“What is it, Kavya?” his voice was like a lash. “I told you I’m on duty. Stop disturbing me with your endless dramas.”
“Saurav, please!” I sobbed, collapsing against the cold tile wall. “I need three lakhs. It's Kirti... my sister... she's in the hospital. She needs the transplant right now or she’ll die. They’re going to give the heart to someone else!”
There was a long, agonizing pause. I could hear the wind on his end.
“Kirti? You never mentioned a sister? Why am I just hearing about her now? Is this your new way to squeeze money out of me?”
“No! No, I’ll explain everything, I swear! Just send it! Please, if you ever cared about me, save her!”
“Fine,” he snapped, the disgust evident in his tone. “I'm transferring it. Now leave me alone.”
The line went dead.
Five minutes later, my phone pinged. The money was there. I sprinted to the counter, nearly falling, and pushed the confirmation toward the clerk.
“It’s done! It’s cleared! Tell the doctors! Go!”
The nurse gave me a stiff, pitying smile and walked toward the swinging doors.
I sat on the waiting chair, my chest aching. Every second felt like an hour. Thirty minutes passed. Then forty. Finally, the surgeon emerged. My heart leaped, I stood up, a smile already forming.
But the doctor didn't smile. She stopped, looked at the clock, and then looked at me with a hollow, haunting sadness.
“I'm so sorry,” she whispered.
“What?” The word was a puff of air.
“We began preparing her as soon as the payment was cleared,” she continued, her voice breaking slightly. “But her heart couldn’t hold any longer. She went into cardiac arrest before we could begin the procedure.”
“No… that’s not possible,” I said, stepping forward. “The money is there. You can still do it. Please… ”
“It's too late,” the doctor said softly, her voice cracking. “I'm so sorry.”
“Please...” I fell to my knees, clutching at her hem, begging the nurses, the walls, the God who had let me down. “Please, not her. Take me instead. Please!”
But the hospital stayed silent. The world went gray. The beeping of the machines, the footsteps, the distant sirens, it all faded into a dull, underwater roar.
I forced myself to stand. I walked toward Kirti’s room, my legs feeling like lead. Through the glass, I watched as a nurse reached down and pulled a stark white sheet over her face. My little sister. My shadow. My only piece of home.
My phone buzzed in my hand. A text from Saurav.
Money sent. Don't expect anything from me now.
I didn't scream. I didn't cry yet. I just stared at the screen. The money was there, all of it. It sat in my account, useless. Saurav had finally listened, but the price of his silence had been my sister’s life.
I covered my mouth, the first sob breaking through my chest like a physical wound, as I realized I was now truly, utterly alone.
_______
Chapter 39
KAVYA
I had received his numerous calls and texts, but not once I replied to him. Three months. That’s how long it had been since Kirti left this world. For three months, I shut myself off from everyone. I just sat in my room, staring at her photos, listening to recordings of her singing, and watching our old videos on loop.
I smiled sadly, caressing her face on my phone screen. I had promised her I would save her, but I failed. I promised we would dance together again, but I let her down. Without my sister, my life felt meaningless. I had married Saurav specifically to save her, but who knew she would end up dead in a hospital bed anyway? Saurav was right about one thing: I was a curse. A curse to my family, and a curse to his.
I decided then to relieve him of that curse. I would leave him forever. I had married him for my sister, and now, I would leave for her, too. If only he had picked up his phone on time. If only he hadn't blocked his credit cards. If only he had done just one thing in my favor but I knew he had done it all on purpose. He thought I was a gold digger. He thought I only wanted his money. To prove him wrong, I was going to transfer twenty-five lakh back into his account.