The next morning
It’s weekend today and Ariel is supposed to go to the hospital for a medical check-up. Her stomach is slightly protruding, but still not obvious for anyone to know that she’s carrying a baby.
Finished dressing up, she stares at her reflection in the mirror and takes a deep breath as she throws her head back.
‘I am not here to watch you cry, Ariel. Did you ask what I and my husband have been feeding on after you left?’ A drop of tears slid down the corner of her cheek as she takes a deep breath. Here she was, thinking that the woman still have an atom of likeness for her, but turns out that she was mistaken. The only person important in her life is that demon she calls a husband, and no one else. It hurts, but that is the truth.
The sound of the knock on her door pulls her attention, and she glances back to the door as she wonders who must be there. She didn’t get to see Max all day yesterday, maybe because he was with his wife, or she was just the one indoors all day.
Turning to the door, she pulls it open, revealing Max. He’s wearing black short jean trousers and a white singlet which shows his broad chest and perfectly toned abs.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” He asks with a trail of worry and concern in his voice and written on his face.
“Hmm, I’m fine,” She nods her head, but deep inside her, she’s not really fine.
“How’s your health now?” He asks again, but she just nods her head.
“You’re dressed for the hospital, I guess…” He pauses and sighs briefly.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think my driver will be able to drop you off. My wife is going out with him, and I have to go pick my dad up later,” He explains, and she just nods her head sadly.
“If you need anything at the hospital later, you can call me on the phone and let me know, OK?” He further says, and she slowly nods her head.
“Hmm… I’ll be on my way now,” He turns and walks away afterward.
She sighs briefly as she closes the door behind her and crashes against it as tears stream down her cheeks uncontrollably. When will this pain end? Will she ever get to be happy in her life? Maybe not.
The sound of her phone ringing pulls her attention, and she stands up to pick it up from the bed. Seeing the name displayed on the screen, she rolls her eyes. It’s Alex.
Slumping on the bed and ignoring the call until it stops ringing, the phone suddenly beeps and she picks it up. Swiping the unlock button, a message pops on the screen. ‘It’s Saturday today, mind hanging out with me?’ Reading the text from Alex, she scoffs and rolls her eyes sarcastically. She has a lot going on in her mind already, and letting Jeffrey disturb her is the last thing on her mind.
‘Now that I think of it, how come I have never seen Alex here for once if he and Max are really siblings?’ She stops to ask herself confusingly. Maybe hanging out with him and asking him some questions won’t be a bad idea. Besides, she needs to clear her head and spend some time out of this house. Also, she still hasn’t known how that dude got to know her, so she has so many questions to ask.
‘Sure. I’ll be heading to the hospital now for a medical checkup. I’ll text you when I’m about to leave there’ she types in her phone and clicks on the send ‘icon’. Rising to her feet, she picks up her small handbag from the bed and finally strides out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.
Stepping out of the big iron gate moments later, she strides down the road to the main road, where she flags down a cab that takes her to the hospital.
“Here,” She pays the cab man and hurries off to the entrance door of the hospital afterward. Her appointment with the doctor was supposed to be a few minutes earlier, but she’s late now.
“Excuse me, is the doctor in?” She asks the receptionist whose attention was on the paper she was scribbling down something on. The receptionist raises her gaze to look at her.
“Yes, he’s in his office,” The receptionist replies to her.
“Thank you,” She hurries off afterward, heading to the doctor’s office. Stopping in front of the office minutes later, she places a soft knock on it and waits patiently for him to usher her in.
“Come in,” Following the doctor’s permission, she pushes the door open and walks in to see him sitting behind his desk as always.
“Good morning, doc. I’m sorry for coming late. I got stuck in traffic on my way here,” She lies to him. Not that she wanted to, but she just need something to justify her lateness.
“It’s fine, Ariel. It’s a good thing that I’m not too busy today…” He pauses and reclines on the chair.
“How’re you feeling now? Are you feeling pain anywhere?” He asks as he stares at her keenly, scrutinizing her with his eyes.
“No, doc. I’m perfectly fine,” She replies sadly. Of course, she’s not fine. How can she be fine when the man she has grown to love, doesn’t even care about her? How is she supposed to be fine when she knows that she’ll never be more than a breeder to him? She shouldn’t be thinking about this, he’s married and belong to someone else, she knows all of that, but still, she can’t help it. Seeing him care so much about someone else while she’s loving him secretly hurts more than a dagger in the heart. She can’t help but wish that the doctor can cure her broken heart, but too bad that it’s not their job to do that.
“Wow! That’s good to hear. I think I will only check your blood pressure and maybe prescribe some drugs for you to take later on,” He says, standing up to his feet and reaching for the blood pressure gauge lying on the desk.
A few minutes late
“Your blood rose beyond normal. What have you been thinking about lately? Have you been stressing out yourself?” He asks, and she slowly shakes her head. She can’t possibly tell him that she has been having a lot going through her mind, right?
“You should watch your stress then. It’ll hurt the baby if you’re not fine, OK?” He further says, and she nods her head.
After spending a few more minutes with the doctor giving her some prescriptions, she finally steps out after she’s done. Striding down to the exit door, she pulls it open and steps out of the hospital, but she stops on her track as she’s welcomed by Alex, leaning against his car. For some seconds, she takes out her time to admire his perfect look in the black trouser and purple button-down long sleeve that he’s wearing. He’s super hot, just like his brother. It seems like cuteness runs in their blood.
Snapping out of her fantasy, she walks over to him with a confused expression on her face. Was he sick and came for treatment?