Chapter 42: A Decision of Emotion.

The shopping bags remained untouched at the side of her bed where Ellie had dropped them. June lay on the bed, her hands and legs spread out in exhaustion.

Ellie lay beside her but didn’t utter a word. She could tell that something had gone wrong, and June was clearly not ready to speak about it. She bit her lower lip, having no idea how to bring the topic up.

Ever since June left for the mansion, Ellie had been tempted to call her every second and ask how it was going. But she had to calm herself down and tell herself that whatever the result was, June needed to accept the decision first.

And right now, she looked like she was still in the stage of accepting it.

Instead of disturbing her, Ellie left the room to prepare food for her. Recently, she had observed that June had a large appetite. Maybe something yummy and rich would improve her mood.

She spent hours slaving in the kitchen. And she made sure to prepare chicken too. It was June’s favourite for now.

But when she returned to the room, June was in the exact position she had left her. Her eyes were closed, and she had curved herself into a round ball. Not even the sweet aroma of the food was enough to make her open her eyes.

Ellie stared between the food and June, tempted to wake her up. But after considering it more, she left her alone and also lay on her side of the bed.

The night was long, and neither of them said a word. The food went cold and untouched, and Ellie, unable to control the urge anymore, fell asleep right beside June.

When morning came and June was still lying down beside her, Ellie jumped to her feet. Between the two of them, June usually woke earlier, but now she was still sleeping like she had nowhere to go.

Slowly, Ellie tapped her.

"June! June! Don’t you have to go to work or something?"

June opened her eyes and looked at Ellie with red eyes. "I’m not supposed to resume soon. Andy gave me enough time to rest."

"Okay," Ellie responded. But the fact that June wanted to go back to sleep didn’t sit well with her. It was even more of a pain in her ass that she was acting this way when Evelyn wasn’t home. She had gone to some old women’s hangout or something.

"Don’t you have something else to do?"

June sat up, her eyes suddenly widening. "I have forgotten I have a doctor’s appointment today."

Ellie smiled. Finally, something to take her mind off whatever had happened at the estate.

Her gaze moved to the clock. "Well, there’s still enough time for you to start getting prepared."

But June made no move to get prepared. Her eyes cast down again, and her lips formed a thin frown.

"The doctor asked me to come with my husband. I don’t have anyone to go with."

Ellie frowned. "What do you mean by you don’t have anyone to go with? What about me?"

June turned to her with so much speed, you’d think she was about to break her neck.

"You? Don’t you have a class to attend online?"

Ellie smirked at her, suddenly dropping her hand on June’s shoulder and dragging her closer to herself.

"My goddaughter is more important than anything else."

After forcing her to eat her breakfast, soon June was dressed in a simple green sweater that swallowed her and made it impossible for anyone to guess she was pregnant. She paired it up with casual jean trousers and one of her usual flats.

Ellie wore a pink crop top paired with short knickers and white sneakers.

Since neither of them had a car, they had to take a bus to the hospital.

Every five seconds, Ellie kept staring at June to see if she was okay or still lost in thought. But she seemed fine as her eyes darted from one person to another.

June’s eyes moved from one person to another in the bus. Most of the people she looked at weren’t alone.

There was a guy with his hand wrapped around the shoulder of the lady sitting next to him. They were both staring at something on his phone, with a smile lingering on her face. June could tell they were a couple.

Her gaze moved to a young mother holding her baby close to her as the toddler wanted to get down from the bus.

Instinctively, her own hand moved towards her baby. She hadn’t started feeling it kick. It was one of the things she intended to complain to the doctor about today.

Finally, they got down from the bus, and some strange sense of relief rushed through June. Even though she was with Ellie on the bus, she still felt alone.

Ellie was a friend and not family.

She led the way to the doctor’s office, and Ellie followed while talking about every little thing she saw on the way.

Dr. Ashley was a tall woman with a slim body that made her look like a model rather than a doctor. She had a round face and always wore glasses, which she placed on her nose every time June came to her office.

She looked up from her table and smiled at June.

"Good morning, Mrs. Trevor. How are you doing today?"

June swallowed. "Fine."

The doctor didn’t need to know she was anything but fine.

"Where’s your husband, ma’am? Is he waiting at the reception?"

June sat herself down while asking Ellie to sit too.

"No, doctor. This is my friend, Ellie. She came with me."

The doctor turned to Ellie.

"Good morning, Miss Ellie. Are you standing in as Mrs. Trevor’s legal guardian?"

Ellie nodded.

"Fine. Then I will let you know something about her current position, but first, I need to check Mrs. Trevor."

At one side of her office was a small bed that could only contain one person. June lay on the bed while the doctor placed a fetal doppler on her stomach. She moved it around for a while before asking her to return to her seat.

"What do you do, Mrs. Trevor?" she asked while pulling her glasses down.

June twisted her lips. "I work as a clinic assistant at a vet clinic."

"Does the work feel too stressful for you?" she asked again, noting some things down.

June shook her head. "Not really. I actually enjoy working there. My work is fun."

Then the doctor frowned.

"Your baby’s heartbeat is weak. You need to rest more than usual, and you also need to eat a lot of food and fruit. Remember, everything you do affects your baby." She looked from June to Ellie.

Ellie nodded.

Dr. Ashley wrote more things down.

"Have you started feeling your baby’s kicks?"

June shook her head.

The doctor nodded. "It’s okay. Soon, you will start feeling your baby’s kick. But before then, you need rest and a good nutritional plan. This was one of the reasons I wanted to see your husband. He needs to know what’s going on with his wife and child and how to keep them safe."

Ellie nodded again.

"I’ll make sure she gets enough rest while eating nutritious foods."

The doctor thanked Ellie, and they finally left.

Ellie stayed close to June as if she were glued to her side.

"What are you thinking?" she asked June.

June frowned. "Nothing. I haven’t been thinking of anything."

Ellie furrowed her brows. "What about yesterday? Do you feel better now?"

She nodded.

"It was just hard for me to accept that my mother isn’t at the address I had hoped. I had fallen again into Father’s trap. I kept telling myself I would finally be reunited with her, only for my hope to be dashed again."

Ellie hugged her, ignoring the stares they got from passersby.

"I’m really sorry about your mother. I already guessed as much when you didn’t say a word." Ellie added, "But Evelyn and I will be there for you as a family. I don’t want you to wound yourself or my goddaughter because of that."

She pulled June away from her and wiped the tears that had formed under her eyes.

June nodded. "You know the doctor is right, I have a lot going on now. I shouldn’t add the stress of not finding my mother to it."

She moved her hand to her stomach.

"The safety of my child is the most important thing."

But as she saw pregnant women moving with their husbands, helping them with their bags and taking care of them, a pang of jealousy hit her.

If Amie hadn’t lied about being Rauf’s wife, he might be doing all of this for her.

But as soon as the thought came into her head, she shook it. She had already promised herself she would forget everything about Rauf, and that included thinking about him.

She turned to Ellie. Ellie was smiling at her.

"I think you’re right, Ellie. I’ll just focus on giving birth to a healthy child. I think I should stop the search for my mother now."