IBRAHIM

My heart aches. Literally. Physically. And I've never felt this vulnerable in my life, ever.

The hospital refused to discharge me yet. Baba and Kabir, my younger brother, rushed to the hospital when they were informed that I had been shot.

“I shouldn't have let you go,” Baba sighed, feeling guilty.

“It's okay, Baba. I'm fine. This is what we do,” I said.

“Ammi has been furious the entire night because you didn't return home,” Kabir said.

“Please tell me she isn't coming here,” I asked, resisting the panic that tried to rise.

“What do you think?” Kabir said, grinning wickedly.

“No. No, please,” I said.

“Kabir, stop it. She's not coming… yet,” Baba said. “She doesn't know yet that you've been shot. We didn't tell her,” Baba assured.

Relief coursed through me as I heard his words.

“Ibrahim, she's been concerned about you,” Baba said.

“I'm not a child, Baba,” I said.

“For her, for me, you still are,” Baba replied.

“Haan, ab yahan se nikal ke aapko sidha school chhodenge,” Kabir scoffed, earning a glare from me.(Yeah, we'll drop you at school as soon as we get out of here)

“Sach bataiye Baba, kahan se uthaya tha mujhe aapne?” Kabir asked mockingly.(Don't lie to me, Baba. Where did you adopt me from?)

“Sach bataun? Mujhe bhi nahi pata tum kahan se aaye ho. Bass ek din Ghar me the,” I replied, my tone nonchalant.(Honestly? Even I don’t know where you came from. One day you were just… there)

“Waqt rehte kadar karlo meri aap log,” Kabir said, acting hurt.(Start valuing me before y'all lose me)

Baba's phone buzzed the next moment, and he excused himself, walking out of the ward.

When he was finally out, Kabir turned toward me.

“I thought you hated hospitals. Hated being touched by strangers,” he said.

“I still do,” I muttered.

“Then who treated you?” he asked, raising his brows.

My mind instantly went back to her. That doctor.

My jaw clenched as I recalled how she slapped me. Honestly, it triggered me to the core.

No one has ever raised their hand on me. Not even Baba. Not even Ammi.

And that tiny little doctor had the audacity to slap me.

She was lucky she escaped, or I might've choked her to death right there.

“Bhai, did you teleport into a world wearing a fancy shirt with a heroine, dancing on a random beach?” Kabir's voice pulled me out of my trance.

“Shut up, Kabir. It's nothing,” I said.

Of course I wasn't going to tell him that a mere doctor slapped the hell out of me.

Honestly, I never knew a woman with such slender, fragile hands could nearly dislocate my jaw with her slap.

Like… I hate to admit it, but it was intense.

The sound of the door clicking open made us both glance toward it.

I froze when I saw her enter.

My jaw tightened, fists clenching as I resisted acting.

Calm down, Ibrahim. She's a lady. We respect ladies.

Kabir stood straight.

She walked directly toward me, not even bothering to look around.

“You're alive,” she said, her tone cold and controlled.

She looked at the report in her hands.

“So… Mr. Ibrahim Malik, how are you feeling?” she asked, reading my name through the report before keeping it aside.

I looked away, not at all interested in answering her.

“Looks like you're still upset about last night,” she said, placing her stethoscope against my chest.

“Don't—”

“Shhh,” she cut me off sharply, as if knowing what I was going to say.

“Breathe in and breathe out,” she ordered sharply, focusing on my heartbeat.

I clenched my jaw as the cold metal of the stethoscope pressed against my chest. I hated this. Being touched by strangers had always made my skin crawl. Hospitals, doctors, nurses, everything about this place felt suffocating.

But she didn’t seem to care.

Or maybe she simply didn’t know.

Her attention remained completely on the task, her brows slightly furrowed as she listened to my heartbeat like I was nothing more than another patient on her list.

After a moment, she stepped back and pulled the edge of the bandage near the wound, inspecting it carefully. Her fingers pressed lightly around the dressing, checking for bleeding or swelling.

I stiffened instantly.

“Relax,” she muttered absentmindedly, clearly more focused on the wound than on me.

“I am relaxed,” I said through gritted teeth.

She ignored the irritation in my voice and continued examining the injury, adjusting the dressing before covering it again.

She was so close that I could breathe in her scent. A subtle scent of vanilla and roses.

I looked away, waiting for this to be over soon.

“You seem fine now, but the wound is still healing,” she said, pulling away her stethoscope and writing something down on the notepad she had.

“Get over with it and discharge me. I don't do hospital shit,” I said coldly.

Looking away from her notepad, she gave me a mocking smile.

“I don't care if you like hospitals or not. As a doctor, I see that you're not fit to be discharged, and so we can't let you go.”

My teeth gritted.

This little weak human was testing my patience.

“You're…,” she turned toward Kabir, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I'm… family,” he informed, earning a nod of approval.

“Please take this man to a therapist. He is so stubborn that he wasn't even ready to get treated. He almost met God last night,” she sighed in frustration.

Kabir bit his lips, suppressing his laughter.

“You can leave us alone, and please start the procedure of discharging me. We're leaving today,” I declared.

“You can't leave until we inform the police. You were shot. It's part of the procedure,” she protested, staring at me coldly.

“We're not doing such stupidity,” I snapped.

“Tameez se baat kijiye, warna dusre gaal pe thappad lagate hue mujhe der nahi lagegi, Mr. Malik,” she muttered through gritted teeth, her eyes turning furious.(Mind your manners, Mr. Malik, or I won’t hesitate to slap the other cheek as well)

I was about to react when Kabir immediately interrupted us.

“We've talked to the police already. Don't worry, doctor.”

She looked at him suspiciously before nodding.

“By the way… dusra thappad? Pehla kisne maara? I mean… who was so brave enough to do that?” he asked.(By the way.....another slap? Who slapped you first?)

I mentally choked him to death already.

“I did. If I hadn't, you would've been attending his funeral right now,” she said.

“Well, I thought I would apologise to you for slapping you, but I don't think I can apologise to an arrogant man like you,” she said, looking straight into my eyes.

“You'll be discharged soon. Even I don't want you here for long,” she said, raising her chin and stepping back.

“T–Thank you… doctor…?” Kabir paused.

She averted her gaze toward him.

“Dr. Zahra,” she said before walking out.

“You really got slapped by the doctor?” Kabir asked, disbelief etched across his face.

I sighed, closing my eyes while pinching the bridge of my nose.

“I hate it. I hate her,” I muttered under my breath.

“It's okay, I won't tell anyone,” Kabir raised his hands, smirking. “But honestly, she has some rebellion powers to have the audacity to slap… YOU.” He grinned.

“If you value your life, Kabir, then consider shutting up,” I warned.

Baba came back finally, and I threw a glare at Kabir,

telling him not to open his damn mouth.

Or I would actually break his jaw.

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