Chapter Five

For a minute, I felt my heart stop. This one statement from the doctor was all that was needed to wreck the happiness that I’d been trying to build for myself these past few weeks.

I clenched my fists as they shivered intensely from the shocking news I’d just received.

Doctor Derrick stared at me with a look of empathy on his face. He seemed to be so patient, letting me process whatever feeling it was that overwhelmed me.

I threw my hands on his work desk and placed my head between them, sobbing silently. My heart was aching terribly and I wasn’t coping well.

That man accused me of cheating on him and presented concrete evidence which was still a surprise to me till date, but my tripartite being knew that I’d never been intimate with anyone else aside him.

The idea that I was carrying Drew’s child made my stomach stir with disgust. Silly me thought I was done with him and would never have anything to do with him anymore. I had in fact delivered him to satan, alongside my ex-best friend.

I felt a warm touch on the back of my palm and I looked up at the doctor who was already holding me. “It’ll be alright, Miss”, he whispered to me and i bursted into a loud sharp cry, my voice hitting every corner of the room as if I was being thrusted on the side with an arrow.

“No Doc, it’s not ever going to be. I wish you could go into my heart and feel the pain and agony in it. I have been in so much trouble in the past month, my fiancé accused me of cheating and abandoned me at the altar, he went on with my best friend, and I had to move out of the city I’d known all my life, as a means of escape and now this! I will never be able to recover from all these woes man!” I thundered to the innocent looking doctor who sat watching me quietly.

“Wait! I’m sorry if this comes off as insensitivity or an intrusion of your privacy. “Whose pregnancy is it?” Doctor Derrick asked me, scanning my lips for a reply that would calm his anxious mind. It’s my ex’s sir! My ex! I fired back, in a shaky tone that depicted that fear had overridden me.

“Oh my goodness! I feel so sorry for you and I hope you can get a hang of this”. Would you try reaching out? He might want the baby.” He said in a calm tone.

“Unfortunately, he wants nothing to do with me anymore. He was the one who betrayed my trust but he went ahead to block off my number and my social media accounts. If I wanted to reach out, there'd be no means for that”. I was done speaking and i had no more strength left in me.

Doctor Derrick slanted his head slightly sideways as he reached out for something that looked like a card. “Here is my contact card, you could reach me through it, incase of any emergencies or distress. I really want you to sit and properly reevaluate the situation and the risks involved should you decide to terminate the pregnancy.” He said and paused to study my facial expression as if to be sure he was doing the right thing, and then he continued.

“In all, do not harm yourself or do anything silly ma’am. Asides being two months pregnant, you are a human who needs all the care and love and I hope you pay attention to your needs and desires in this journey of motherhood on which you embark. In the end, you're all you truly have, so do take care of yourself and be careful,” he replied.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I lifted myself off the chair on which I'd been sitting. “The world is such a good place because people like you exist in it; thank you for your kindness to me. I hope you have a nice day!” I said to him, signaling him a wave as I made my way through the door I'd walked in through.

Alright, miss! He responded in a soothing tone, as he let out a faint smile, one that seemed like a good luck wish.

My feet silently led me down the hospital ward, the soft beeps of machines and conversations between the health practitioners and their patients fading into the background.

My sight focused on the dull grey linoleum beneath me, and my eyes, counting each step I took as I approached the exit door which seemed like my doom.

As I walked, the weight of my handbag seemed to grow heavier, and the information of my newly revealed pregnancy settled deep inside me like a burden, nudging me into reality.

My mind replayed the ultrasound images, the tiny heartbeats of my little conceived one and the undeniable terrific truth.

For once, I wished I was actually a whore like Drew and his family had painted me. I desired that I’d laid down with someone else besides Drew, maybe my irritation and pain would not have been too much, knowing that I wasn’t mothering his offspring.

My thoughts swirled with memories of our blossoming relationship, the painful rejection, the experience of betrayal and the lingering emotions that I’d knowingly swept under the carpet in a bid to find my healing.

The hospital’s sterile air was getting deep in my nostrils and suffocating me such that I had to hasten my steps out of the hospital’s confinement to breathe in fresh air.

I stretched out my feeble hands and pushed through the automatic door and the sun graced me with its beautiful shine, which was a jarring contrast to the gloomy atmosphere I’d just left behind me at the hospital.

I squinted my eyes in a bid to blend with this new atmosphere I was in. In my mind was a raging war ongoing. My work needed my attention but I wasn’t even in the right frame of mind for it; I also contemplated disclosing the news to my aunt, Brittany, my brother Liam who lived in the United States and my twin sisters Nelly and Kelly.

Growing up, Liam was my favorite sibling and now that we’re apart, I miss him everyday. If only he was around, I would probably not feel so stuffed up. My twin sisters were also loved by me, but for some reasons, they were both never in support of my relationship and wedding with Drew, and something about his dad Peter, made them cringe.

And as if the universe knew what I was in for, they both were heavily pregnant and having bed rest at the hospital, a few days before my wedding even though they’d previously planned to travel down to grace the occasion.

Taking my mind back to Liam, I wondered how I was going to pick up my phone to tell him I was pregnant by my ex fiancé’, the same one he’d told me to steer clear of after the wedding.

He was such a workaholic and couldn’t make it in time for my wedding because the event was impromptu but he promised to organize a get together for the whole family afterwards. But after the tragic news hit, my aunt let him in on it and I can’t say exactly how much he hates Drew now, probably enough to eliminate him.

My aunt on the other hand was as chill as ever. She seldom judged or blamed me for any mishap, except she was trying to instill a lesson in me. She was the best person to call first, my brother and my twin sisters could get the news later.

She was such a busy fellow and I did not want to be graced by her absence so I picked up my phone and scrolled down to her number for a call.

“Hi, Aunty, how are you doing today?” I asked her from my end, trying to feign a little happiness so that she doesn’t suspect that something might be wrong. I really hated to bother her.

“Darling, I’m doing just fine. How’s work at the pastry shop? I trust your culinary skills so well you know”, she responded, giggling a bit after the last statement.

“Well, it’s doing its thing and I’m eternally grateful for your support,” I said and she heaved a sigh of approval over the phone. “Anyways, I’m calling to know if you’ll be home by the end of today. I would like to come spend a day or two at yours for some mama and daughter time”, I inquired, pacing around the car park where I’d been walking towards.

“I will be so delighted to have you daughter, and would as well make you something delicious for dinner,” she said joyfully and my heart was gladdened, except that there was still full blown sadness seated on the inside.

“I will see you later. Love you always mama,” I said in a tone that depicted that I was about to end the call.

“Love you a bunch honey”, she responded almost immediately and I put an end to the call.

“The Shop route it is,” I whispered to myself as I stepped a little further from the hospital entrance fully decorated with beautiful flowers, to the pedestrian walkway from which I would get a ride back to the shop.