Page 4 of Someone I Chose

“Kunal? Did you write your daughter’s resignation in her name?” There was a moment of silence that ended in a dismayed grunt. “Yes, she knows, and she doesn’t like it. Do me a favor, will you? Come and get her before she raises a row. For now, she is still processing things, but once she decides what to do, she will not be discreet about it. I don’t want that kind of drama in the house.”

Neha froze. Her boss knew her well. She always took a long time to think things through. In a way, that was part of why she was good at her job. Having already thought of all potential outcomes, she hardly ever came across unforeseen circumstances. And this, right now, was a situation that needed pondering. She dropped the papers onto her desk, grabbed her handbag, and left. She most definitely did not want to meet her father right now, and therefore descended to the MARTA platform nearby. Her father would never take a train. The next train went north, and Neha got off at a random station. All she wanted was a place quiet enough to hear her own thoughts. A little way down the road was an all-day breakfast diner. Delicious, greasy food, the kind her parents would never eat—that sounded about right.

She found a booth that she could hide in, as she did not want to be talked to. After finishing her waffle with two eggs, she kept asking for refills of coffee. She must have sat there for a couple of hours, but the thoughts would not flow. All she felt was betrayal. Her father scheming against her. Her employer being willing to let go of her like that. Of course, she could fight that. She was a lawyer, after all. There were several legal options that came to mind, even doing no research. But that didn’t mean she knew what she wanted to do. As a lawyer, she knew only too well how much heartache is caused by taking immediate legal action. Having second thoughts was a good thing. Did she really want a legal confrontation with her family? And yet, maybe it was inevitable.

“You’re good?” A woman stopped by her table. She was middle-aged and heavyset. Her cheeks were scarlet red with rosacea. And she had about the friendliest face Neha had ever seen. She immediately calmed a bit.

“Yeah, sure.” She set down her cup and put on a smile.

The woman did not seem to be convinced. “I’m Trish. See that big rig there? I’m leaving for Oregon in a bit.”

“What?” Neha stared at her.

Trish shrugged. “Just saying. You look like someone who might need a change of scenery.”

With that, the stranger went to the counter and was handed a big thermos with coffee and a paper bag. After some amiable goodbyes, she went out.

Neha stared after her and even turned as Trish went outside to putter around the truck. What just happened?

Neha’s phone rang. Her father. Neha didn’t answer. She couldn’t find the strength to talk to him right now. After a couple of minutes, the ringing stopped, and shortly after, there was a text from him. “Don’t you dare ignore me!”

Tears formed. Neha sniffed. She wasn’t prone to tears and hated crying. There had been too much of an emotional rollercoaster lately. Neha needed to go somewhere where her parents would not find her, so she could come to grips with this situation. Going home was out of the question. Her parents would barge in against her will. A hotel? Somehow, that did not feel safe. Neha didn’t know whether her parents could find her in a random hotel. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

Neha looked out of the window. The woman who had invited her had finished whatever she had done and climbed into the truck. Neha knocked on the window and waved. She tossed a few bills on the table and ran out to go west. That was crazy, but not as crazy as being dragged to Delhi.

CHAPTER THREE

THREE DAYS LATER

Jay scrubbed his hands absentmindedly. After having done so many surgeries, he did not need to focus on it anymore. He was tired to his bones because this had been a shift from hell. Hallow Falls Hospital was a small facility adapted to a small community. There were even nights no dedicated cardiologist was on duty, only on call. If that had been the case tonight, somebody would have died. In fact, Jay counted his blessings that nobody did die on his watch tonight. Apparently, the fine citizens of Hallow Falls had schemed to test the hospital’s limits tonight—and it hardly had passed that test. Working twenty-eight-hour shifts was bad enough. Everybody synching their heart attacks, cardiac arrests, and unstable anginas was too much to shake off.

“That was quite the night, huh?” Drake Collins was the anesthesiologist tonight and had been on the team saving Mrs. Carter’s life with a coronary artery bypass graft. “Don’t you hate it, too, if you know the patient privately?”

Jay snorted. “This is a small town. When was the last time you gassed someone you didn’t know?”

For a moment, Drake stared at the ceiling until he triumphantly declared, “That gaper from Charleston in February!”

“‘Aah dudn’t know them black diamond slopes wasn’t for beginnuhs.’” As Jay mocked the southern drawl of that patient, he had to think of Neha, and how much he had enjoyed listening to her. He had liked a lot about her, actually. Not wanting to go down that train of thought, he shook his head and turned his attention to Drake, who still guffawed. “I didn’t know you could do voices.”

“I went to Georgia for a wedding last month.”

“Who got married? You?” Drake joked. Jay knew only too well that his friend wasn’t a fan of weddings and marriages ever since his own went down the drain rather spectacularly.

“Well, actually—”

“Hey, Dr. Das.” Clive barged into the room, one of the nurses. “I just got a call from Centura Avista NICU. The boy’s stable for now.”

Drake raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

Jay sighed. “A newborn with cardiac arrest. I wasn’t even sure he’d survive the transport to NICU.”

“You really did have quite the night. Are you okay?”

“Just tired.”

“Good thing you’ve got a wife at home to take your mind off these things,” Clive said.

Drake stared at Jay. “Wait. You were serious about having married?”