CHAPTER 16
1323 Words
Maya was taken aback, momentarily frozen in place. What... did he just say?
After a brief silence without a response, Charles voice came through again, crisp and to the point: "Time and place?"
Was he really going to have lunch?
Snapping back to reality, she reported the name of the hotel that Davina had booked in advance: “Sea Grand Hotel, at three o'clock this afternoon."
Of course, she couldn't take such an important person to a shabby place. Davina must have put in a lot of effort to find a high-end, classy hotel, she thought to herself.
Then, without another word, he abruptly hung up the phone, as if he were extremely busy.
Frowning, Maya called Davina to let her know the arrangements were made and to ensure the hotel was booked in advance. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was only eight in the morning.
What a waste of a lovely weekend morning!
She had planned to sleep in, but now everything was thrown off course.
After drinking two cups of warm water, she set the cup down on the table. Just as the water had barely settled, a wave of intense nausea hit her.
Covering her mouth, she rushed to the bathroom and began to vomit violently, nearly bringing up her stomach acid. Gasping for breath, she turned on the faucet, letting the warm water splash on her face, feeling a bit more relaxed. After that, she made a quick trip to the restroom and was surprised to find that her menstrual flow was much lighter than usual, and the color was unusually pale—definitely not normal.
As she was lost in thought, Maragret’s voice called from the kitchen, "Maya, come out for breakfast!"
"I'm coming!" she replied, stepping out of the bathroom. On the dining table, there were fried dough sticks and soy milk. She picked up a dough stick and took a bite, but the familiar wave of nausea hit her again. She quickly dashed back to the bathroom to throw up.
When she finally emerged, her face was a bit pale. Margaret looked worried and said, "You should go to the hospital later. I hope it's not something serious with your stomach."
Feeling weak, Maya sat down in a chair, rubbing her uncomfortable belly. "I'll go to the hospital after breakfast," she nodded. Seeing the fried dough sticks made her feel queasy, so for breakfast, she only had a cup of soy milk.
*******
They arrived at the hospital around ten o'clock, and there were quite a few people in line. After registering, she sat down on a nearby chair to wait.
It was no surprise that there were so many patients on a Sunday. After an hour, it was finally her turn, and she let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she thought; if she had to wait any longer, she might as well be glued to the chair.
The attending physician was a middle-aged woman in her forties. After Maya explained her symptoms, the doctor immediately wrote her a prescription. "First, go get a urine test."
Upon hearing this, Maya furrowed her brows.
She felt uneasy in her stomach, why did she need to take a urine test? Though she was filled with confusion, she kept quiet, took the prepared form, and went to do the test, then waited for the results.
Five minutes later, she entered the doctor's office. After the doctor nodded for her to sit down, he finally spoke, "Miss, congratulations, you're pregnant.”
In an instant, her body froze like a statue. After a long pause, she forced a stiff smile and said, "That can't be. You must be mistaken.”
How could she possibly be pregnant? It was absolutely impossible!
The doctor pushed the test results toward her and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "There is no mistake. You are three weeks pregnant. The test results are very clear. You can take a closer look. If you still have doubts, we can do another test."
Her hands trembled slightly as she picked up the test results. She quickly scanned through them but still shook her head in disbelief, her emotions starting to spiral out of control. "No way! Absolutely not! I took the morning-after pill that day!"
"When did you take the pill?"
"Within the last two hours!"
"Did you eat anything unusual that day?"
Maya’s pupils constricted slightly as a sudden realization hit her. "I drank several cups of Pu-erh tea."
"Miss, didn't you know that strong tea can counteract the effects of the pill? Among all teas, Pu-erh is particularly potent, and since you drank several cups, the effectiveness of the morning-after pill was likely diminished..."
“Your uterus is tilted backward, so the chances of getting pregnant are very low. If you terminate this pregnancy, it might be difficult for you to conceive in the future.”
The words of the doctor echoed in her mind as she walked down the street, the cold wind biting at her skin. She felt dizzy and lost in thought.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her calf. Before she could comprehend what was happening, her leg gave way, and she fell to the ground.
"Are you blind or deaf? Can’t you see or hear the car? What bad luck!" A young man cursed as he rode past her on his bike, glaring at her before speeding away.
Maya’s thoughts finally snapped back to reality. She rubbed her aching leg and stood up, relieved to find that it wasn't seriously injured.
Just then, her phone rang. Looking down, she saw it was Davina calling. She answered with a simple "Hello."
"Maya, it’s almost two-thirty! Why aren’t you here yet?" Davina's voice was laced with urgency.
Holding the phone tightly, she squeezed the lab report in her other hand and let out a sigh.
"What if I said I can’t make it?"
"Don’t joke around!" Davina's tone turned frantic. "Get here quickly, I’m hanging up!"
Maya had never been one to stand someone up, so she decided to go ahead and meet him. She would think through that matter later when she got back.
When she arrived at Sea Grand Hotel, she saw Charles sitting casually with his long legs crossed, sipping tea. Though his demeanor was relaxed, he exuded elegance.
On the other hand, Davina looked a bit uncomfortable, tense, and unable to relax.
"Three.. oh..five..." Charles glanced at his watch, raising an eyebrow. "Is this the kind of sincerity we can expect from Miss Cooper?"
Seeing him reminded her of the lab report in her hand, and he was the one responsible for that report.
It was because he had gotten drunk and entered the wrong room that she found herself in this awkward situation, caught between a rock and a hard place…
Thinking of this made her mood sour even more. She glared at him, and sarcastic words slipped out uncontrollably. "If Mr. Darwin feels there's no sincerity here, then why not just get up and leave?"
At her words, Davina shot a wary glance at Charles, clearly alarmed, and quickly gestured for Maya to be quiet.
What was wrong with her? Did she not understand the situation at all?
Unfortunately, Maya was oblivious to Davina's concern.
Charles, rather than feeling annoyed, became intrigued and curious. His gaze fixed on her, he asked, "Is Miss Cooper in a bad mood?"
"Yes!" Maya straightened her chest and shot him a challenging look.
"Why's that?" He shifted his position to face her directly.
"That's my personal business, and I have no obligation to answer.”
Charles narrowed his eyes slightly, frowning as he casually replied, "Is it that time of the month?"
Maya squeezed her fingers, falling silent. At that moment, she desperately wished it were true, but that was impossible...
Davina paused for a moment, her face turning slightly red at his comment.
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