CHAPTER FOUR

Chapter Four

~A PREGNANCY TO KEEP

>Kate's Pov

When I returned Pierre had slid down the floor with one hand clutching his chest and the other bracing him on the floor.

"That is it!" I snapped. "You look deathly pale. We are going to the hospital now." My trembling fingers reached for my phone.

"No!" His voice managed to be steel despite his weakness. "There will be no hospitals Kate, not ever."

"B- but you can barely stand-"

"Please Kate, never take me there, ever. Promise?" His good eye locked onto mine and the emerald green that I recalled so vividly from that night was now dulled with fear. 

"I promise," I whispered. I opened the yellow bottle and watched as he swallowed two pills dry. His hands even shook so badly that he nearly dropped them.

"I will be fine after some rest."

“Let me help you to bed.” He hesitated and then nodded. Then, with slow movements, I slipped my arm around his waist. 

It was the same waist I had once traced with eager fingers in the dark of his hotel room. I helped him up while he let me guide him. 

He leaned heavily against me as we made our way to the bed. Being this close to the fragrance of his skin made my head spin with memories that I could not afford to revisit. I pulled back the covers and helped him ease onto the soft massive mattress. 

“Do not-” He began as I placed a pillow behind his head. 

“Do not what? Worry? It's too late.” He stared at me for a moment.

"I am sorry," he said and then he closed his eyes. "You do not have to stay."

But I did. 

I waited by his side, watching the rise and fall of his chest until his breathing finally evened out and sleep claimed him. 

Then, I grabbed my phone and slipped into the hall with my phone already pressed to my ear after punching in a number I had memorized long ago.

The receiver took the call on the second ring. “Kate?”

My throat tightened. “Kalis, I need your help desperately."

"What is happened? I thought this was supposed to be your wedding night? You sound terrified."

"It's my husband. I need you to help him without his knowledge."

"I do not understand you. Make it make sense."

"I would like you to create a chance meeting with him and offer to help him. He will not go to a hospital. And he needs proper treatment or he will die. But before that, I need you to find medical information on him. I will pay you Kalis." The line went quiet for so long that I feared she had hung up. 

"Do you realize what you are asking is unethical Kate?"

"I know. But he will die without help and I can not watch that happen."

......

Three days later, I met up with Kalis at a café near the hospital. Her dark curls had been pulled up into a tight bun. She put on her glasses before she placed a file on the table between us.

"This is your husband's file. You don't know what I had to go through to steal this shit." I swallowed hard. 

“Thank you Kalis."

"Speak gratitude in money," she grumbled, "and not in words."

"I will. What did you find?” She hesitated then slid the file towards me. “It is worse than you imagined.”

My fingers trembled as I opened it. There were various scans, reports and medical notes. I skimmed through until one phrase caught my attention and made my stomach drop.

“The metal shard lodged in the heart has shifted and the patient needs immediate intervention.”

I looked up at Kalis. “There is a metal shard in his heart?”

“Yes, and it keeps shifting. If it moves further, it could be fatal.”

“What can you do for him?”

“He would need surgery. I can create a chance meeting as you said, make friends and then convince him to let me examine him.” I just knew that there was more.

"But?" I pressed.

“But he has trust issues. I don't think he will agree to any kind of surgery unless he believes that he has no other option.”

“Please make him believe Kalis.”

She sighed. “I can't promise but I will do what I can..”

I nodded. “Please keep him alive.”

.......

That evening when I walked into Pierre’s office, his assistant barely glanced up as I passed. There was tension in the air like something had happened before I arrived.

Pierre was standing near his desk with his jaw was clenched. He glanced at me as I shut the door behind me.

“What is wrong?” I asked as I went up to him. "Is your chest hurting again?" I studied his face. The stress was eating at him. He looked exhausted. 

"No," He exhaled sharply. “Someone sent me an email threatening to release company secrets.”

I hesitated before I reached for his arm. “Pierre, you need to rest. Allow your team handle this.”

He tensed at my touch but he did not pull away. “I do not have the time to rest Kate.”

“Then make time.”

His emerald gaze flickered to mine and I remembered his lips on my breasts, his tongue teasing my nipples. I recalled his tongue on my clit, his eyes meeting mine above my core as he ate my cookie.

I should tell him. He deserved to know that I was the red head lady from six months ago.

I took a deep breath as I gathered my courage. “I need to tell you something about us Pierre.” He looked at me. "It is about-"

I heard the sounds of argument outside before the door to the office burst open.

Then Ella was standing there.

She stormed in with her heels clicking against the floor. She was holding a white envelope.

She palmed it onto Pierre's chest with a smirk. “You wanted proof.”

"Proof of?" Pierre asked as I took the envelope from between Ella's hands and Pierre's chest and opened it.

Inside it was a pregnancy result. It stated that Ella was pregnant. It dated five weeks back. 

I shrugged. Anyone can make that. But then, I saw the pictures attached to it, pictures taken exactly five weeks back of Ella and Pierre in bed.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Is this true?" I asked as I raised the pictures for Pierre to see.

Ella crossed her arms triumphantly across her chest. “I am pregnant with your child, Pierre. And now, you can not deny it.”