NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: Pregnant!
The moment Bella heard the door finally closed, all the toughness she had displayed in front of John Turner suddenly vanished.
Her shoulders dropped. Tears began flowing down her cheeks. She cries in silence, pouring her sadness while making a vow in her heart that she will never forget and forgive Tristan Sinclair for what he did to her now.
After crying for a while, Bella felt her eyes sting because there were no more tears to flow.
Now, she only wants to go somewhere to sleep. Perhaps, after her long sleep, she might forget everything.
Bella slowly rises from her seat but feels her head spinning, and her gaze turns dark. With difficulty, she forced herself to leave the VIP room.
When Bella arrived at the main entrance, she couldn't help but smile bitterly as she looked at the sky. The sky seemed to share the same feeling as her heart, dark with rumbling thunder.
She didn't see anyone walking outside, nor any taxis parked in front of the building, as if they had avoided the heavy rain about to hit the city.
Under the gloomy dark sky, Bella walked along the pedestrian path by the dim light of street lights. She didn't care when others looked at her strangely—as if observing a woman wandering around in the rain, her hair and dress getting wet.
The sound of the wind made her ears numb, and the cold air began to pierce her pores. Bella's steps quickened despite not knowing where to go.
She just wanted to walk along the pedestrian paths and beg the rain to erase the traces of Tristan and his damn family from her mind.
Amidst her chaotic thoughts, Bella began to think about her future. Should she return to her family? This question lingered in her mind, but the thought of her parents scolding her as usual because she wasn't pregnant dismissed the idea.
She couldn't go back there. She will feel more hurt if she returns to her parent's house.
After numerous steps and minutes, Bella finally stopped at an intersection, and her mind started to feel blank as if a dark fog enveloped her thoughts.
A faint smile appeared when she saw a red light.
'Walk!!' Bella whispered under her breath. She closed her eyes and took a few steps forward, but her weak knee gave in.
Before her head hit the wet asphalt, her eyes slowly opened. She saw the light approaching and suddenly stopped not far from her.
'Why did you stop!?' Bella muttered before darkness consumed her.
****
Upon opening her eyes, Bella saw a middle-aged man in a white doctor's robe standing beside her bed. She noticed the Promise Hospital logo on his robe.
'Why am I in the hospital?'
Bella looked around and was shocked to realize she was in the emergency room. Many hospital beds were lined up near hers, but only a few were occupied. She also noticed several nurses and doctors checking on the other patients passing her bed.
She couldn't recall what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered she was walking in the rain.
Curious, Bella turned her gaze to the Doctor, "Doctor, why am I here? What happened to me?" There was a trace of worry in her tone.
"Ms. Donovan, you are finally awake," the Doctor greeted her gently. Two nurses standing beside him also smiled at her.
Bella faintly smiled at them. She started to recall what happened before walking in the rain; she had left Platinum Restaurant after meeting John Turner, Tristan's lawyer.
'Tristan!'
Just thinking about him was enough to reopen the wound in her heart. The pain that had faded away amid the heavy rain started tormenting her again.
'I'm a divorced woman! The man I love divorced me just because I can't give him a child. How dare he—' Suddenly, Bella felt suffocated, remembering what had happened in the restaurant.
Her chest felt heavy, and her breathing became short. Slowly, she raised her hand to rub her chest to relieve the tightness while diverting her thoughts, but the more she tried, the more evident Tristan's image appeared.
As she struggled to breathe, she noticed the Doctor swiftly instructing the nurse to administer oxygen to help her breathe normally. She stopped them.
"D-Doctor, no need. I'm... Fine!" Bella said in a breathless voice. She felt suffocated, not because something had happened to her chest, but because she remembered the pain Tristan had caused her.
It was still hard for Bella to believe her status changed quickly. In the morning, she was married; in the evening, she divorced. The pain and disappointment she felt lingered.
How could she explain this to others, especially her family? Just thinking about it made her chest hurt even more.
"D-Doctor, I'm really fine. There's no need to put that thing," Bella tried to smile, even though it seemed forced.
"Are you sure, Ms. Donovan?" The Doctor asked while checking her condition.
"Yes, Doc. I'm fine…" She tried to reassure the Doctor she was okay. However, before she could sit properly, she felt her surroundings spinning.
Unable to resist the dizziness, she closed her eyes tightly and lay back on the bed.
"D-Doc, why... why... Do I feel like my surroundings are spinning?" Bella stammered.
"Ms. Donovan, you woke up too fast. Try taking a deep breath and slowly reopen your eyes. Don't get up too fast; take it slow, and you'll be fine."
Bella followed the Doctor's instructions. Surprisingly, she was able to sit on the edge of the bed without feeling her surroundings spinning. She felt fine.
"Are you feeling better now, Ms. Donovan?"
Bella smiled at the Doctor and nodded.
"Excellent, Ms. Donovan. Do you remember what happened to you?" The Doctor asked again.
She shook her head. "No, Doctor. Why am I here?"
"Ms. Donovan, you fainted when you got here. However, after we checked your condition, you were fine. You are only tired, and your body cannot withstand the cold because it has been exposed to rain for so long—" The Doctor explained.
Bella was surprised to know she had lost consciousness in the rain. However, a second later, she felt her blood running cold.
'Oh my God, Bella! What are you thinking about? Why do you have such intentions!??' Bella scolded herself, remembering that, at that time, she had thought about ending her life.
How could she even think about it? It was not her style to have such a shallow mind. She felt like her soul was being possessed.
How stupid!
...
"Ms. Donovan, if you want to play in the rain next time, I suggest you do that in short..." The Doctor playfully teased her.
Bella couldn't help but smile, though she still felt mad at herself, silently, in her heart.
"Doc, may I know who brought me here?" Bella asked. Her curiosity is evident.
A short-haired nurse answered, "A young man. Sorry, ma'am, I don't know his identity, but he is the one who registered your identity at the administration."
Bella frowned.
"Is he still around? Can you call him? I need to thank him." She was curious about who admitted her to this emergency room, worried that the person might know Tristan. She didn't want Tristan or the Sinclair family to know she was in this place.
"He has left the hospital. He only left you a note. But, sorry, ma'am, my head nurse is not here; she is the one who keeps that note," the nurse said, checking her watch.
"She probably return in about thirty minutes." The nurse continue.
"Thank you. It's okay, I will wait," Bella said. Then she looked at the Doctor. "Doctor, can I go home? I feel so much better."
She wanted to go home immediately and move her things out of her house.
The Doctor didn't answer her but glanced at the nurse beside him as if he had given them instructions.
"Ms. Donovan, yes, you can. But I suggest you call your husband to pick you up. It's not safe for you to go home alone. This is almost midnight."
Hearing the Doctor ask her to call her husband, Bella felt her heart hurt again. But his last words surprised her. Glancing at the wall clock, she was startled to realize it was past eleven o'clock.
Bella silently took a deep breath while trying to find her bag. She needed to check her cell phone to call Aunt Noora, her childhood nanny.
Before Bella could ask for her bag, the Doctor said, "Ms. Donovan, congratulations."
Bella was confused. Why this Doctor congratulated her!?
"Doctor, what for?"
"You are pregnant, Ms. Donovan—"
Bella felt like she had been struck by lightning. She could feel all her blood rushing to her heart, quickening her pulse, too shocked by what she had heard.
"Pre-pregnant!?"