Chapter 62
Sofia Andrew
When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital room. I must have had one of my crises due to excess stress.
The doctor comes right on time and checks me. "Sofia, when was the last time you had a sugar problem?"
"Doc, I'll save you all the interrogation and the thousand tests by saying that I suffer from hypoglycemia and I'm undergoing treatment," I informed him with a smile.
"I'm glad to know that you are undergoing treatment, but your condition is not good." The doctor replied with a troubled look on his face.
The smile faded on my face, and my heart thumped. "In what way?"
"Yes, in your condition, you must eat well and sleep well; otherwise, you can harm yourself and the baby."
I blinked and choked on air. "Wait a minute, doctor, what are you talking about? What I have are hypoglycemic crises, and I'm telling you that there is no baby involved." I strongly denied it, and he chuckled. "From what I see, you are not aware of your condition, but it is my pleasure to let you know that you are pregnant!"
"Is this some kind of joke? No, you must be wrong; I can't be pregnant."
"Exams don't lie, dear."
"Then repeat the tests again, because there must be something wrong. I can't be pregnant; that's remotely impossible." I automatically shut up when I remember all those times I was with Angel. All the time, we did it without any protection. "We can do an echo to clear up any doubts, but I'm sure you're pregnant."
I held my head, which seemed to have become light. "I think I'm going to faint again. Let's do the echo now."
The doctor organized everything, and we went to the ultrasound room. Once there, a kind doctor welcomed me, but I was still in shock.
"It says here that you want to check if you are pregnant; is that correct, Mrs. Leffman?"
"Yes, the doctor must have seen it wrong. He says I'm pregnant, but that can't be."
"We'll clear up the doubts, then." I lay down on a stretcher, and they put gel on my abdomen.
We both stared at the monitor, where nothing could be seen. "Hmm, I can't see nor hear anything."
"I knew it; it had to be a mistake," I exclaimed in relief, but deep down, I also felt disappointed.
"These mistakes happen. It's rare, but they happen," the doctor informed me as she cleaned me.
They took me back to my room, and I felt like I was still dreaming and that at some point I was going to wake up. Wait, the event! I remembered, and that's when Angel, my dad, and Mary came into the room with Amelia. "Sofia, darling, what a scare you gave us," Mary said, all worried.
"Yes, girl, you should stop giving us these scares and start improving your sugar," Amelia said next.
"How do you feel, my princess? We are going to have to regulate your meals. You cannot have so many crises so often."
I looked at Angel, who looked distant without any expression on his face, and as usual, he didn't say anything.
"I'm fine; I just want to go rest. I think so much stress, lack of sleep, and poor diet made me collapse, but I promise I will improve the rest. Besides, it's time for me to return home because the event is done."
"It's the best! The event was a complete success. People were still amazed. They took photos, they left great reviews, and many have already placed their orders. Let's wait for what the press says tomorrow, but I think we already achieved our goal," Amelia told me excitedly. The doctor comes back in, gives me some instructions, and discharges me. "I'm sorry I was wrong about the diagnosis, but it was what the laboratories reported."
"The other doctor said that it can happen, so it's fine. I told you it was the sugar."
"It's still strange; our laboratory is never wrong." My breath hitched, and I pleaded for him not to say anything else. "A pregnancy is always confirmed before passing the result."
No!
"Pregnancy?" Angel finally said, and the others in the room looked at me. "Did you say pregnancy?"
"Everyone calm down," I tell them. "It was an honest mistake. The doctor did the tests again, and they even performed an echo, but I'm not pregnant."
"But the test came back positive," the doctor insisted.
"Am I going to be a dad?" Angel asks with an expression that cannot be deciphered.
"No! The doctor already verified that it was false, so there is no baby," I denied, and Angel looked at me with an expression I could not quite comprehend.
When I arrived back at the hotel, my father escorted me to the room, Amelia left, and Mary said that she would spend the night with me. Angel also says goodbye, but when he is about to leave, I call him.
