Chapter 9: Welcome to Oakhaven

[Giana’s POV]

—

I chose to catch my flight and ignore Axel’s messages. My phone was deliberately turned off during the flight. As soon as my plane landed, I found five missed calls from Axel and one message from Mel asking if I had landed safely.

Before I could reply to Mel, my phone rang again.

“Did you go to the hospital?” Axel asked without any small talk.

I took a deep breath.

“Not yet.”

“Why didn’t you go to the hospital?” His voice rose. “You were in an accident, weren’t you? You need to get yourself checked.”

I sighed again. Axel was too perceptive for this. I knew he knew, but I didn’t want to confirm it.

“Basic deduction again?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you go to the hospital, Giana.”

“Listen, this is not your business, and you don’t need to tell me what to do,” I snapped. “I’ve answered your call, and you already know I’m fine. So stop calling me now.”

I hung up, then replied to Mel’s message that I had landed.

Dragging my suitcase, one of its wheels broken from the impact earlier, I made my way to the pickup zone and called for a taxi. The driver greeted me politely and helped load my suitcase into the car.

“Oakhaven, 12 Birchwood Lane.”

He nodded and started driving. I lowered the seat and leaned my head back, trying to ignore the dull ache in my abdomen. My hand rubbed my still-flat stomach, and every now and then, I winced in pain. In fact, the pain had already started on the plane.

“You look like you’re in pain. Sorry if I’m overstepping, but are you pregnant?”

“No.” The answer came automatically. I paused before correcting myself. “I mean, yes.”

I didn’t know why I denied it first. My subconscious desire to keep my pregnancy a secret from the Windsor family seemed to have followed me here, even in front of a taxi driver who didn’t even know me.

“Ah, I see. I’ll drive more carefully.”

Another cramp hit, sharper this time.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “Ma’am, the fastest route to that address is a little bumpy. I’m worried you’ll be uncomfortable, and with your pregnancy, I’d rather not risk it. There’s another route that’s a little longer. Would you like me to take that instead?”

I gripped my shirt tightly.

What was I doing?

Everyone else seemed more worried about my baby than I was. I had come all this way because I wanted to protect my child, yet here I was, trying to convince myself that nothing was wrong.

“Sir, actually, can you take me to the nearest hospital?”

***

The hospital was quite big and it was the only one in Oakhaven. I went through the ER and underwent a series of examinations.

“My suspicion was correct,” the doctor said seriously. “The ultrasound shows a subchorionic hematoma that—”

“How is my baby, Doctor?” I interrupted.

“The heartbeat is still normal.”

“Thank God,” I murmured instinctively. “So there’s no problem?”

“Like I said, there’s a moderate-sized hematoma,” she said. “If it gets bigger, you could have a miscarriage.”

“A hematoma?”

“There’s blood trapped in your uterus. You said there was a minor impact when you were in the car on that bumpy road, correct?”

I nodded. I deliberately didn’t tell him that I had been in an accident—or rather, that someone had deliberately tried to hurt me.

“It might have been small at first. But that was several hours ago, and you’ve been active, dragging your suitcase. Have you just come from a long trip? That could have made it worse, which is why the hematoma has grown.”

I lowered my eyes. I felt like I was being blamed. Yet, I couldn’t defend myself.

My decision was indeed a mistake.

“What should I do?”

“I recommend reducing your activity from now on. If possible, get complete bed rest. Ask your partner or someone at home to help you.”

I nodded with a bitter smile, agreeing with whatever she said. In the place I was heading to, I didn’t even have anyone.

“Now, since your vital signs are stable and there are no other signs of complications, you can go home. But, as soon as you feel any cramping or bleeding, stop whatever you’re doing and come straight to the hospital.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Remember, reduce your activity, get plenty of bed rest, and don’t overthink things, especially to the point of stressing yourself out. Excessive stress can make your condition worse. At least for the next week or two, then come back for a follow-up.”

No stress, she said.

With everything that had happened to me, simply not going crazy was already an achievement.

After completing the paperwork, I found the taxi driver waiting for me in the lobby. I had asked him to wait because I was worried it would be difficult to find another taxi in such a small town.

He drove me carefully to the address. It was a house I had found through F******k Marketplace. I had arranged everything with the owner through chat and planned to rent it for a year.

The owner immediately greeted me as soon as the taxi stopped in the yard, as if she had been waiting for me. However, she looked much older than she did in her F******k photo. Much older.

It wasn’t really a problem since I wasn’t even using my real account to contact her.

“Giana Hale?” asked the homeowner, an elderly who looked at least over seventy.

I nodded. “Mrs. Whitmore? I’m sorry I’m late. I had to get my pregnancy checked.”

“No problem.” She smiled warmly. “Just call me Emma. We’re going to be neighbors.”

I only nodded as I looked at the house, which looked slightly different from the photos Emma had provided. The exterior looked more worn.

“I live over there,” she said, pointing at the blue-roofed house next door. “So if you need anything, you can just knock on my door.”

She opened the front door of the rented house and turned on the lights. The lights flickered together before finally coming on. One of the bulbs sparked and went out. Emma immediately opened the curtains, letting the sunlight in and illuminating the house.

“I cleaned the house before you came, so you can move in right away.”

I narrowed my eyes in disbelief.

“This… looks different from the photos on F******k.”

“What looks different? The house in the photo is this house.”

I looked around at the worn-out furniture. The staircase looked somewhat rickety. The front door creaked loudly before finally closing on its own.

“It’s just that the photos were taken twenty years ago. This used to be my son’s house.”

I felt like I’d been tricked. But at least, I hadn’t paid anything yet.

“If you don’t like it, that’s okay. You can look at another house. Sophie also rents out a house, too, just a thirty-minute walk from here.”

A thirty-minute walk? And then I’d have to go back to the hospital because my hematoma had gotten bigger?

“But almost all the houses here are like this. Most of us are grannies, anyway.”

I took a breath. I knew living in a small town would be difficult and less comfortable. But I hadn’t expected it to be like this.

“Okay, I’ll take this house.”

I couldn’t afford to be picky in a situation like this.

“Great. You can tell your husband to replace the light bulbs and fix the door later once he’s here.”

I froze.

“When is your husband coming by the way?” Emma continued. “Surely he wouldn’t leave his pregnant wife here all by herself, right?”