Ariella was immediately rushed into the emergency room when they got to the hospital. Asher was told to wait outside, as he paced up and down, his mind racing with worry. Asher, unsure of what to do next, remembered to call his family for support. He dialed his grandmother and his grandfather, but it was his grandmother, the elder Mrs Blackwell, who answered. He quickly explained Ariella's condition and her being in the hospital.
A few minutes later, the elder Mrs. Blackwell arrived at the hospital, her concern evident on her face. She approached Asher, asking, "What happened to Ariella? What's going on?"
The elder Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell found Asher with his hands on his head, consumed by worry and fear for his wife and unborn children. When his grandmother inquired about what had happened, Asher recounted, "We'd had a simple argument, and then as we were arguing, she started saying that she felt discomfort in her stomach, and then it got worse, so I rushed her to the hospital."
His grandmother's concern was palpable as she responded, "What were you even arguing about? You know that she is pregnant right now. Why would you argue with her? She doesn't need stress right now."
Feeling the weight of his grandmother's words, Asher's grandfather intervened, gently touching his wife's shoulder and advising, "Calm down. Let's wait first for the doctor to tell us what's going on before you start blaming each other."
Reluctantly, Mrs Blackwell agreed, taking a seat next to Asher and holding his hand tightly as they awaited news from the doctor. He could feel his grandmother's worry matching his own as they awaited news of Ariella's condition.
It was no secret that the elder Mrs. Blackwell did not like Ariella when she first came into the family, and Asher had forced to marry her, but then, with time, she had got used to her. She was especially ecstatic when she heard that she was going to be a great-grandmother for the first time and that her golden grandson, Asher, was the one who was going to make her a great grandmother, hence, she was very involved in Ariella's pregnancy, the news that she might lose the baby affected her greatly.
As they waited, the doctor arrived and approached the Blackwells. Given their status as shareholders in the hospital and their contributions to its facilities and services, they were well-known figures there. Asher inquired about his wife's condition, while his grandmother expressed concern about Ariella and the pregnancy's status, as well as the well-being of her future great-grandchildren.
"How is my wife?" Asher asked, while his grandmother asked, "How is my daughter-in-law? How is the pregnancy? Are my grandkids okay?"
The doctor smiled. "Don't worry. The children and their mother are both fine, but we can't release her yet. We have to keep her and watch her tonight, and if everything goes well, by tomorrow, we will let her go home with conditions."
"What happened? How is she?" Mrs. Blackwell anxiously asked.
"She had a threatened miscarriage. But now she's fine. We gave her the medications she needed, and she is getting better," the doctor explained. "When she came into the hospital, she had a really high blood pressure, which is not good for her condition. We would like you to make sure she does not get stressed and she doesn't think about a lot of things, and she relaxes. She doesn't do heavy work. We would like to keep her under bed rest for at least 8 weeks so we can see her progress. She doesn't have to stay here at the hospital as long as I'm sure home is comfortable and it is stress-free because we are afraid keeping her here will alienate her. It would be good if she stays with the family and you don't stress her and she's happy and she doesn't do a lot of work and she relaxes so that she can take care of herself and the kids in her womb."
"Yes, of course, doctor, of course. Yes, no stress, relax and happy." Asher repeated
" A happy mother is a happy and healthy child," Mrs. Blackwell responded with determination.
The doctor smiled reassuringly. "So we're going to keep her, for the night and we will give her some medication for when she goes home. But for now, we'll just allow one person who is going to stay to go in and others to just see her for five minutes and leave. And remember, no stress," the doctor emphasized as he took his leave.
"Yes, of course. Thank you, doctor. Thank you for everything. We're very grateful," Mrs. Blackwell expressed her gratitude sincerely.
"It's my pleasure. It's my job. Don't worry. I'm sure she's going to carry to term and you're going to have beautiful healthy twins," the doctor reassured before leaving.
"Thank you, doctor. Of course, of course," Mrs. Blackwell replied with relief, hoping for the best for Ariella and her unborn children.
"You see what you did?" Mrs. Blackwell said just after the doctor left, looking at Asher. "You see what you did to my great-grandchildren? What did you two argue about? I want to make sure when we go in there, I take care of everything and she doesn't have to think about whatever it is the two of you were arguing about."
Asher looked down as he started itching his head, scratching his head nervously. Mr. Blackwell, the Elder Mr. Blackwell asked, "Come on, don't keep us long. We want to go and see your wife."
"Ah….. um... um .... It was about Scarlett. She's staying in the house."
"What?" Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell asked in surprise. "What do you mean Scarlett is staying at the house? Which house?" Mrs. Blackwell asked.
"At our home. She's been there for nearly three days now." He answered
"Where is her family?" Mrs Blackwell asked
" Her brother had to go away for work, and she has no one else. I am in her emergency contacts."
"I am sure she has other family members who can take her in, and take care of her." Mr Blackwell provided.
"No, you have to listen to me too. Scarlett has been through a lot and I'm the only one she has right now. I can't just throw her about out, okay? That's what the argument is about," Asher explained.
Elder Mr Blackwell asked, "What had happened? Tell us." And so Asher told them what had happened in his version of the story.
***
The next day, Asher went to get Ariella from the hospital. The two had been in a silent war with each other, asking each other only the appropriate things and where necessary. Like when Asher went into her room yesterday night and asked how she was feeling and if she was okay. He stayed for a few minutes until the nurse came in and asked who was going to stay and Ariella asked to be alone. And this morning he had come to see her and he was told that she would be discharged in the evening. And so in the evening, he had gone to get her. As they were in the car, Ariella looked outside the window until she fell asleep.
Asher looks at her and catches a sigh, trying to get her to wake up. She opens her eyes, looks to her right, and looks to her left, and looks at Asher. She feels the weight of their problems. Asher is the first to break the silence as he says,
"Look, I don't want to fight with you."
"I don't want that either," Ariella answers back as he takes her hand.
"I know it's been a bad few days, and I feel so bad that I nearly made you lose our babies, our children. If something had happened to them, I don't know what I would have done."
"I know, and I'm sorry too."
"I hope that you know I'm doing this for you and for our children," Asher says, Ariana Frowns.
"What do you mean?"
" I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I cannot let Scarlet suffer. But then on the other side, I have to protect you and our future. I know you love me. And you know that I love you more than any woman in this world. And I had hoped you and I would be a team, that you would help me in this time. But it wasn't as I imagined. And I'm not blaming you. Neither am I punishing you. I'm doing this. For us." Ariella's frown deepens
"What are you doing? What do you mean?"
Just then, light comes from an open door. And that's when Ariella looks and sees Mrs Blackwell coming out of the house and realizes that this is not their driveway. But it's the Blackwell family driveway.
"What do you mean?" She asks as fear starts enveloping her