Pregnant?

 Cold...

Deanna felt cold at that moment, so much so that she had difficulty even opening her eyes. Slowly, Deanna began to hear the sound of water dripping not far from her ear, but her body did not move at all. 

Deanna shivered, her lips turned blue, and her body tensed up. There was nothing Deanna could do but move to get warm. Deanna slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her body was submerged in water up to her chest, and the faucet dripping a single drop of water slowly was on the right side of Deanna's head.  

“I'm in the bathtub.” Deanna spoke to herself and began to move her body slightly. The woman heard the sound of ice cubes clinking every time she made a small movement. “Did he drown me in a bathtub filled with ice cubes?”

Deanna opened her eyes wider, and her guess was correct. The woman saw Meazus crossing his arms over his chest while glaring sharply at Deanna. 

“H-help...” Deanna's dry, blue lips moved, though she couldn't utter a single sound. “Please...”

“Do you still want to live?” Meazus' voice snapped Deanna back to reality. Did she still want to live? Was Meazus doing this to make her die slowly? If so, why was Deanna asking for help as if she wanted to be saved?

Deanna remained silent and said nothing more after that. However, at the same moment, she felt her body being lifted out of the bathtub filled with ice cubes. Deanna knew nothing else after that.

Several hours later, Deanna felt her body warm and very comfortable, but she didn't have much strength to move. Deanna felt her body covered in thick, comfortable clothing.

“Hello.” Someone spoke with a sweet smile as Deanna slowly opened her eyes. The middle-aged woman was sitting beside the bed holding a bowl. "I made porridge for you. It’s still warm. Would you like to try it?"

The voice and expression made Deanna feel no suspicion. The woman seemed very kind and friendly. Her face showed no sign of any ill intent toward Deanna. 

“This room...”

"This room is yours. Mr. Meazus gave you this room while you’re here. Come on, I’ll help you.” The woman helped Deanna change her position to sitting. She also placed a pillow behind Deanna’s back so she could feed her the porridge.  

Deanna didn’t know what made her open her mouth to eat the porridge. It tasted very good and warm. Deanna enjoyed it until the last spoonful.

“Do you want another bowl?”

Deanna shook her head. “I'm full.”

The middle-aged woman gave Deanna a cup of warm water, then gave her some vitamins.

“I don't know why you're here, but I'm sure you're not a bad person.”

Deanna remained silent because, to be honest, she also didn't know what crime had brought her here and caused her to be treated like a prisoner.  

“Tomorrow you'll meet Selena. Can you greet her nicely? A few days ago was Selena's birthday, and I've never seen her that happy when she met you.”

Deanna furrowed her brow. “Why?”

“Selena hasn't had a mother since she was born, and Mr. Meazus has never brought a woman to the mansion. That means Mr. Meazus seems to be saying he doesn't want to marry again. So, when you were at the mansion, Selena thought you would become his wife.”

“I couldn't possibly marry him.”

“That's right, Mr. Meazus probably still can't let go of the beautiful memories he shared with his late wife, so I don't think he'll want to remarry either.” 

Deanna bowed her head, but a hand gently stroked the back of her hand. "I'm explaining all this to Selena. I just want you to be kind and warm toward her. Even though you won't marry Mr. Meazus, but..."  

Deanna pulled her hand away. “Won't that just hurt her feelings in the future? It's like I'm giving her false hope.”  

"It's okay. Selena just lacks a mother's love. I heard you're a nurse. You must be very good with children, right? So act as if everyone here is your patient, including Selena. Will you agree to my request?"

Deanna stared into the middle-aged woman’s eyes for a few seconds, and she didn’t know why the word “no” suddenly vanished from her vocabulary. Deanna finally agreed to the woman’s request and would meet Selena the next morning. 

The next morning, Deanna did indeed meet Selena. The little girl still had the same expression as when she first met Deanna in the room. 

“Do you want to go to the park with me?”

Deanna smiled sweetly and took Selena's hand warmly. “Sure.” The woman played her role as if she were a nurse in this mansion. “Where is that man?”  

“Do you mean Daddy?” Selena asked as the two of them sat on a bench in the middle of the flower-filled garden. They were alone there after Nancy had brought them a plate of chocolate cake and iced cappuccino.  

“Yeah. Where is he?”  

“Daddy usually leaves for work abroad. He usually comes back in a week or two.”

Deanna nodded slowly. “Then what are we going to do here?”  

“I just want to tell you a lot of things.”  

Deanna nodded. “You can tell me anything.”  

The woman in the turquoise T-shirt listened to Selena's rollercoaster-like story, as she alternated between sounding happy and sad as she switched between topics. The eight-year-old girl seemed to enjoy their conversation, as she felt a difference when talking to Nancy and Deanna.  

“Have you been married before?” Selena asked suddenly.  

“No, I haven't been married.” Deanna raised the glass of iced cappuccino to her mouth. 

“Then marry my Daddy.” 

Instantly, Deanna felt her throat tighten and almost spit out the cold cappuccino after hearing Selena’s words.  

“I won’t marry him.”  

“Why?”  

“I just don’t want to. Maybe he can find another woman. A woman who’s more beautiful and—”  

“You’re a beautiful woman.”  

“But I’m not interested in marrying your daddy. I'm sorry."  

Selena lowered her gaze as if she were deeply saddened by Deanna's answer. A few minutes later, Nancy came over to them because the sky was cloudy. Nancy held Selena's hand, while Deanna wanted to stay there waiting for the rain to come.  

“It's just cloudy, not raining.” Deanna finally got up from the chair and immediately felt a little queasy. Was it because of the cappuccino? Deanna ignored it.

The next day, Deanna still felt the same—nauseous and vomiting. She asked Selena when they passed each other in the living room if the little girl felt nauseous and vomited after drinking the cold cappuccino when they were in the park. Selena's answer was no. That meant only Deanna was experiencing nausea and vomiting.

“Are you okay?” Selena took Deanna's hand with a worried look on her face. “Are you sick? I'll call Daddy to take you to the hospital.”

Deanna shook her head. “No. I'm not sick. I'm fine.”

“Do you want to come play with me?”

Deanna glanced at Nancy, who was standing next to Selena. She had promised Nancy not to make Selena sad, but this time Deanna couldn't control her own body.

“I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I'm not feeling well, I just want to rest today. If I feel better, I'll play with you.” 

Selena finally nodded and let Deanna go back to her room. 

The next day, Deanna felt her body wasn't getting any better. The nausea and vomiting were now accompanied by a dizzying headache. Deanna only wanted to eat porridge this morning because her body was still not feeling well.  

“May I come in?” Nancy spoke from outside the room after knocking on the door.  

“I didn't lock it.” Deanna had intentionally not locked the door because she knew Nancy would come, and she couldn't manage to open and close the door.  

Nancy brought porridge, as she had done a few days earlier, and intended to feed Deanna. The woman didn’t want to be taken to the hospital, and Meazus also didn’t allow his personal doctor to come to the house to check on Deanna’s condition before he returned from New York. 

“How do you feel?” Nancy asked after feeding Deanna the porridge she brought.  

“I feel dizzy, nauseous, and sometimes vomit. I’ve rested, but I still feel tired and achy.”

“Do you have an allergy to any food and did you eat it that day?”  

Deanna shook her head. “I don't have any food allergies. Besides, I only ate biscuits, chocolate cake, and iced cappuccino. I'm not allergic to such foods.”  

Nancy's expression suddenly grew more serious, and she spoke in a slightly lowered tone. “Are you pregnant?”