A female security guard came in and said, "One of you has to leave now. Only one person is allowed to stay." Amba slowly got up to leave, and before going, she said, "I'll wait outside. Kaki-ma, please call me when Suman-da regains consciousness. I will apologize. And tell Kaku not to worry—I won't force myself upon your family. I was exhausted from keeping up this act. God has freed me today. I'll marry Adrit, that's what my father wants too. The truth is, when I needed a strong and reliable hand, Adrit was the one who stood by me. I don't know what would've happened to my parents and our situation at home if Adrit hadn't been there. And Suman-da, once he recovers from this initial shock, will be fine."
The security woman urged her again to leave. Amba said, "Yes, let's go," and left the room.
Outside, she saw that no one was there; everyone was waiting in the lobby downstairs. A staff member escorted her down the corridor and took her to the lobby in an elevator. As she walked toward where Adrit and Ambika were sitting, they rushed up to her. Adrit took her by the hand and said to the security lady, "Thank you, ma'am," and she smiled and went back upstairs. He helped her sit down in a chair. Amba then noticed a few members of Suman's family sitting a short distance away. Though there was no real need for them to stay, they didn't feel like leaving him alone that late at night.
Adrit asked, "How did Suman-da seem to you?"
"The doctor gave him a sedative. He gets restless when he wakes up."
"Tell me, Dittu, do you think Suman-da will forgive me?"
Ambika, who had been silent till then, finally said, "Dittu? Who's that?" Realizing she'd asked the wrong question, she quickly added, "Oh, you call Adrit-da 'Dittu.'" Putting her hand on her cheek, she said, "Wow, so much love!" and burst out laughing.
Adrit gently ran his hand over Amba's head and said, "Why, Madam Amba, what have you done?"
Tears welled up in Amba's eyes as she looked at him. Adrit said, "Remember this—what you've done, most people can't. You couldn't have kept up the act much longer anyway. What happened, happened for the best."
Amba thought to herself—was it really just an act, or had she truly come to love Suman-da more over these past few days? Even when he spoke to Ankita, it felt like he was speaking to her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ambika's voice: "Didi, why did you carry on with this act?"
Annoyed, Amba said, "Don't ask me the same thing again and again. I told you why."
Ambika said, "I'm not talking about Suman—I'm talking about the whole act with me yesterday."
Amba looked at her and said, "Sorry, Bonu. I didn't know how to tell you everything. I really did something wrong." She held her ears in apology. Then added, "And you're right, even though you know everything, you're still really mad. If you'd confronted Suman-da, things could've gotten worse, so I kept quiet."
Ambika was about to say something, but went silent as someone approached. She lowered her head, trying to ignore the person but was puzzled—how did he get here?
"It's tea time, Ammy, please." Hearing the name, Ambika's head shot up, her eyes blazing. Souptik stood there, holding a tray with four paper cups of tea.
Adrit said, "Why did you bother with all this?"
Souptik replied, "Because, Dittu-da, my sick sister came running here after just one call—this is the least I could do."
It was as if Souptik had answered the question Ambika had been asking in her heart. Feeling reassured, she sipped her tea quietly. No one said anything else, and all three of them took a cup.
Pragati walked up and said, "Baba, Soupto, you're treating her like a son-in-law already!"
No one responded—not even the one the comment was directed at.
"These middle-class mentality girls hold on to their rotten sentiments all their lives. It's impossible to live with them," Pragati muttered.
Adrit looked at Amba and Ambika and said, "Too many flies buzzing around here. Let's sit over there."
To Souptik: "You coming?"
Then, "Thanks for the tea so late at night."
He turned to Amba, picked her up by placing one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees, and carried her to an empty chair.
Pragati shrieked in rage, "Ahh!" but no one paid her any attention and walked away.
Ambika, watching all this, was amazed. How could Didi ignore this man? Can someone really love another so much? She silently prayed, "Please keep my sister happy, Adrit-da. Suman-da never could."
She got up and asked, "Didi, how can you ignore someone who loves you so much?"
Adrit joked, "Ambika-queen, are you getting jealous?" and laughed heartily at his own joke.
"Quiet, Adrit, this is a hospital," Amba said, pressing his hand.
"Sorry, sorry," said Adrit.
Souptik went and sat beside his father, watching the three of them from a distance, feeling a strange sense of joy. Why he felt that way, he didn't know.
Soumendra Babu said, "Do you have no sense at all? Why did you call that girl without asking us?"
Souptik gave no answer. He just stared ahead, drawn by an invisible pull.
Just then, a phone rang loudly, breaking the mood. As they picked it up, the voice on the other end said, "The patient in Cabin 151 has regained consciousness. He's asking for a family member to come. He wants to talk."