4

EMILY'S POV.

"It's a beautiful morning, not so?" Marco asked, and I simply gave a nod in response.

It was one week since my father coerced and blackmailed me into accepting to marry this man. Did I also mention that the wedding was only a week away?

"Come here." He suddenly pulled me to himself, his face dangerously and irritatingly close to mine.

"You would be mine in a matter of days, Emily. So I suggest you begin to act accordingly. My patience is usually thin."

"If you want me to act like I care about you, I never will." I spat.

I endured the pain that his grip on my arm caused, and watched in satisfaction as his jaw clenched in obvious annoyance.

"You're hurting me." I muttered, and he released a sigh, brushing his hand across his face.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, surprising me.

"Are we done here?" I asked, ignoring his apology.

For the past week since the announcement of our engagement, I had been forced to endure being on dates with Marco, in the name of getting familiar with each other.

"You've got somewhere else to be?" He asked, looking slightly irritated.

"You personally booked an appointment with the Doctor, for a reproductive health check today."

It had come as an insult to me last week, when he informed me that I had to go for a reproductive health check, because he had to be sure I could do the very thing he was marrying me to do. Give him children.

"My bad. I totally forgot." He shook his head. "Let's leave together. My driver would drop you off at the hospital first."

"Okay." I nodded.

Following him behind, we exited the gallery and soon, we were on our way to the hospital.

As soon as we got to the hospital, they dropped me and drove off. I was thankful he didn't insist on going in with me.

"Hi, good morning." I said to the receptionist at the front desk of the hospital.

"Hi! Good morning ma'am!" She flashed me a wide smile that somewhat improved my mood. "How can we help you today?"

"I have an appointment under the name of Emily Collombo."

"Collombo?" She asked, to which I nodded. "Miss Collombo, your appointment was over an hour ago."

"It was?" I frowned. "I thought it was for 11am?"

"No, it was for 10." She took a file from her desk and opened it. "Here, I'm seeing that you were booked for a reproductive health check last week and....."

"Yes, that's me." I cut her short.

Had I known, I would have let her finish speaking. I would have avoided the future complications my nonchalance had caused.

"Okayyy...." She released a long and frustrated sigh. "Sorry, I'm working double shifts. Been on it since yesterday."

"It's totally fine. Well done." I gave a small smile.

"So I would just call the Doctor and inform her that you're here. It's left for her to see you, or reschedule."

"Okay." I nodded in understanding.

I waited while she made the call, and was relieved when she said the Doctor had asked to see me.

"Your room is 12B, on the second floor."

"Thank you so much."

"Sure." Came her reply, and I walked off.

I was able to locate the room she had directed me to, and I gave a knock. I heard a light 'come in', and I did.

"Good morning." I greeted the female in a lab coat, and she greeted me with a smile.

"So sorry for the mistake. I thought my appointment was for 11am."

"It's fine, Miss Collombo." She assured. "Please take off your underwear and lay on the table." She pointed at the table in the middle of the room.

I did as she asked, and was on the table in no time.

"Please part your legs to the side." She demanded, assisting me into the position she wanted. "I assume you have an idea how this works. But if you don't, I don't mind explaining to you."

"Not at all." I shook my head, not the least bit interested in knowing. I just wanted to be done and out of here.

"Just do your thing." I gave her a small smile in assurance.

"Okay." She nodded. "It might be a bit uncomfortable, but nothing you cannot bear."

"Go ahead." I consented.

If only I knew what my consent would result into, eventually.

If only.

*******THREE WEEKS LATER********

I had pleaded with the Russos to extend the wedding date by a month, giving the excuse of needing ample time to get to know Marco better.

A plan I may not have achieved, seeing as I always tried to avoid the man at every given chance. Three weeks had flown past, and once again, it was one week to my wedding.

Marco had been here earlier today, speaking about us both having a common ground, and making this marriage work.

For a moment, I wondered if anything worse could happen.

My family cared nothing for me, and more than anything else right now, I didn't want to see them win.

They knew that marrying Marco was going to be a nightmare for me. But what if it turned out to be the very opposite?

Very unsure in that moment, I picked up my phone and sent Marco a text.

'Alright then. I'm stuck with you. Let's make it work'.

Eventually, I hit the send button, and released a deep sigh.

I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I knew that it was better to cohabit peacefully, than to leave in a battlefield.

I was already drained from the reality of having no family or friends now. Alexa and I were over, and I missed her dearly. She wasn't taking my calls, neither did she call.

I couldn't afford to add a bad marriage to the list of my problems.

Just then, my phone rang out. I looked at the screen to see that there wasn't any caller Id.

"Hello?" I said, immediately I answered.

"H... H... Hi!" Someone responded, sounding rather agitated. It got me worried for a moment.

"Please who is this?" I asked.

"This is Candice from LUMIN Hospital. The front desk representative."

I remembered her immediately. She sounded quite agitated, but I didn't think much of it.

"Oh? Okay." I nodded, assuming my test results were finally ready.

"Ma'am." She muttered. "I'm afraid there might have been a mix up at the hospital." She said, and I sat up immediately.

"What are you talking about?" I queried, my forehead creasing into folds.

"Please we need you to come to the hospital right away ma'am. There may have been a mix up somewhere."

"I heard that already, Candice. What exactly is this mix up?" I asked, gradually becoming tensed.

"Ma'am, another lady with the name 'Elizabeth Collombo', was booked for an insemination three weeks ago..."

She sounded really scared, but that was honestly the least of my concerns.

"When you came along for your reproductive health check, I may have mistaken her file for yours, because of your surnames."

"Sorry....?" I swallowed hard, sweat instantly breaking onto my forehead. "What does this mean? By insemination, wh.. wh... what do you mean?" I stuttered, my heart beating so wildly in my chest already.

I silently prayed that it wasn't what I thought it was.

"Ma'am....." She paused, most certainly hesitant to speak.

"I asked a question." I reminded, in case she had forgotten.

"An insemination is the procedure done for the purpose of...." She trailed off again. "The purpose of.... achieving pregnancy." She finally dropped it.

I may have died and returned back to life.