Saving the Billionaire Daughter

Episode 2

Madison's POV

“I have good news for you, Mrs Paine. Your test results show that you're two weeks pregnant.” Dr Wade's smile lit up his entire face and I grabbed the result from him, scanning it. “Congratulations, Madison, you're going to be a mother.”

“Oh, my God! Thank you so much, Ryan.” Unable to contain my excitement, I pulled him in for a tight hug.

“James and John would be so happy about this news.” I glanced at the result again.

“I can't wait to tell John—” A thunderous voice disrupted my train of thoughts. “You're so pathetic, Madison! You're so dumb. It's time to end your pain, Madison!”

I gripped the side of my head, covering my ears. “No!!!”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Are you alright?” Strong hands gripped my arms and I'm suddenly enveloped in a hug. “Shh...it's alright. It's just a nightmare. Everything is gonna be okay,” an unfamiliar male voice said, although, I was too preoccupied with the nightmare to glance up at the person.

After what seemed like a solid minute, he released his grip, and I was face to face with a slightly rugged-looking fetching unfamiliar man.

“Hi, I...uhm...I'm glad you're awake. Do you need anything? Water?” I stared blankly at him, oblivious to why he was here. Where is John? And why is a stranger with me? There was a LED heart monitor and a metal IV stand with saline bags by my side. The smell of bleach wafted off the sheets, turning my stomach. Why the hell am I in a hospital?

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“My bad. Forgive my manners. Rhys McComb, an artist. You probably haven't heard of me. I'm quite lacking in that department,” he chuckled, showing his identity card.

“Doesn't explain how you're here or what I'm doing here. Where's John? He...” A sharp pain coursed through me as I tried to rise from the bed.

“Easy! There are several stitches at your back. You were in a really bad shape when I found you.” He leaned closer and placed several pillows gently behind me.

Found me? What is he talking about?

The door clicked open just before I could utter another wordand a young doctor in a scrub walked into room. He looked nothing older than twenty-five.

“Mrs Paine, you're awake. I'm Dr Miles. How do you feel? You've been unconscious for a couple of days.”

“Where's John? I–I was going to meet him. Where is he?”

“You need to calm down. You're still in a very bad shape. Staying off your bed, especially since you just had surgery may cause more complications. Besides, you need to think of the baby. The test shows that your baby is perfectly okay.”

What? A baby?

“A baby? W–What are you talking about?” It took me a couple of seconds to process his words. “Are you saying...I'm...pregnant?” I jerked my head back slightly, unsure if my mind was playing games with me.

“You're a little over two weeks, Mrs Paine. You had no idea you were pregnant?”

I'm carrying John's baby. It wasn't just a dream. I placed a hand on my belly, thoughts of John filling my mind. He would be so happy to hear this.

“Where is John?”

“I suppose you're referring to your husband. He'll be here shortly.” The doctor narrowed his gaze and took a step closer to me. “Could you excuse us for a moment, Mr McComb? I would like to have a private discussion with the patient.” His eyes never left mine as he spoke. Fetching rugged-looking face who had been unusually quiet cast me a glance before excusing us. After a deafening silence, the doctor finally spoke.

“Do you mind a few questions, Mrs Paine?” I nodded slowly with my gaze fixed on him.

“Who's the current President of the United States of America?” The doctor's question threw me completely off-guard.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It's my duty to ensure you're alright. I assure you that this is gonna help you recover faster. Trust me on this.”

I sifted through my brain archives for a moment before returning my gaze to him. “Joe Biden.”

“Great. And the 45th?”

I tugged the sheets more firmly round my body with my quivering fingers, abruptly breaking eye contact with the doctor.

“You don't have to be nervous.”

“I...I don't know. I hate numbers. I don't do great with them. They're...quite confusing.”

“Do you remember anything about your accident?”

“Accident? What accident?”

The doctor rummaged for something in his scrub and handed me a piece of paper. “What is this?” I stared at it for a moment, trying to read its content.

“Your test result. Your friend, Rhys advised that the media shouldn’t find out about you just yet. Your husband is of the same opinion too.” I abruptly dropped it the moment my head started spinning and I held down my face.

“Are you alright, Mrs Paine?”

“I...I can't read it. The letters...”

“Are you dyslexic?” He asked and I nodded in reply, my hands still on my face.

The door swung open just then and a familiar voice rumbled. “Madison! Are you okay? Are you hurt? f**k, you're in a bad shape.”

