The last thing she remembered was feeling extremely exhausted, she was trying to catch her breath and her head felt light. Her vision started to blur and slowly everything turned black.
It felt like a deep sleep with fragments of consciousness struggling to figure out that there was something wrong. It took some time to grasp her surroundings when she came to until she can fully understand what happened. She fainted and then she woke up in a hospital bed with an IV stuck in her arm.
The nurse was checking up on her when she opened her eyes, “Oh … you’re awake … you’re in a hospital … try and relax, you’re alright, the doctor will be with you shortly,” her voice was calming and her cold touch was soothing her skin.
All her muscles felt dormant, like they were too tired to function. Her body was heavy on the bed, she could hardly move. The doctor came in soon after to let her know she was okay.
“Just a bit dehydrated from being under the sun too long with an empty stomach,” he said.
She remembered she hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before.
“You need to take better care of yourself in your condition,” he added.
But the pregnancy was the main reason why she had lost her appetite in the first place. She nodded.
“We’ve added some vitamins in your prescription for daily consumption, we’re not prescribing any drugs because you don’t need them … you just need a lot of rest, eat well, star hydrated at all cost … your blood pressure was very low, I suggest you stay here for the night and if everything goes well you can go home tomorrow,” his smile was reassuring.
The door was opened and he stepped inside.
The doctor turned to look, “I think I will leave you to rest now, just press the button if you need the nurse’s assistance.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“You’re welcome.”
After he went out, Gabriel locked the door behind him. He was far from his demeanor the last time she saw him. He was back in his cold and distant manner as he approached the bed.
She never knew what to expect when he was silent and staring at her emotionless. He sat on the edge of the bed. He took her hand and put it between his palms.
“When were you going to tell me?” His voice was calm and low.
She knew what he was asking, she swallowed hard.
“Eight weeks in … I had them checked … that was the day we met, I counted …”
Silence.
“It’s mine, isn’t it?” he didn’t need her answer.
She took her hand back. She didn’t know how he was taking the news. She still couldn’t decipher him.
“What are you going to do, Jamie?”
It must be a trick question, she must pick her words carefully.
“I haven’t decided,” she told the truth instead.
He didn’t blink, not even a twitch, nothing, he was ice cold.
“You’re carrying my child … I don’t think it’s solely your decision.”
The way he said it, ‘my child’ gave her the shivers. For a man like him, ‘a child’ means an heir, an illegitimate child is a liability. Her heart raced. “What makes you so sure it’s yours?”
His eyes darkened. She soon realized she had awoken the beast inside him.
“Is that how you want to play this out? You said you hadn’t had another man on your bed since that night, were you lying to me?”
He hated it when someone lied to him, she remembered him saying that. She covered her face with both hands, “No … I wasn’t … but we used protection …”
“Not the second time,” he cut her off.
Right. They did it twice. How could she ever forget.
“How long have you known this? Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
She didn’t answer.
“What were you planning to do, Jamie?” his tone was suspicious, she felt like she was caught.
It was a total 180 from last night when they made love. They were back at square one. He took a thousand steps back and it felt more like an interrogation than a casual conversation.
“I wasn’t planning anything, I told you, I haven’t decided anything that’s why I haven’t told you.”
“Are you sure you weren’t going to use it against me?” his paranoia kicked in.
“What? You actually think I’m going to use the baby against you?”
“What were you saying to Eddie yesterday? Does he know about this?”
“No! I haven’t told anyone about this except … Perry.”
“Perry? No one can know about this, Jamie, not until you are legally divorced, I don’t want some guy claiming my baby, or using it for an extortion … how could you be so careless?”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “I found out that I was going to bring a child into the world out of wedlock, Gabriel, and I was going to raise it on my own … so I told my best friend about it, your reputation was not on the top of my head … it still isn’t!”
“You could’ve told me first, I am the father of the baby and you don’t have to do it on your own, you don’t have to do it out of wedlock.”
She stared at him bewildered, “What are you saying?”
“We have to get your divorce finalized and then we get married … we’ll raise the baby together … as we should,” he explained calmly.
“What? Getting married? We hardly even know each other, Gabriel, I’m still trying to get out of the last marriage I thought have ended four years ago … we can’t get married just because …”
“Because what? There’s a child involved? That’s exactly what we should do … I want my child to have the life he or she deserves … with a mother and a father,” Gabriel persisted.
“Just because we decided to have sex one night and forgot to use protection … it doesn’t mean we have to pledge ourselves to be together forever.”
“What is your alternative plan then? Would you care to entertain me?”
She inhaled deeply, “I wildd have the baby and raise it on my own with Perry … we can share custody of it if you’re willing to be involved.”
Gabriel paced up and down the room. It was the first time she ever saw him distraught.
“That’s not gonna work for me, that child has to be legitimately mine … it has to … it’s either we get married or I will have to take legal actions to claim it … your choice, Jamie.”
And there it was, the thing she hated the most about his kind. Everything had to do with his wealth, his businesses, and power. Everything has to go their way even if it means they have to step on other people’s toes, even if it means they have to take repressive measures. Nobody was more important than their ego.
Jamie fell silent, this man was threatening to take her baby from her.
“No, Gabriel … this is my body … this is my baby … and this is my life … you don’t get to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do with it just because you happened to produce the sperm!” She was angry at all the men who tried to do the same thing and Gabriel was there to represent them all.
He shook his head, “You are unbelievable.”
He hung his hands on his waist, “I’m taking a DNA test on the baby … if you refuse, I will get a court order for it … you can do this the easy way or the hard way, Jamie … either way … the baby is mine.”