Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Everything hurt.
Every time | regained some semblance of consciousness, the throbbing began until it turned in to a pounding within my head. | tried to force my eyes open but to no avail. | knew i was in the hospital by the smell and the incessant beeping from a monitor.
| wanted to look around and demand to know if my unborn baby was okay but no effort of mine was significant and before | could try again, | felt a needle p rick the inside of my arm before | fell back in to a deep sleep.
Hours, days, perhaps weeks may have gone by but | couldn’t tell. When | woke up this time, my eyelids opened with great ease allowing me to look at the white walls of the hospital room | had been held in. The fluorescent lighting struck my eye but | blinked a few times until my orbs adjusted to the light.
| did a quick scan of my surroundings. The ward | was in had been a private one seeing as my bed was the only one in here. The monotone coloured curtains were pulled apart giving me a view of stormy grey sky above the bustling city below.
Just then the door opened and emerged a nurse who looked surprised yet relieved to see me awake.
“Morning, Mrs. Crawford.” She greeted me with a warm smile as she reached over to check a folder that | could only assume held all of my information.
| offered her a nod in response not feeling like my voice was going to cooperate with me. She did a few checks on the monitor then nodded in approval to herself before closing the folder and looking at me.
“Is my baby okay? Please, | need to know if everything is fine after what happened.” The words tumbled out of my mouth and sounded foreign, almost high pitched, in my urgency.
“You've lost a lot of blood, Mrs Crawford.” | clenched my jaw hating that she kept addressing me by Dante’s name.
| narrowed my eyes at her hating that she didn’t out right answer my question. “Is. My. Baby. Okay?” | uttered each word slowly but with a primal instinct ready to wreak havoc on Pheobe should anything have happened to my baby.
“You need to remain calm. Everything is okay. Your baby is safe and free from any harm but you need to relax.” She said carefully not phased by my almost burst of anger
at all.
| took in a deep breath to release the tension from my b*dy and felt a little better
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knowing that the little life inside of me was safe.
“Are you in any sort of pain?” The nurse queried with concern in her eyes.
“| have a headache but it’s not too bad.” My voice was course. | reached to press my fingers against the bandage wrapped around my forehead and winced as | touched something tender.
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“I'll get you some pain killers for that.” She turned to leave but | needed to know a few things.
“Are you sure everything is fine? With me? With my baby?” | asked again wanting to make sure. She paused and turned to look at me and | held my breath for a fraction of a second..
“You fell pretty hard. It’s a good thing your head injury was minor. As for your baby, he or she is as healthy as can he. | assure you.” She smiled warmly at me and | felt every ounce of my b*dy relax this time.
“Is there anything else that you would like to know?” She asked and | nodded immediately.
“How long have | been here for and when can | leave?” | needed to know this because she could say anything from a few hours to months and | would believe her.
“Three days. You will be discharged tomorrow after the doctor does a few final checks.” She informed me and | nodded.
After the nurse had left, a tray of food was brought in for me which consisted of a hearty breakfast and a bowl of fruit. | should be starving but I had no appetite at all. In fact, the sight of food had me feeling the need to gag. | did force myself to eat a few pieces of fruit thinking more about the baby than myself.
Once | was out of here, | needed to speak to Dante one more time before | could sign any papers. Maybe if | spoke to him when he was alone and Pheobe was nowhere near him then he would be more open to consider what | was saying.
Ugh, Pheobe.
| found that | felt a newfound hate for her that now was etched with a fierce rage of my own. She was such a wretched women and sought to purposely injure not only me but my baby after discovering | was pregnant. For a split second, | considered the possibility that she might have told Dante about it but then | realised that she would never s..
anything about it especially if she thought that it would jeopardize her
position.
With all the
1:25 5OL, 27 JanPublished by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
not to think about my predicament right now. Next to the tray of food was the remote for the TV mounted a little too high for comfort. | switched it on and my breath immediately hitched in the back of
my throat.
Dante and Pheobe had been glued to each other.
Pheobe clung on to his blazer while Dante had his arm around her lower back. They k*ssed passionately, smiling against each other's I*ps and a sharp pang of pain slit through my heart like a double edged sword.
The cameras flashed violently and both of them waved at the pap araz zi with heady. grins on their faces. Dante held her close to his side as they headed over to his awaiting car. They paused just before the could get in to share one more lingering k*ss for the cameras followed by another one.
All this time there was a small part of me that held on to a tiny shed of hope that maybe, just maybe, Dante had not been as taken with her as Pheobe had made it seem. | thought that | had a shot to fix this, to make him see reason and persuade him to go back to how things were.
But seeing him like that while the cameras flashed hungrily at their public display of affection, | knew that Dante’s mind would not waiver. He had made a choice and that choice was to be with Pheobe.
Sadness ripped through me all over again.
| recalled things in my marriage that | shared with Dante. | put in so much of effort, played the role of a the perfect, virtuous wife, and stayed by his side devotedly all this time. | never gave him a chance to find fault in me and what good did that being? | gained nothing but heartache in return.
| scoffed heavily then felt my eyes burn before warm tears slid down my cheeks.
Da mn him! Da mn him for doing such a thing to me. | realised then that there was no speaking sense to him unless | intended looking like a fool.
But, my sweet innocent baby.
| cradled my belly tenderly knowing that there was already a little but sacred life inside. A life that deserved better. | knew that | needed to move on from this, from him. And it was not just for myself, but for my baby. It was the realisation | wished | didn’t have but one that | needed.
After hours of sleeplessness, renewed pain, and fallen tears, | knew what | had to do. The next morning, Without any hesitation, | found Dante’s name on my phone and decided to send him a text ending all of this once and for all.
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‘Please send the divorce papers to me as soon as possible. | will gladly sign it..
-Sophia.
My finger hovered over the send key but | pressed it before | changed my mind. The second it sent, | felt a little relieved. All that was left was for me to properly gather my belongings and leave for good.