Chapter 46

Chapter 46
Charlotte opened her eyes. It was morning already. She sat up, stretching.
"You're awake," Melvin said, moving closer to her. He was already dressed. "Do you feel better now?"
Charlotte nodded. "I'm fine. I see you're ready. Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Your temperature was high all through the night. It took a while to bring that down. I wanted you to rest."
Charlotte furrowed her brows. "It was?"
He nodded. "Yes. I was so scared, and thought about taking you to the hospital, but thank goodness Catherine's cousin, who was a doctor, came."
Charlotte couldn't remember any of these. She sighed. Now she gets why Melvin looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep; she was about to ask him about it.
"I made your bath. You should go take your bath and get dressed so we can go to the hospital."
"I'm fine," Charlotte said. "It's just stress."
"I know you are fine, and it's probably stress, like you said, but I still need to take you to the hospital. Or I won't stop being worried."
Charlotte nodded and stood up. She wbatheer bath, got dressed, and was ready to leave.
"What do you want to eat?" He asked.
"I don't think I have an appetite," she replied.
"You need to eat something," Melvin said. "No matter how little it is."
"How about we get something on our way?" Charlotte suggested.
"That's fine by me. I just want you to eat something. I will get our bags to the car and then check out. You can wait for me in the lounge."
Charlotte stood up. "I will take one of the bags. Don't try to stop me."
Melvin nodded. "I won't."
He let Charlotte take the smaller bag. He took the bigger one, and they left the room. They checked out at the reception, and Charlotte waited for him while he went to get the car from the parking lot.
Melvin drove straight to the hospital, and in a few minutes Charlotte was attended to.
"We need to run a test and an ultrasound," the doctor attending to Charlotte said after he had asked a few questions.
Melvin stared at Charlotte. "Are you okay with that?" She nodded, and he smiled. "Doctor, we are okay with that."
Charlotte's blood was taken and sent to the lab.
"The result will be ready in a few minutes," the doctor told them.
"Can we leave now, and maybe get the result through an email?" Charlotte asked, staring at the wall clock.
She needed to be at the office by eight, and it was already a few minutes past nine.
The doctor shook his head. "I can't let you leave. You need some rest. I..."
"I need to go to work. It's important. I will get some rest when I'm done with work."
"I understand you want to work, but..."
They heard a knock on the door before it opened. It was a nurse. She handed over a file to the doctor and left.
"See, your result is here," the doctor said, opening the file.
He brought out a paper and began to read through it.
"Wow," he mumbled. He stared at Charlotte. "Well, it's good news. You're pregnant."
Charlotte furrowed her brows. Who is pregnant? She?
"Me?" She asked in surprise.
"S-she's pregnant?" Melvin was shocked.
They hadn't been together for more than a month until yesterday.
"Yes, she is," the doctor answered.
Melvin's heart skipped a beat. He was certain Charlotte didn't cheat on him.
But how come she is suddenly pregnant? Was she pregnant before she left for the summit?
"How long gone is she?" He asked.
"From the result, it should be about two months," the doctor answered. "We need to carry out an ultrasound to be certain about that."
Charlotte groaned. She was already pregnant before she left for the summit.
How come she never knew?
She had her period last month and this month... She had thought it was late because of stress.
Melvin stared at her, wondering if she knew about it before she left for the summit, but on second thought, he brushed it off.
She must have had no idea.
The doctor noticed their reactions and decided to ask a question. "Don't you want the pregnancy?"
"Of course we do," Melvin answered. "We were just surprised."
Charlotte said nothing. She just stood up and left the office, ignoring the doctor and Melvin's call. She needed time to process it.
She placed a call quickly to Bella. "Are you free?"
"I can spare some time. Is everything okay?" Bella was worried.
"I..." Charlotte sighed. "I'm pregnant."
"P-pregnant?" Bella was surprised. "That's good news."
"It's been almost two months or more," Charlotte said.
Bella counted it. Charlotte was pregnant before they left for Isla Verida.
And none of them knew about it.
But they ran some tests before they traveled.
"You did not do a pregnancy test during our visit to the hospital, did you?"
"I did not," Charlotte answered. "Because I wasn't expecting to be pregnant."
Bella sighed. "It's good news but..." She sighed again. "Do you want the baby? How is Melvin processing it?"
Charlotte sighed. She doesn't know what she wants.
Now isn't the right time to get pregnant. She has a lot of work at the company. She also has Liam to take care of.
What if Melvin goes back to leaving everything for her to do? How is she going to cope?
"I don't know," she mumbled.
"Where are you now?" Bella asked. "I'm coming over."
"I'm still at the hospital, but I'm heading to the company now."
"You're going to work? What about Melvin?"
"He's speaking to the doctor, I guess. And for work, I won't possibly ignore work because of the pregnancy, can I? I also need a place to clear my head. And going to work is the best."
"You know what, wait for me at the hospital. I'm coming to pick you up."
"That won't be..."
"I insist," Bella said. "I'm on my way."
"Fine," Charlotte mumbled and ended the call.
She sat on a chair, waiting patiently for Bella. Melvin came out of the doctor's office, looking around for Charlotte. He saw her seated and moved closer to her.
"Are you okay?"
Charlotte nodded. "I guess I am."
Melvin sat beside her. "I...". He paused.
How is he supposed to console her? He doesn't even know what to say?
"Do you want the baby?" He asked instead. "I know you're busy at work. I also know I've not been a good father or husband to Liam and you. I understand if you don't want..."
Charlotte sighed. "Can we not talk about this here?"
Melvin nodded. "Sure."
He rested on the chair, staring at the doctor's office.
"The ultrasound. Do you want to have that now?"
Charlotte shook her head. "Not now. I just want to be left alone."
Melvin nodded and said nothing after that. Charlotte closed her eyes.
How is she supposed to process this? She wants the baby but not at this time.
"Charlotte?" Bella called out, walking towards them.
Charlotte opened her eyes and smiled. You're here."
Bella nodded. "Yes, I am."