Torn Between my Alpha Mates

Chapter 9: Arriving in Sapphire Mountains

Zoya’s P.O.V

It was almost midnight by the time I reach the clinic on the Sapphire Mountains in my old, secondhand car that nearly gave up five times before I ever reached my destination.

My journey here had been anything but smooth. In fact, it was as if the universe itself was keeping me from getting to where I was supposed to go. Not only did my s**t-show of a car kept breaking down, but I ended up taking multiple wrong turns on the way here because even the GPS navigation fought to find this s**t hole of a ghost town. I even almost crashed into a tree once while trying to turn around and retrace my steps after encountering a dead end.

Now, though, I was finally here. And the clinic was exactly like how I had expected it to be — tiny and nearly invisible to the eye if you did not know it was there in the first place. It was somewhat on the secluded side of the Sapphire Mountains' main town area, so there were little to no signs of civilization close by.

All shops or cafés of any kind, if there ever was one, were already closed, given that it was close to midnight and I was thankful that I had dinner on the way before I started my ascent up the mountains or I would have to go hungry all night. But if the wheel tracks around the parking area of the clinic were anything to go by, it was clear that the townspeople of the Sapphire Mountains went by this place often whenever they needed to.

I parked my car and turned it off, heading out of the driver's seat to take my things from the trunk. I did not have many material possessions, so it only took me one trip to get everything through the doors.

Inside, a receptionist was waiting for me. I had told her that I was heading out immediately after receiving word of my new assignment, and she told me that she was willing to wait no matter how long it took me to get to the Sapphire Mountains from my house.

“I live close by anyway,” she had told me over the phone, her voice slightly garbled from the static and shitty reception. “There’s also a cabin available that you can stay at. It would be more convenient for you to just live close by rather than make the three hour drive to and from your home every day.”

I tried not to get too depressed by that information. A fresher environment, I had consoled myself. It would be better for my mental and physical wellbeing if I stayed out of the chaos of my regular, day-to-day for once. Besides, I didn't think I could handle having to bear the brunt of my mother's weighing disappointment toward me. She had been too quick to shun me out in favor of Ravi, after all, and I didn't think I could handle living so close to home while knowing that Ravi and my own cousin were having an affair.

This was for my own good, I kept convincing myself. A blessing in disguise, after what that disgusting chief surgeon did to me. Plus, I did not want to give Dr. Salvador the satisfaction of knowing that I was miserable with the punishment he inflicted upon me after I rejected his unwanted advances.

So I put on a smile and approached the front desk.

The receptionist was a young, kind-looking woman with an even kinder smile. When her lips curved upward, her eyes disappeared. She seemed to have an Asian descent, though I did not know nor want to assume how much. She seemed only a couple years older than me at most, probably in her late twenties.

“Hello there,” she greeted me, too enthusiastically for someone who had to wait hours past their shift ended. “You must be Zoya, yes? I've been expecting you.”

“I'm sorry I took long,” I apologized with an expression that was halfway between a sheepish smile and a wince. “I took, like, a hundred wrong turns, and my car broke down five times. I even nearly crashed into a tree!” A sound that sounded like a strangled laugh escaped my mouth. “You must have been waiting for hours.”

“Oh, don't apologize,” she told me patiently. Even her voice sounded nice. “I'm Camilla Anderson, by the way. You can call me Cam for short.”

“Okay, Cam,” I said with a smile to match her expression. “I'm sure you already know me.”

“Yes I do, love,” she said, her lighting up like a Christmas tree. “Thank you for making the journey here on such short notice.”

I cut her off. “No,” I said, gesturing with my hands, “thank you for staying up at this hour just to receive me.”

Cam shook her head. “As I said, it is no problem at all. In fact, it is my pleasure.” She gestured to the side vaguely with her hand. “As for your accommodation, there is an unused cabin where you can stay. However, it is a bit old and needs a little fixer-upper; I'll have to warn you. We could get it fixed, of course, but since it is already very late into the evening, I'm afraid you're going to have to make do with it for the meantime. We'll get it fixed as soon as we have people available. For now, I apologize but it's the most we can offer you at this hour.”

“Oh, it's quite alright, Cam, thank you,” I told her genuinely. “I am also at fault for coming here so late into the night. I absolutely understand that you don't have the means to fix it yet. You don't have to apologize.”

“Ah, such a lovely woman,” Cam said in a somewhat dreamy tone. “I can already tell that you are a blessing for this clinic. A breath of fresh air.”

I didn't know what to say in response to that so I just gave her a meaningful smile.