Chapter 5

Gloria

I had barely reached the hospital entrance when I stopped.

For a moment, I thought about simply leaving. I was exhausted, emotionally drained, and more than ready to put as much distance as possible between myself and the hospital.

Then I remembered what I had forgotten.

My appointment card.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Seriously?I searched through my handbag again, hoping I had somehow picked it up without realizing it. My fingers moved past my phone, wallet, and a few loose items, but the card was nowhere to be found.

I had left it in the consultation room.

There was no point pretending otherwise. If I wanted it, I had to go back.

I turned around and walked into the hospital again.

The moment I stepped through the doors, the familiar smell of disinfectant filled my nose. I had already spent hours inside the hospital, yet somehow, the place felt different now.

I had walked into that hospital thinking I knew what I wanted and somehow ended up confused.

Even now, I didn't know whether I had made the right choice.

My hand slowly moved to my stomach.

There was nothing to see yet. No obvious bump. No movement. Nothing that would tell anyone looking at me that my entire life had changed.

But I knew there was a baby inside me.

My baby.

The thought still felt strange.

For years, I had watched other women announce their pregnancies.

I had spent so much time believing that maybe something was wrong with me.

Marcus had made sure of that.

His words still lived somewhere in my head, even though I wished they didn't.What kind of woman can't give her husband a child?

I swallowed and forced myself to look ahead.

I didn't want to think about him.

Not now.

I just wanted to get my card and go home.

The corridor was quieter than before. A few nurses walked past me, speaking quietly among themselves, while somewhere in the distance, a machine beeped at regular intervals.

I was almost at the consultation room when I heard a man's voice.

“Father, please.”

My footsteps slowed.There was something about the voice but I couldn't explain it

I stopped completely, turning my head slightly toward the sound.

“Please, Dad. Stay with me.”My brows drew together

For some reason, the voice tugged at something in my memory.

It wasn't a clear memory. It was barely even a thought.

Just a strange feeling.

Like hearing a song I hadn't listened to in years and knowing I had heard it before without remembering where.

I looked toward the other end of the corridor.

Several doctors and nurses suddenly appeared, moving quickly. One of them was pushing a hospital bed, while another adjusted something beside the patient.

A man walked alongside them.He looked distressed.

“Please, you have to save him.”He begged,his voice shaking.

I couldn't see his face properly.

He was too far away, and everything was happening too quickly.

But his voice...

Again, that strange feeling.

I stared for another second, trying to understand why it sounded so familiar.

Where had I heard it?

My mind searched through recent memories.

Nothing.

Then, for the briefest moment, another image flashed through my mind.

A bar and a glass on a table,then a face appear but disappeared immediately

My brews drew together

What was that?

I tried to bring it back, but it was gone.

Maybe I was simply tired.

Maybe the stress of the past few months was making me associate random things with old memories.

The hospital bed disappeared around the corner before I could see the man's face.

I took a step forward.

Then my phone rang.

I reached into my handbag and pulled it. it was my mom

I answered immediately.

“Hello, Mom.”

“Where are you?” she asked. “Your father and I have been waiting for you.”

“I’m still at the hospital.”

There was a brief silence.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see the doctor?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“And?”

I lowered my eyes.

“I'll tell you when I get home.”

She didn't push me.

“Okay. Just come home. Your father has been worried.”

“I’m coming.”

I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my handbag.

For a second, I looked down the corridor again.

It was empty.

Whoever had been there was gone.

I stood there, wondering about the voice.

It still felt familiar.

But the harder I tried to remember, the more distant the feeling became.

I shook my head.

It didn't matter.

I had other things to worry about.

I continued toward the consultation room and pushed the door open.

The doctor wasn't there anymore.

My appointment card was still sitting on the edge of the desk, exactly where I had left it. I picked it up and slipped it into my handbag.

I turned to leave, but my eyes fell on the chair where I had been sitting earlier.

I remembered the doctor's question.

Are you sure you want to go through with this?

At the time, I hadn't been able to answer.

I had spent years desperately wanting a child, only to finally become pregnant at the exact moment when my marriage had fallen apart.

It felt cruel.

Almost like life was mocking me.

I placed my hand over my stomach again.

“I don't know what I'm doing,” I whispered.

The words sounded strange in the empty room.

I wasn't sure whether I was talking to myself or to the tiny life growing inside me.

All I knew was that when I had been lying there earlier, preparing to end the pregnancy, something inside me had refused.

Maybe it was fear or simply the part of me that had spent years dreaming of becoming a mother.

Whatever it was, I had listened to it.

And now I had to live with that decision.

I took a deep breath and left the room.

As I walked through the corridor, I found myself thinking about the strange voice again.

I still couldn't place it.

Then my mother's voice came back to me.

Your father has been worried.

I quickened my pace.

When I stepped outside, I raised my hand and flagged down the first taxi I saw.

The car pulled over beside me.

“Where are you going?” the driver asked as I opened the door.

I gave him my address and climbed into the back seat.

As the taxi pulled away from the hospital, I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.

For a brief moment, that unfamiliar voice crossed my mind again.

I frowned.

Then I let it go.