SR3. 40. Twins

Slowly, Laura's eyelids opened for the second time, and now it was the peaceful face of Aryan that greeted her. Laura gazed at the handsome man's face in front of her for quite some time. He was the source of her love and greatest strength up to this point. Not satisfied with admiring her husband's handsome face, a sudden sense of curiosity began to disturb her. She glanced at the wall clock, which had stopped at exactly 4 in the early morning. Without much thought, she pulled open the drawer next to her bed, carefully retrieved a pregnancy test from inside it, and entered the bathroom without making a sound that could wake Aryan.

Laura's heart pounded loudly as she looked at the pregnancy test that she had dipped into a small container containing her urine. She lifted the test stick slowly with trembling hands, and there it was... two red lines she had been waiting for appeared. It was crystal clear. For a moment, her body felt boneless, and she sat down on the bathroom floor, crying and unable to believe what she saw. Still feeling uncertain, she looked at the pregnancy test result still in her hand. The two lines were unmistakably real.

"Honey," Laura called repeatedly, but there was no response. Her body still felt weak, and she couldn't bring herself to stand up. With all her strength, she tried to reach for the door handle but couldn't reach it. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and settle her nerves.

Before long, the bathroom door swung open wide with force, and Aryan's heart seemed to stop beating instantly when he saw Laura's condition. He quickly lifted Laura's body and carried her back to the bed.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Why didn't you wake me up? Are you okay?" Aryan anxiously questioned while checking every part of Laura's body for any signs of injury. Instead of answering Aryan's questions, Laura's cries only grew louder.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Aryan said, cupping Laura's face with both his hands and looking deeply into her teary eyes, gently wiping them.

"This," Laura whispered, opening her right hand to reveal the pregnancy test result.

Aryan's gaze shifted from Laura's eyes to her open palm. Speechless, he stared at the two red lines on the pregnancy test, then back at Laura to confirm what he was seeing.

"Yes," Laura answered the unspoken question in Aryan's mind with a nod. Aryan's tears welled up instantly, and he hugged Laura tightly.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Aryan repeated multiple times, showering Laura's face with kisses.

"Rest for a while; I'll make you some hot tea to keep you warm," Aryan offered after changing his clothes and covering Laura with a blanket.

"Honey," Laura softly called. Aryan immediately turned back to face Laura.

Laura patted the empty space on the bed next to her, and without a word, Aryan climbed onto the bed, following Laura's wishes. He leaned against the bed's backrest, and Laura shifted her position, snuggling into Aryan's broad chest.

"I just want to hold you and smell your scent," Laura said as she inhaled Aryan's scent, seeking comfort in his embrace.

"Alright." Aryan's hand gently caressed Laura's head as he felt the regular rhythm of her breath.

Now Aryan understood the reason for his wife's increasingly tender behavior lately. It was all because of the hormonal changes in the early stages of her pregnancy. He couldn't stop expressing his gratitude, promising to carefully and wholeheartedly uphold this significant responsibility.

*****

"What's wrong?" Aryan asked when Laura was still standing behind their bedroom door, his gaze shifting from Laura's eyes to her clenched hand, which she forcibly released. Aryan could sense her uncertainty.

"Don't tell Mom and Dad until we've confirmed it with Dr. Rahma," Laura said with mixed emotions. She was afraid that if the result didn't align with everyone's wishes, it would be disappointing.

"Okay, we'll go see Dr. Rahma at the hospital later," Aryan replied while gently caressing Laura's cheek.

"Are you not going to work?" Laura asked, receiving a shake of Aryan's head in response.

"I'll accompany you. Come on, we should go downstairs. Mom and Dad are probably waiting for us at the dining table," Aryan said, then possessively put his arm around Laura's shoulder, leading her to the dining room.

Without commenting, Andre and Liana had been observing Aryan's overprotective behavior toward Laura. Aryan, on the other hand, served Laura breakfast with a smile that never left his lips, while Laura remained mostly silent, her face pale, and lacking enthusiasm as she looked at the food in front of her.

"Aren't you heading to the office, Aryan?" Liana couldn't hide her curiosity. She was used to the affection between her son and daughter-in-law, but this time her maternal instincts told her that there was a big secret they were keeping.

"No, Mom. I'm going to accompany Laura to my parents' house and also to attend her fitting session later in the afternoon," Aryan explained casually.

