The desperate daughter-in-law

The test

She coiled around the duvet with her body shivering from the cold. Her temperature was so high and she had been feeling dizzy all day. She wondered what was wrong as she hardly gets sick.

Just then, she became nauseated and she jumped out of the bed and dashed into the bathroom.

As he walked into the room, he heard the sound of her vomiting from the bathroom and his brows raised.

“Lisa,” he called anxiously as he walked further into the room.

He didn’t get a reply and he immediately dashed to the bathroom.

“Love,” he called again as he rushed in.

He halted as he saw her head bent on the wash basin with her hair falling over her face.

“Lisa!” He cried and rushed towards her immediately. He pulled her up and she began to pant as he made her lie on his chest.

“No..no no no. This is not good. Your temperature is high, we need to see the doctor,” he cried as he placed his palm on her forehead.

“It’s late, what took you so long out there?” She managed to ask amidst pants.

“There was heavy traffic. I’m sorry I took so long, I never knew you were sick,” he said as he held her tightly to himself.

“It started this morning. I need to rest. My feets are weak,” she said and he helped her out of the bathroom and led her to the bed.

“Love, we need to see the doctor,” he insisted as he saw her coiling under the duvet

“Maybe tomorrow. I need to sleep,” she said and turned to the other side of the bed.

“Should I call Doctor Ebi to come over?” He asked.

“It’s late, Daren. We will go to his office tomorrow,” she said, tiredly.

“But I can’t let you sleep this way. Let me get you some analgesic for your cold and temperature,” he said and dashed out of the room.

She heaved a sigh as he dashed out of the room. What could really be happening? She asked as her hands moved to her boobs which had grown so tender recently.

After a few minutes, he returned with the drugs and a cup of tea.

“Love, please sit up,” he urged as he placed them on the stool.

She tried to sit up right and he quickly rushed over to help her up. He sat beside her and made her head rest on his chest and he fed her the tea slowly.

He gave her the tablets afterwards and she gulped them with water.

“My love, we really need to see the doctor,” he said anxiously.

“Daren, we will see the doctor tomorrow,” she voiced out in a rather high tone.

“Should I call mom?” He asked and she shot him a cold look.

“Mom? What mom? Please I need to rest,” she sighed and pulled the duvet over her body.

He stood before the bed dejectedly and he heaved a sigh with his hands rubbing his head tiredly. Melisa was becoming a stranger and he doesn’t know what to do about it any longer.

As she laid on the bed, she saw him walking over to the wardrobe to get changed. Her heart became bittered as she thought of all she had put him through recently.

Daren is a good man and he doesn’t deserve these ill treatments, she said to herself. They haven’t had s*x for almost a month now because she still couldn’t watch him make love to her after what that psycho did to her. All she felt right now was anger and regrets.

Angered by the fact that the Taiwo’s family pushed her into this mess. She doesn’t want to see their faces and she felt like she could have listened to Daren earlier when he had asked that they move out of the mansion.

She sighed as she felt his presence on the bed. He moved closer to her and pecked her cheek from behind.

“Lisa, know that I love you no matter what. A child or without a child, you will continue to be my woman. No one can replace you in my life. I love you so much,” he whispered into her ears.

Hot tears flowed down her cheek freely as she heard those words. What have I done? She cried within herself. She wiped the tears off her face quickly as he moved away from her body.

Should she use this moment to tell him the truth about what happened? She thought and her heart began to race.

She turned slowly to look at his face which was beaming with a smile. She tried to speak but he moved closer and planted a kiss on her lips.

“I love you Lisa,” he whispered to her face as she broke free from the kiss.

“I..I love you too, Daren,” she muttered slowly.

“Come, let’s get some rest. Tomorrow, we will visit the doctor to know what’s wrong,” he said as he pulled her to himself.

They both laid on the bed with her head resting on his chest and his arms wrapped around her body.

Maybe not tonight, she said to herself. Immediately we return from seeing the doctor tomorrow, I will tell him the truth, she convinced herself.

*

They both sat with their palms resting on each other as they watched the doctor walking to the desk. His round wrinkled face beamed with a smile as he took his seat diligently. He adjusted his spectacles as he looked at the couple before him and he returned his gaze to the sheet of paper he was holding.

“Mrs. Taiwo, your test result is out,” he said with a smile as he looked at her pale face.

She sat up right and adjusted her scarf while looking at the doctor’s face anxiously.

“Congratulations, you’re four weeks gone, '' he spilled.

There was a brief moment of silence and the couple became stunned with their eyes fixed on the doctor who was smiling broadly. Daren immediately recovered from his shock and he took a quick glance at his wife who was still frozen to her chair.

“Doc..um..what did you say?” He asked while shaking his head in disbelief.

“Daren, your wife is pregnant,” the doctor said again.

“No, no, this is unbelievable,” he said as he shook his head slowly.

“God!” He cried as he jumped up from his chair and grabbed hold of his wife in excitement.

“Lisa! Lisa, we did it! Lisa, we are soon to become parents!” He cried in excitement as he shook her body vigorously while the doctor laughed.

“Daren, slow down, she doesn’t need all that stress,” the doctor advised.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe this! Oh no!” He cried as he knelt on the floor.

She remained glued to her seat and her eyes never left the doctor’s face for a moment. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks freely and her heart broke into pieces. For the two men present in the room, it was tears of joy. But deep down, she knew what it was. Tears of shame, tears of regrets and tears of agony. The r**e scene played in her head again and her tears increased.

“Love, you are crying,” Daren said as he stood up from the floor and rushed over to meet her.

“Let her cry, let her cry. It took her four years to get to this stage,” the doctor said with a smile.

“Yes, it’s tears of joy, right?” He asked as he laughed and wiped the tears off her cheek.

As her eyes looked into his smiling face, she couldn’t control the tears any longer. She stood up immediately and grabbed her bag from the floor.

“Love, wait for me,” he called as he watched her walking to the door.

“Daren, don’t forget to come back and register her here for antenatal,” the doctor said after him.

“Sure, doctor, sure,” he said as he grabbed the test result from the doctor and dashed out of the office.

As he ran out of the building, he saw her stepping into the car. He stopped for a moment and wondered what was wrong with her. She should be excited, right? He asked himself as he walked to the car.

He stepped into the car and he could see her head resting on the car seat tiredly.

“Lisa, what’s wrong? You should be happy,” he said.

She forced a smile on her face and wiped her tears.

“You think I would believe this nonsense?” She asked.

“What nonsense? The doctor just confirmed it. And I believe you are pregnant. Look what happened to you yesterday and all your reactions towards me recently. It was just your pregnancy hormones working in your head,” he said with laughter and she managed to smile.

“Love, you should be happy, please. Believe what the doctor says. Or you want us to go for another test?” He asked and she shook her head.

“So, smile and let’s go straight into our room to celebrate,” he said as he pecked her cheek and her smile broadened.

If only he knew. If only he knew that the pregnancy was not his, she thought as she looked out of the car window.