Till forever falls apart

Chapter 13: You are the reason

"There goes my heart beating

Cause you are the reason

I'm losing my sleep

Please come back now"

- You are the reason by Calum Scott

With deep breathes and fighting the anxiety that is trying to sneak up of the surface, Ram slowly steps into the doorframe of the turquoise door. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, in front of him is a grey corridor with nurses and doctors are running around and loved ones sitting in the waiting room. Of all the place the turquoise door would lead him too, he never imagined it to be the waiting room of a hospital.

"Ma'am" Ram says trying to stop one of the nurses, but she walks past him without acknowledging him.

"She can't hear you, Ram"

Ram stop in his tracks, a shiver running down his spine as he hears the voice of the man, he admires the most. He is scarred that when he turns around, his dad would not be there. With all the strength he can muster, he slowly turns around. Ram whispers "papa" barely audible, with wide eyes. In front of Ram, wearing a white button-down shirt and blue pants is Virendra Kapoor, on a little older wrinkled face is a beaming smile that his father only saves for his three kids.

Ram looks down at his feet in shame, his heart full of guilt and grief. Ram is standing in front of the man who lost his daughter, the same daughter Ram promised he would take care of. Tears falls from his eyes when he thinks about Shivi dying in his arms.

"Ram, come here" his father said opening his arms, but all Ram could do was shake his head. He was not worthy of his father's love, because maybe Shivi would have lived a long healthy life if it had been his father instead of Ram who had been alive.

"Did you punish shivi down the stairs?" Virendra asked as he pulled Ram's chin up gently

"No,but..." before Ram could finish his sentence, his father disrupted him

"Ram, Shivi did not die because you choose to reopen the case of my death. Shivi did not die because of how Shubham told her leave the Sood house. God knows Shubhum has done some shady stuff, but the death of your sister is on neither of you brothers nor Nandini. That's only on the person who pushed her down the stairs. You did not fail anyone you love, Ram. For the record, you are worthy of my love. You always have and always will be" Virendra said as he pulled his son in for the hug both had longed for in years.

Ram closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his father, his face nestling by his father's neck. The tears were falling freely from his eyes. Virendra smiles as he feels Ram's tense shoulders relax, knowing his son is letting down his guard and allowing himself to feel the warmth of father's love.

"I'm sorry Ram, for losing your little sister. Your bache, Shivi" he whispered as he ran his hand down on his back in a comforting manner, the same way he used to comfort Ram when he was little and missed his mom.

"How is she? How is our shivi?" Ram asked in between sobs

"Even the angels have fallen in love with Shivi. She is good, Ram I promise. Your mom and I are taking care of her" Virendra said as he moved from the embrace and wiped his sons' tears. Ram returned the gesture by wiping his father's tears as well. Ram smiled tenderly as a picture of Shivi with his childlike innocence befriending the angels pops in his head, he felt a lump in his throat and all he wanted was to see his sister laughing again.

"Where is she, where is my shivi bache. Please let me see her" he begged in a low voice

"You are going to see he again later" Virendra tried to console but Ram shook his head getting frantic