Chapter 134
Levi has been on a business trip for almost ten days now, so long that I sometimes forget he even exists.
It's only in the quiet of the night when I can't sleep that I think of him.
There's so much going on at the company. Nola went on her honeymoon with John, and while she officially handed everything over to her secretary, I'm actually the one handling it all.
I didn't fall asleep until the early hours last night, and when I woke up this morning, I had a dull ache in my lower abdomen. Worried something might be wrong with the baby, I made an appointment to come to the hospital for a checkup.
I hate the smell of disinfectant too. Every time I come to the hospital, I'm in a bad mood, even a bit irritable.
Back when my mother's depression kept getting worse, I had to force myself through every hospital visit to get her medication and consult with doctors.
When my name appeared on the screen, I walked to the door.
"Lie down, please."
I slowly lay down. Just thinking about having that gel all over my belly made me annoyed.
"You're almost two months along. Are you sure you want to terminate it? Now is actually a good time—if you wait longer, it'll be more complicated."
"Yes, I'm not planning to keep this baby."
Wait, why does that voice sound familiar?
I perked up my ears to listen more carefully.
"Is this your first pregnancy? Didn't the baby's father come with you? You two should talk it over properly. Plus, an abortion isn't great for you personally either."
"I still want to go through with it."
"Alright then. Just a moment, the results will be ready soon. You can wipe it off now."
I heard rustling sounds from the next cubicle—probably someone cleaning the gel off their belly.
"Looks good, no problems."
The doctor said to me, but I didn't respond.
I had a feeling it was Jessa getting checked next door, but it didn't seem possible she'd be pregnant. She'd just made her comeback recently and was in such good shape—it shouldn't be her.
"Mm, no problems. All done."
The doctor kept talking to himself while I still didn't respond, which seemed a bit rude.
I also got ready and stood to the side waiting for my results.
We got our test reports at almost the same time. When she pulled back the curtain, we both gasped and covered our mouths in surprise.
It really was Jessa. She was pregnant. She'd decided to have an abortion. When all this information connected, it was pretty shocking.
Even though she was wearing sunglasses, I recognized her immediately.
We silently walked out of the examination room together and found a chair in a quiet corner to sit down.
She brought up Chase's funeral. "I already held the funeral. I figured you wouldn't want to attend, so I didn't tell you."
When Chase came up again, I still felt nothing. He'd actually expected me to arrange his funeral.
"Just for show, right? People who saw it probably thought I was a dutiful daughter."
Jessa laughed lightly. "Pretty funny, isn't it?"
"You're getting an abortion?" I couldn't help asking.
She didn't seem to hide it from me, just nodded quietly.
"The baby is Alaric's. I was so confused, didn't even notice I'd missed my period. Maybe I've been taking on too many gigs lately."
My heart jumped. It felt like I hadn't heard Alaric's name in forever.
For a moment, I saw the sadness in Jessa.
"You're probably thinking I should go to his family, since it's their bloodline, right?" Jessa smiled, but her eyes were lonely.
I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. Given our relationship, anything I said would seem inappropriate.
"I've decided to cut all ties with him. I can't keep this baby. Plus, I'm such a mess—I'm not qualified to be a good mother."
Jessa gave a bitter laugh. "Besides, I still haven't paid back the money I owe Levi."
"About the money..."
"I'm going to find the doctor."
In that moment, I wanted to say the money wasn't urgent, that there was a little life in her belly and she should think it through carefully.
I watched her back, feeling bitter inside.
Jessa turned around. "By the way, you're the only one who knows about this. You wouldn't be bored enough to leak it, right? Though whatever you do would be justified—you haven't found a chance to get revenge for what happened between Levi and me."
Panicked people always assume the worst about others. After what they did to hurt me, I probably should enjoy watching her suffer, but as a woman myself, I won't kick someone when they're down.
Besides, the one I care about is Levi, not her.
"Don't worry, I didn't see you today."
She scoffed. "That's best."
I watched her walk forward step by step in her high heels, remembering the first time I met her—back then she was elegant and composed, but now she was a mess.
Alaric never truly loved her. He just used her fame to boost his own ego, used her connection with Levi to expand his resources.
And this baby, if she kept it, would be the most painful reminder.
Jessa must be suffering inside too. She didn't even ask why I was at the hospital. She didn't even have the energy to be curious about why I needed a checkup.
I watched her follow the doctor into another room, feeling anxious.
I gently touched my belly. My baby has to be healthy and safe.
Based on previous experience, I looked at the report myself. Everything was fine, so I didn't go back to see the doctor.
I was afraid of facing Jessa again. I didn't want to see her embarrassment and sadness. Only I knew her secret, and it was truly a burden I couldn't put into words.
We're not even real sisters, yet fate keeps throwing us together. Just now we were lying there getting checked—one worried about her baby having problems, the other about to heartlessly give up her child.
Life plays tricks on us. Wrong choices in men.
"Blair, what are you doing here?"
When Nola called out to me, my scalp went numb.
I stuffed the test report into my bag and walked toward her.
"I came for a follow-up, to see how I'm recovering."
I made up a random excuse. I couldn't tell her I was pregnant yet—I didn't want to burden her.
"Still from that injury when Jessa pushed you?"
When Nola mentioned Jessa, my nerves tensed up even more. Would they run into each other?
"Yeah."
John smiled. "How is it? All healed?"
"It's fine now."
I stared at Nola. "What are you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?"
Nola frowned. "It's all his fault. I realized I'd missed my period, so I bought a pregnancy test. Two lines."
"You're pregnant?"
"So we came to the hospital to double-check, and we came back early." Nola's cheeks were puffed out in annoyance.
John hugged her arm. "Don't be mad."
"There's more than one hospital. You could have checked somewhere closer."
Nola pouted. "He said he wanted to come back and share the good news with everyone. Now the whole family is waiting for us to report."
Sometimes I really envy them. When I was pregnant with Celestia, I didn't even know how to tell Levi. Back then he was cold to me, and I worried every day that he didn't like kids.
"Then you should go quickly. I need to get back to the office."
"Okay, but come to our place for dinner tonight with Levi. You two can share some parenting tips."
John couldn't wait to be a dad.
I smiled awkwardly. "Levi's on a business trip."