Chapter ninety-one (The hospital visitation)
As we drove into the hospital carport, Mr. Owen parked the car, I climbed out, and without much words, I started heading straight to the entrance.
And just like always, everywhere was busy. So I made my way straight to the same receptionist I had seen the previous day.
“Good morning, ma’am, welcome,” she said, smiling down at me. I nodded curtly, eager to get on with it.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.
“I have an appointment with Doctor Jessica,” I stated.
“Okay, wait,” she replied, swiping through the laptop in front of her for a few minutes.
I didn’t know what she was doing but at a point, I grew restless, my toes aching in the high heels I wore.
She paused, dialed a number, and placed the phone to her ear.
“Good morning, ma’am. Please, Mrs. Ashley Albrecht is here to see you,” the receptionist announced.
I sighed, waiting for her response. I watched as she nodded along to whatever Doctor Jessica was saying on the other end of the call. When she hung up, she smiled at me and said, “You can go in, ma’am.”
I nodded, returning her smile, and walked towards Doctor Jessica’s office.
The more I near her office, the more my heart beats hard, reminding me why I am here.
If I said that I am not scared then I will be lying….. I am scared of everything. The innocent fetus developing in my stomach, Damien, and a lot.
I am scared of a lot of things, I don’t want to lose Damien but at the same time, I also don’t want to lose the baby.
Clutching my handbag, I stopped in front of her door and knocked twice. “Come in,” I heard her say, and I entered, dragging in a deep breath to compose myself.
I pushed the door open and walked in.
“Wow, nice to see you again, Ash… How have you been?” Jessica’s face lit up with a warm, genuine smile immediately her gaze fell on me.
But I wasn’t there for pleasantries, there isn’t any reason to be happy. Damien gave me three days and now there are only two days left.
I sighed, looking desperate as I sat down, facing her.
“Jessica, I’m not fine,” I said bluntly, my pain and distress spilling out. “If I were fine, would I be here considering an abortion?” I didn’t bother to hide my emotions.
Looking at me, Jessica let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her chair, her expression turning serious. “I told Damien that the abortion isn’t possible, given your health, but he still insists you terminate the pregnancy.”
I heaved out a deep shaky breath.
“This is a 50/50 chance, Ash, and with your health issues, God forbid, the risk is too great,” she explained.
I understood every word she said, but the problem was that Damien didn’t want the baby. I couldn’t blame him, but he should consider my health.
“Did you explain all this to him?” I asked, and Jessica leaned forward, taking my hands in hers. “Ashley, I did. In fact, I pleaded with him, but I have a question for you,” she said, and I raised my eyebrows, curious.
“Which question?”
“The baby? Why wouldn’t Damien want to keep his baby? I know it’s not my place, but we’ve established a good friendship with you two.”
Hearing her questions, I laughed inwardly. Damien’s baby?
“No. No. Jessica… is not his and that’s the issue.” I whispered in my head. I sighed, my eyes welling up in tears before I quickly pulled my hands away from hers, trying to compose myself.
“It’s complicated, Jessica. It’s a family matter,” I said dismissively, trying to brush off the topic.
Jessica nodded understandingly, leaning back in her chair, sensing that I wasn’t ready to discuss it further. “But don’t be angry,” she suddenly said, her voice apologetic. “I’m just confused, so I told my fiance, Sebastian.”
WHAT!
Her words left me stunned and shocked….. I didn’t even know the right word but all I knew was that I felt numb for a few minutes as I tried to process what she just said.
” You did what…!!”
“Calm down, I was confused,” Jessica said, trying to reason with me. “A child… I mean, it’s supposed to be a blessing, a thing of joy. But here you both are, wanting to terminate it.” She sputtered, clearly flustered, which only annoyed me more.
And before I knew it, I slammed my palms on the desk, making her flinch back in her seat.
“Patient confidentiality, Jessica! You’re supposed to keep my issues private,” I reprimanded, shaking my head in disappointment.
How could she betray my trust like this? This was a child whose fate I was still uncertain about, and now she wanted to expose my secret to the entire Albrecht family?
If they ask now why the abortion, what should I tell them? That it wasn’t Damien’s child, but a child from a traumatic night that I still want to keep?
My head was spinning with questions, and Jessica’s apology felt like a drop of water on a rock
I wanted to snap at her, scream or maybe shout till I lost my voice, but just then a sudden knock at the door broke the silence and snapped me out of my jumbled thoughts.
The door was pushed open before I could respond. I turned my head, and my gaze fell on him.
“Sebastian…” Jessica stammered, nervously glancing at me and then back at him.
I saw him smile at me, but I remained silent, unsure what to say. Sighing, he sensed the tension in the air and slowly walked towards me.
“Sister-in-law,” he whispered, but I still ignored him.
“Ash, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to tell him,” Jessica continued, but I quickly brushed her off. “But you did,” I snarled.
“Ash,” Jessica pleaded.
I heard Sebastian call out from behind “Sister-in-law.”
I took a deep breath, and turned to Jessica. “You said the baby and I had a slim chance of surviving the abortion. Please, try to reason with Damien more.”
With that said, I didn’t wait to hear any more things from them and I immediately walked away from her office.
My heart is racing faster, I feel so scared and ashamed at the same time.
Not now that things are starting to go well between Me and Damien, another drama sets in.
He told me clearly that he doesn’t want the child. I can see the seriousness in his face last night and that was enough to prove to me that he sure doesn’t want it.
What should I do? Honestly, I didn’t want to lose him.
I didn’t realize I was crying until someone offered me a handkerchief. Sniffling, I looked up to see a concerned Sebastian.
“Sebastian,” I mumbled, my voice shaking.
“Can we talk?” He asked, before turning to glance through the hospital window.
He saw my driver leaning against the car, waiting for me. I knew I had to keep Sebastian’s presence a secret; if they saw him with me, they’d tell Damien, and I knew what that would mean.
More like he understood my fear, Sebastian turned back to face me. “Maybe we should talk somewhere private,” he suggested.
After a few minutes of contemplation, I sighed and nodded at him. ” Fine,” I mumbled. I know it is about the baby, and I think it is high time I also open up to someone.
At least I am sure, Sebastian won’t judge me or place the blame on me like others did.