Kairos reassures Bella that her mother is safe and being protected by his men to prevent any harm. Bella feels relieved and grateful for Kairos’s help. She asks if she can contact her mother immediately.
“Of course, Bella. I never restrict or forbid you from contacting your mother. You can even meet her if you want. I can escort you and accompany you. Or do you want me to bring your mother here?”
Bella shakes her head, declining Kairos’s offer. Even though Kairos is serious about his offer, Bella feels pity seeing her visibly worried and fearful. Perhaps meeting her mother directly could ease her worries.
“No… it’s not necessary, Kairos. I can’t meet my mother directly.”
Kairos furrows his brows, confused.
“Why not?”
Bella takes a moment to inhale deeply before answering his question to satisfy Kairos’s curiosity.
“My mother would be shocked or maybe hurt if she sees me pregnant like this. She thinks I’m working far away, so it’s not possible to meet directly.”
Kairos nods understandingly. In this situation, he leaves it up to Bella to decide what she wants to do.
“So, do you want to contact your mother?”
Bella nods.
“I want to make sure of her condition.”
“And how long are you going to keep hiding your pregnancy?”
Bella looks uncertain. She’s also puzzled about when she should tell her mother everything that’s happening. Bella worries her mother might be shocked, concerned, angry, and sad knowing that she’s doing this for the sake of her mother’s dialysis treatment fees.
“I don’t know. I know I should tell her soon. But for now, let my mother not know anything. When the time is right, I’ll tell her immediately.”
“Alright then. It’s your decision. You can contact her now. I’ll leave you to talk, I’ll go out first.”
Bella nods. Just as Kairos opens the door, she calls out to him, causing him to turn immediately.
“Kairos.”
“What’s up? Do you need any more help?”
Bella shakes her head.
“No. I just want to thank you for all the help and kindness you’ve shown me. By God, one day I will repay all your kindness.”
“No need to feel obliged, Bella. I’m doing all this solely because I want to help you.”
“But…” Bella interrupts Kairos’s speech. “Can I make one more request? Just this once.”
“Sure,” Kairos nods assuredly.
“Please never tell Edward that I’m here. I’ve decided from now on, I will never have any relationship or dealings with him again.”
Kairos agrees with a nod. Even without Bella’s request, he has no interest in telling his friend.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let Edward find out about your whereabouts. Besides, that fool needs to be taught a lesson too.”
Then Kairos decides to leave the room. Meanwhile, Bella takes the opportunity to contact her mother.
“Mom.”
“For God’s sake, Bella. Mom misses you.”
As soon as her call is answered, Jessica immediately expresses her longing. There’s a mix of joy and sadness because after so long without meeting or talking, Bella finally contacts her.
“I miss you too, Mom. Very much.”
“You’re lying,” Jessica scoffs. From her tone, she seems annoyed. “If you miss me, why did you just contact me now? At the beginning of your job, you promised to visit or make phone calls often. But you didn’t do any of that at all, Bella. Mom is sad because she misses you so much. Afraid that something bad will happen to you there.”
“Forgive me, Mom,” Bella tries to calm her mother who is clearly worried. “My work schedule has been very busy these past few months. And only now do I have time to contact you.”
Bella is obviously lying. Julia is the mastermind behind her difficulty in contacting her mother. All this time, Julia has forbidden Bella from contacting her mother, let alone daring to visit her.
“Alright then. It’s okay,” Jessica responds. “The important thing is that you’re healthy there, right?”
“Of course. How about your condition, Mom?” Bella deliberately asks, wanting to confirm her mother’s condition herself.
“I’m fine as usual. Healthy and well. Luckily Renata is very diligent in visiting and bringing lots of food. Unlike you! Tomorrow, Mom intends to adopt Renata as her own daughter.”
“Mom!” Bella exclaims. “I’m jealous.”
“It’s your own fault. But, Bella… are you really okay there?”
“I’m fine, Mom. No need to worry.”
“Thank God for that.”
Jessica and Bella talk for a long time, pouring out their longing. It seems they are reluctant to end the call.
“Just make sure Mom never forgets to take her medicine.”
“No need to remind me, Bella. Mom knows what Mom needs to do.”
“Alright then. Mom, I have some work to finish. I promise I’ll contact you more often after this.”
“Be careful not to lie.”
“Don’t worry.”
Bella ends her phone call. The important thing now is that she feels relieved because her mother’s condition is fine, just as Kairos said.
***
After her condition improves significantly, Edward decides to take Julia home. Throughout the journey, Edward remains silent. He ponders deeply about the doctor’s revelation that Julia is pregnant.
On one hand, Edward feels happy. Perhaps this pregnancy is a sign of Julia’s seriousness in maintaining their relationship that they’ve built for so long.
However, on the other hand, he’s in a dilemma because he realizes that Julia’s pregnancy will make it even more difficult for him to let go of her and return to Bella.
“Why have you been silent, Edward? Did something bad happen to me?”
When they arrive home, Julia immediately asks, seeking clarification from Edward about what really happened.
“Since we were at the hospital, you didn’t tell me about my condition. But I can conclude that I fainted from exhaustion.”
Edward just nods. He carries Julia from the car into the house. Upon reaching the bedroom, he carefully lays her on the bed.
“What really happened? Why don’t you want to tell me?”
“The doctor said you’re pregnant, Julia.”
Julia’s eyes widen. She’s shocked to learn about her pregnancy.
“I-I’m pregnant?”
Edward nods. He reaches for Julia’s wrist and holds it tightly.
“You’re pregnant, Julia. Is this a sign from God that we shouldn’t separate?”
Julia is silent for a moment. Then, she nods repeatedly.
“Yes, Darling. I’ve told you, I love you. It seems like God intentionally made me pregnant as a replacement for the child taken away by Bella. Now, you don’t have to worry. You will have a baby from my womb.”
Edward nods. Then, he gives Julia a tight hug. After thinking about it, he may want to separate with all his might, but apparently, God doesn’t allow it. The proof is that when their marriage was almost falling apart, God entrusted a baby directly to Julia’s womb to improve their relationship.
“In that case, you can rest first. Let me clean up and change clothes first.”
Julia nodded. As soon as Edward went to the bathroom, she tousled her hair carelessly. She felt like screaming in frustration upon realizing that she was suddenly pregnant.
Then, Julia felt dizzy. Trying to remember, whose seed made her end up pregnant like this?
“Is this really Edward’s baby? Or could it be Santiago’s?”
Julia muttered to herself. Trying to recall who had been so intensely with her in bed a few weeks ago.
“Last month, I could count on one hand the nights I spent making love with Edward. As for Santiago? Ah, it was only a few days ago that we had intense relations. Or could this baby be Aaron’s?”
Julia shook her head. She would go crazy if it turned out that the baby in her belly was the result of her relationship with Aaron.
So confused, Julia got dizzy. At the same time, her phone rang and it was Santiago contacting her.
“Yeah, Daddy. What’s up?”
“Day after tomorrow, I’m heading to London. Can we meet? I miss being satisfied by you.”