her shoulders shaking. "Papa… all this happened because of me…"
Abhay Ji placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No, beta. This isn't your fault. If it were, you wouldn't have brought them here, you would've abandoned them. But you didn't. You tried."
He handed her a bottle of water, gently urging her to drink.
A little while later…
Two stretchers were brought out from the ward—one carrying Jai's mother and the other carrying Sanjana, both wrapped respectfully. At the same moment, a nurse approached Jai with a small bundle wrapped in white—a stillborn infant.
Jai's hands trembled as he took the lifeless child. The moment he held the baby, tears streamed down his cheeks and fell onto the baby's cold skin. With trembling hands, he wiped them away, then hugged his child to his chest and broke down again.
Shivani broke into tears once more at this sight. Abhay Ji sent her home with a driver, while he stayed back with Jai and Aman. Jai, at that moment, needed someone elder, someone who could guide him.
Abhay Ji and Aman arranged for the baby's burial. During the burial, Jai couldn't stop crying. He bent over the small grave and wept loudly. "I'm so sorry, my son… your papa couldn't save you. Please forgive me…"
And with that, he buried his child with trembling hands.
After much coaxing, Abhay Ji and Aman managed to bring Jai back home. It was already 5 in the morning.
Preparations for the last rites of Jai's mother and Sanjana were underway. Some relatives and notable names from the business world came, paid their respects, offered their condolences, and quietly left.
At the cremation ground, two pyres were prepared—one for Jai's mother, the other for Sanjana.
Sanjana had been dressed like a bride. One final time.
Seeing her like that broke Jai all over again. With tears in his eyes, he filled her parting line with sindoor and kissed her forehead. Then, he turned toward his mother's pyre. Kneeling beside her, he touched her feet and wailed, "Maa!"
After a moment of stillness, he stood up and lit the pyre.
The flames rose high into the sky—carrying with them his mother, his wife, and his child. And with them, a part of Jai's soul burned too.