The atmosphere shifted entirely in a split second.
At that moment, my heart stopped. Pregnant? No… it can't be. It felt as though the world had stopped spinning all at once. What was supposed to be good news turned out to be the worst nightmare of my life that night.
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out for a while, only a look of shock was plastered across my face as I stared at the nurse blankly, struggling to register the words that had just left her lips.
"What?" I finally mumbled after what seemed like an eternity, still refusing to believe her words as I was burying my head deep in denial. "No, I can't be! I don't want to be!" I yelled out uncontrollably as the man stood there watching me with a stoic face.
The nurse reached out to place her hand on me gently, trying to calm me down. "Mrs Carson, please calm down. Should I inform your husband about this?"
I wrapped my fingers around her wrist, holding her back. "No…" I pleaded, desperation evident in my weak voice. "I don't want him to know," I confessed.
The nurse raised her brow at me, a surprised expression masked her features. "Oh… Okay. Don't worry, I won't make the call," she quickly assured me as she placed her hand on top of mine. "Press the button by the bed if you need anything," she said before turning around to leave.
The ward was silent once again, until the man broke the silence that lapsed between them.
"You are married?" He questioned with a distant expression. "Why don't you want to tell your husband?"
The memories from earlier flooded my mind in an instant, replaying inside my head like a broken record player I couldn't seem to fix. Anger and feelings of betrayal pulsed through every single vein in my body as I gritted my teeth.
"He doesn't deserve to be the father of my child," I spat the words out like they were poison in my mouth. "He's probably at home with the other woman, laughing and chatting without a care in the world," I snarled with disdain as a cold chuckle left my lips.
The man's eyes gleamed with a look I couldn't pinpoint but it looked as though a thought had popped into his head at that very moment. He pressed his lips into a thin line. "He sounds horrible, good luck with that."
Just as his hand hovered above the doorknob, I called out to him.
"Hey," I exclaimed and his eyes snapped to meet my gaze, looking at me with an expectant look hanging on his face. "I know this is going to sound crazy but… do you wanna get married?"
Disbelief and shock was written all over his face as he stared at me like I was a foreign object he had never seen in his lifetime. There was no doubt that he wasn't exactly expecting to hear those words come out of my lips, catching him by complete surprise.
"What? Married?" He asked in a deep voice and I could see the gears in his head twisting and shifting with each passing second as his mind tried to register the words that reached his ears.
"Mhmm…" I confirmed quickly. "My baby needs a father, and at least you cared enough to send me to the hospital," I said, my voice dripping with bitterness as I lowered my gaze and my hand naturally caressed my stomach gently.
He quickly regained his composure, an indifferent look was now etched onto his face as his demeanour shifted. "Sure," he replied coolly. I watched as the corners of his lips twitched upwards into a slight smirk. "Let's do it, let's get married."
My eyes snapped back up as I lifted my head to look at the man whose name I still don't know.
"Really?" I asked, surprised that he would actually agree to it. I thought that he would at least give it a day or two to think this through, but I guess this was a pleasant surprise.
"Yeah, I have this toxic ex-girlfriend who wouldn't stop harassing me," he explained with a clenched jaw. "If we get married officially, maybe she will finally get the hint and leave me the hell alone."
My lips curved into a slight smile. "Yeah, I sure hope so for you…sir."
"Xavier. Call me Xavier."
Silence enveloped us both for a fleeting moment before he plopped down onto the same chair he was once sitting in and turned to face me.
"So… about that husband of yours…" He began, leaning closer towards me. "You said that he was at home with another woman?"
"It's his first love. He claimed that they are just friends but I'm not stupid. You should have seen the way he jumps to defend her every time. Just thinking about it makes me mad."
A frown crept onto my face as I ranted, suddenly feeling close to this stranger I had just met a few minutes ago.
"I swear I'm going to make their lives crumble bit by bit, until they have nothing left and one day come back crawling to me, begging me," I vowed to myself, my voice laced with contempt and disdain for my husband and Stella as I balled my fists tightly beside me.
A smirk tugged at the corners of Xavier's lips as he clasped his hands together, his elbows resting on his thighs while he leaned forward with his legs spreaded apart. "I like the sound of that. Make them regret."
A smile fell on my lips. "I'm going to start by serving him with divorce papers."
That same day I found myself pushing the bedroom door open, the sound of it hitting against the wall behind it reverberated in the tiny room. I was greeted by an unpleasant sight as my eyes landed on Blake and Stella lying in bed together.
His hand was once resting on her waist sensually, but the moment he saw me, he quickly retracted his hand and Stella quickly sat up straighter than before as if they were guilty of getting caught.
Tension hung in the air between us like a thick blanket.
"What are you doing here?"