[ WARNING FOR CHAPTERS TO COME: IMAGERY/ DESCRIPTION RELATED TO MISCARRIAGE ]
~

Ashley, with the deepest of frowns on her face, helped herself sit up so that she could take a proper look at the man beside her.

Then, she said, “I am afraid you might be mistaken, Doctor. What do you mean by pregnant?”

“You aren’t aware of your state of pregnancy?”

“Does it look like I am?” Ashley’s anger was on the tip of her tongue as she tried to put two and two together. The pregnancy was undoubtedly Dave’s. But how? What could have happened? She was certain she took pills.

“In case you need to be sure, we can run the test again. Maybe, after that, we could discuss options if you want to.”

“Options?”

“You might not desire to have a baby…”

“I don’t… I don’t think I need to discuss options.”

“You just seemed rather taken back by the news. That’s why I suggested…”

“I am really fine with it. If I am pregnant, I am fine with it.” Even though it seemed like she would be raising the baby on her own, Ashley consoled herself with the fact that she would finally have someone around her that would stay for a long time. A child with whom she would make memories with. She finally would have a reason to laugh, someone to cry with, someone to have silly talks with.

It seemed like she finally found a replacement for Dave.

“Well, if you say so.” The tall man reached and patted Ashley’s shoulder while she smiled dreamily and rubbed her stomach gently. “When you feel better, I will love to talk with you. There are a few things you need to know.”

Ashley then thought about the journey ahead. It was going to be stressful, it was going to take a lot of strength. And she needed strength, physically and mentally, emotionally too since she was going to be alone.

Sighing, and praying for strength in a corner of her soul, Ashley acknowledged the doctor and watched him leave the room.

And, without delay, Tamara rushed her way into the ward.

“Hi,” she quietly said, as though there was a delicate baby in the room who didn’t wish to be disturbed. When she made it to Ashley’s side, she continued, a bit of guilt on her face, “I wish things didn’t have to turn out this way for you. I promise Boss,” Tamara hurriedly reached for her hand, “I will try everything to make sure you don’t feel alone during and after your pregnancy. I will try my best.”

“In that case, you might become her godmother,” Ashley teased, a bit rejuvenated thanks to Tamara’s contagious

“Really? But… Can you tell that it is a girl?”

“No, Tamara. But I would love for it to be a girl. But if it turns out to be a boy, I won’t mind. I will love him without complaining.”

“I am so glad you are being strong about this.” Tamara took a deep breath before asking her next question. “Don’t you think you should tell him though?”

“He has a family already.”

“But… You need your baby’s father around. He can help…”

“I will be fine raising this baby on my own. I don’t need help from his father at all.”

“So you won’t let him know he has a child with you?”

“No. It is better that way.”

“What if your child grows up and starts to ask questions?”

“Tamara…” Her questions were realistic but Ashley did not like them. “When that time comes, I will know how to go about it.”

“But…”

“I will love to rest now, Tamara.”

“Sure.”

As Tamara made to get up, Ashley recalled something. “Please, could you ask Sasha to check the progress of my house reconstruction?”

“I will do that.”

“Thank you.” Ashley slipped properly into the bed, her hand still not leaving her stomach.

And, with her mind trying its best to not drive here and there, she began to imagine a future with the soul growing inside her.

And she loved it. Every part of it.

~

Roughly two months after, the full reconstruction of her house was completed and though initially reluctant, Ashley convinced herself that moving back would not be that much of a bad idea. Besides, it had enough space to raise a baby.

And she was going to make sure the previous memories of the house didn’t haunt both of them.

As she dragged her luggage behind her, Ashley began to sort of miss Tamara’s place at which she had spent a great number of weeks. Even though Tamara didn’t mind, Ashley felt like she was imposing and that made her speed up her house reconstruction. But she sure did miss Tamara and her lovely way of interaction. And Ashley felt appreciative towards her.

Pulling her bag further into the house, Ashley decided that staying on the ground floor would be the best thing. So, she settled her luggage in the middle of the room and as she made to approach the staircase, she wondered how she was going to move a lot of her belongings from the top floor. She could manage to get a few clothes out, but carrying her mattress on her own would be a task.

She was almost at the staircase when she felt a continuous buzz in the bag that was hanging down her right shoulder. Ashley was almost at the staircase when a continuous buzz in the bag hanging down her right shoulder stopped her steps. After she pulled out her rarely used phone, the caller ID staring back at her made her heart flip.

