Chapter 87 A Scheduled Surgery
David's behavior was very strange, and the stranger he acted, the more curious Quinley became.
What kind of person was this Susan exactly? Why was even David so secretive about her? What were they all hiding?
Quinley's head was filled with all kinds of question marks. She felt like she'd entered a maze—that woman was in the shadows, manipulating everything, while she was exposed and constrained at every turn.
That night, Quinley didn't return to her apartment in the south part of the city. She stayed at the Elikin family home.
Before bed, Marlee warmed some milk and brought it to Quinley's room. "Quinny, what are you and Dr. Brown planning? Does he know about the baby? You need to hurry up with the marriage—it'll be embarrassing when your belly gets big."
Marlee started pushing for marriage again. Quinley was irritated and her tone wasn't great. "Mom, I'm tired and want to rest early. Please go out first."
She pulled the covers over her head, trying to escape from all this. Marlee sighed heavily, put down the milk, and walked toward the door.
"Quinny, even though we're not your biological parents, we still want you to live well. When your dad and brother got into trouble this time, you were the one running around taking care of everything. It breaks my heart."
"Dr. Brown is good to you and doesn't look down on our humble family. I think if you marry him, at least you'll have someone to depend on when things go wrong."
"Quinny, I know you have high standards and you're not happy about marrying Dr. Brown. It's all our fault—your dad and I couldn't provide good material conditions for you and have been dragging you down."
Quinley couldn't listen anymore. Marlee's words were like a soft whip, lashing at her heart, making her feel terrible and guilty.
"Mom, I'm old enough now. Don't worry about me anymore—I know what I should do."
"You know, but the baby in your belly doesn't! Quinny, being a single mother is very hard. I can't bear to see you suffer like that."
Quinley hadn't thought about being a single mother. She hadn't had time to think about whether to keep this baby or not. Should she tell Zachary? She'd had a momentary impulse to do so, but held back.
She was just a substitute—so what if she was pregnant with his child?
At 2 AM, just as Quinley was getting a bit sleepy, Zachary suddenly called.
"Where are you?" His voice sounded exhausted, and it was very quiet on his end.
"At my mom's house. Where are you?"
"Your place." Zachary replied.
William's funeral had many people and complications. For Zachary to run to her apartment in the middle of the night, something must be up. But Quinley didn't ask—she remained silent.
"I want to see you tonight." Zachary said over the phone.
"It's too late. It's not convenient for me." Quinley refused.
He rarely made active requests, and she rarely refused his requests. But now, her relationship with Zachary was a tangled mess. Before she could sort out her own feelings, she didn't want to see him.
Zachary was somewhat disappointed, but he didn't insist. After a long sigh, he said, "Then rest well. I'll contact you when I'm done with everything."
"Okay." Quinley responded.
The next morning, Quinley learned through the news that William's funeral was that day. Zachary had a cold personality and didn't like getting close to people. He'd been separated from his birth mother at age three, and William had taken his resentment out on him, subsequently neglecting him. He harbored grievances.
But no matter how deep the resentment, it couldn't erase the blood bond between father and son. Last night, his sudden visit was probably because he was hurting inside.
Quinley drafted a message to send to Zachary, but just as she was about to send it, she withdrew it. She'd almost forgotten—she was just a substitute.
During breakfast, Quinley received a call from a nurse. "Ms. Elikin, the surgery you asked me to schedule yesterday is at 2 PM. Remember to arrive an hour early."
Quinley was confused. "Are you sure you have the right person? I don't think I asked you to schedule any surgery."
"How could I be wrong? Yesterday afternoon you came to find me and said you were pregnant but couldn't keep the baby. You asked me to schedule a pregnancy termination procedure and told me not to let your parents know. You couldn't have forgotten so quickly, could you?"
Pregnancy termination? Quinley was so shocked her hand trembled, and her phone fell to the floor.
"Ms. Elikin? Are you still listening? I scheduled the surgery for you. Just go directly to the third floor OB-GYN department. Remember..."
The nurse said something else, but Quinley didn't hear a word. She felt like an invisible hand was gripping her throat tightly—she couldn't breathe or resist, and that person was smiling smugly at her.
She covered her lower abdomen with her hand as terror crept into her heart, and she broke out in a cold sweat. Was it that woman? Did she want to take away Quinley and Zachary's baby?
She crouched on the ground, hugging her knees tightly, forcing herself to calm down. But when she closed her eyes, all she could see was that woman's smug smile.
Just when Quinley was most panicked, Alicia called. Seeing her name flashing on the phone screen, Quinley didn't answer. But Alicia was persistent—when Quinley didn't pick up, she kept calling.
"Quinny, why aren't you answering your phone?" Marlee suddenly pushed open the door and came in. She immediately spotted Alicia's name.
"It's Ms. Davis calling." Marlee had a good impression of Alicia. Without Quinley's permission, she reached out and swiped to answer.
"Ms. Davis! This is Marlee. It's been so long since we've seen you. When you have time, come have dinner at our house!" Marlee held the phone with a beaming smile, chatting warmly with Alicia.
"You're looking for Quinny? Wait a moment, I'll call her." Marlee covered the phone's mouthpiece and whispered to Quinley, "Ms. Davis values relationships and loyalty—don't be ungrateful."
Marlee handed the phone to Quinley, who had nowhere to hide.
"Ms. Davis, did you need something?"
"Ms. Elikin, could we meet in person?" Alicia asked with a sob in her voice.
"Just tell me over the phone whatever it is."
Alicia didn't say anything—she just kept crying. "Are you home? I'll come find you. We'll talk when we meet."
Half an hour later, Alicia arrived. She didn't come upstairs but called Quinley instead.
"Ms. Elikin, I'm here, downstairs at your building. Should you come down, or should I come up?"
Quinley looked down from the window. Alicia was wearing a black dress, standing right downstairs from her house.
"I'll come down." Quinley went downstairs.
But as soon as she appeared, Alicia suddenly grabbed her hand and dropped to her knees with a "thud."
"Ms. Elikin, please, I'm begging you—help Zach, okay?" Alicia knelt on the ground with red eyes, looking pitiful.
"Ms. Davis, please get up first." Quinley tried to pull her up, but Alicia was stubborn and refused to get up no matter what.
"I'll get up only if you promise to help Zach."