Dr. Kruger returned to her office to talk to her son, but then decided to check up on Jerlina first. She liked Jerlina as she invoked the motherly instincts in her. But she couldn't shake off this queasy feeling about Jerlina in her heart.
But when she got to her room, the sight she saw made her heart clench. TJ was standing by the door, peeping in through the little glass window in the door. He's not crying anymore and she was slightly relieved.
"Mom, when will she be discharged?" he asked noticing her walking towards him.
"Three days max," Dr. Kruger stood beside him.
"Can't I take her home tomorrow?" his piercing blue eyes fixed on her.
"Home? Your home?" Dr. Kruger probed.
Did he really marry?
"Yes, we are legally married now. It is proper for her to live with me-"
"You married and you didn't bother to tell me? And that child?" she was hurt when he agreed just like that but wanted to know more.
"Mom, you saw it. She hates me. It's not my child and it's not a marriage out of love. How would she of all women, marry me? I –"
His eyes clouded and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
I killed her child.
"You're not a bad catch. You're a millionaire-" Dr. Kruger couldn't be angry with him seeing his suffering.
"The baby... what will happen to it?" he asked clenching his fists.
"I'll have to ask her what to do with it after she wakes up."
TJ stood staring at Jerlina for some time and walked away without saying a word.
"This boy... what is he doing?" Dr. Kruger mumbled and walked to her office.
Leaning on the backrest of her chair, she massaged her head. She's known him for twenty years and she still couldn't understand him.
She picked up her phone and dialled the number she saved under 'M. Maverick'.
The line connected and a cheery voice greeted her from the other end.
"Hello, Lady with the lamp!"
"Mark..!" she hated it when people compared her to Florence Nightingale.
"Fine, Mother Teresa then," he chuckled.
"This is worse! Please stop-" she let out a sigh. "Have an eye on him. He's brought the same girl again. Last time he brought her, he almost started a gang war. This time he says he's married her." She decided to come to the point.
"He's had a soft spot for her always. Let the man have what he wants," Mark's tone got a little serious.
"Of course you know it all! To have what he wants? She is not a thing to take, Mark. Does he love her?" Dr. Kruger got mad.
"Love?" Mark laughed hard until he started coughing. "That might explain why he locked her in his cabin for a month. I thought it was because she was Whitney Johnson's daughter he decided to protect her. Love? Ha..ha.. ha... That should be it! The Alpha finally found his Luna!"
"He kidnapped her? Why did you allow it?"Dr. Kruger gritted her teeth.
"Whoa, Maddy! Don't put a harsh label on what he did! In his thirty one years in this planet, when has he hurt a woman? He just wants to protect her." Mark got flustered a bit.
"Right! I thought you'd know better. You're no different from others." Dr. Kruger shook her head and ended the call.
Power rules in this place and people with power do what they want and women are treated as mere commodities even in this day and age.
She really didn't think Jeremy would become one of those men.
But she is Whitney Johnson's daughter? Is that why he is obsessed with her?
-----
Jerlina opened her eyes. That small room had a very cold atmosphere. There was a tube connected to her wrist and she felt a cold liquid getting passed into her vein. She tried to get up, but she felt her entire body aching reminding her of what happened. Her hand caressed her lower abdomen and she felt emptiness.
"You're awake."
She turned to her side seeing the lady sitting beside her with a kind smile.
"My baby..?" she asked knowing what the answer would be.
"I'm sorry dear, we couldn't-"
Jerlina avoided the hand of the nurse reaching for her forehead. Turning to the side, her eyes got clouded with tears and flowed down as a stream making the pillow wet.`She curled up to a ball and started to sob.
Why did this happen?
That monster! He caused the accident and he refused to take me to the hospital immediately.
"Will it have made a difference if I arrived early?" she asked.
Daisy was hurt to see the swollen eyes of Jerlina but she explained. "Miscarriages in the first trimester are largely due to chromosomal abnormalities-"
"My baby was fine! That monster rammed into my car causing the death of my child. It is possible right? Accidents can cause miscarriage!" Jerlina held the nurse's hand.
"He rammed you?" Daisy asked as she was curious.
Jerlina explained everything that happened to the nurse. The nurse had a very kind face and she hoped that she would be on her side. "Please help me file a police complaint. Isn't causing a miscarriage a crime? Please testify for me..."
Jerlina started to beg Daisy while Daisy tried to calm her down. Jerlina really couldn't accept that the monster could get away with killing her baby. She wanted him to suffer.
The pain she is feeling currently, she wanted him to feel at least a fraction of it.
I might forgive him for kidnapping me. I might forgive him for helping his sister steal my boyfriend. I might forgive him for forcing me to sign a marriage certificate.
But I will never forgive him for killing my baby.
For that Jerlina didn't mind begging this nurse. If a medical professional gives a statement that the car accident is the reason for her miscarriage, she might be able to file a strong complaint against him.
"I'm sorry, dear," Daisy held Jerlina's hand. "Even if everything you say happened, it still isn't proof that your miscarriage was due to the accident. You miscarried within an hour of the accident and it is doubtful..."
The nurse explained and Jerlina pulled her hand out of the nurse's grip.
Of course! What was I thinking? A random cop on the road was that monster's lackey. How would be a nurse working in his mother's clinic do anything against him?
She let out a sigh.
Remember this and remember this well, Jerlina. You have no one by your side. You are helpless now. So stop begging strangers.
"What happened to my baby?"
She turned to look at the nurse. She wanted to cry, but she felt her tears have dried up. There seems to be nothing she could do about what has happened.
Shouldn't I move forward then?
"It's kept safe. What do you want to do?"
"I want to bury my baby..." she said and tried to pull out the IV tube connected to her wrist. She didn't want to stay here anymore. "Give me my baby and I'll leave. Thank you for taking care of me."
"Stay here for the night. You've lost a lot of blood and-"
"I must have lost my job since someone kidnapped me for a month and I can't afford to pay for my stay here," she spoke in a mechanical voice. She didn't want to stay here for even a moment.
Honestly, she didn't know where she'd go. The apartment she used to stay was leased under Gerard and she didn't know if he cancelled the contract or not. She didn't know what happened to her stuff and she didn't even have her credit card with her.
I'm reduced to nothing! At least I want to be free.
"Daisy! I told you to inform me when she wakes up," Dr. Kruger entered the room and Daisy stood up. "How are you feeling?" she asked Jerlina.