"John!" He wrapped his hands around me, hugging me tight and I winced the moment his hands pressed against my back.

“What's wrong?” John asked.

“Mrs Paine is in a bad condition. She had a head surgery and her body is covered with stitches. It's a good thing her baby is doing fine. Dr Miles. Nice to meet you, Mr Paine.”

“M-My wife is pregnant? You're pregnant, Madison?” John's gaze reverted to me and I gave a nod. He pressed a kiss on my forehead and held my hands firmly, planting kisses on them.

“We'll still need to conduct more tests on the patient as we've discovered new symptoms. However, she's stable for now. I'll like to have a word with you, Mr Paine.”

John returned his gaze to me. “I’ll be right back.” He planted one last kiss in my palm and headed out of the room right after the doctor.

John joined me after a few minutes. Creases lined his forehead and his eyes probed mine.

“Are you alright? Did the doctor say something?” Silence. He sat on my bed, his gaze pinning me. What's wrong with John? Did something happen?

He placed his hand on my forehead as if to check my pulse and I stared blankly at him, trying to figure out what was running through his mind.

“What's wrong, John?” I held his hand to remove it from my head and my fingers brushed across his wrist which I now discovered was bandaged. I held it up to have a better look. A large cut which looked painful. “Oh my God, John. What happened to your hand? Did you have an accident?”

“You...you really don't remember?” His brows squished together and he blinked rapidly.

“Remember what? What are you talking about?”

“It's true. The new symptoms—”

“What new symptoms? What the hell are you talking about and what has got to do with your hand? Say something, John.”

I searched John's eyes, trying to find a hint, anything at all to explain what was going on. I was one second from yelling when he spoke again.

“Your car was found down a cliff in a dead-end street at Converse. I thought you were in it. I thought you had died, especially after I saw the suicide note you left me. If you were going through depression, you should have told me. I would have listened. We would have worked something out. I was—”

“That's not true. I would never commit suicide.” John slipped his hand in his pocket and brought out a handwritten note with my handwriting.

“I saw this in our room.” He handed me the paper which I cast a cursory glance.

“I didn't write this, John. I would never end my own life.”

“I understand that you've been so worried about Cafe Druella's sinking state. I know it's killing you to find investors pulling out their investments from the company, but that's no reason to commit suicide. I almost lost you, Madison. I almost lost our baby too. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if something had happened to you and our baby.” John gripped my hands more firmly in his trembling ones and planted more smacking kisses on my fingers.

“You need to believe me, John. I would never do anything to hurt you. Of course, I've questioned my life severally, blamed myself for failing in almost everything, including Cafe Druella. I'll admit that I've...I've had suicidal thought a few times but that's about it. We are a family, John and I would never leave you. I don't know where the note came from but believe me, John. That isn't me.”

John shut his eyes briefly and let out a deep sigh before meeting my gaze again. “You hit your head after you fell off the cliff, Madison. The doctor said you might be suffering from retrograde amnesia. It's a condition where a person finds it difficult to remember past events and previously familiar information. I probably shouldn't be telling you this since he hasn't confirmed yet—”

“Are you implying that I don't remember attempting suicide because I lost a part of my memory?” Tears welled up my eyes and I swallowed hard.

“It almost sounds awful when you put it that way,” John mumbled.

My lungs constricted, making it a little hard for me to breathe and I suddenly went dizzy. “You don't believe me, John.” I hunched over, choking down my sobs. John leaned closer to me, reaching for my hand but I jerked it away from him. “I want to be alone.”

“Madison—”

“Leave, John!” John stared at me for a moment and in the next minute, the door closed.

I rummaged for my cell phone on the nightstand and my fingers pressed the remote control instead. The television hanging on the wall came on, and I groaned. I propped myself up to find my phone but was distracted by the mention of a familiar name from the TV—James Cooper.

Following the accident and disappearance of Madison Paine Cooper, wife of John Paine and daughter of popular Texan billionaire, James Cooper, it has been confirmed that James Cooper who collapsed after hearing the news about his daughter has fallen into a coma. In the meantime, John Cooper's businesses are being handled by John Paine, son-in-law of James Cooper, who recently manages and owns Cafe Druella. Sources have found that Madison Paine might still be alive as her body hasn't been found yet.

No! No! No! This can't be true. Not dad.

“No!!”