Chapter 73: Chapter 73

Three days had passed since Val had woken up in the hospital, and Val was still lying on the bed in her light green hospital gown. It was just past 11 in the morning, close to noon, and she was staring at the ceiling with a pensive look on her face as her thoughts clouded her mind.

Despite having been in the hospital for a few days, Val had not been able to sleep well. The pain and trauma she had experienced were still fresh in her mind, and she couldn't seem to shake them off.

She couldn't stop thinking about Bob's sudden disappearance. Even though she didn't expect anything from him, she wished he had stayed to listen to her. Val had asked the doctor when she would be discharged and was told it would be today. She impatiently checked the clock again, eager to leave the hospital. Her body, which had previously been weak, had now regained enough strength to move around freely.

Her thoughts roamed to the other matter that she hadn't been able to get off of her mind recently after having surfed the internet.

Quite surprisingly, attorney Chris had been charged to court and was currently facing prosecution.

It was all over the news how the jerk had ruined the lives of most of the female clients he had, and the ladies related to his clients whom he'd met. The attorney is actually a dangerous criminal with multiple charges of blackmail and forceful abuse of women.

After having left San Francisco, Val didn't think the case would be pursued this much. She envisioned the police being bribed by one of Attorney Chris' powerful and influential backers to get him out of police custody and hence, vindicated from being charged to court. Val never thought that the police would remain solid in their decision to met out justice on attorney Chris.

More surprising was how most of the women whom he'd threatened surfaced to antagonize him and see to it that he gets sentenced.

The case had rather grown to a level of controversial relevance, and Val couldn't help but feel like a heroine. If it hadn't been for her, attorney Chris wouldn't have been arrested and would still have been looked at as a honorable lawyer that he professes himself to be in disguise.

The cops had kept Val's identity a secret, or else, she would have had reporters all lined up around the wardroom bombarding her with questions at the moment.

Val didn't care about this as well, what mattered most to her was that justice was meted out on attorney Chris for the things he'd done to those ladies who had entrusted him with their cases and had taken advantage of. However, what was more important to her was that attorney Chris wouldn't leak her nudes.

How was she to live on if that ever happened?

Val heaved a deep sigh and thought about the next thing to do after she was discharged from the hospital. Val wasn't going back to San Francisco in a long while. She was done with the place.

Besides, she had something more important to resolve here in Seattle.

' Where to start searching for that jerk now?" Val still planned to find Bob and have him take responsibility for having impregnated her. She was done being reasonable and all understanding. Val vowed to make Bob pay.

She thought to find a place to stay first before conducting her search for Bob. Val didn't even know his place, however, she knew it couldn't be hidden. After all, Bob was a billionaire, of course he lives in a mansion or so. And that made his hike an easy target to find.

Since she had sufficient money, she could hire a private investigator to find his place or something. It shouldn't take too much of her time and effort. In any case, that was the next thing Val planned to do.

At first, she'd thought to pity Bob and have him decide whether he wanted the baby or not. If his choice was the latter, Val would have asked for money from him and started her very own life with her child.

However, she didn't expect that Bob would do this. He'd left her in a hospital bed with a credit card that probably carried enough money to serve as a reward for having helped him during his divorce trial. Not that Val complained, but she wasn't satisfied.

The truth is, this isn't what Val truly wanted!

Val had realized that she never really wanted this. She wanted Bob to take responsibility for her pregnancy. Val couldn't raise a child alone, and she couldn't abort it either. She didn't want to, but even if she had to, she felt the need to let Bob make such a decision as he's also a parent to the child. She didn't want to be selfish in making such a tantamount decision.

' Not that I'll do it though' Val was perplexed as to what she really wanted. Perhaps, she just needed a safe place to raise her child. She just couldn't do it alone is all.

Val didn't know how to make Bob take responsibility other than confronting him. She hadn't thought of whether they'd have to stay together or not. All she knew was, he had to take responsibility for it, he couldn't just outright leave like that.

How dare he!?

Val felt like an easy lay and a useless piece of trash. Bob had used and discarded her after. She felt that this had been how Bob saw her from the start, all the connections they had was just him manipulating and using her.

Val's heart tinged in deep emotions, realizing she had become more attached to Bob than she thought. She didn't know if it was because she was pregnant with his baby or if it was something deeper.

' Or maybe it's just me being dependent again...' Val sighed feeling as though she was only revolving around an endless circle.

Val had vouched when she'd left Mark that she'd be independent from all emotional attachments and needs. However, here she was clinging to someone again. Someone who had once again betrayed her trust.

Despite everything that she'd done for Bob, he hadn't' even waited for a second to listen to her before leaving her.

