Episode 141 || Emotionally Unstable, Husband
Flashback 1
“Sign these divorce papers and you are free to leave,” Luke said, slamming the divorce paper on the centre table. Vera was cutting fruits for Christian, and her eyes went wide.
“Can we please talk… at least for once?” Vera said, but Luke shook his head in no.
“There is absolutely nothing left to talk about. It’s better if we get divorced as soon as possible. We are already seven years later.” He said sternly, and Vera pursed her lips in a thin line.
“Fine,” She mumbled, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, and picked a pen to sign the documents.
“Sign custody papers as well. Christian will live with me.” Luke declared and Vera nodded her head meekly and signed each document.
“This is the blank cheque. Fill whatever amount you want,” He said, and Vera put zeros in the blank space.
“I want nothing,” She said, her voice cracking and Luke’s jaw clenched.
“Yeah, right,” He muttered.
Flashback 2
Vera was packing her suitcase when Christian appeared at her door and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw her empty closet.
“Are you going somewhere, mom?” He asked while taking a cautious walk in her direction.
“Mom?? I thought Jennifer is your mom,” Vera replied while folding her clothes. “I heard you calling her mom this morning.”
“Mom, you don’t love me anymore?” A six-year-old Christian asked with tears in his eyes, and Vera’s heart clenched with pain, hearing his broken voice, but she quickly masked her emotion and closed her suitcase.
“No, I don’t love you. I just can’t wait to get rid of you. Jennifer is your mother, not me.” Vera replied and turned to leave but Christian held her wrist, his dark brown eyes were searching for his old loving mother that used to love him unconditionally, his little heart couldn’t understand what went wrong suddenly that his mother stopped loving him and wasn’t even ready to forgive his mistake this time. Mistake, he even doesn’t know if he committed any.
“I am sorry. I will never trouble you again. I will never skip school, never ask for chocolates, and never ask you to take me to the park. Don’t get angry, please.” Christian pleaded in his babyish voice, and for a moment, it weakens Vera, but she removed his hands from her wrist and started walking away.
“Don’t leave me. Please come back, mama. Don’t punish me like this, please don’t go. I promise I’ll be an obedient son.” His voice echoed, but it didn’t stop Vera from leaving. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to take him with her, but she had no place to go and she didn’t want Christian to suffer because of his parents. It was better if she just disappears from everyone’s life.
The past was repeating itself in Vera’s dream while she could hear Christian’s apology. She was aware of her surroundings and could hear the conversation between Mishka and Christian. The last thing she wanted was to reunite with her family but seems like God was still not convinced by her prayers.
The more she tries to come back, the more she could feel her heartbeat stopping. She could hear Christian calling her, shouting for mom but the voice started fainting with every passing moment, and then there was complete silence. A complete, surreal silence where everything felt soothing.
“Doctor, the patient is sinking. We can’t find a pulse.” The nurse shouted.
“No!! No!! No!!” Dr Ken was flabbergasted. “We are losing the patient. Prepare defibrillators, fast!!” He said and prepared another injection. The monitor wasn’t showing flatline, so there was still a ray of hope left to bring her back.
Dr Ken applied the pressure of a Defibrillator on her chest, “Come on Vera.” He said as the defibrillator sent an electric shock to the heart. “You hear me! You can do it!! Just one last time.”
***
“Jennifer, come out. Someone is here to meet you.” The lady cop said, opening the door of her dorm, and a wide smile stretched on Jennifer’s face.
“That must be my lawyer,” She said as she stepped out of the dorm and followed the lady cop. The cop left her outside the meeting room and turned to walk away while Jennifer walked inside excitedly, but her steps halted when she spotted Christian sitting in front of her with bloodshot eyes.
She smiled sinisterly. “So you realised your mistake? Huh?” She asked. “I knew you will realise sooner or later that it’s only me who genuinely cared about you, even when your father and mother threw you out of their lives. It was me who always loved you even more than your bloody birth mother left you for some other man, and it was me who wiped your tears when your father abandoned you for his business trips.” She counted her favours while taking steps forward in his direction while Christian remained seated, maintaining his stare at her.
Jennifer crossed the table and put his hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to be sorry for whatever you did. Mishka and that old Knight must’ve instigated you against me. But I knew you will realise the truth eventually and come back to me.”
“You wiped my tears? Seems like you are still not out of your dreamland.” Christian stood up and suddenly held her throat, slamming her back against the wall. “Why did you destroy my family? You made me live under the false impression for fucking seventeen years that my parents never wanted me, that they wanted to get married to two different people.” He growled, applying pressure on her throat, and Jennifer’s eyes bulged out.
“I truly loved you but you manipulated me for years against my mom and dad,” He screeched while Jennifer tried her best to free herself from his tight grasp.
“Christian, l-leave m-me,” Jennifer tried to move his hand.
“Why? My mom tried to kill herself because of you, so why I should leave you alive?” Christian asked, anger dripping from his every word.
“I have linked all the dots. You stayed back, not because you felt remorseful that I lost my mother because of your stupid plan, you stayed back because you wanted the title of the Knights.” Christian said, but Jennifer shook her head hastily.
