Chapter 90
Ariel
The rays from the bright incandescent bulbs fixed on both sides of the room jolted me from my sleep. At least, I wasn’t feeling exhausted anymore and my vision wasn’t blurry.
Forgetting that a cannula was fixed to the vein on the back of my palm, I sat up abruptly and passed a paranoid glance around and realized I wasn’t in my room. This wasn’t even the queen-sized, plush bed I enjoyed sleeping on every night.
It wasn’t that the bed wasn’t comfortable. I mean it was bigger than the size of most beds in each ward, and maybe a little birdie might have told the nurses whose wife I was, but I wasn’t just comfortable being here.
Then my mind flashed back to the reason I was here and Liora who was earlier staring at the window, spared me a glance and came to me with a huge smile plastered on her face.
“Mommy, you’re awake. I’ll go call, Dad,”
I grabbed her arm in shock before she could take another move. “Your father is here?”
She nodded with a sweet smile. “I called him on our way to the hospital. You scared me, Mom, we should have stayed back if you weren’t feeling too well,”
“I’m so sorry, darling. I just wanted to make you happy,” I replied, staring at her with so much love spreading in my chest for her.
How could she be this young, yet, thoughtful and kind? I bet she’ll do well anytime Dmitri allows her to mingle with others and go to college.
“Eating some cakes isn’t as important as your health, Mom,”
My heart felt like it was about to combust with several emotions spiraling in it. “Come here, sweetheart,” I sniffed as tears gathered in my eyes and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead.
It was at that moment Dmitri chose to come in. My eyes swept through his full outline and the stain on his white dress shirt didn’t escape me.
He looked so hot in his shirt which was buttoned down to the middle, revealing his smooth and toned chest. Then he had to roll his sleeves to his mid-forearm.
‘Oh, heavens,’ I whispered inside of me.
I bit my lower lip without knowing and looked away, my face red in embarrassment.
The tension in the room was nerve-wracking and my heart kept beating at an unusual rate. One part of me wanted to jump on him and tell him how much I missed him, the other part was more hesitant and kept reminding me of how he treated me.
So I held back and leaned against the rail, staring absentmindedly at the acoustic ceiling.
“Liora, can you go outside and join Irina for a while? Your mom and I have something important to talk about,”
“Oh, she’s here?”
“Yes,” He replied and led her out of the ward.
I played with my fingernails and fortunately, a nurse came in and removed the cannula from my wrist. She gently cleaned the drop of blood that spilled out when she removed the syringe and told me that I’d be getting some drugs before I returned home.
Dmitri strolled in afterward and the nurse halted on her steps, shamelessly eye-raping him. My blood boiled with jealousy and I urged to pull out her hair for gaping at him that way.
“You should leave if you’re done with your job,” He barked at her, his expression void of any softness or interest in her.
She glared at me and hurriedly exited the ward with her head bowed in shame.
He pulled the chair that Liora was previously seated on closer to himself and settled on it, reaching for my hand which I pushed away, my rear side facing him.
“How do you feel?”
“Numb.” Unable to suppress the explosive feelings that were spiraling out of control within me, I turned around to face him. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I yelled, surprised at myself for using the F word.
I barely cussed, but if he was going to keep being unstable with his behavior, then I wouldn’t hesitate to ask for a divorce or a separation.
“Ariel-”
I raised my hand to cut him off. “I don’t want to hear my name from your lips, Dmitri. Why are you so unstable? Why do you treat me worse than you treat your mistress?” My body trembled from the intensity of the anger building up inside of me.
“I never knew I did,” His countenance became sullen.
“Oh, but you did. Who the fuck tells their wife that he loves her and disappears? Am I not worthy of being loved? Am I that despicable?” I yelled at the top of my voice.
Luckily, the ward was soundproof so my screams wouldn’t affect the other patients.
“Ariel you have to stop shouting for now, you are pregnant!” He announced.
“Why do I have to stop…” I peered at my stomach and back to him. “Pregnant? What did you just say?”
My insides heated up and suddenly, I wanted to get rid of everything I was wearing. How could I be pregnant for this man? We hadn’t even had sex up six times if I could remember.
The situation looked so unbelievable and funny I burst into a peal of hysterical laughter. “You’re… You’re joking right?” I questioned amidst my laughter.
“I’ve got a test result to prove it,” He dug into his pocket and produced a piece of paper which he gave to me.
I snatched it from him and scanned through the letters, a knot tightening in my stomach. My heart clenched as I slowly accepted my harsh and scary reality.
Guilia and I were carrying our babies and we couldn’t even be together.
“I can’t believe this,”
“You have to,” He replied calmly and sprung to his feet. “You have to believe it because you’re carrying my child inside of you. Don’t you want it?”
I palmed my face, shaking my head. “I don’t even know if I want to be pregnant right now,”
It was the truth. I hadn’t even envisaged carrying another tiny being inside of me and having all those silly cravings and body changes.
My pretty nose would double in size and my stomach wouldn’t be so flat anymore. I’d waddle like a duck once it was time for the baby to come and I’d become less attractive because my body would gather up baby fat.
The realization of what would take place in the few months to come was terrifying so I wasn’t lying when I gave him that reply.
“I love you, Ariel Mikhailov,” Those were the last words I expected to hear from him.
The hair on my skin stood on end as I gaped at him, batting my lashes incessantly in surprise. “What?”
“I love you with so much intensity, it’s maddening,” He declared and joined me on the bed.
“Then why did you act so coldly toward me? Did you know how depressed I was all these while? I tried to reach out to you, but you shut me off. You leave the house before I wake up and return when I’m already in deep sleep. My calls were never returned neither were my messages read. Now you tell me that you love me because I’m pregnant? You’re a big joker, Dmitri,” I scoffed.
He sighed deeply and dropped to his knees. “I’m not confessing my feelings because you are pregnant, Ariel, far from it. When it slipped out of my mouth that evening, I felt ashamed for telling you what I’ve always wanted to tell you so casually so I backed away. Even if you weren’t pregnant, I’d have said it again. I was just waiting for the right time and now, this event has brought me back to my senses. I’m so sorry for hurting you, Peach,”
Sincerity shone in his eyes, melting away the anger and bitterness that had formed a glacier in my chest.
“I don’t know what to say. Please, stand up,” I urged him, feeling uncomfortable seeing him in such a humbling position.
He obliged me and his hands roved around my flat stomach. “You don’t have to say anything,”
Of course, I had something to say, but allowing the words to leave my mouth seemed like a Herculean task.
“Well, my forgiveness ain’t for free, so if you want us to leave happily in peace again, you’d have to cook for me every day before you head to work,”
He tilted his head to the side, his dark orbs widening. “Huh?”
“Breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you slack, I’ll find a very handsome chef to do the job for you-”
His expression darkened and I could tell that he was plotting to kill any man that came close to me.
“You don’t have to do that or else peoples’ blood are gonna flow. Cooking for you is an honor, beautiful, and I’ll gladly do it all day long,”
I threw my arms around him, nuzzling my lips against his neck and then I whispered. “I love you, Dmitri,”