"Angel, wait," I called him, and he turned to me. "And what am I supposed to say?"
"I'm going to be outside looking for some things in my room, and I'll come back shortly," Mary said before leaving us alone.
"Angel, are you alright? You haven't said anything at all since we left the hospital, and you seem angry. The baby was a false alarm."
I saw how his jaw clenched. "You already made that clear, and this is my fault. If I hadn't insisted on the event, you wouldn't be under so much stress. I shouldn't have neglected you; I should have made you eat, and you wouldn't have ended up in the hospital. I knew you were going to collapse at any moment."
"Angel, it's not your fault. You did a lot by being with me so that I could sleep and eat, but that's just how I am. I get stressed very easily, but I'm fine. Better go rest; it looks like you're exhausted as well."
He kisses me on the forehead and says goodnight. "I would love to stay here with you, but I know you still haven't forgiven me. I'll be in the next room in case you need anything; just call me."
"By the way, thank you so much for bringing my aunt and my father. It meant a lot that they were at the event."
"I figured you wanted them here. Now try to sleep. Nothing is pressuring you anymore. Let's postpone the flight the day after tomorrow, so you can sleep all day tomorrow."
I shook my head in refusal. "No, I would prefer to go home. We have already been away for a long time, and there are things to attend to at the company."
"Sofia, don't start with the company now; you just had a stress crisis, so rest, please."
He left my room, and I was left with my thoughts. What am I supposed to do with him? We're still creating a bond of trust in which we're not doing well, and there's still something about Elisa. I don't want to forgive him easily because I am not sure if he is really in love with me, though I can see and feel it in his actions.
"As if it were easy to manage three companies, unmask a snake, put my husband's family in their place, and try to manage a relationship with Angel that goes from bad to worse."
I spent hours and hours thinking until I fell asleep.
I woke up scared because I dreamt that Angel had taken my baby and gone with Elisa. What kind of dream is that? This woman can't leave me alone, even in my dreams!
"God, that woman is worse than a tumor that can't be removed."
"Are you talking to yourself?"
I jumped when I heard Amelia. "Don't do that! Where's my aunt?"
She left and put me in charge. It's near lunchtime if you haven't noticed.
"Did I sleep that much? Guess I am more exhausted than I thought I was."
"You haven't slept for days, so it's normal. How do you feel?" She asked me while she was sitting at the edge of the bed.
"I feel like I missed a lot because I was asleep for a long time," I answered while yawning.
"I'm telling you that the reviews are excellent! We were a sensation. They say that the owner of Lee Andrew's stood out with our clothes, and one night, we were swarmed by orders! We even surpassed Victory's Garden and Chamel. ""Now you're exaggerating, Amelia. We are still far from that level."
"Hey, I wasn't the one who said it. The media did, and if the media says it, it's because it's true."
"The media does not always tell the truth. I do not doubt that the event was a success and that orders were placed, but hence the fact that we have surpassed two famous brands is an exaggeration."
"We'll see, Sofia. Now tell me about the baby."
"What baby? There is no baby, Amelia; it was a mistake."
"Are you sure? Because you told me you two did it like Easter bunnies every chance you got." She teased me, and I almost kicked her.
"Yes, I'm sure, and the doctor confirmed it, but I was still shocked when she told me that I was pregnant."
"Because? A mini-Angel or a mini-Sofia would be cute."
"Stop talking nonsense, Amelia. Angel and I are not up for a child; we don't even get along."
"He is doing his part to conquer you, and I understand that he deserves cold treatment, but we both know that sooner or later, you will forgive him anyway." "He looked kind of angry yesterday; did you notice?"
"No. I saw him as I always see him: cold, serious, and distant. Although he looked really worried about you, that was a side of him that I didn't know about." "He did a great job helping us organize everything at the event."
Amelia groaned and rolled her eyes. "After he got us into this mess, it was the least he could do."
