Brianna:

I sat in shock, staring at Tessa, and I was at a loss for words. I didn't know whether if I should cry or get angry and accuse her of lying. But she had the proof. And she showed me the evidence that she and Nick were, in fact, sleeping together.

The room suddenly got colder than it already was, and then I noticed the room begin to spin. "I should go," I quietly said, standing quickly and feeling as if I were about to faint.

"I understand what you want from me, and I'll think about it. But now that you know why I've been as upset as I have, maybe now you'll understand why I'm pissed," Tessa said, standing, then turned, walked to the window, and looked—standing just as she was when I entered the room.

As I felt the room closing in on me, my breathing became heavier and faster, and I knew I had to get out of the room. And I needed to leave fast. I looked at Tessa one last time, then turned before I fell to the ground, and as I got to the door and held onto the doorknob, I said what I first came here to say. "For what it's worth, I ask that you please do the right thing."

I opened the door, and after I exited and shut the door behind me, I stood against it with my hand covering my mouth and closed my eyes, trying to fight the tears that wanted to escape. I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then repeated until I felt I was able to walk. I started walking, and after taking a couple of steps, I felt dizzy, I was having a hard time breathing, and then everything went black.

I have no idea how long I was lying on the floor. But when I opened my eyes, everything was blurry. However, I could see a woman's face in mine, asking if I was okay, then she began yelling for help. The next thing I knew, they lifted, then rushed me to a room where they started examining me, hooked me up to some machines, then ran a test to make sure the baby was okay.

"How are you feeling?" A nurse concerningly asked.

"I'm fine," I lied. I felt a bit lightheaded, and I was also feeling a little sick to my stomach. But I didn't want to tell them that. I just wanted to get out of the hospital and to get home before Nick got home.

"You're a bit pale, and your oxygen levels are low."

"Really. I'm fine. I received some news that got me a little worked up, and it didn't sit too well with me," I said, pushing myself to sit straight. "What I need is some fresh air."

The nurse handed me a glass filled with water. "You stay right where you are and drink this," she urged. "While we wait for your test results to come back, is there someone who I can call that can come to pick you up?"

I shook my head. "No. Besides, I drove here so I can drive back home."

"I'm sorry, miss. But for safety reasons, our hospital policy is that we can only release you to someone related to you or your significant other. If they're not an option, are you married or still with the father of your child?"

Great. Nick is the last person I want coming here to sign me out of here. "Can I have a friend sign me out?" The nurse unapologetically shook her head no. I raised the small little dixie cup filled with water to my lips, drank it in one swallow, then sighed as I rested the cup on my belly. "I guess you can call the father of my child," I said quietly, then gave her his number.

Just as the nurse opened the door, I called out, "Are you sure I can't drive myself?"

"Hospital procedure is we can only release you to a relative or someone that's like a relative."

Welp... This will be fun.

******

Nick:

I twirled the pencil around with my fingers while talking on the phone with my client when my cell phone started ringing. I leaned forward to see who was calling, and when I saw that it was from a blocked number, I rejected the call thinking it was Tessa. A couple of minutes later, my phone rang again, saw it was a blocked number, and again, I rejected the call, then turned my phone completely off.

I hung up with my client and grabbed my jacket off my chair as I stood. As I headed to my door, my office phone rang, and again, thinking it was Tessa, I continued to leave and stopped by Anna's desk on the way out. "I have to meet with a client; I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Okay," she said as her phone rang. She held up her finger, wanting me to wait. After she answered, her eyes widened, and her mouth fell. She covered the mouthpiece and said. "It's the hospital looking for you."

I tilted my head to the side. "Ask who it's regarding," I sighed, thinking they're calling about Tessa.

"Brianna."

My heart stopped, my stomach quickly turned, and then I reached and grabbed the phone from Anna's hand. "Nick, speaking."

"Hello, Nick. My name is Stacey. A nurse here at Harmony hospital. We have Brianna Jacobs here, and we need someone to come sign her out. Would that be something you can do?"

"Ah yeah. I can do that. But what happened? Is she okay?" I paused, and looked at Anna when the nurse started to speak, then I cut her off, "You know what? Never mind. I will be there as quick as I can."

I dropped the phone. "I have to pick up Brianna from the hospital. Would you please call Dominick Adams and let him know that I cannot meet him now, that an emergency came about?"

"Sure. I can do that."

"Thank you."

"I hope Brianna's okay."

"Me too," I said while rushing out the door.

******

I ran into the hospital, and not knowing where I was to go, I stopped at the information desk. "I received a call that I was to pick up and sign out my girlfriend. But I never gave the nurse a chance to tell me where to go."

The older lady behind the counter that looked to be in her eighty's smiled. "I can help you with that. What is her name?"

"Brianna Jacobs."

She looked at her computer, typed in her name, then pointed me in the direction I needed to go. "She's on the third floor. If you head that way, you'll find the elevators on your left. That'll get you to where you need to be."

"Thank you," I said, knocking my knuckles a couple of times on the counter.

