Chapter 7: What Happened to Me?

Ariana's POV

It was late afternoon when I finally left the hospital with the pregnancy confirmation report in hand. Children are a blessing, but at this moment, I was thinking of how I would take care of myself and this child. If the restaurant finds out I am pregnant, they will terminate my contract. I will have no job.  How did this happen, and who is the father? I wanted answers. 

I hailed a taxi and headed for the hospital where I had done the medical examination two weeks ago. I was hoping to find answers there.

I sat in the back seat of the car, my mind occupied with a lot as I drummed my fingers on the side of the car door while the vehicle was in motion.

"We are here, Health and Wellness General Hospital," the driver announced, but my mind was elsewhere as I stared out the window. So even though I heard him, I remained seated with my gaze fixated on the window. "Ma'am, we are here," the driver repeated, raising his voice a little, and I snapped out of my thought.

"I am sorry," I apologised and quickly fetched some money from my purse to pay the driver.

I got out of the car and stared at the hospital briefly before walking towards the entrance. Inside the hospital, I walked to the reception and politely greeted the lady behind the counter. 

"My name is Ariana Brown. I was here two weeks ago for a medical examination," I said to the lady at the reception.

"You are here to pick up your report?" the lady asked as she typed away on her laptop.

"Not really," I replied. "I just want to..." I began, but the lady interrupted me by raising her hand before I could complete my statement.

I was not even sure how to present my situation to her, so I waited patiently as I organised my narration in my mind.

"Just a minute, Ms," the lady said and picked up the phone receiver on her table. 

I just stared at her, waiting for her to finish whatever she was doing.

"Hello, kindly help me check from your end," the lady said and shifted her gaze to me. She covered the mouthpiece of the receiver with her hand and asked me, "Which day exactly did you visit?" 

"22nd July," I replied hesitantly. "It was a Monday," I added, realising she was checking my name in their system.

"Please help me check for a patient by the name of Ariana Brown. She was here for a medical examination on 22nd July," I heard her say, staring at me for confirmation, and I just nodded.

I stood there, staring at the lady as she spoke on the phone until she was done.

"Okay, thank you," the lady said and placed the receiver back.

"I am sorry, Ms, but there are no records of you visiting this hospital on the said date," the lady reported, and I frowned. 

"How is that possible?" I asked with a frown.

"I am sorry, we do not have your name in our system," the lady said to me, and I was surprised.

"But I was here. It was 8 am when I arrived here on the 22nd of July. I was taken down this hall to a room," I said, pointing in the direction I recalled I was taken two weeks ago when I visited.

"I am sorry, ma'am," the lady said. "You may have visited this place, but your name is not in the system. People come here and go all the time. Not all of them came to use our services," she added to my surprise.

"I did a medical examination," I insisted, surprised by what the lady was telling me.

"Do you have the report of the examination?" the lady asked, and I breathed out heavily.

The report was not with me. It was with the restaurant.

"No, it was a request from the restaurant where I worked, so they have the report," I replied, feeling frustrated.

"Hmm, I see," the lady said to me. "I am sorry. We don't have any record of you visiting, and you also have nothing to show that you were here. There is nothing more I can do for you," she said to my surprise.

"What?" I exclaimed, shocked to my very bones as I wondered how my name was not in their system and no record that I was ever there.

"Next," the lady said, moving on to attend to the next person.

I had no option but to make way for the other people who had just walked in. When I turned around, I looked in the direction I was led through two weeks ago when I came for the medical examination and saw two gentlemen chatting with a lady who had her arms folded across her chest. Their conversation didn't look friendly, but that wasn't my concern. I thought of what to do. After standing there for a while, I went back to the lady.

"I am sorry to bother you again. If I bring the report of the examination, would that help?" I asked.

"Yes," the lady replied, and I felt some hope of finding answers.

"Okay, I will be right back," I said and left the hospital, intending to go to the restaurant to pick up a copy of the examination report. 

I got into a car and gave the restaurant's destination to the driver. Tasty Meals Restaurant. 

At the restaurant, I went to see the second-in-command since it was a weekend, and the boss himself was not around.

"Ariana, we don't keep the medical reports of employees when we receive them. We only update your records to show that you took the test and that you are healthy to work here. Afterwards, we destroy the medical reports for confidentiality reasons. We do not want someone's medical information landing in the wrong hands," the second-in-command informed me. "What is the problem?" he asked.

"Nothing," I quickly replied, disappointed.

There was no way I could tell him my reason for looking for the medical report. He will try to help and end up finding out about my pregnancy. I will lose my job. I will need the money to care for this baby. So until my belly begins to show, I wanted to keep my job. 

"I just needed it to..." I tried to come up with an excuse, but couldn't find any. "I just needed it. Thank you. I would leave now," I said and stood up.

"Congratulations on your wedding," the man said to me with a smile, and I froze in my steps. 

I took the day off because it was my wedding day. I quickly hid my ring finger and smiled hesitantly. I had no ring on and I didn't want him to see that.

"Thank you," I appreciated and quickly left his office, hoping the rumours in town never get to any of my superiors.

I exited the restaurant and stood by the roadside. I had hit a dead end in finding out how this pregnancy happened and who the father is.

So many questions with no answers. Yet, I knew with this pregnancy confirmation report, I had lost my chance with Jeremy. There was no way he would believe I never cheated on him. I wondered where he was at this moment. After what happened, I have not heard from him or Melody.

The thought of Melody drew my mind to something. How did Melody know about my pregnancy? Will she know how it happened? I thought and quickly fetched my phone and dialled Melody's number. It began to ring and I patiently waited for her to answer.

"Hello Melody, please can we talk?" I asked as soon as the call was answered.

"What do you want?" Melody asked from the other end of the call, sounding very hostile.

"Melody, you are my friend. Please help me out here," I began. "I didn't know I was pregnant until you brought it up. I just wanted to know how you found out about my pregnancy. I am sure it will help me find out who the father is and how it happened. You and I know I have never been with any man," I explained.

"Ariana, how am I supposed to know what you do when you are alone?" I heard Melody ask.

"I understand, but how did you come by the report?" I asked.

"I found the envelope at your doorpost when I was about to step out, and came to your wedding. There were some disgusting images of you and a man in bed inside the envelope alongside the pregnancy report," I heard Melody say.

"You know I hate two-faced people. I thought you were different. I don't like Jeremy, but I know he is a good person, and that is why I exposed you. I don't know what you have up your sleeves, Ariana, but I don't like your character," Melody said and ended the call before I could say anything.

Disgusting images of me and a man? I thought. When, how? I thought of searching my mind.

I remembered an attack I had on my way home from the restaurant one evening. It happened three weeks ago. I did beat the guy senseless when he attacked me, but someone hit my head with something, and my vision went blurry. When I opened my eyes, I was in my apartment with Melody sitting next to me on the bed.

"What happened to me that day?" I whispered. 

I tried calling Melody again, but she didn't answer. I don't know how I got home that night after the attack. I feel she will know, but she was not answering her call.

I have been out in town since morning, moving from my place to another, trying to find answers. I was exhausted. I hailed a taxi and returned to my apartment, with all hope of finding out how I got pregnant, lost. I walked towards the front door and saw an eviction notice pinned to my door. I read the information and sighed.

I had failed to pay my rent because I used all my earnings to pay for Jeremy's final fees, and also supported his final project. I removed the notice and strode into the apartment. It was 15 minutes to 4 p.m. when I checked the time.

"What am I going to do with you?" I asked, staring at my belly. "Who is your father?" I asked, still staring at my belly.