Chapter Fifty Three

Chapter Fifty-Three

At first, everyone thought Daisy was just tired.

Pregnant tired.

Toddler-mum tired.

Moving-house tired.

Life-is-chaotic tired.

Even Daisy thought so.

The problem was it didn't get better.

It got worse.

A week after the morning she'd spent in bed, Daisy was still struggling.

She slept longer.

Needed naps.

Couldn't finish meals.

Couldn't make it through an afternoon without feeling completely drained.

The nanny noticed.

Roman noticed.

Harper definitely noticed.

"You look awful."

Daisy glared at her sister.

"Thank you."

"I mean it lovingly."

"That's not helping."

Harper sat beside her on the couch.

Looking concerned.

Actually concerned.

Not teasing concerned.

The serious kind.

The kind that immediately made Daisy uneasy.

Across the room, Lillie was playing with blocks.

The nanny sat nearby.

Roman was pretending to answer emails.

Pretending.

Because every thirty seconds he looked up at Daisy.

Checking.

Watching.

Worrying.

"Daisy."

"What?"

Roman closed his laptop.

The email forgotten instantly.

"You need to call your doctor."

"I'm fine."

"No."

"I'm tired."

"No."

Daisy sighed.

The problem was she didn't have the energy to argue properly.

Which honestly proved his point.

Two days later it got worse.

The morning started normally.

Well.

As normally as life could be.

Lillie had woken up at six.

Roman had left for work.

The nanny had arrived.

And Daisy had attempted to get dressed.

Attempted being the important word.

Because halfway through pulling on a sweater, the room spun.

Hard.

The next thing she knew she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

The nanny kneeling beside her.

Looking alarmed.

"Daisy?"

"I'm okay."

"You nearly fell."

"I'm okay."

The nanny wasn't convinced.

Neither was Daisy.

An hour later Roman received a phone call.

One that made him leave a meeting immediately.

By the time he arrived home, Daisy was lying on the couch.

Pale.

Exhausted.

Looking nothing like herself.

Roman's heart dropped instantly.

"That's it."

Daisy frowned.

"What?"

"We're going in."

"Roman."

"No."

"I'm fine."

"Daisy."

The tone stopped her immediately.

Because Roman wasn't annoyed.

He was scared.

Actually scared.

The hospital wasn't where Daisy wanted to be.

Especially as a patient.

She hated it.

Absolutely hated it.

Unfortunately, everyone else had stopped listening to her.

Roman came.

The nanny came with Lillie.

Harper somehow arrived despite Noah insisting she stay home.

Nobody knew how.

She simply appeared.

Several hours later Daisy was attached to monitors she normally attached to other people.

Something she deeply disliked.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

The doctor studied the results.

Then studied them again.

Her expression serious.

Not panicked.

But serious.

Roman immediately noticed.

The second she walked into the room.

"What is it?"

The doctor looked at Daisy first.

Then Roman.

Then the chart.

"Daisy, your blood pressure is concerning."

The room fell silent.

Harper stopped talking.

Roman stopped breathing.

Daisy's stomach dropped.

"We're also seeing signs that your body is under significant strain."

The doctor's voice remained calm.

Professional.

Steady.

The kind of voice doctors used when they didn't want patients to panic.

Unfortunately Daisy was a doctor.

Which made it worse.

Because she knew exactly what that tone meant.

"Is the baby okay?"

Roman asked the question immediately.

Before Daisy could.

Before anyone else could.

The doctor smiled gently.

"The baby is okay."

Relief flooded the room.

Instantly.

Then came the word.

"But."

Every doctor hated that word.

Every patient hated it more.

"But we're concerned."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Roman's hand immediately found Daisy's.

Holding it tightly.

Almost too tightly.

She didn't complain.

The doctor continued.

"We need to monitor you closely."

Daisy stared.

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Colder.

Scarier.

"What happens now?" Harper asked quietly.

The doctor looked at Daisy.

Then at Roman.

"For now, I want rest."

Roman nodded immediately.

Before anyone else could speak.

"Done."

The doctor smiled slightly.

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Daisy would normally have laughed.

Normally.

Today she couldn't.

Because for the first time during this pregnancy...

She was scared too.

Outside the room Noah had arrived with coffee.

Only to find Roman pacing the hallway.

Harper crying quietly.

And nobody smiling.

The sight immediately made his stomach drop.

"What happened?"

No one answered immediately.

Because none of them quite knew yet.

Not fully.

They only knew one thing.

Something wasn't right.

And for the first time since finding out about the baby—

everyone was frightened.

Not for Daisy.

Not for the baby.

For both.

❤️📖 To be continued...