Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Ava

I woke up with an intense pain in my stomach. A startled cry left my mouth and I sat up on the bed, clutching my stomach.

It felt like something was twisting inside me.

"Ava, Ava. What's going on? What's wrong?" Jasper's voice rang out. He grabbed my shoulder gently. Shaking me a little to get my attention.

"My ... stomach ..." I told him in a strained voice.

The pain was a bit too intense for me to speak but I managed to get my words out.

"Okay, okay. Wait for a second." He said and his touch disappeared from my shoulders. At once the pain got a bit too intense, making my eyes shut close and I passed out.

I woke up with a 'beep beep beep' sound, disturbing my sleep. I peeled my eyes open, slowly and blinked at the bright light from the light bulb. When my vision adjusted to the light, I looked around myself. I was wearing a hospital gown and probably was in a hospital. There were machines monitoring my BP, heart rate and such. There was where the sounds were coming from.

I touched my belly, trying to feel what was happening inside me, somehow, but felt nothing. My gaze turned sideways but I found no one. There was slight discomfort in my belly but other than that I felt okay.

The door of the room opened and Jasper walked in along with a doctor.

Jasper's eyes traced my figure in worry. I felt an ache in me that had nothing to do with my belly pain. It was a lady doctor and she spoke with a smile as soon as she reached my side.

My hand still rested on my stomach. I stroked my belly feeling a little unsettled by seeing her.

"Hello Miss White. I am doctor April from the obgyn department." She said. I gave her a small smile.

"The pain I felt earlier …" I left the sentence hanging in the air like a question.

"The pain you felt earlier was caused by the stress. I know what happened yesterday and what you went through. However, everything is fine now, but you must keep this in your mind that any more stress can lead to some serious problems with your pregnancy. So please make sure that you don't get stressed and rest during your pregnancy." She told me.

I glanced at Jasper and Dr. April told me what I wanted to ask without ever asking.

"You are fit to leave. All your discharge papers are done and you are ready to leave." She said.

"Let me know if you need something else." Dr April told Jasper and left us alone with a smile. I wondered if she knew that Jasper was not the father and I was a single mother. I stopped myself from pondering over the possibilities.

Jasper rubbed his neck.

"You scared me, today." He told me. His confession sent a shiver down my spine. His words hit me deep. He was worried about me and my baby. And it made my heart ache.

I thought there was nobody who would worry about me, less than my baby. I wanted to give him a small smile but did not.

He seriously was an angel. Even though I knew that he was just being kind and charitable.

He sighed out loud.

"Change back into your normal clothes, we are leaving." He told me and left without any further words.

I felt guilty. I was being a burden to him and yet he still bears with my overbearing self.

I was being such a nuisance.

He saved me from attempting suicide, offered me a job, offered me money, offered me a house, offered his help when I needed someone the most and what did I do in return?

Ended up being in hospital.

Shame on me.

I changed my clothes, cursing at the situation and myself and dressed in my normal clothes. After that, Jasper and I left the hospital. Like everything else, he paid my medical bill which was embarrassing. Depending on him for money, made me feel little. Like a person who has no self respect.

Jasper opened the door of his car and led me to the passenger seat. Then he walked around his car and took the driver's seat. He took the steering wheel and drove us out of the parking lot.

Where was his driver? He did not seem to be around. Why did he come yesterday to my, or practically his house, yesterday? Especially in the middle of the night? Did he need something at night? Also, why did he not bring his driver? Even though his driver seemed to drive him everywhere? I was pretty sure that he did not bring his driver yesterday. I would have seen him.

I wanted to ask him so many questions but I ended up saying something completely different to him.

"I'm sorry." I apologised. For a few seconds, he did not say anything to me then he asked.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Everything." I told him. My parents, friends and everybody around me threw me away like a piece of garbage because a pregnant lady was nothing but a burden to all of them.

And now I was feeling that they were right.

Now, that I am getting in trouble one after the other, I realised that their worries were valid to a certain degree.

"You did not answer me, Ava." Jasper's voice brought me out of my bubble of thought. I didn't even realise that I had gone silent on him, lost in thoughts.

"What are you sorry for?" He repeated his earlier question to me, again.

I stared outside the window, unable to face him as I answered his question.

"A pregnant woman is a burden on people around as it is. Well, unless she's married." I said mockingly.

"But now, my presence has become more than a burden. I have become a nuisance to your life. From the moment I stepped into your life something bad is happening. It's like I'm cursed." I confessed. I really was cursed, otherwise how could one person bring so much trouble to one person.

All of a sudden, Jasper sidetracked the car, stopped it on a side of the road and put it in parking. My startled eyes met his.

He clicked his seat belt off and turned towards me.

"For the first and the last time, you are not cursed. Neither is your baby. People who abandon their loved ones in need, are the ones who are a nuisance to humankind. Not people like you. They depend on people, yet love to diss them." He said and I swallowed a little. Startled by his little outburst.

"A woman with a baby is a blessing. Regardless if she is married or not. Keep that in your mind. A mother is a mother. And not having a man does not change that fact. Okay? It does not matter if there is a father or not. Only one thing matters that there is someone to love the child." He lectured me. He took a deep breath and settled back down, in his seat, putting his seat belt on.

"And you are not a nuisance. Everything that happened after meeting you has nothing to do with you. Stop trying to blame yourself for everything and stop keeping this victim mentality. You are not a victim."

'Then what am I?' I questioned my internal self.

"You're a fighter." He spoke as if he could read my mind. His lips tucked up in a small smile.

"A fighter." I whispered to myself and let the meaning of the word sink deep inside me.

His words eased my pain. I settled back in my seat feeling a little lighter.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"To my house. You will stay at my house from now on." He told me, making me flabbergasted.

"But ..." I stuttered.

"The doctor told you that you cannot take any more stress. So you're shifting in my house until the delivery of your baby. Or until you decide to work in my office." He explained it to me.

"After what happened yesterday night, it becomes necessary to keep you in security. If something like that happened again then I'm not sure that I would be able to save you again. Therefore, I think the best option would be for you to live with me. Especially, for the sake of your baby." He told me, explaining further.

I did not argue after his explanation. Somehow, I knew that he was right. Even if I did not need protection, my baby did. And I would do anything for my baby.

For somebody so rich, he sure behaved like a commoner and an Angel.