Her eyes found my packed bags. "Why do you have your bags packed?"
"Because we are going home today," I replied in a 'duh' tone.
"No, we're not! I'm going to enjoy France without pressure this time. Besides, Angel said that we are leaving tomorrow because you were going to rest."
"I told him I wanted to leave today; we've been away from home for a long time," I complained with a whine.
"Sofia, calm down. The companies are not going to collapse, nor will they be in ruins because you last one day longer here. You better look pretty, and I'll wait for you in the lobby to go for a walk."
I just sighed and had no choice but to prepare. When I was done, I went to the lobby and saw my dad with Angel. They looked like they were having fun in the restaurant. What are these two up to? Since when are they so close? "Good afternoon." I greeted them to interrupt them.
"Good afternoon, princess." Dad greeted me, and I kissed his cheek.
"Good afternoon. I thought you would stay resting," Angel told me in a serious tone.
"And I thought we would return home," I threw back at him.
"You must rest, Sofia. Or if you want, after having lunch, we can stroll around. What do you think?" Dad offered.
"I don't have a problem with that," says Angel, and I look at them both. "Is something wrong? Why are you looking at us like that?"
"I just find it strange. You two talk as if you were old friends when you could barely exchange words at dinner before."
"He's my father-in-law, so we should get along. Furthermore, we talked things out, and it made us understand many things."
"Exactly. There is nothing that communication can't fix." Dad supported what Angel said, but my suspicions did not fade.
"Is there anything I should know about?"
They both denied it, but I know they are hiding something from me. Amelia and Mary joined us for lunch, and they talked about the event. I just listened, but Angel remained serious, although he tried to hide it. "Are you good?" I whispered to him.
"Yes, and you?"
"Well, why don't we have that stroll? Where are we going? Since my beautiful daughter made me fall in love with France, I want to see everything."
"I want to go to the 'I love you' wall," Amelia said with excitement. "Imagine being told 'I love you' in all languages."
"I want to go to the Luxembourg Gardens, the Musée de Arts Firains, or the Buttes-Chaumont viewpoint," my aunt said, just as excited.
"Woman, you want to go to many places; there's not that much time," Dad mocked his sister.
"I think it's better to start on one of the bridges, and from there we can walk around and see everything. Maybe everything is worth seeing," Angel suggested, and we all agreed.
Our adventure in France began, and we ended up walking through the Père-Lachaise cemetery. It was nice and romantic to walk through a cemetery. Note the sarcasm.
Angel told us about the story of the place, and the four of us were attentive afterward; each one was focused on the landscape.
Angel left the others and approached me. "It's strange to see you getting along. You and my dad."
Angel smiled, and we both looked at the three. "We settled our differences, but he still thinks that I am not worthy of you."
"I agree with him on that," I said, and we both laughed.
"Yes, I'm starting to consider that too." What does that mean? "Sofia, you seemed lost; what are you thinking?"
"Nothing, just the landscape. It feels good to not have so much stress again. Thanks for helping me, Angel."
"I got you into that mess; the least I could do was help."
I turned around, and it occurred to me that we changed the route. We went shopping in Le Marais, which is the most beautiful city in the country for me.
After a pleasant day, we went back to the hotel. "Angel," I call him because he is distracted. "Do you have a problem? You've been distracted and serious all day."Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
"I was just thinking."
"Thinking about?"
"That you are the most beautiful woman in the world, that I am an idiot for having made you suffer, and that you deserve someone better than me who can make you happy." He responded in all seriousness.
I raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, is that coming from the overconfident man who said he could make me happy?"
"Can the most beautiful woman give me a chance to make her happy?"
"We're working on that, aren't we? But I still don't forgive you. You have hurt me with your distrust, and you have to earn my forgiveness. See you tomorrow, Angel."
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went up to my room. For a moment, I thought he would tell me that he would look for someone else, that he would give up, or whatever. And that scared me. I just want him to understand that with me, it's all or nothing, not half measures.