Page 47 of Born in Grief

“Dad-“

“You should be marching into his office and demanding they give you his position on the board.”

She would give her father-in-law a heart attack, ensuring the Gokhales were down by two family members in as many weeks.

“Dad,” she sighed but her father was still talking.

“If only you’d produced a child by now, your-“

“I can’t,” she interrupted.

He fell silent for a beat before asking, “What do you mean?”

“I can’t have children. I never told mom and you because-“

“Who knows this?” He didn’t let her finish her explanation, an edge to his voice that hadn’t been there before.

“No one except for Varun and his parents,” she said bewildered. “I’m guessing he told his parents. I’m not sure.”

“Keep your mouth shut then,” he ordered. “Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t tell anyone anything. Do you understand Dhrithi?”

The line went dead on her before she could respond.

No more fucking games. Tell them everything.

Amay’s quiet words resounded in her head in direct contrast to her dad’s barked order. Dhrithi took a deep breath, her gaze going back to the skyline. Maybe it was time to stop listening to everyone and just listen to herself.

But then, look at her track record. She snorted. The last person she should be listening to was herself. She looked at her duffel bag which sat beside her feet.

Staying or going? Talking or not talking? What was it going to be?

Chapter Twenty-Eight

AMAY

Fatigue dragged at him as he made his way through the building foyer. He’d been pulled into the hospital on an emergency and had ended up in a three-hour surgery on top of his earlier shift. It didn’t help that his conversation with Dhrithi had been a low, humming, irritant at the back of his mind the whole fucking day.

Conversation. Could it even be called that? More like argument or full blown fight. Amay had a healthy dislike for anything resembling a fight after having lived in what felt like Fight Club for the first ten years of his life.

“Hey man.” Ishaan walked into the foyer and came to stand beside Amay in front of the elevators. In his custom tailored, pinstripe suit, he looked like he’d strolled off the cover of a business magazine. Until you looked closer and saw the stress lining his face.

“Hey,” Amay responded. “All okay?”

Ishaan shrugged. “The usual. You?” He followed Amay into the elevator as the doors slid open at that moment.

Amay leaned against the wall of the elevator watching Ishaan punch the button for the penthouse and Amay’s seventh floor.

“You want to come to my place for dinner tonight?” Ishaan asked, stepping back to stand beside Amay. “Virat was planning to cook. At least, that’s what he said when I left for work.”

Virat was rooming with Ishaan since Dhrithi was using his apartment for now. Amay hoped she was getting some sleep and not wandering around the building dragging that stupid duffel bag with her.

He realised Ishaan was still waiting for a response. “Not tonight, man. I’m wiped.” The elevator dinged open on Amay’s floor and he raised a hand in a goodbye and stepped out.

Ishaan held the doors open with one hand and popped his head out. “Ams, you’re sure you’re okay?”

Amay nodded, smiling. “I’ll try and come up for a beer later, if I’m not too tired. I have the day off tomorrow.”

Ishaan raised a hand in acknowledgement, stepping back into the elevator and letting the doors shut. Amay input his code, unlocked the front door and walked in, not bothering to hit the lights as he entered. He came to an abrupt stop a few steps in.

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