As the anesthetic wore off and the numbness in my body faded, my phone rang. It was Asher.
“Ingrid, I won’t be in touch for a while. Don’t contact me either. I don’t want Dorothy getting the wrong idea.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but all I heard was the sharp click of the call ending. He hung up without waiting for a word. He often calls me Gigi, my childhood nickname. I knew he was pissed off.
Images of Dorothy flooded my mind—her flushed face as she clung to him, beaming at the new necklace he'd gifted her. Once, I believed that necklace might’ve been meant for me, a surprise waiting to be revealed. But it was all just my delusion, wasn’t it? How foolish I’d been, thinking he would remember the warmth of that night, that it meant anything to him.
I left the hospital, stepping into the harsh bite of the cold wind. Wrapping my arms tightly around myself, I shivered, my body weak and my steps uncertain. With trembling fingers, I dialed a number I’d been holding onto for too long.
“Boss,” I said, my voice steady despite the whirlwind inside me, “I’ve decided. I'll take up your offer to establish the overseas branch.”