Page 23 of Born in Grief

“I told her so many times to step on the gas,” her mother announced. “But would she listen? If there was a child now, we wouldn’t have to worry.”

Step on the gas.She’d blocked out how many times her parents had told her to seal the deal by producing a child quickly and making her position in the Gokhale family more secure. But the thought of Varun’s genes carrying on into the next generation had caused Dhrithi’s stomach to turn and not from morning sickness!

“It’s too late for that now,” her father snapped.

Yes, it was. Unless they thought ghost sperm was going to impregnate her.

“So, we need to seal the deal another way.”

Seal the deal. There was nothing Dhrithi hated more than those words. Nothing!

“When they come here, you’ll say and do whatever they say. We have to keep them happy and close so you get your fair share of his money.”

“I don’t want it.”

Her father flinched like she’d physically assaulted him. Her mother’s mouth dropped open in what seemed like her signature move now.

“Have you gone mad? Did that accident affect your brains?” her mother screeched.

“Three hundred crores, Dhrithi!” Her father looked livid, his hand clenching into a fist at his side.

“I don’t want a rupee of it.”

“Don’t act like a child. What are you going to live on? Love and fresh air? You have no money of your own. You’ve never worked a day in your life. You certainly don’t know how to make money.”

“And don’t think you’ll get any of ours,” her mother added. “That’s for Dhanush.”

Dhanush, her brother who was working in Paris. The only member of her family who’d been genuinely concerned about her. Not the money she stood to inherit or the husband aka bank account she’d just lost. Just her.

“I don’t want yours either.” Dhrithi’s fingers twisted in the hospital sheet, pleating and un-pleating it.

“Then what do you want Dhrithi?” Her father’s stone-cold face did not frighten her in the least. Dhrithi had faced down far more savage monsters in this lifetime to be scared of a greedy, patriarchal bully.

Before she could answer, the door to her hospital suite swung open. Her mouth went dry at the sight of the people filling the entryway to it.

The Gokhales were here.

Chapter Fourteen

AMAY

“I want to see the results of his CT angiogram as soon as it’s ready. And bring me the blood work for the accident victim in 302 as well.” Amay was still rattling off instructions to his team when he pushed the door open to Dhrithi’s suite. He stopped abruptly at the sight before him.

There was some kind of standoff happening between Dhrithi’s parents and the other older couple in the room. Varun’s parents he presumed. The older man held an uncanny resemblance to his toad of a son, same narrow eyes, same smug set to the jaw.

“Hello Doctor.” Dhrithi’s mother smiled at him, a sweetly effusive smile that had his hackles rising. The woman had barely acknowledged his existence until now. Most family members couldn’t wait for the doctor to come to ask their questions or express their concerns. This woman had spent all her time watching television or talking on her phone.

“How is my darling daughter doing?” she asked now.

Amay’s gaze swung to the darling daughter in question. Dhrithi had the wide-eyed trapped look of an animal in the crosshairs of a poacher.

“Could you all wait outside while we examine the patient?” he said, his voice steady but edged with steel.

The parents exchanged glances before acquiescing. One by one, they filed out, the tension trailing after them like a ghost. The door clicked shut, and silence fell in the room. The relief that swept over Dhrithi’s face would have been worth it if he hadn’t known that they’d just be filing back in the minute her review was done.

He didn’t look at her as he did a quick check of her surgical sites and her vitals. He let his second in command take the lead in asking her questions, so he didn’t need to speak to her. But through it all, he was acutely conscious of her gaze on his face, lasering through the pathetic defenses he insisted on keeping between them.

“If all goes well, we should be able to discharge you in a few days,” he said gruffly, keeping his eyes on the machine monitoring her vitals. He didn’t want to look at her. He was worried that if he did, he may not be able to look away.

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