C9 Watch You

“Have you lost a baby before?”

She shook her head. “After the diagnosis and surgery, I was told that the chances were slim that I would get pregnant.”

Dr. Parks sighed before nodding. “I take it that you have been trying for a while, then?”

“Yes, we tried for years, starting as soon as we got married. But nothing and now—” she said but stopped herself from blurting out her dirty secret.

She felt his hand touch hers and she opened her eyes to see a silver wedding band on his finger. The image of him being so happy in his wedding photo hit her again and only made her cry harder. Again, she asked herself why she had to choose and marry an asshole.

“I can’t promise that everything will be okay, but I will watch over you. I would like to see you every week until you give birth. According to the scan, you look about eight weeks along. That means you have another seven months to go.”

Pandora agreed, feeling a little better that he was willing to watch over her so carefully.

“Do you work?” he asked, removing his hand from hers.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Make sure they know and take it easy. I will let you know when you should stop working but let’s say around seven months for now, depending on how big the baby gets.” Pandora nodded as he raised an eyebrow. “Keep your stress levels to the minimum.”

Pandora let out a snort and when she noticed his curious expression, she shook her head. There was no way she would tell him that her ex-husband was adamant about making her life a living hell. And she had no idea who the baby’s father was or how to find him.

Dr. Parks gave her tips on how to overcome morning sickness. He said that she would eat small amounts and often. In the end, he made an appointment for her to see him the following week.

“Have a great week, Pandora,” he said, offering her his hand. She took it again and her body was hit with desire and need. She wanted his hands to be all over her.

“Bye,” she squeaked out.

‘He is married!’ she yelled at herself as she walked out hastily.

She let out the breath she was holding when she was finally out of the building. “I should change to another doctor,” she muttered as she slid into her car.

Her phone beeped just as she pulled on her seatbelt. “Hey, Kiera.”

“How did it go?” Keira asked impatiently.

Ana chuckled a little, knowing that she wanted to come along to the appointment but couldn’t get time off work.

“He wants to see me every week,” Pandora informed. “And I got several copies of photos.” She looked at the scan photos again.

“Does it feel real now?”

“Yes, more so because I heard Bean’s heartbeat,” she said, making Keira gasp.

“That’s it, I don’t care about work. Next time, I am coming with you. If they don’t give me the day off, then I am calling in sick.”

“Keira… you need to be at work. Your office can’t run without you,” Pandora reminded.

“I took this job thinking I would have an easy life and loads of benefits. They were tricking me!”

Pandora giggled as Keira whined about her job on the call.

“I have to go. Some troublemaker brought fireworks into the girl’s locker room. I need to put some sense into them,” she sighed.

“Well, see you this weekend,” Pandora said before hanging up.

She headed back to work. No sooner had she arrived than she headed to her boss’s office. Aron was her boss in name, but in truth, he was her father’s age and had taken her under his wing long ago. He had become a dear friend and even wanted to introduce her as his god-daughter. Of course, none of the staff members knew of this.

Pandora insisted on doing her job silently and staving off anyone thinking that she used underhanded means to get her promotions. Her talent was what got her to the top of the ladder.

“Afternoon, Pandora,” Aron, her boss, smiled as she walked in.

“I thought I should tell you that I am pregnant.” His face seemed to drop as he looked at her. “I’m two months along,” she whispered.

“You went back to Derrik?” he asked and she shook her head.

“It’s just someone I met and we hit it off…” she trailed off and waved her hand.

“What does this man say about the pregnancy?”

“Well… I lost his number and he is out of town. So, for now, he doesn’t know.”

Aron raised a brow, almost as if he didn’t believe a word she was saying. “Does your father know yet?” Of course, as a trustworthy elder, he would go there. And Pandora didn’t want to answer that question.

“I plan on telling him tonight.”

“Parents hate not knowing what is happening in their children’s lives. He might get worried because you will sound off until you come clean.”

“I will tell him tonight,” Pandora reassured him.

“Good. Let me know if you need some time off. You haven’t been looking good these past few days.”

“Thank you,” she responded snarkily.

“My mother looked better at her funeral than you do. And she was dead for a while by then,” Aron retorted.

“Okay, you need to stop,” Pandora muttered, standing up.

“I just tell the truth as I see it,” Aron laughed as Pandora waved her hand and walked out. She did notice that her colleagues looked quite a bit worried about her. Maybe she did look awful after being sick. What happened to getting a glow-up while pregnant? Why was she not one of the more fortunate ones?

Pandora could only wonder. Still, she would follow Doctor Parks' advice and cross her fingers. Hopefully, his tips would help her feel better.