Pretend~S2~Chapter 42

The Cost of Goodbye

Dev's grip on the steering wheel tightened as Meera rested against the seat beside him, her body shivering, her lips parted in silent sobs. Her eyes were wide open but vacant, a storm of terror swirling within. The headlights illuminated the empty road, but for Dev, it was the longest and darkest drive of his life.

He kept glancing at her, swallowing his own anguish. The moment he had seen her on that road, torn and trembling, something inside him had broken. Meera—his Meera, the bright, talkative, sunshine girl—was now reduced to a shivering shell. He couldn't forgive himself for not protecting her.

"We're almost there, Meera," he said gently, his voice trembling. "You're safe now. Just hold on."

She didn’t respond, but a single tear rolled down her cheek.

At Geet's Home, Geet was pacing in the hallway, clutching her phone like a lifeline. Abhi was half-asleep in her arms, murmuring softly.

"Mumma, why is Meera Maasi not coming?" he whispered.

Geet kissed his head. "I don’t know, baby... I don’t know." She is scared like hell.. She knows so many people but can't trust them with Abhi so she called Khurana Mansion.

She left her home to Khurana Mansion in her car, she place Abhi in child seat and started driving.

She saw Prema Aunty and Dadi Ma, worried shows on her face which can't be fake.

Prema Aunty walked up, concern etched into her face. "Geet, you look exhausted. Let us take Abhi for the night."

"Thank You Aunty, I have to find Meera," Geet replied, her voice cracking.

Daadi Ma joined her. "Geet beta, let Maan help you. You're not alone."

Geet hesitated. Maan, who stood silently nearby, looked at her, his eyes asking a thousand unspoken questions. She finally nodded. "Take care of Abhi. I’ll be back soon."

Abhi tugged on her dupatta. "Mumma, please come back soon... I’ll be good. I promise."

Geet bent down to his level, her eyes stinging. "I promise too, Abhi. I love you."

Inside Maan’s car, silence reigned. He was making call after call, trying to trace Meera’s cab. Geet sat quietly beside him, her fingers fidgeting.

"All the cab company said is she took a ride around 3 hours ago. The driver turned off GPS soon after," he explained.

Geet's nails dug into her palms. "She never turns off her phone... unless something's wrong."

Maan looked at her, seeing the tears she tried to hide. "We'll find her, Geet. We have to."

An hour passed before Dev’s name flashed on Maan’s phone.

"Dev? Where are you?"

"City Hospital. It's... it’s bad, Maan. Just come. Bring Geet."

The hospital corridor smelled of antiseptic and sorrow. Meera lay on the bed, her eyes closed but her face etched with pain. Geet rushed to her side.

"Meera... oh God... what did he do to you?" Geet cried

Meera slowly opened her eyes. "Geet... don’t touch me. I'm filthy... I... I can't breathe here." She hugs and cried uncontrollably.

Geet shook her head. "No, you are not. You are brave. You fought him. You survived Meera."

Meera started sobbing, her body curling into itself. "I want to leave Geet. I can't stay here... everyone will look at me like I'm broken."

Geet pulled her into an embrace. "Then we’ll go. Tomorrow. I promise. Just hold on until then."

In the corridor, Dev stared at the ceiling, fists clenched.

"I want him found. And I want him to suffer," he told Maan.

Maan placed a hand on his shoulder. "We will."

Later, Geet sat with Annie, breaking the news.

"I’m taking Meera to the US. She needs to heal, Annie."

Annie swallowed her tears. "You mean... you're going too?"

"Just until Ally’s surgery. Then I'm leaving. Forever."

Annie hugged her tightly. "I’ll miss you every single day."

A Few Days Later

Geet stood in scrubs, overseeing Ally's surgery. Hours passed in tense silence until finally, the red light outside the OT flickered off.

Meet Rathore stood. "Doctor?"

Geet removed her mask. "The surgery was successful. We removed the clot. But she needs ICU care for now."

Abhi had stayed at Khurana Mansion for a day, but the next morning, Meet and Anupama came to take him back to the Rathore Mansion. They wanted to restore normalcy now that Ally's surgery was done.

Abhi was unusually quiet as he dressed for school. Geet had not told him anything. He waved goodbye to Daadi Ma and Annie with a soft smile. But something inside him felt strange.

When the school bus dropped him at the hospital where Ally was admitted, he ran down the corridor. The first thing he asked the nurse was, "Where is my Geet Mumma?"

The nurse looked at him sadly. "She’s... she left, beta. She had to go." She feels bad for him as Geet left him without telling him.

Abhi's heart shattered. "What? No... she said she'll never leave me.. she promised!"

He ran to Ally's room and cried loudly, alarming the doctors. He clung to the corner of the bed and sobbed, "I want Geet Mumma... not Ally Mumma... I want MY Mumma..."

That night, Ally woke up, weak but conscious. Meet was holding her hand. Anupama sat nearby. There was a silence in the room until Ally whispered, "Where... where is Geet?"

Meet handed her the letter. "She left this for you."

Ally opened it with trembling fingers, the ink smudged by tears.

Dear Ally,

If you’re reading this, it means you’re awake. You fought, and you won. I am proud of you.

I have so much to say but no courage to say it face to face. Maybe because if I had seen Abhi one last time, I wouldn't have had the strength to walk away.

Ally, the truth is, I was never your enemy. From the moment I saw you struggling, unconscious, I decided to be your strength until you came back to your son. I married Meet not for love or companionship, but to protect Abhi, to stay close to him when he had no one.

I lived in a world of lies, but every smile from Abhi made it worth it. I watched him grow, held his hand through his fears, celebrated his tiny victories, told him bedtime stories, kissed away his nightmares. He made me feel what it meant to be a mother.

I didn't replace you, Ally. I was just keeping your world safe until you returned.

But somewhere along the way, he became my world.

The day he called me 'Mumma'... I can't put into words how much that changed me. My heart broke and healed in that one moment. From that day, he wasn’t just a child I was caring for—he was my son. He still is, and he will always be.

Today, I walk away, but I leave my soul behind. I leave the best part of me—Abhi. You may not see it now, but someday you will understand.

(Geet monologue, "I am not going to told you about the things your mother in law did to me, the hurt, the insults, the disdain... because I didn’t want to taint your heart. It wasn’t your fault. I bore it silently, for him and I know she loves you so much.")

Geet writes, "Please don’t tell him I left because I didn’t love him. Tell him I left because I loved him too much to make him choose between us.

Every night he calls for me, I will cry into my pillow. Every time he falls sick, or wins a prize, or laughs out loud, a part of me will ache not being there.

Ally, raise him with all the love in your heart. But never make him forget me.

My name is not just a memory to him. It’s his lullaby. His comfort. His peace.

I am not brave for leaving. I am broken. But sometimes love means stepping away, even when it destroys you.

Please take care of my Abhi. I don’t know where life will take me. But wherever I go, I will always wait for a time when he will come running into my arms again, maybe it is my sweet dreams but I want to live like that. You take care odmf yourself Ally.

Yours always,

Geet

Tears streamed down Ally's face. Each word was a dagger of guilt and grief.

"She loved him more than I ever understood," she whispered.

Abhi stood outside the door, his tiny heart too overwhelmed to walk in.

Minutes later, Annie follows Abhi when she saw him talking to nurse, she wants to help him and do not want to disclose but she is late, she walk in Ally's room and saw his condition worsen, he collapsed in Annie's arms.

"ABHI!" All screams

To Be Continued...