Adhura Alviida

till death do us part

Zoya's arm slid across the support of the chair, waking her up from her horrid nightmare. She looked at her surroundings to be sure it was just a dream. She was sweating profusely. Almost in disbelief that she had felt such a painful nightmare, she looked in front of her. Aditya was attached to multiple IVs and needles on the hospital's bed. His wounds had been bandaged, but his face was almost unrecognizable due to the white bandages plastered over it. It shattered her heart to see his eyes closed and an oxygen mask placed over his face. No matter what, that was a sight that gave her the most physical discomfort. Her Aditya was strong for the world, he was always strong when he had to pick up the broken pieces of other people's lives. But who ever had cared to mend him? She felt ashamed of herself for fighting with him over a frivolous misunderstanding. What if that was the last time they spoke? If she had gotten there just a second late, Sahir would've murdered her husband. Her breath became labored at the thought of that. It was the second time Aditya had gotten close to death because of Sahir and he still managed to escape. When she saw Aditya there looking as if he had been beaten mercilessly for days, her first thought was to safeguard her love, not chase Sahir. And in her sheer naivety in attempt to save her Aditya, Sahir easily slipped away.

Zoya tenderly touched Aditya's face as he lay unconscious. Her fingers could barely touch his skin without being disrupted by the bandages on his face, he had truly suffered more than humanly possible. She knew he would be okay. He had to be, life couldn't be so cruel to them again. And this time, she was going to walk on eggshells around him. She wouldn't yell at him, she wouldn't scream at him and she definitely wasn't going to leave him ever again. Life was too short to be cross with the one you loved and she was reminded of that again today. A tear made its way down her cheek as she looked at him. She wasn't sure whether to cry for his pain and all that he suffered or be thankful that he was still alive and recovering from all that he had been through. Somewhere in her heart, she even blamed herself for his condition. Knowing that he had been attacked the minute she left him was not something that made her feel better at all. Often men are thought of as the protectors and providers, but sometimes she forgot that he needed to be protected and cared for too. Sure, Zoya had been through hell and back, but so had Aditya. He was doing his best trying to heal her pain and memories of the past, now it was her turn. She had been so caught up in her life that she failed to take a step back and realize how much her Aditya was hurting. From the moment, he became aware of Pooja's diary, she had seen a little spark of childishness die within him. When they separated, he became mentally unstable. Not to mention he dealt with extensive childhood trauma and the pain of both his parents' deaths. Then he came here only to be tortured by Sahir. When he found out about Zoya's past, he blamed himself. Aditya Hooda lacked love in his life and Zoya had been so unaware of it. She prayed that God granted him a speedy recovery so she could begin to heal him just as he was so caught up in healing her.

Realizing the morning had started, she quickly straightened herself as she became aware that the nurses would soon be coming in to check Aditya's vitals and update her on his recovery. To her surprise, Aditya's doctor herself entered the room, asking to speak with Zoya. She hesitantly agreed as she followed her to her office.

"Have a seat, Zoya." She said, noticing Zoya's discomfort.

"Thanks, is everything okay with Aditya...I mean..." Zoya fumbled on her words.

"Yes, Zoya. So far he is progressing as planned. I actually wanted to speak with you about something else..."

"Yes, please...go ahead."

"Zoya, you're a doctor too. You know the situation Aditya's been through is obviously horrific. I mean the marks, the injuries to his body, everything is so frightening. But can you imagine actually living through that like he did? What I am getting at is that Aditya's physical wounds will surely heal with time, there is no doubt about that. My main concern is that his psychological trauma will be ever-present. Don't get me wrong, it's highly possible that nothing will happen to him, but we both know his record with trauma. I'm saying this as your colleague and please forgive me if I'm overstepping a boundary, but Aditya has been through hell. He's going to look to you for support. He's going to view himself through your eyes, and you know he's going to have some level of mental discomfort processing all that has happened to him. Zoya, if you cannot be there for him. No one will judge you. But please, just leave now. Don't give him false that you will be there through it all because I can tell you he will not be able to survive it." The blonde-haired doctor exhaled. She felt as if she just finished giving a lecture.

Zoya took a deep breath before answering. "No...leaving isn't an option. I'm Aditya's support forever. I took a vow to love him and cherish him forever and I am not backing away from it when he needs me the most."

The doctor smiled weakly at Zoya. "I hope so, Zoya. Just know what you're getting yourself into."

Zoya smiled back. "I knew the minute I married him. Come hell or high waters, I am not leaving his side."

**

"Dr. Hooda, we need you in the emergency ward. Aditya is regaining consciousness."

Zoya stopped chewing on her food midway as her face lit up with the brightest smile she possibly ever had. She immediately ran out of the psychiatric ward and towards the emergency care unit. It was a ten minute walk but Zoya sprinted there in five. She was breathless as she entered his room. She saw his eyes open weakly as the doctor checked his blood pressure, he was sitting in an upright position on the bed, something she hadn't seen in days.. He looked over to her as she slowly began approaching him. His lips curved into a smile as he saw the reason for his existence come closer to him. Disregarding the fact that they were in the public view of the doctor and nurses, Zoya cupped his face and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Couldn't release you from my hold so easily, Ghalib." He laughed weakly.

She chuckled as their foreheads pressed together and her tears flew freely down her cheeks.

"Aapke qaid se hamein kabhi azadi nahi chahiye." She whispered.

The doctor and nurse took it as a cue to excuse themselves out as they giggled to each other watching the young couple in love publicly engage in some romance.

As Aditya noticed the disappearance of their intruders, he was feeling overwhelmed with emotion. He still felt so weak but his heart was in overdrive feeling his wife so close to him after what felt like a week in a hell. She was, is and would always be the soothing balm to all of his aches. He couldn't help but take advantage of her face being so close and press his lips to hers. He chuckled as he remembered how he used to beg her for a simple kiss before and now they did it all the time, whenever as a reminder of their love for each other. Zoya too reciprocated as she pressed her lips to his with equal fervor. The kiss wasn't lustful or erotic, but rather reassuring. It said everything that they both wanted to say to each other yet were unable to find the right words. In that moment, they communicated through their lips without saying a word. Just as their eyes closed and they felt themselves go into a frenzy, Aditya's heart monitor started beeping loudly. They both laughed as they realized his finger was still attached to the monitor and his heart rate increased because of their kiss.

"Do I really make your heart beat faster?" Zoya asked as she laughed through her tears.

"I don't know about faster, but you're the reason it beats." He smiled as he reached out to her for another kiss.

A/N: You all reallyyyy thought I would kill my baby Aditya Hooda? Pshhhhh, never!

Also Sahir and Maya's Fitoor has been updated as well, please check it out...I'm having a shit ton of fun writing it ;)