Chapter Three: I Saved His Life.

Nora held Bella firmly to prevent her from falling on the ground. Fear gripped her, and panic surged through her veins as she called for help. “Somebody Help!”  

Two nurses came out immediately and rushed Bella to the emergency room. Bella regained consciousness some hours later after being attended to. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and the first person she saw was Nora sitting worriedly beside her.

“Thank God you are awake, Bella. I was so worried about you,” Nora held Bella's hand, a feeling of relief washing through her.

The door swung open, and the doctor came into the room. “Oh, you are awake,” the doctor said, and went to examine Bella. He checked her pulse and temperature, nodding in approval. 

“Doctor, how is she?” Nora asked impatiently.

“Oh, she's stable now,” the doctor replied. “She only fainted because the amount of blood she donated had affected her baby.”

Nora looked stunned, “her baby? What are you talking about?” 

The doctor turned to Bella, “Congratulations, ma'am, you are six weeks pregnant,” he announced with an amiable smile.

“Wow, this is good news,” Nora exclaimed and went to hug Bella in excitement.

“The pregnancy is in its delicate stage. She needs to get enough rest and avoid all forms of physical or mental stress. I will be in my office.” The doctor exited the room.

Bella was dumbfounded; she never saw it coming. She instinctively clutched her belly, and a teary smile etched her face. “So I'm pregnant, after three years of waiting,” she said in a weak tone as a wave of fulfilment washed through her. 

“I'm so happy for you, Bella, congratulations to you,” Nora wiggled her eyebrows at her.

“Thanks, Nora, I can't wait to tell Samuel about it. Maybe this is an opportunity for us to reignite our love, coupled with the fact that I donated my blood to save his life,” she said with a hint of hope in her voice. 

“You are right, Bella, this might just be a sign that you should not leave the marriage just yet. You need to rest now, like the doctor advised. I don't want anything to happen to our baby.” Nora said in a concerned tone.

Bella sighed and sat up on the bed. “I will rest after I have told Samuel about it. I want to see him now. Please take me to Samuel's room,” she pleaded.

Nora shrugged, “Ok, if you insist, I will take you there.”

Nora led Bella to Samuel's room, and just as they were about to enter the room, they found the door ajar, and Nora spotted a strange lady sitting beside Samuel.

“Wait, who is that lady?” Bella's brow arched in curiosity.

“Well, there is only one way to find out, let's go in,” Nora replied. They were about to push the door wide open when the lady locked her lips with Samuel’s, and they kissed passionately. 

Bella felt a sharp pain shoot through her chest as she watched Samuel kissing another woman on his sick bed. “No, I can't take this, this is too much for me, please take me back to my room, Nora,” she said sharply.

“Sure,” Nora held Bella's hand and took her back to her room.

Bella sat on the bed. She clenched her fist tightly and bit down on her lower lip. Despite the doctor's warning, she could not stop the pain and anger brewing inside of her. 

“Today is the worst day of my life, it's bad enough that Samuel doesn't love me, now I caught him cheating on me on his sick bed after I donated my blood to save him. How could he be so cold-hearted? It was stupid of me to think Samuel would ever love me back,” she gasped in anger as she used the back of her hand to wipe off the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Nora shook her head in pity, “Calm down, Bella, I know how you feel, but you don't need this kind of stress in your condition; you need some rest,” she advised. 

“How do you expect me to be calm when my whole world is crashing before me? I can't think straight,” Bella said, running her hand through her messy hair.  

The buzz of Bella's phone distracted their conversation. She took her phone and glanced at it, “Oh, it's Nathan, my cousin,” she said before picking up the call.

“Hi Nathan,"

“Are you okay, Bella? Your voice is shaky.”

“Actually… I'm not feeling too well, I'm in the hospital now, but I will be fine”

“Oh my goodness, you are in the hospital? Please send me the address immediately”

“You don't have to come, I said i will be fine,” she said in a soft, persuasive tone.

“I insist, Bella, I want to be sure that you are okay,” Nathan pressed on.

“Ok, I will send you the address right away,” she said before hanging up. She immediately sent the address to Nathan.

“Your cousin Nathan cares so much about you,” Nora remarked.

“You can say that again. Ever since I left home, Nathan has been the only one communicating with me and showing me so much concern. I'm so grateful for that,” Bella said with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Nathan entered the room. 

“Wow, Nathan, that was so fast,” Bella remarked with a welcoming smile on her face.

“I was already close by when you sent the address. I just walked in right away.” Nathan replied as he sat beside Bella on the bed.

“Since you are here, Nathan, I will excuse you both to spend some time with each other. Call me when you need my assistance,” Nora said as she rose to her feet.

“Thanks so much, Nora," Bella thanked her, her heart filled with warmth to see that there were still people who cared about her.

Nora exited the room, leaving Samuel and Bella alone in the room.

Bella narrated her ordeal to Nathan, and he flared up immediately.

“What! You mean you are in this condition because of that jerk, and he has the guts to cheat on you on his sickbed. Take me to his room right now, I want to teach him the lesson of his life.” Nathan ordered, His face flushed with rage and his grey eyes darkened like a powerful storm.

“Calm down, Nathan. I know you care about me, but I don't want you to create a scene. I promise to handle it my way as soon as I'm discharged from the hospital," Bella pleaded, trying her best to pacify him.

Nathan's anger gradually faded. “Alright, if you say so, I will respect your decision. But I'm just scared that he might hurt you or the baby,” he said in a tone of concern.

“Don't worry, I will be fine, Nora is here to take care of me,” she said reassuringly.

“Alright, I'm leaving now. I will keep checking up on you till you are discharged.”

They hugged passionately for a moment, then a sudden light flashed in the room, making them disengage immediately.

“Did you see that flash of light?” Bella asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

“Yes, I did, it seemed like a camera flash or something,” Nathan concurred.

“Did someone just take pictures of us?” Bella said as they both shared a confused look.

“Wait, let me take a look,” Nathan went outside the room to check. His eyes moved from left to right, but he met an empty corridor. He went back into the room. “There's no one there, maybe we were just imagining things,” he presumed.

Bella had a sceptical look on her face. “But…how can we both be imagining the same thing at the same time? I could swear that someone has taken a picture of us. But who could that be?”