R.A. 2nd beginnings

chapter 4

Sunil

I had planned to go back to visit her the next day, but when I didn't get a call from the hospital, I assumed everything was okay.
               After that I had gotten so busy at the office, that by the end of each day for the following week I could barely open my eyes let alone drive to the hospital. I had a lot of very important meetings regarding the expansion plans for the real estate offices, and then there was the opening of the new hotel.
              I had become CEO and owner of India's biggest real estate company, after my father retired. That happened when I was 18. I now, 19, have taken the company beyond real estate.
              My dad had been planning on opening hotels in the country, but hadn't acted on the plan. I did.
              I'm gonna take it to new heights.
It's my company now. And it will be dominating the world by the time I'm done with it.
              I was sitting in my office, going through some files. Arohi and I had a date in a few hours. She apologized for the whole thing at the hospital, in a weird way. I chose to ignore her tone and that she sounded like she was trying to tell me to get used to it or something. I was taking her to a new restaurant. It's pretty hard to get in there. You could say it was Dorsia, but I wasn't Bateman. My name was enough to get us a reservation.
             My phone rang. Putting the files down, I glanced at the screen. Unknown number.
             I answered the call.
            "Is this Mr. Sunil Kumar?"
            I replied "Yes."
           It seems I might have to fire the once-competent assistant of mine.
          "I'm speaking from Mumbai General."
            The nurse, of course.
           "You told me to call you whenever there is an update on the patient you brought in. Well there is an update. And a big one. Please come to the hospital as soon as you can."
      "Ok."
             I left everything. And headed out. For some reason, I had taken it upon myself to make sure she was okay. I also had to figure out why she felt familiar and why my first instinct, when I saw her, was to save her. To go to her when the others, including Riya, were scared of her. It was an attraction I hadn't quite figured out.
       My phone rang again while I was headed to my car.
Arohi.
           "Hey, when are you going to pick me up for our date?"
            "I'll be there around 7." I replied, my tone even, like I was not just thinking about my attraction toward another woman.
             She squealed "Sounds great. Bring your wallet cause I'm not paying"
            I was not in the mood for this conversation to last any longer so I said "Ok." and put the phone down.
           I was driving to the hospital when Riya called.
           I spoke first, "yeah?"
           She went straight to the point, "Sounds like you're driving. You got the call from the hospital too, huh?"
           "I did. You're going there too?" Did she give her number to the nurses as well?
            "Yeah. I told the nurse to let me know when anything new comes up. I've already told the others. They'll be there too."
          "But I just got off the phone with Arohi, she had no idea." Did she have no idea or did she simply not give a fuck?
          "She's not our friend. She's just your girlfriend" She stated. "I've been having a pretty good week, do not ruin it by bringing her there."
           "Why do you guys hate her so much?" I was getting tired of this.
           "Hate is a strong word. It's the right word. But still strong."
            "Just answer."
             She didn't answer. She just ended the phone call.
            I drove to the hospital. On my way a weird, uneasy feeling passed through me. It was...painful, and I felt hagridden. But... from a distance. Like these feelings weren't mine, but I felt them. It was like a distress call. But not to me...
      I ignored the weirdness. I parked my black Bugatti chiron and walked into the hospital to find my friends already there.
          We took the elevator up and stepped out on the 3rd floor.
     "Excuse me! Mr. Sunil."
     I turned to see the nurse. Her name tag said Gauri. She had been the one to take our blood and let us know what's happening.
"Is everything okay? You told us to get here quick on the phone call." Riya said.
She started walking, and spoke, "The patient awoke the day before. But not for too long at a time. She told us she's over 18, so we got her consent for a reconstruction surgery. She was ecstatic, and agreed to it. Yesterday we performed the surgery. It was very long but all is well now."
        She entered a big room. And ushered us in. We sat in the waiting area and the door, which I assumed was the door for the patient room, remained shut.
        "Her body was too weak for us to do any tests for a while, but when she got better we did a few. Please sit."
         We sat on the chairs in the room lobby.