It hit me while I entered the elevator that Tessa was here, and closed my eyes. Great two women in my lives are here. One I'm madly in love with, and the other one I'm trying to free myself from my life. The elevator couldn't move fast enough for me, and as I stood behind the doors, I tapped my foot quickly. Impatiently waiting for the doors to open, and when they did, I sprinted to the nurses' station.

"Hi. I understand you're holding Brianna Jacobs hostage? I'm Nick, and I'm here to sign her out."

The nurse behind the counter looked up and giggled. "Hostage?"

"That's what I said. I was told Brianna wasn't allowed to leave unless I signed her out. So, in my eyes, she's being held, hostage. What is she in here for, anyway?"

"Looks like she fainted and had fallen while she was here at the hospital."

What the hell was she here for? She never mentioned anything to me about needing to be here for anything. "Fainted? While she was here?"

"That's what it says here. Brianna's in room 311 if you would like to go in and see her."

"Thanks."

"I will let the doctor know that you're here," she said as I walked away.

As I walked down the hallway, I rubbed my face thinking about this morning. Trying to remember if Brianna mentioned anything about coming to the hospital or if she said something, and I might not have heard her. But all I remembered was her in bed. I kissed her forehead as her eyes were closed and said, I'll see you later. She hummed and said, 'okay.'

I quietly shut the door after seeing Brianna was asleep, then walked over to her and quietly stood while circling my mouth with my fingers, watching her stomach rise and fall as she breathed. I leaned forward, kissed her forehead, and whispered, "Brianna. Wake up."

Her eyes opened, then her lips pursed back.

"What happened?" I asked, caressing her cheek.

"I got lightheaded, and then everything went black."

"I didn't know you had to be here today. Why didn't you tell me? I would have brought you."

"No, you wouldn't have," she said, shaking her head.

"What? Yes, I would have. Is there something wrong with the baby that you needed to be here?"

She shook her head. "No... I-,," she began saying but stopped when the nurse came in the room.

"The doctor will be here shortly to go over the results with you two and to get you your discharge papers."

"Thank God. I want to get out of here," Brianna groaned.

I followed the nurse out and pulled her to the side. "I'm sorry. I do not understand why she's here. What tests?"

"I'm not sure why she's here. All I know is she was brought in for evaluation, and they ran a test on her."

The doctor arrived while I was speaking with the nurse, and when he walked into the room, I followed behind. "Hello, Brianna. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. And I'm ready to go home."

"That's good. I looked over your tests, and everything looks fine. And the test results came back normal. If you give me a moment, I'll get your discharge paperwork together, and a nurse will be back in with them. You do have someone that can bring you home, right?"

I cleared my throat, alerting the doctor I was right behind him. "That'll be me. Now I have a question because I'm still in the dark about why she's even here in the first place."

"I told them I was fine before they brought me in here," Brianna sighed.

"The notes I have here been written by a nurse, here at the hospital, that witnessed her faint. That nurse is the one who brought her here to make sure she was okay."

Huh... still not the answer I was looking to hear.

Brianna must have seen the reaction on my face, and as I opened my mouth to speak to the doctor, she interrupted.

"Nick, I'll explain once we get the hell out of here."

Half an hour later, we're finally leaving the hospital and on our way home. It was quiet. I was waiting for an explanation, and Brianna was fidgeting with her fingers. Something tells me she was at the hospital for a reason she was afraid of me knowing. Then she finally turned to me. "Somehow, I need to get my car."

"Where's your car?"

"At the hospital."

******

Brianna:

I could tell Nick was either not happy or he was confused. Maybe it was a little of both. Our ride leaving the hospital was tranquil, and I wasn't sure where to start. I'm so embarrassed right now. Here I thought I could visit Tessa, talk her into signing the papers, and then I get a shocker that caused me to end up in the hospital for a little bit. It took him a few seconds to respond after I told him where my car was, but those few seconds seemed like forever.

"I'll take you to get your car later. After you explain to me why you were there in the first place," he said, turning to look at me. "If you were there because of the baby, or even for your health, I deserve to know."

"I know you deserve to know. Just as I deserve to know some things too," I said, crossing my arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When we get home, I'll talk."

I looked back over to him and instantly knew there was a huge fight brewing. And after we got home and inside the house, he pressed again. "Why were you at the hospital, Brianna?" Asking like he had a feeling of why I was there.

"I went to see Tessa," I said, walking further in the house and over to the counter to set my purse down.

"You what?"

"I had to see Tessa. I had to see if maybe I could be the one to talk her into signing the papers."

"She hates your guts! Why would she do anything, you ask?"

My eyes rolled up to his when I heard his footsteps nearing me and held up my hand with my palm facing him. "I thought that if Tessa saw how pregnant I was, she would give in and do what's right. I also thought if that didn't work, I'd be able to talk and convince her into letting you go. And I was hoping to get her to realize she lost you a long time ago."

His face started changing colors, from pink to red, and he raked his fingers through his hair. "Why would you go there to see Tessa without me? And what if she went ballistic and hurt you?"

