Aryan

A few days ago

A normal day at the hospital always included getting yelled at by either your senior attending or patients. Sometimes it also included the death of a patient and passing the news to the family.

When you are a doctor you are trained to control your emotions well. We are not allowed to get emotionally attached to any of our patients or their families. We often do our jobs with a cold heart and just deal with it. Though we are compassionate and provide them with the best care, we still aren't allowed to get emotionally attached to them. We would have to pass the information and move on to the next patient like nothing happened. We didn't have time to care if the patients or their family members were mad or happy with us, we had a tedious job to do so we moved on quickly.

I struggled in my first year as a resident but as time went on I understood that this is life and life is an art of moving on.

Right now, I was busy explaining to a stubborn posh looking old woman in her late fifties how her daughter needed a heart surgery.

Lina is an 11 years old girl who came in because she had a chest pain and collapsed at school, and after a thorough scan we found out she has faulty heart valves and required immediate surgery but her mother was too stubborn.

"Ms. Yang I'm Rahul the paediatric surgeon, Lina needs the surgery if she's going to be able to make it into the next 48 hours." Rahul calmly tried to explain to her.

"No, I'm not going to lose my daughter. I'm afraid she won't make it. She is already weak."She said while crying and gazed at her daughter. I know she was struggling to watch her daughter in pain but she needs to make an important decision and do what is right for her.

"Ms. Yang Lina is in a critical state, without the surgery there is a low chance she will make it even through the day. However with the surgery she has a surviving chance." I explained to her calmly.

"But... but you said there was only a 30% chance she will survive if she goes through the surgery." Ms. Yang said while tears were pouring from her eyes.

"30% is still better than nothing, at least you are giving her a fighting chance." I pointed at the unconscious Lina lying on the bed.

Ms Yang pondered on what I said for a brief moment. She closed her eyes, wiped away her tears and looked at the both of us.

"I'll allow for the surgery to take place." She finally agreed.

"Great, I'll inform the CT surgeon and  Rahul here will also be assisting with the surgery."

I walked out of the room and paged the CT surgeon that Ms Yang agreed to have the surgery done.

As I walked down the hallway to meet my next patient I silently prayed they would be a lot easier to handle but one could only hope. I read the notes on my tab about the patient on the way, she complained of massive chest pain and was rushed in by her son.

When I reached the ED I made my way to the corner bed and pulled the curtains and saw an old woman staring at nurse Georgia and Doctor Mikel with a deathly stare.

"I said I'm fine."The old lady with bright red short curly hair yelled at her son.

"Ma you've been complaining about chest pain for the past week." The son grumbled.

"Shut up boy, don't talk back to your mother." They were both yelling at each other and I noticed the other patients in the room were staring at them. Hopefully I am able to diffuse the rather sticky situation before the mother throws her purse at him.

"Hello I'm Doctor Aryan, I'm a cardiologist and I'm here to take a look at you, you complained of a chest pain."

She then proceeded to stare at me. Yep she wasn't gonna be an easy one and there is a higher chance she might throw the purse at me now.

By the time I was done for the day it was already 10pm. I was exhausted, the weight of the shift was definitely getting on to me. An hour later I reached back home and the first thing I did was take a warm shower. A warm shower always helped me to calm down and relax my sore muscles.

Once I was done I made my way to the kitchen, I pulled out one of my meal preps from the fridge and put it in the microwave and heated it up for 5 minutes.

While I was waiting for that, I checked my phone, I had some messages from friends, especially the football boys group. They boys were discussing about the recent European league. There were memes and the usual arguments between all of them. It took me atleast 10 minutes to go through the entire conversation. I wish I had time to participate in their banters but unfortunately for me the only types of arguments I get roped in are with the patients, their families and my seniors.

There were also a few messages from my last hookup 3 months ago. She wanted to catch up and I knew exactly what she meant but I wasn't in the mood. Sex would be great and it could help me to calm down but I had a million things to do at the moment and I can't get distracted. I quickly replied to necessary people and I also checked my emails and as I scrolled down further, I found one from an unknown sender. I thought it was a scam until I read the full content of the email.

Dear Aryan,

Hope you are doing well. My name is Alana, I'm Mr Darian Young's PA. Mr Darian has requested to have a meeting with you tomorrow morning. I know it's very sudden but he said it was urgent. I understand this might be inconvenient for you given your schedule. Please get back to me as soon as possible to see if we can work something out.

Regards,

Alana

I pondered on the email for a solid minute. Why did Darian want to see me? Does it have something to do with Mia?

Concern briefly washed over me when I thought about her. Was she okay? Was she not eating her meds? Did she have another chest pain?. I pulled myself away from those thoughts and started thinking of other possible reasons but I couldn't think of any. I didn't have any problems with the Young family. I paid off my debt monthly although it took up most of my salary and I only had a couple of thousand to save every month. So what could it be?

I quickly replied to Alana saying I would be available to meet somewhere around 9 tomorrow and she replied back saying she has set up the meeting with Mr Young.

The next day I took a cab to the Young building. The tall building stood high and mighty in the middle of the city, surrounded by the other skyscrapers. The driver dropped me off at the front and I walked into the posh looking lobby. I took in the stark and crisp interior of the building. It definitely cost a bomb to design this building.

I immediately went to the concierge and told the young girl standing behind the counter that I had a meeting with Mr Young. The young attendant eyed me like a piece of candy before handing me a pass and told me to take the lift on the far left as it will take me straight to the highest floor.

