The Love We Choose

Chapter 60

Sitting at her desk once more, Lynne ignored yet another call from her siblings. By now the news had broken that not only was the "Hero Doctor of Kensigntonna" out of a coma, but also expecting a child with his long-time girlfriend. Minus Elisa, her nosy siblings had blown up their group chat asking Lynne questions that she had pointedly ignored. Not that her lack of response had stopped them from contacting her via attempted phone calls and video chats, they were tenacious.

No, Lynne didn't have the energy to deal with them in the midst of all the other dumpster fires erupting in her life at the moment. She hadn't returned to the hospital in almost three days now. The day after she had been banished from the hospital room by Mama Ying, she ran into Veronica, when she opened the door to leave Huan's apartment.

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Veronica bolted back against the wall opposite Huan's door, obviously caught off-guard, when Lynne opened the door. A light blue envelope fell out of her hands onto the floor between them.

Crouching down and picking up the envelope Lynne noticed had Huan's name written on it, she addressed the other woman. "Hi, Veronica. It's lovely to see you. I guess your phone has been broken or your reception has been awful. Huan's awake, so you know. You should probably be going to the hospital to see him since he's obviously not at home. He'd love to see you," she added with a polite smile, holding the envelope out for Veronica to take.

When Veronica failed to move, Lynne dropped the smile on her face. "You know, I knew you were selfish and self-absorbed, but I never realized you were heartless." The silence stretched for a few seconds before Lynne continued. "Just answer me this, did you ever love him or was he just a placeholder on your way to a parent-approved marriage?" Still no response from Veronica as she turned her head and took a deep breath. "Struck a nerve, did I? How about this one? Did his clout go up when you saw the pictures of him on social media with his prestigious award or was it the journal publishing his research? Or the interviews he got with the top hospitals in the country?"

Ignoring Lynne's outstretched hand and questions, Veronica instructed her, "make sure you give that to Huan." Turning on her heel, she headed towards the stairs.

"I'm not your errand girl. If you're going to break his heart again, at least man up and do it to his face!" She yelled at her retreating back.

Sucking air through her teeth, Lynne walked back into the apartment, dropped the envelope in the trash, grabbed her overnight bag, locked up, and headed to her own car. By this time Veronica was long gone. I hope she makes the right decision, she thought to herself as she put her car into drive and headed across state lines to her own home.

Lynne needed the creature comforts of her own place now that Huan was awake and stable. She had talked to mama Ying not long after she woke up this morning to get an update on Huan and informed her that she was gonna stay home and rest for a few days before coming back to the hospital.

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Well, that had been the plan for Lynne. Rest for a couple of days, head back into the city, check in on Huan, then return to work the week after. However, an email marked URGENT followed by several phone calls from various members of the Re-Accreditation committee, as well as her direct boss, led to her currently poring over records and accounts at her desk when she should have been home, relaxing.

She had come in early that morning with her snack bag and water bottle filled, and snuck into her office before anyone else in her department. When Fran came in about an hour later, she knocked on Lynne's door and welcomed her back. They had been in communication for all day-to-day things that needed Lynne's approval. Fran was a more than capable assistant who was able to keep the wheels moving on the Business Machine while Lynne was away. She gave Lynne the run-down of things that needed to go out for the rest of the week, vendors who requested meetings, as well as all the important messages that she had missed.