"But don't take Laura out to play just yet, she's not feeling well, look at her, she still looks pale," Liana said, looking at Laura with concern.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm just a bit tired," Laura replied with a smile, trying not to worry her mother-in-law.

After breakfast, they prepared to go to the hospital. Throughout the journey, Aryan repeatedly gently stroked Laura's cheek, and Laura responded with a smile. Since getting into the car and inhaling the scent of the car freshener, her head suddenly started spinning, and the discomfort in her stomach had become unbearable.

"Honey, let's stop for a moment," Laura said softly, trying to suppress her discomfort in her stomach. Aryan immediately looked at Laura and pulled over the car. Laura quickly got out of the car and vomited all the food she had just eaten.

Aryan panicked and immediately massaged Laura's neck. After feeling a bit better, Laura got back into the car and asked Aryan to remove the car freshener that had caused her nausea. Aryan quickly removed it and gave her some eucalyptus oil that he had brought from his jacket pocket just in case, and it proved to be very helpful in relieving her discomfort.

After about 15 minutes, the car they were in arrived in the hospital courtyard. After parking the car, Aryan quickly opened the door and put his arm around Laura. "Do you want me to carry you?" Aryan offered. Laura snorted in annoyance and shook her head. She was still in her right mind and didn't want to become a free spectacle in the hospital area. Her body was just weak, not unconscious, and she was still strong enough to walk.

When they reached the hospital's lobby, Aryan quickly registered and got queue number 05. Fortunately, the current patient in Dr. Rahma's practice room had queue number 03. So, they didn't have to wait too long for their turn. Twenty minutes later, they were inside Dr. Rahma's examination room.

Dr. Rahma's assistant asked them to sit while Dr. Rahma finished washing her hands at the sink. The 40-year-old Arab-Indonesian doctor smiled warmly as she greeted Laura and Aryan.

"Any complaints today?" the doctor asked. As far as she remembered, Laura had her health checked just a month ago, and that was the final examination after being declared free from the cyst that had once been in her abdomen.

Laura slowly explained all the symptoms she had been experiencing for almost two weeks now. Dr. Rahma smiled as she analyzed all the symptoms described by Laura and then called her assistant, who was nearby, to take Laura to the restroom for another urine test.

"Don't worry, Mr. Aryan. The result will be as you hoped," Dr. Rahma said, trying to calm the restless Aryan.

Shortly after, Laura returned with Dr. Rahma's assistant and handed over the test results. The doctor smiled satisfactorily after examining Laura's test results, which matched her predictions.

"Eva, please prepare the equipment," Dr. Rahma requested her assistant, who promptly complied after a brief acknowledgment.

Laura and Aryan's hearts raced in unison as the clear white gel was applied to the lower part of Laura's abdomen. The white instrument called a probe slowly moved up and down and then to the side, sensing the inside of the gel-covered abdomen. Laura and Aryan stared at the monitor screen while silently praying in their hearts. Their hands were tightly intertwined, waiting for the long-awaited news.

"Well, here is your baby," Dr. Rahma said when she stopped the probe's movement. Instantly, clear tears welled up in Aryan's eyes. He kissed Laura's hand while repeatedly thanking God.

Dr. Rahma's smile blossomed perfectly as she shared in the happiness of the husband and wife, especially since the monitor screen showed that there were two growing fetuses that they had not realized.

"Take a look here, there are two small dots," Dr. Rahma instructed, drawing their attention to the monitor screen. Laura and Aryan exchanged glances, trying to understand the code given by Dr. Rahma, but they couldn't quite grasp it.

"What do you mean, Doctor? Is something wrong?" Aryan asked hesitantly and worriedly.

"It means you're having baby twins," Dr. Rahma replied, instantly silencing Aryan, and they froze for a moment before Laura burst into tears while embracing Aryan's arm, who was sitting on her left side.

"Our babies are twins, Doctor?" Aryan asked Dr. Rahma, who was cleaning the gel off Laura's abdomen to ensure her hearing was not mistaken.

"Twins," Dr. Rahma whispered softly with emphasis to reassure them while looking at Aryan and Laura alternately.

Aryan gasped, his realization still not fully sinking in. Was he being pranked? Or was he dreaming? Or perhaps he was hallucinating? A barrage of questions swirled in his mind until Laura's hand on his cheek immediately brought him back to reality.

"Honey, God has given us two babies at once," Laura said, then hugged Aryan tightly, pouring out her joy in tears.