Chapter 4

I couldn't stand up from the bed the next morning.

My body felt weak, my head pounding like drum. My stomach churned violently, forcing me to stay curled up under the covers. I had barely slept, replaying Nicholas and Clara's betrayal over and over in my head.

Cecilia stood by the doorway, arms crossed, watching me with concern. “ Iris, you're not going to work like this.”

I groaned, burying my face into the pillow. “ I'll be fine.”

“ No, you won't,” she shot back. “You've been sick for days. You barely eat, you look pale, and now you can't even get out of bed.

I sighed heavily. “Cecilia, I just need rest.”

“No , you need a doctor.” She stepped closer holding her waist. “Come on, get up. We’re going to the hospital.”

I shook my head stubbornly. “I don't want to.”

Cecilia narrowed her eyes. “Iris”

“I said I'm fine.”

“You're clearly not!” She snapped, frustration creeping into my voice. “I get that you're heartbroken, but this isn't just about that. What if it's something serious.”

I hesitated. The nausea, the fatigue, the dizziness…. It had been going on for a while now.

Cecilia sighed, my tone softening. “ Please, just let the doctor check you. If it's nothing I won't nag you anymore. But if it something, at least we'll know.”

I stand at her, exhaustion weigh on me. As my stomach betray me, it hurt.

Without another word, I bolted from the bed, rushing straight to the bathroom.

I barely made it before I was hunched over the toilet seat, vomiting everything I had in me. My body trembled as I gasped for air.

Cecilia ran after me standing at the doorway of the bathroom. “Iris?” She knelt beside me, rubbing my back. “That's it, let it out.”

When the vomiting finally subsided, I slumped against the wall, breathing heavily.

“I don't know what is wrong with me.”

Cecilia frowned. “Now, we have to visit the hospital”

“Fine,” I muttered.

She grabbed my arm, helping me up. “Good. Let's go.”

******

The hospital smelled too clean, the bright fluorescent light making my head throb. I sat stiffly on the examination table as the doctor looked over my test results.

She glanced up at me with a small smile. “ Well Mrs Robinson.” She called me with Nicholas family name, the name I don't want to have anything to do with. “There's nothing serious to worry about.”

I exhaled in relief. “Thank God.”

“But.” She continued, “the reason you've been feeling this way is because you're pregnant.”

Silence occupied the doctor office.

I blinked at her, certain I had misheard. “I'm what?”

The doctor smiled warmly. “You're such weeks pregnant.”

A cold wave if shock washed over me. Pregnant?

Cecilia gasped behind me, her grip on my arm tightening. “Iris.”

But I barely heard her. My thoughts spiraled.

I was carrying Nicholas baby. The man who betrayed me. The man I had swear not to have anything to do with him anymore.

I placed a shaky hand on my stomach, my heart pounding.

What was I going to do now?