I rode the elevator in silence, my mind silently wondering what this meeting possibly was about. When I reached the 30th floor, the cold air greeted me first. The whole floor had a very immaculate vibe with granite tiles and white walls, a huge painting with a weird shape and bright colours hung on the side.

I walked to the end of the hallways where there was a huge desk with a middle aged lady sitting on the opposite side.

"Hi I'm Aryan. I have a meeting with Mr Young."

"Ah yes Aryan I'm Alana, walk right in Mr Young is waiting for you." She smiled and pointed me towards the huge oak doors behind her. The door read 'Darian Young Vice President'. I knocked and walked into the room. The room was dark and intimidating and it definitely represented the man standing in it. Dark shelves filled with books, an expensive looking wood table and a black velvet chair behind the table. Darian greeted me with his cold eyes when I walked in.

"Doctor Aryan thank you for seeing me under such short notice. I'm terribly sorry as I understand you do have a hectic schedule. Please take a seat." He motioned towards the chair opposite of him.

"It's fine sir." I smiled and sat down.

"The reason why I called you today is to discuss something important, it's about Mia."

"I see, is she doing well, is she taking her meds? I understand she can be a difficult woman." I spoke like I knew her but then I realised who I was talking to and made a note to not say anything viscous about his own daughter to him.

"Physically I believe she is fine but I'm still concerned about her. I noticed she isn't the same ever since.... The past 2 years she seems depressed, she doesn't really show it but it's noticeable. I don't want her to do something stupid, she is after all staying alone." Darian's voice was laced with concern. His usual cold and immaculate demeanour was replaced with a worried one.

The thought of Mia being depressed or suicidal didnt occur to me at all. She had a regal and powerful look even when she was sick but then again nobody showed if they had depression, they usually hid it well under a mask. They often hide it behind a smile or in her case an ice cold demeanour.

'"I see, I uhm maybe I could suggest some good therapist for Ms.Young." I said.

"Therapy doesn't work for people like Mia and even if it did she still probably won't make much time for it." He chuckled.

"How else can I help her sir?"

"I have an idea but I would need your help the most." He looked away for a brief minute then faced me, this time he had a much more serious look.

" I want you to stay with her." His statement caused me to stare at him in shock and it took me about a minute to recompose myself again. Did he just say what I think he said?

"I'm sorry what? Why?" I was visibly horrified by what he was asking me to do.

"It's pretty obvious, you are a doctor and you can take care of her. Plus you are not intimidated by her and I also know for the fact that you will make sure to prioritise her health above anything else." His explanation didn't make any sense. Why can't someone else take care of her? The Youngs were so loaded, with a snap of finger, Darian could have a list of potential caretakers lining outside his room.

"With all due respect sir, I can't just move in with someone let alone a stranger and I don't think she would like it either."I said rather annoyed. The last thing I want is to be staying with someone as rude and stubborn as her.

"Don't worry about her, I will make her understand." Darian said, leaning back on his chair. Damn he looked like he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Sorry sir I can't, I just dont think it's the right thing to do. I however can provide a more tailored solution for her if you would give me some time. So for now, if you will excuse me I'm late for my shift." I got up to walk away but I stopped dead in my tracks when Darian said something that caused me to sit back down again.

"Stay with her and I will waive off your debt forever."

Once again, I stared at him taken aback by his words. I couldn't even reply back to him because I was in a state of shock. This man was good at bargaining a deal.

Waive off my debt

I owed the Young empire at least $300,000 left and I know it will take years to pay it off but the fact that he wanted to waive it off was a jackpot.

"I'm sorry you will waive off all $300,000?"

"All of it." He said with a dead serious look in his eyes.

"Think about it Aryan, not only will you be able to save money, you can also buy and afford better things in life. Besides, you also get to stay in a nice mansion and all the cars and facilities are at your disposal." It felt like he was trying to bribe me at this point. He might as well ask me to marry her and enjoy all the luxury the Youngs could offer me. Honestly, I am not a gold digger and this is a terrible idea.

"Sir this is too much, I can't." I said and looked away. I felt like the whole world was spinning right now. How did I even end up in this situation?

It was one thing to have the debt waived off and probably start saving money but in return I lose my freedom and I have to stay with a rather annoying patient.

" You don't have to give me an answer immediately. Take your time, you can tell me after 2 weeks."Darian leaned back in his chair and gave a neutral look.

"Okay sir." I got up and walked out of the room after a few minutes. I tried to compose my thoughts while I rode the elevator down to the ground floor. How could Darian even come up with a deal like that ; stay with his daughter and in exchange he waives off my debt. I understand he would do anything for her but this was just bizarre.

I couldn't concentrate at the hospital at all because all I could think of was about the deal and Mia. I'm glad Darian gave me two weeks to get back to him, there is a high chance I will say no because although his offer seems good and they are a lot of perks with getting my debt waived off, in return I lose my freedom because I have to stay with Mia and constantly have a face off with her. I liked my personal space and the peace it came with and staying with her will only deprive me of that.

I was clear with my decision and I would respond to Darian as soon as I could. I also made a mental note to help him find a better solution for his daughter because that's what doctors do, they help their patients.

After my shift when I went home, I showered, ate and did all my chores for the day. When I was done with all that, I sat down on my tiny couch, opened up my laptop and started writing down all the possible solutions I can think of to help Mia with her current condition.

At least this way when I refuse Darian's offer, I could counter it with another solution for him even if it means I get nothing out of it. It was already 1a.m. by the time I was done and I was pretty happy with my tailored solutions for Mia. I turned off my laptop, went to bed straight and I dozed off the minute my head landed on the pillow.