I was still feeling a bit lightheaded and pulled out a chair to sit on. "I called the hospital before I left the house. They explained they had administered her some medications and that she would only be seen from ten in the morning until possibly noon, depending on how the medications were working. So, I figured since she was on meds, that it would be much easier to talk to her."

Nick pulled his hair, then spun around, facing his back towards me. "She was actually quite pleasant to talk to for once," I said as he walked away. He stopped walking, turned around, and started walking back to me, pointing his finger and opening his mouth as if he was going to say something, but I beat him to it. I needed to tell him what got me worked up and what caused my visit to the hospital room.

"She was pregnant, you know."

He stood tall, with his brows formed together, and twitching his head. "What?"

"She was pregnant."

"If she was pregnant. It wasn't mine. That's for damn sure."

"She claimed she was pregnant when she found out about us and claimed it caused her to miscarry not long after. She also said she was due a month and a half before me."

Nick sarcastically laughed. "She's full of shit," he said in a high pitched voice.

"I saw the evidence, Nick. I saw the sonogram picture."

"How do you know it wasn't a fake image?"

"Her name was on the image."

"Well, it wasn't mine," he barked. "If Tessa's name was on the picture, then what was the fucking date on it, then?"

Shit. I never did look at the date on it. I saw Tessa's name and then the baby in the image before I handed it back to her.

I slowly waved my head. "No, I didn't."

He breathed a chuckle. Finding humor in something I believed was real. "Either Tessa showed you an old picture from after we married, or if she was recently pregnant, then she showed you a baby that she was having with someone else because Tessa was definitely not pregnant by me. You have to have sex to get pregnant, which was something we weren't."

Now, I'm feeling very fucking stupid if I fell for her lies. Another web she spun. A web she knew I'd be gullible enough to fall into. I crossed my arms, crossed my legs, and then I huffed after hearing Nick chuckle again. "She knew you would fall for it. And it worked."

"She claims she carries that picture everywhere she goes."

He laughed harder. "Tessa's delusional... think about it, Brianna, if that was my child. She would have brought it up to me, and if she carries that picture everywhere, then she would have shown it to me. Especially that day she had me meet her at the cafe. That vindictive woman knows what she's doing, and again, she's trying to split us up. Even while she's in the hospital."

"She made it sound so believable!"

Ugh. Now I'm fucking pissed. Here I tell Nick not to fall into her web, and stupid me just did.

Nick had disappointment in his eyes, and seeing how hurt he was, had me feeling disappointed with myself. "Promise me you will not go there again. Stay away from her, okay?" He turned around and started heading towards his den, then he yelled, "I'll call Anna to have her pick me up to get your car."

******

After Nick left with Anna to get my car, the suspense was killing me about the baby Tessa claimed was Nick's, and I grabbed my phone. I needed to know, and I wanted to see the picture again. I wasn't sure if Tessa had her cellphone or if she was even allowed to have it in her hospital room, but I sent her a message anyway:

Brianna: Hi, Tessa. Nick and I talked about your pregnancy, and I was curious about that sonogram picture you showed me earlier. Is there any way you could send me a picture of it? Please?

I knew it was a longshot. But it was worth a try to see if Tessa would send it.

As I waited for a reply, I started preparing dinner. Nick's pissed at me. I was pissed at Nick. And now I needed to do something that will get us talking again.

But then again. It all depends on that sonogram picture of Tessa's.

I kept checking my phone while I made dinner, hoping to see a response from Tessa. It had me bummed she hadn't responded, but it also had me feeling she didn't have her phone, so I let it go, with hopes she will send it once she has her phone. Nick walked in, just as I finished dinner and walked up behind me. His arms wrapped around me, then he pulled me tightly against him, kissed the back of my head, then rested his chin on the top of my head. "Sorry for getting pissed at you earlier. I was out of line."

I smiled. "It's okay. I was pissed at you too."

"When I got that phone call from the hospital saying you were there and that I needed to sign you out, I freaked out. Then I was bothered to hear you were there to see Tessa. I couldn't imagine what I'd do if Tessa were to hurt you or the baby in any way."

"I know. And I'm sorry I scared you, and I'm very sorry that I went to see Tessa without you there with me."

I turned around, brought my arms up, and wrapped them over his shoulders. Then I pressed his head close to mine and kissed him, kissing him passionately and showing him how sorry I was to be pissed at him about Tessa being pregnant after months of insisting they hadn't had sex.

With our lips locked together, and in a moment, I didn't want to end. It ended, anyway, when my phone started making message noises. I parted from Nick's lips and looked at my phone. I looked at Nick, then back to my phone. I reached for it, saw it was from Tessa, and then I felt my heart start racing when I clicked the message to open.

I looked at the picture, studied the date, and then I felt my face turn ghostly.

"Brianna? What are you looking at that's got you so tuned into your phone? Because whatever you're studying hard, made your face turn white as snow."

The date.

The fucking date.

She wasn't lying.

I looked away from my phone and jumped my eyes up to Nick's. "It's from Tessa."

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!🤞🤞