“You can’t fool me this time. Now I know you from inside out and I remember everything. You tried to take advantage of all the broken relationships and I won’t be surprised if I found Dan as your partner in crime. Right, Jennifer?” He asked, loosening his grip on her throat.
“I… no.. I” Jennifer tried to decline and Christian tightens his hold, almost blocking her windpipe.
“How come you were at the same bar to where dad went a night before the wedding anniversary? This was a trap designed by you, wasn’t it?” Christian asked, slamming her head back against the wall. “Try lying to me, again and I will kill you right here.” Christian threatened but the next moment, cops ran inside and detangled them.
Jennifer coughed badly while the cops held Christian. “Leave me, I will kill this witch today!!! She destroyed everything.” Christian hollered, but the cops didn’t allow him to come any close to Jennifer. The lady cop took Jennifer out of the room, and a few seconds later, the cops left Christian.
Christian sat on the chair he was sitting before and held his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe Dan and Jennifer were planning to ruin Knights for so long. He picked up the bottle of mineral water from the wooden table and poured it on his face.
He was trying to calm his racing heartbeat when he received a call from Mishka and his hand trembled, fearing the worst.
***
The door of the ward opened, and Dr Ken walked out. Everyone surrounded him except Luke, who was sitting in the corner. Luke looked at Ken for once and then looked down at the floor.
Ken briefly glanced at him and then focused on Leo. “We almost lost her, her heart stopped working but like always, she didn’t give up.” He said, and everyone sighed in relief. “We will shift her to the normal ward in a few hours and then you all can meet her.”
“Thank you, Ken.” Leo was grateful.
“It was my duty, Uncle Leo.” Dr Ken said and then walked to where Luke was sitting. “Come, let’s go to my cabin and have a coffee.”
“I don’t…” Luke trailed off, but Ken started dragging him in the other direction. Mishka saw them and turned to call Christian to give him the good news.
***
They shifted Vera to the ward and Luke was sitting beside her on the stool while Mishka was sitting on the couch behind him. The knob twisted and Christian entered with a surreal smile on his face, but his face dropped when he saw Luke sitting close to her.
He knew he fall prey to Dan and Jennifer’s scheming, but still, if he would’ve had little cautious with his actions, maybe they were not standing here today waiting for Vera to wake up.
“She is sleeping because of heavy medicines and won’t wake before tomorrow morning,” Luke informed Christian, who stood on the other side of Vera, caressing her forehead.
“I know,” Christian replied, and then looked at Mishka behind Luke. “Did you take your medicines?” He asked, and Mishka nodded. “Why don’t you go home and take a rest? I’ll be here with mom.”
“I am here. You both can go home and take a rest,” Luke answered, and Christian nodded.
“Let’s go then. I can’t compromise your health as well.” He said, kissed Vera’s forehead, and turned to leave, while Mishka followed him. He was about to turn the knob when Luke called him.
“Christian?” Luke said, and both Christian and Mishka turned to him
Luke walked forward. “You remember when I asked Jennifer to move out? You came to me, sat on your knees, and pleaded with me to not let her go.” He said, and Mishka looked at both of them.
“Today, I am going on my knees. Please forgive me. It was never my intention to hurt you both. Things just slipped from my hands before I could do anything.” Luke cried, sitting on his knees, and Mishka could see tears in Christian’s eyes.
“Come on, my emotionally unstable husband, REACT!!” Mishka said inwardly while looking at Christian, but when he didn’t react, she stretched her hand out for Luke but stopped when Christian made him stand on his feet.
“It’s alright, if mom can forgive you after all this, then certainly I can. But it will take a while, this gap between us, I can’t fill it overnight.” Christian said and wiped tears from his father’s face.
“You take care of mom. I’ll be back by evening.” He said, and Luke nodded with a smile. Christian held Mishka’s hand, and they soon walked out of the hospital.
Christian walked forward, but suddenly he didn’t feel Mishka’s presence behind him. He turned and spotted Mishka sitting on the floor.
He furrowed his eyebrows and walked to where she was sitting. “What are you doing?” He asked.
“Haaye mai thak gaya (I am so tired) Pick me up.” Mishka said dramatically and opened her arms.
“My knuckles are still bleeding,” He said, showing his bandaged hand to her.
“So what? Did I ask you to slam it multiple times on the pillar?” Mishka mimicked.
“Come on, Mishka. Get up. I am tired. Let’s go home.” Christian said in a tired voice.
“Okay fine.” Mishka pouted and stood, glaring at him. “Nobody loves me.” She said and walked ahead of him.
Christian smiled as he watched her, stomping her foot, and then picked her in his arms, leaving Mishka stunned for a moment. “Your hand?” A look of concern crossed her face.
“Anything for my queen,” He said, and a wide smile spread on her lips, showing off her cute dimples.
“You know, I got a perfect title for you,” She said as she rounded her hands around his shoulder.
“What?” He asked, taking steps towards their car.
“Emotionally Unstable, Husband.” She said, and he glared at her.
“Ahh... Christian!!” Mishka exclaimed as Christian scared her to drop on the road.