She repeats his words in her mind. Personally and professionally. Could he have figured out what she did? No, that wasn’t possible. She stops herself from indulging her paranoia. Years ago, she made sure that all her boxes were checked off, that there would be no trace of what happened. There’s no reason for her to be scared of him anymore.

“They’ve pulled up our car. You ready to go?” Zack is behind her, his arms on her shoulders. She watches him scan Roshan from head to toe with a questioning glance.

Roshan’s eyes shift as if he’s unsure whether to stay or leave. Or maybe he’s judging Zack, with his light gray suit, shiny Ferragamo shoes, polka-dotted navy-blue pocket square, and TAG Heuer watch. Roshan always took pride in being “above” dressing nicely and buying luxury things.

“Ready.” She motions to Roshan and ignores the constriction in her throat. “This is Roshan. You know, from med school.”

“Oh . . . hi.” She watches Zack register the name. “Ah, so you’re Roshan.”

Zack extends his hand. Even when he’s uncomfortable, he’s still kind. Courteous.

“Yeah,” Roshan says with a grunt.

“Nice to meet you,” Zack says. “I, uh, didn’t know you lived here.”

“Same here. What a coincidence.” Suhani hears a nervous laugh come out of her. She tells herself she’s in control here. She won’t regress to the woman she used to be. Someone quieter, more afraid. She studies both of them, side by side. Her husband next to the guy she once thought would be her husband.

At one point, she imagined running into Roshan at a conference, at a time when she’d be at her goal weight, full of purpose, hair and makeup in place. But when nothing happened for years, she realized she’d gotten lucky. She could take the most painful part of her life, the part that she could never face, and move on.

But now she’s in a gown, an award in one hand, the other clutching her husband’s. She’s worked her ass off at the hospital. She’s exercised and toned and strengthened every part of her body. She’s perfected her posture and voice until they convey confidence. Nothing about her looks pathetic. Maybe she couldn’t have seen Roshan at a better time. Realizing this gives her a burst of courage. My life is great now, even after you almost ruined me.

“Well, I’m getting pretty tired,” she says, making sure her voice has just enough nonchalance.

“We should head out.” Zack wraps his arm around Suhani’s shoulders, a gesture that’s part territorial, part loving. To him, this is the guy she dated in med school and dumped one year before they met. He’s irrelevant to their life now.