It was Dave Scott.

For the past months, Dave tried so hard to reach her. But Ashley’s phone was usually tossed aside for as long as possible. Ashley refused to use that device for a while, so when it came to office work she used Tamara’s extra phone.

It really had been so long. Even though she had managed to live the past months without thinking of him, things were still hard for her to deny the fact that she missed Dave and thought of him from time to time.

Ashley declined the call to her dismay. Then, she let out a breath she had sucked in.

“I am fine without him.” She caressed her slightly bulging stomach. “We are fine without him. We will be fine here.” She managed a small smile. “Welcome home, baby” she whispered into the room and made for the stairs to get her stuff.

Her feet slowly helped her up the seemingly strenuous flight and Ashley began to reason how she was going to move her mattress again.

It was then she heard a faint noise. It seemed as though she imagined it at first, but when it came the second time, it was certain she was not hallucinating.

Curiosity and a bit of fear coursing through her body, Ashley walked a bit faster to finally land on the floor that led to what used to be the abode of a seemingly happy couple.

Just as she was about to take a step into the study room which was the first room in the left direction, the familiar scent that her ex-husband carried around filled the air. And, the man appeared in front of her.

“Kevin? What are you doing here?” He did not respond, instead, he deepened his glare at her and that roused something in her. “What on earth are you doing here? What did you come to destroy this time?”

“Why did you lie?”

“Lie?” Ashley scoffed in disbelief at his ridiculous question. “What are you talking about? What stupid thing are you here to rant about?”

In a swift response, Kevin brought his arm up to expose what his hand had been hiding. Jiggling the nylon in the air he said, “This is what I am talking about. These pills are what I am talking about.”

“What about them?”

“You lied to me about not being able to conceive. You knew how much I wanted a child, yet you found it easy to deceive me by taking these damn pills.”

“Excuse me. If you can recall well, I believe I rang it numerous times into your ears that I was not ready to have a child. But did you listen to me? No. And you are surprised that I used pills?”

“How…?”

“Why is the issue even freaking you out so much? You already married the woman you want, right? Tell her to give you a child and don’t disturb my life anymore with your stupid drama.” Ashley was irritated, she wanted to move on already.

“How dare you?” Kevin growled.

Ashley took a step back to properly express her surprise at his outburst.

Then, she said, “In case you have forgotten, we are no longer married, so you don’t have the right to come into this place and shout at me.”

“Well, you ruined my wedding.”

“I ruined your wedding? I ruined your wedding? Kevin! You ruined your wedding! If you had looked away when you saw me coming out of the chapel that day, maybe you would be married by now.”

“How dare you…”

“You want to hit me? Go ahead. Just so you know, I have a baby inside me. So, go ahead and hit me.”

“Wh-What? You are pregnant?” Ashley gave him a look that outrightly told him that the baby wasn’t his. And, Kevin scoffed. “I can’t believe you have a baby for that man.”

“Please leave my house.”

“Ashley…”

She did not let him finish his statement. “Leave. My. House!”

As Kevin adhered to her request, his shoulder furiously bumped against hers and that caused her to lose her balance and she soon found herself staggering backwards.

Ashley tried to find balance, but unfortunately, she discovered that the sole of her feet had peeled off the floor and she was almost falling off the first step of the stairs. Her eyes widened in great fear, she stretched her hand into the air and hoped that Kevin was about to catch her.

He did not. catch her.

And the fall she dreaded caused her to tumble down the stairs. But her fall wasn’t her concern. All that occupied Ashley’s mind was her baby.

The gentle touch she had on her stomach was all she could focus on even after she heard someone cry out in distress. All that mattered was her baby.

The beautiful soul inside her.

As soon as the unmerciful fall ended, Ashley found herself kissing the ground with a huge force. Her hand still held her stomach that lay flat on the ground but she began to feel lightheaded.

And as she hated the feeling that came with that moment because she wanted to fight. There was a darkness she was slipping into and she wanted to fight it. But she couldn’t. Instead, the force in her head kept pulling and pulling till she lost consciousness.

But before her eyes finally closed, for like a mini-second, she felt a pair of hands trying to work her body back into life.

For some reason, all it took was the contact of those hands with her body and Ashley began to assure herself that she was going to be fine. That the baby was going to be fine.

If Dave was the one trying to help her stay alive, they were all going to be fine.