The city lights blurred past the taxi window, each flash of neon tearing into Luv's chest like shards of regret. His phone was still warm in his palm, the last message from Komal burned into his mind:
I'm sorry for not telling you… I had to go to the hospital urgently…
He could still see the words, trembling as if she had typed them in pain. And then, silence.
When he reached the hospital, the air was thick with antiseptic and anxiety. Every corridor seemed too long, every white wall too cold. People stared at him as he passed — some out of curiosity, some with suspicion — but he didn't care.
The operation wasn't over.
He sat on the hard bench outside the surgery ward, elbows on his knees, fingers dug into his hair. Every sound from behind those double doors made his pulse spike. The minutes felt like hours, and the hours felt like years.
Finally, the doors opened. The doctor stepped out, pulling his mask down. His face was drawn with exhaustion.
"She's fine now," he said at last. "We managed to fix her breathing — her lungs are no longer at risk. But the kidney problem remains. She's too weak for another operation right now. We'll have to wait at least three to four months before we can attempt it."
Relief hit Luv like a wave, but it was bitter. The danger was not over — only delayed.
From a shadowed corner down the hall, he spotted her parents sitting beside Komal's bed in the recovery room. He didn't go in. Instead, he stood outside, watching her through the glass.
Her skin was pale against the white sheets, her chest rising and falling slowly. The beeping of the monitors was steady, but to Luv, each sound was a reminder of how fragile she had become.
His throat tightened.
"Please forgive me, Komal…" he whispered under his breath, the words barely escaping his lips. "I couldn't get here in time."
The guilt twisted deep inside him, but he didn't cry in front of anyone. He just stood there, his hand pressed against the cold glass, staring at the girl who meant more to him than anyone in the world.
Outside, the city kept moving — cars honking, sirens wailing, life going on. But for Luv, time had stopped, frozen in that narrow hospital corridor.
Through the glass, she slept peacefully.
And he promised himself he wouldn't let her suffer alone ever again.
The smell of antiseptic clung to the air like an invisible fog. The white walls of the hospital seemed to stretch forever, trapping every sound — the distant beeping of machines, the low shuffle of nurses' shoes, the occasional sigh of a weary visitor.
Luv sat on a cold bench in the dimly lit corridor, head bowed, his hands clasped tightly. He could still hear the doctor's words echoing in his mind.
She's fine now… lungs are stable… kidney problem remains… wait three to four months…
Three to four months.
It felt like a sentence, not a time frame.
From where he sat, he could see the ward door slightly ajar. Inside, Komal lay asleep, her face pale but peaceful. Her chest rose and fell slowly — the only proof she was still here.
He didn't dare step inside.
He didn't dare face her parents.
Instead, he remained in the shadows, watching her through the small gap, guilt gnawing at his chest.
If I had come sooner…
The thought was poison.
And yet, it kept pouring in.
Footsteps approached. Luv straightened slightly, but the person who appeared wasn't his mother or father — it was an older nurse carrying a tray of medicines. She paused beside him, her eyes soft but curious.
"You should rest, son," she said quietly. "You've been sitting here for hours."
Luv shook his head. "I'm fine."
But his voice cracked on the last word.
The nurse hesitated, then placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Sometimes, just being here is enough. She'll know."
Luv didn't answer. When the nurse left, he turned his eyes back to Komal's ward.
Through the glass, a flicker of movement caught his eye. Her fingers twitched — just a little — as if she was dreaming.
A wave of warmth and pain hit him all at once.
Please… get better. I'll wait. I'll do anything. Just don't leave me.
The corridor fell silent again, and in that stillness, Luv made a silent vow.
Not just to be there when she woke — but to change the things that had kept him from her in the first place.
The clock ticked on. Outside, night swallowed the city. And somewhere deep within Luv, a darkness stirred — the part of him that was not just Luv, but EL, the one who would not be powerless again.