' Why confront him even?' Val suddenly had a contradicting thought. She could write to him that she was pregnant or text him a message to inform him about this. Why was she trying to make him responsible?

After all, it was a one time thing that they'd both enjoyed. Val couldn't fault not using a protection on Bob. She'd allowed it afterall ...

Val sat up in bed with a sullen expression, she looked towards the wall clock once again, feeling the need to leave the hospital already.

Val took the black card that she had abandoned ever since Doctor Brown had handed it to her. She raised the black card and looked to the side to think after having observed the card for a while.

' I'm fine now, I don't have to stay here forever!' The small tube attached to her arm had already been removed. She only had bandages wrapped about her head and the arm where the tube had previously been attached to stop the bleeding.

Val's thought had flipped.

Val stepped her toes to the ground to stand. She grabbed her bag that had been placed on the cabinet by the bedside.

She planned to leave the hospital herself to go check how much Bob had left for her in the card. If she were going to start a new life or do anything, she had to first determine how much she had with her. Val didn't want Bob's absence in her life to tie her back.

Even with all the determination to confront Bob, if the latter kicks her away and ignores her, she has to keep living in some way or the other. Val had stopped letting her emotions cloud her thoughts as to reality. Of course, she couldn't force herself into Bob's hands, that was against her practice.

It's not as though Val needed Bob, she was just of traditional sentiment. She was pregnant for Bob, wouldn't it be considered wrong if he didn't even tell him about it or at least, try to establish if he was willing to take responsibility or not?

Val decided to leave. She walked out of the wardroom and headed down towards the exit of the hospital. Quite surprisingly, nobody stopped her nor even noticed anything weird.

A tall lady with dark brown hair and honey-brown eyes who seemed like the patient greeter tried to stop Val but she just ignored her and walked out the door, causing everyone around to peer a confused gaze at Val.

Val didn't care, however. Once she was outside, she breathed in the fresh air of the city which was crispy yet refreshing. It sparked a nostalgic sense in Val as she had been used to the sterile scent of bleach while in the hospital for the past few days.

Val took behind a lady who walked towards a corner. The street was a bit scanty but there were still a few people walking about. She noticed a few eyes were scanning her strangely as though she were a mentally perturbed person who had just broken out.

' I need a change of-' She paused her thought when she noticed a clothing store just across the street. Val smiled sweetly.

" Perfect" She muttered as she quickly looked to both of her sides before rushing across the street way towards the clothing store. She planned to change into a more 'normal' attire to avoid being viewed as a crazed person. She was still in her hospital gown, which was quite suspicious.

However, this was only natural since Val didn't wait to go through the normal discharge procedure.

' Why wait for so long when I could just leave? It didn't even seem like Doctor Brown still had me in mind. He probably forgot I was to be discharged today...' Val pondered as she walked into the clothing store.

Just as she entered, the sight she beheld made her passion for a fashion brand spark once again. She was enthralled by the marvelous row of dresses that adorned the place, while sparkly chandeliers showered glorious lights on them.

Although the place was slightly less grandeur compared to renowned boutiques, Val still appreciated the archetype of the place. It was minimalist, yet well thought out.

" Hello miss, what would you... like to get?" The attendant trailed off her words seeing Val's 'getup'. She looked Val up and down, uncertain of what to think. Val was looked at as though she were in the wrong place.

" I need something to change out of this. I don't want to go around appearing like I'm mentally challenged..." Val stated calmly as she took out the black card from her bag without minding the attendant's look.

" Ri-right! This way please..." the attendant gestured and led Val to a section where she would introduce Val to a cloth of her preference amidst many.

...

A black SUV of class pulled up before the hospital where Val had just stormed out of.

A man dressed in luxurious clothing who screamed of wealth stepped out of the car through the backseat passenger door. His black hair matched with his tuxedo, and his eyes had an expectant glint in them.

Bob walked in half in haste and partly calmly into the hospital, hoping to see Val as soon as he could. Ever since the day she'd fallen unconscious, Bob had been at unease regarding Val. He couldn't wait to see her and clear out the cloud of confusion that shrouded their affairs.

However, he couldn't help but frown upon seeing the coup front. Doctor Brown stood at alert, expressing perturb while speaking with the receptionist. Few nurses stood around as well.

" Doctor Brown, what's the problem?" Bob asked when he got near. Doctor Brown was a very close relative friend of his and was his personal doctor.

" Very big problem Bob, that lady has left her wardroom all of a sudden!" Doctor Brown yelled in his tiny voice. He was both infuriated and concerned, Val was pregnant after all.

" Val? She left?" Bob was shocked then confused. Why would Val leave when she was supposed to be discharged today. Bob and Doctor Brown had already discussed this, and Bob had hastened to come see her and take her away after behind discharged.