242 Good News Turned Bad
Back at the hospital, doctor Julie sank into her seat after receiving Ella’s call. She massaged her throbbing head and drank a glass of water to calm her strained nerves and erratically beating heart.
Even though her office was air-conditioned, she was sweating profusely. Ever since she resumed work, she had locked herself in her office, pacing up and down, drinking glass after glass of water, and using her private convenience.
She had been dreading this day ever since Leon first told her that she would be the one to conduct the pregnancy termination procedure. This was meant to be her punishment for keeping him in the dark.
Leon had been furious at her for keeping Ella’s pregnancy a secret from him. He blamed her for talking his wife into keeping the pregnancy. He banned her from ever communicating with Ella and he also threatened to deal with her ruthlessly if Ella opposed the pregnancy termination.
Even when she made plans to take an unplanned study leave just to flee this day, she was stopped by a simple message from Leon.
Although Leon was more than a hundred kilometers away from her, she felt as though he was standing right behind her, breathing down on her neck.
In the message, Leon simply wrote;
[Empty threats are for dreamers and I fancy myself as a realist. Take that study vacation if you dare.]
This message taunted her for days as she was perplexed about how Leon got the information that she planned on traveling out of the city.
.....
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHence, since the walls had ears, she was careful about anything and everything. She minimized talking to people except on professional grounds. She also decided that if Ella ever called her, she would be careful about anything she said to her.
Just before Ella’s calls registered on Dr. Julie’s phone, she received a brief message from Leon which simply told her to get everything ready for the discussed procedure.
“Why did I get myself entangled in all this mess?” Dr. Julie mentally stroked herself.
“If I had known that Leon would react so negatively to his wife’s pregnancy, I would have stayed away from encouraging her to keep it. How do I convince her now to go ahead with the termination procedure? Will she ever forgive me if she found out that Leon and I have been planning all this behind her back?”
While Dr. Julie was busy brooding on her misfortune, she received a message from Ella and it simply read;
[Ella: Good morning Dr. Julie. I trust you’re doing great. I’m sorry for interrupting your work and I hope it didn’t cost you anything. I’ll be coming to the hospital with my husband today and I would like to find out the reason behind my visit in order to prepare myself. Please, if it’s not too much trouble, can you just give me a heads-up? Thanks in anticipation.]
Dr. Julie chuckled feverishly after reading Ella’s message twice.
“If it’s not too much trouble, she says,” Dr. Julie shook her head and wiped off the cold sweat that head beaded her forehead.
“How can I tell her that her husband has set a ticking time bomb under my seat? How can I tell her that her husband doesn’t want me to communicate with her ever again? How can I tell her that my life depends on her terminating her pregnancy? What am I going to do?” She placed her head on her desk and started praying for a miracle to happen.
————-
After bathing, dressing, and coming downstairs, Ella decided to visit the kitchen and make one of Nana Esther’s recipes as she was craving it. On her way, she ran into Paul, the mansion butler.
“Good morning, madam Ella, you look amazing today,” Paul complimented politely.
There was an ongoing rumor in the house that Ella was pregnant and Paul was eager to put the rumors to rest by getting answers directly from Ella.
“Good morning, Paul,” Ella beamed. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“By the way, I’m sorry for the loss of the boss’s father and grandma. I know the boss doesn’t feel like talking about it but I felt obliged to say something on behalf of everyone.”
“Oh, Paul, that’s so sweet of you. Thank you so much.” Ella replied.
“Is there something you would like me to get for you from the kitchen section? You don’t have to trouble yourself with anything. I’m at your service.”
Ella chuckled before responding to Paul.
“Don’t trouble yourself, Paul, I’ll be fine. I just need to cook something for myself this morning. It’s a special recipe that Leon’s granny, bless her soul, taught me. Maybe I’ll teach the chef so that he can make it next time.”
“Oh!”
Paul scratched his head as he felt tongue-tied to ask the next question.
“Paul,” Ella called softly. She could read the excitement and hesitation in his eyes. “Is there something else you like to find out? Don’t worry, you can ask me anything, I won’t be angry. Don’t forget, you are like a father to me in this house.”
“Umm... Okay... It’s just that...umm...there is a speculation that...what I’m trying to find out is...” Paul felt heat rise to his cheeks as he thought of all the things Leon would do to him for having the temerity to interrogate his wife.
Ella smiled as she guessed what Paul was trying to ask. She had earlier seen the level of excitement in everyone’s eyes the previous night as they attended to her. She even caught some of the house staff members stealing furtive glances at her belly bump.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Yes, I’m pregnant! Now, can I be released to go make something to eat?”
“Yes!”
Paul shot both hands in the air and did a small victory dance to celebrate the good news, thereby causing Ella to laugh out her heart.
“Congratulation ma’am!” Paul made an attempt to hug her but quickly cautioned himself and kept his distance.
“A big congratulation! I’m so happy for you! This is the best news ever! We can’t wait to have little Treshvires running around the house.”
“Thank you, Paul,” Ella smiled and left for the kitchen while Paul also left to spread the good news.
Inside the kitchen, every staff treated Ella like a goddess. They had all received the good news thanks to some eavesdropper, who beat Paul to share the news before Ella got to the kitchen.
Ella, seeing that there was no use trying to stop the dotting house staff members from proactively attending to all her needs, decided to leave the kitchen and allow the chef to complete the dish after giving a few instructions.
–
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Ella was at the dining table enjoying her meal and waiting for a reply message from doctor Julie when she got wing that Leon had arrived.
When Leon walked into the sitting room, Paul happily welcomed him with the most infuriating statement that almost cost him a slap and his job.
“Congratulations, Sir!” Paul beamed as he collected Leon’s suitcase.
“Congratulation!” Leon raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. “What’s the occasion?”
“We got the good news that madam is expecting a child.”
“You got what!” Leon thundered, sending electric shivers down Paul’s spine.