Meanwhile.
Anurag Sir sat in a large conference room. Glass walls surrounded the space, a long table stretched out in front of him, and a projector hummed at the front. An important corporate meeting was underway.
But...
Though his eyes were fixed on the presentation, his mind was somewhere far away.
It felt as if his body was present, but his soul was missing.
For the past ten days, his father had been taking him through one meeting after another, explaining new projects and future plans, slowly handing over the reins of the business.
Anurag understood he *could* handle it all but his heart wasn't in it.
Teaching was his true calling. That was what he had been born to do. He could manage the business if he had to, but it would never bring peace to his soul.
In front of his eyes, Sneha's face kept appearing.
He could hear her soft "Sir…"
The meeting continued. Everyone was speaking, presenting figures and strategies. Anurag sat in silence, listening to none of it.
Suddenly—
His phone vibrated.
The screen lit up with one word:
Mom.
Anurag glanced at it… then silently cut the call.
The meeting went on. Everyone remained serious.
A few minutes later.
The phone vibrated again. A couple of people nearby glanced over.
Anurag felt slightly embarrassed. He checked the screen.
Mom again.
He cut the call once more.
Anurag (to himself):
"Why is Mom calling me repeatedly right now…?"
The phone rang a third time.
The meeting had loosened slightly.
Anurag seized the moment.
He answered the call.
Arundhati (voice filled with anger and worry):
"Anurag, where are you? You're spending all your time with your father now! Have you forgotten everyone else?"
Anurag froze for a second. He had never heard his mother speak in this tone before.
Anurag (softly):
"Mom…"
Arundhati(cutting him off firmly):
"Talk to Sneha."
The single name made Anurag go completely still.
His throat went dry.
Anurag (trying to stop her, voice low):
"Mom,"
But Arundhati's tone grew sharper.
Arundhati:
"She's very ill."
The words struck him straight in the chest.
Arundhati(commanding):
"Talk to her. Now."
At that moment, someone from the meeting table called out—
"Mr. Anurag…?"
But—
Anurag was no longer in any state to hear them.
His entire world had narrowed to the voice on the other end of the phone.
**Anurag** (quickly):
"Excuse me…"
He pushed back his chair and walked briskly toward the door. Behind him, everyone stared in surprise.
His father watched his son leave with a puzzled frown. In the last ten days, Anurag had never behaved like this. He had quietly listened to everything his father said. And now, in the middle of such an important meeting, he had simply walked out!
....
Stepping into the corridor, Anurag leaned against the wall and held the phone to his ear.
From the other side came a weak, broken voice,
"Sir…"
That one word twisted something deep inside Anurag's chest.
Sneha(crying):
"Sir… are you angry with me?
Please forgive me…"
Every word felt like a thorn piercing his heart.
Sneha:
"I can't live without you, Sir…
Please come to me…"
She no longer cared who was in the room or who could hear her.
Though she had always been shy, today her love for Anurag Sir had broken through every barrier of shame and restraint.
Her desperate love had finally burst free.
Sneha:
"Sir, please come…"
Anurag tried to hold back his own emotions and spoke in a firm voice:
Anurag:
"Sneha, why aren't you taking care of yourself properly?"
After so many days, hearing Sir's voice brought a sliver of comfort to Sneha's fevered body.
Sneha (still crying):
"Sir…"
Anurag (voice cracking with emotion):
"Why are you doing this to yourself?
Do you want to punish me?"
Sneha (trembling):
"No, Sir…"
Anurag:
"Then why are you behaving like this? You know I can't bear to see you in pain…"
Sneha cried harder for a few moments. Anurag listened in silence.
Sneha:
"Sir, please come to me… I can't live without you…"
Anurag (eyes glistening with unshed tears):
"Sneha, don't be foolish!"
Sneha kept crying and repeating the same words again and again—
Sneha:
"Sir, please come… Sir, please come…"
Anurag could no longer hold himself together. His voice grew thick. A single tear slipped down his cheek.
Anurag (softly but firmly):
"Alright."
On the other end, Sneha's sobbing stopped for a brief moment.
Sneha(voice filled with disbelief and hope):
"Really…?"
Anurag:
"Yes. Now calm down. Take your medicine. Rest a little. I'm coming."
The call ended.
The door closed with a soft click.
Silence settled over the room, broken only by Sneha's uneven breathing and the distant hum of the ceiling fan. Anurag remained seated on the edge of the bed, her hand still held firmly in both of his. He could feel the residual heat of her fever against his cooler skin.
Sneha's swollen eyes searched his face as if afraid he might disappear the moment she blinked.
"Sir…" her voice cracked. "You won't leave again… will you?"
Anurag's thumb moved slowly across the back of her hand. He leaned closer so she wouldn't have to strain.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said, quiet but absolute. "Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not until you're better."
A fresh tear slipped down her temple. She tried to sit up, but he gently pressed her back against the pillows.
"Don't. Just rest."
"I can't rest," she whispered. "Every time I close my eyes I see you walking away… and I can't call you back."
Anurag's jaw tightened. He looked down at their joined hands for a long moment before speaking again.
"That day… when I left… I thought I was protecting you. I thought if I stayed away, the noise around us would stop. I was wrong. All I did was leave you alone with it." His voice dropped lower. "I'm sorry, Sneha. Truly."
She shook her head weakly, fingers curling tighter around his.
"Don't apologise. Just… stay."
He shifted so he was sitting more securely, then reached for the water glass on the side table. He helped her take a few careful sips before setting it aside. Only then did he allow himself to brush a damp strand of hair from her forehead.
"You scared me," he admitted, almost to himself. "When Medha called… when she said you hadn't eaten, that the fever wouldn't go down…" He stopped, exhaled. "I kept thinking of every harsh word I'd said, every time I pushed you away."
Sneha's free hand rose shakily and rested against his wrist.
"You never pushed me away, Sir. I just… didn't know how to reach you."
Anurag covered her hand with his own. For a while neither of them spoke. The only sounds were the soft ticking of the wall clock and Sneha's gradual, steadier breaths.
Eventually he reached into the bag he had brought and took out a small packet of medicines and a plastic container of cut fruit.
"First the medicine," he said firmly. "Then two pieces of fruit. No arguments."
A faint, watery smile touched her lips.
"Yes, Sir."
He helped her sit up just enough to swallow the tablets, then fed her the fruit himself, one careful piece at a time until she shook her head that she couldn't manage more. Only then did he set the container aside and ease her back down.
Sneha's eyes were already growing heavy, but she refused to let go of his hand.
"Will you stay until I fall asleep?"
"I'll stay longer than that."
She studied his face one last time, as if memorising it, then finally allowed her eyelids to close. Her grip on his fingers loosened only slightly as sleep began to claim her.
Anurag remained exactly where he was.
Outside the room, Arundhati stood for a moment longer than necessary, listening to the quiet that had fallen. Then she turned away, a small, knowing smile softening the worry on her face.
Inside, Anurag kept watch, one hand still holding Sneha's, the other resting lightly on the edge of the mattress as the fever slowly loosened its hold and the night stretched on.
To be continued…