Chapter 3

Danielle's POV.

As my eyes fluttered open, a sterile smell filled my nose. My ears were instantly filled with the raging and beeps of machines. It felt like I was floating. 

"Hello dear. How do you feel?" 

I squinted, trying to take her in, "I... I think I'm okay. What happened?"

"You had an accident." She responded with a bright smile. "Do you remember that?"

I gave a slow nod as the vague memory of the incident came back to me. "It's good that you remember, it shows that you're healing fast, and you will be fine."

A sharp pain in my stomach sent a reminder of my child. "How is my baby?" 

"You need to recover, ma'am. We will talk about that when you are stronger."

"Is my baby okay?"

"I'm sorry, dear." The nurse responded slowly, reaching out to hold my shoulder. "You miscarried."

My jaw dropped in disbelief. "No..." I struggled to sit up on the bed. "No!" There were tears welling up in my eyes. "That can't be true." This baby meant so much to me. I had dreamt of being a mother for so many years, this couldn't be true. 

I put my hands on my stomach, feeling it slowly. "Can you hear me, baby?" I waited for a kick. For a sign. For a miracle as my fingers roamed my belly.

"Take it easy on yourself, ma'am." 

My hands came in contact with a scar on my abdomen and reality dawned on me. Tear droplets escaped my eyes. I shut my eyes and sobbed silently.

"Nurse Vee!" The silence that had lingered for twenty minutes in the room was broken by a stranger who barged in. "How do I get to the physiotherapy unit for children? Everyone else around here is a snub."

The nurse was quick to respond, "Dear... This is not a good time." Her response was followed by the soft chattering of a child and that caused me to quickly open my eyes.

I gazed at the lady standing at the entrance. She was a black woman with short black hair and bulgy black eyes. She had a white apron over her dress. A nervous smile spread across her lips when our eyes met. "I'm sorry to bother you, I'll leave now."

"Hold on," I said calmly, my eyes resting on the young girl in her arms. "Can I hold her?" My response was direct but I felt it would bring me peace to hold onto the baby. 

"Sure..." She smiled at me warmly before she strolled over to where I lay and put the baby in my arms. "We'll have to leave soon, ma'am as her mother would be expecting us to be home in an hour." My thoughts were right. The lady was a babysitter.

"Can I touch her face?"

"Sure, ma'am. Although the baby is a boy."

As I touched the baby's soft skin, I felt my heart sinking and more tears threatened to fall down my cheeks. I forced a smile because the baby kept his gaze on me as if relating to my pain. "You're handsome," I said to him. He smiled like he understood what I was saying.

"Baby Jay is one mischievous boy." His babysitter said, sitting on the edge of my bed. He let out a piercing cry that interrupted her. I glanced at him, nervous. His fingers were curled around his hair and he was pulling on it. 

I wore a worried expression, but his babysitter didn't seem worried. "He likes pulling his hair and screaming. He did that earlier this morning. Gosh, he looked so confused and frustrated, it was funny to watch!" 

"I can imagine..." I said slowly, holding onto his palm so he doesn't repeat the painful procedure.

"We have to go now, I hope you understand."

I nodded, letting her carry the baby. I shut my eyes and tried not to focus on the void I felt. Tears streamed silently down my cheeks, as I held my stomach. My baby was truly gone.

I could hear a soft, muffled sound as the snow continued to fall heavily outside. I was still in the hospital bed. My eyes wandered to the digital calendar on the wall. It marked the New Year’s holiday, and a sinking feeling hit me. I had been sleeping for days.

"How are you feeling, ma'am?" 

Our eyes met. "I think I am stronger." I slowly said. "Has anyone come to visit me?"

"Yes. A young woman with red hair came. She brought you clothes to change with and other basic supplies."

A red haired young woman? It was Cindy. Jayden's sister. I gave a weak smile, my heart sinking in sadness. Neither my parents nor Jayden cared to visit me. "Did anyone call me while I was asleep?"

"No one did."

I reached for my phone and called my parents. "Dad. Happy new year. How are you doing?"

"Hello, Danielle." His response was cold. 

"I have been ill, dad." My voice grew shaky. "I lost the baby."

"I'm sorry to hear about your situation, Danielle but you got yourself into this. You played dirty tricks to be with him. What did you expect? You are the reason why he isn't with the one he loves. It's understandable why fate is being so cruel to you."

"Dad?" Hot tears streamed down my cheeks. "You don't have to be so mean to me."

"You brought it all upon yourself, dear. Get well, soon. I have to go now." 

“I'm considering getting a divorce.” I said, gulping. “Well, it wasn't exactly my idea. She's back, so Jayden wants me out of his life so that he can get back with her.”

My father was silent for a while, I had to make sure he was still on the line. “Dad?”

“I'm here, Danielle.” He inhaled, still pondering. “Do you see what you got yourself into? I know this must be a very trying time for you. But you brought all of this on yourself and you know it.”

I fought the tears, “I know dad. I always knew he didn't want me.”

My mom's voice cut through the line. It appeared she took the phone from my father. “Danielle, we don't have all day. We have to go now as we've to commence planning our itinerary for the new year's celebration…. And oh your sister's here. It's going to be so much fun. The whole family… together.”

“I am not there.” I slowly chipped in. 

“You chose Jayden. We warned you, we did everything we could but you didn't listen. Bye, Danielle.” She hung up before I could respond. A heave escaped my lips.

I sat on a different bed, my gaze fixed on the Christmas decorations and the New Year’s commercials flickering on the TV. This was the VIP room. 

I looked up at the nurse who led me here. "It's beautiful." I was teary. "Who arranged this for me?" 

I couldn't think of anyone who would do this. Nor could I think of reasons why the hospital would treat me specially as they had no idea Jayden was my husband.

"I'm glad you like it, ma'am. A man wants to visit you." 

Jayden? My heart skipped a beat. 

"Tell him to come in."

The door swung open with a forceful click, and a tall man stepped inside. He gazed at me intensely, a smile on his lips. "Fred?" I was surprised to see him. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Oh, wow." The nurse chimed in, surprised. "You two know each other? Fred is one of the most popular business men around here. He is the one who arranged all of this for you and he was also the one who brought you here after the accident. I thought he was just being thoughtful."

I smiled faintly. "Thank you so much, Fred. You literally saved my life."

"It's nothing." He sat next to me on the bed, handing a flower. It was my favorite - rose. 

"Aw," I looked up at him. "Thank you. You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered.” He returned a cheerful smile at me, watching as I inhaled the familiar fragrance of the flower.

My mind was lost in thoughts. I had a favor to ask of him, but I didn't know how to begin. 

“Have you had anything to eat yet?”

I nodded in negation. “Not yet. I'll take some of the fruits on the table soon. I'm waiting for the nurse's instructions.”

“Okay, that's good. Are you hungry?”

“I am.” I said, heaving. “I wanted to talk to you about something, Fred.”

“Go on, dear. What do you need?”

“Well…” I stuttered slowly, recalling how many times I had turned down his offer. “I was wondering if you might have a job opening at your company?" 

He gave me a questioning look, I quickly exploded. "Jayden and I are getting divorced, and I, I’ve thought a lot. Now I decided to start over again. I will be leaving his company behind and I'll love to work for you."

Fred didn't respond, he just pulled me to himself. "It's okay, Elle. We'd be happy to have a talented businesswoman like you." 

It’s been days since I talked with anyone other than nurses and doctors, not to mention hugging someone. Fred is a good friend. That hug was warm and comforting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar voice cut through the room, furiously. I looked up, startled, and saw Jayden. His face, etched with rage.