Page 134 - Till the Last Breath . . .

‘Pihu? Pihu Malhotra? The patient?’

‘Dushyant’s ward mate. She was there, too, when it happened. It took her
just a split second to realize what was wrong,’ he explained with a hint of
pride in his voice.

‘Umm …’
He saw her run out of words and could understand her disbelief. They

sipped on their creamy coffees. Finally, she said. ‘What were you doing
there so late in the night?’

Arman didn’t answer for a few seconds and then said, ‘I was checking up
on Dushyant. And I ask the questions, not you. You make coffee.’

‘But—’
‘I thought I was pretty clear,’ he interrupted to avoid further questions. It
wasn’t the discomfort he felt when others prodded him about his personal

life, it was the uneasiness he felt thinking about his dysfunctional
relationship with Pihu. He had been through the same thing before and it

distressed him to think he was going down the same road again. A
relationship with a patient was always a road spiralling downhill.

Zarah smiled and Arman knew she had assumed what there was to
assume on her own. She picked up the files and prepped herself up for the

first round of patient check-ups. Arman tried to avoid her eyes.
‘Are you starting to see your patients now?’ Zarah asked and chuckled.
‘I think I have to, since my patients are coming up with better

explanations for diseases. I don’t know why we hire interns and doctors any
more. We should just ask patients to come up with solutions, shouldn’t we?’

he smirked. Zarah didn’t flinch and the smile was still pasted on her face.
By now, she was used to the condescending taunts. He left his office and

headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. And, more importantly, to avoid
Zarah’s piercing questions, and some of his own.

He also needed to see how she was doing.