Chapter 44: Unexpected News.

June rolled off the bed with a soft thud. Thankfully, she hadn’t hit her stomach on the floor. After everything the doctor had said, she tried to take her mind off anything tedious.

Or at least, she pretended to.

It was quite impossible to just switch one’s mind to what one wanted and what one didn’t want.

Last night, Ellie had insisted that she take her prescribed medication in her presence, and that had made her sleep more peacefully than she thought.

Ellie was still spread across the bed like she had no thoughts in the world when June left the room.

She went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast to get her mind off things before going to work. She had prepared a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast.

Ellie woke up to the room filled with the aroma of eggs. A wide smile spread across her face when she saw that June wasn’t crying anymore.

She knew it wouldn’t be easy to take her mind off things, but she was actively trying, and that was all that mattered.

Instead, she attacked her breakfast with the sort of energy she hadn’t seen in her recently.

"Are you sure you want to go back to work today? You can still rest if you need to," Ellie asked, stuffing her mouth with toast.

June nodded. "Yes. I need to take my mind off things, and more importantly, I need..."

"Money," Ellie completed before she could.

June smiled at her. "Of course, I always need money. I want the best for my little one."

Ellie nodded. "Our baby will get the best of everything in life."

After breakfast, June left for work. Her steps were slower than usual as she stared at things along the way to keep her mind busy.

And that was when she felt it.

There was a pricking feeling at the back of her mind, as if someone was following her.

Instead of continuing at her slow pace, June decided to hasten her steps.

But the feeling didn’t stop.

She almost ran to the clinic but had to calm herself down. There was no way anyone would attack her openly.

Was there?

When she got into the clinic safely, she let out a deep breath of relief after making sure the door was locked firmly behind her.

She started by checking the supplies at the clinic to see if there was anything she needed to tell Andy to get.

She was so engrossed in her work that she hadn’t heard the first sound of the door.

It wasn’t until the banging got louder that she heard it and turned to open the door.

Normally, they didn’t lock the door to the clinic, but because of how scared she was that someone was following her, she had locked the door behind her.

Andy wore a frown as he got into the clinic.

"Why did you lock the door?" Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Did someone come in here to bother you?"

Did the guy return again, even though he had told him June would be on break for the rest of the week?

June shook her head. "No."

She wanted to tell Andy that she had a feeling someone was following her, but she shook her head.

It was just her being paranoid.

Andy nodded. "Great. How was your visit to the hospital?"

"Great," she responded, a bit more at ease now that someone else apart from her was in the clinic.

She got back to work, taking her mind off other things.

With each step she took, she felt like she was being watched again.

When she turned around, she saw Andy staring at her.

"Is anything wrong?" she asked, clearly bothered by his gaze on her.

Andy stopped what he was doing.

"Are you sure you should be working now?"

The question caught her off guard. She thought Andy would be glad to have her back at the clinic, especially since, in her absence, he was short of staff.

"I’m fine."

But even after the assurance, she could still feel Andy’s gaze on her.

Rauf stared at the pictures Henson had sent to him.

His gaze remained fixed on the woman walking with her hands pressed against her stomach as if she were protecting something.

There were different pictures of her in different postures.

And he could recall the face that had accused him when he first opened his eyes.

Even in the pictures, she looked a bit frail, like she had lost some weight.

Her dress looked worn-out.

But he couldn’t get a clear look at the exact expression on her face. Henson hadn’t gotten close enough to her to take the pictures.

Ever since he left the clinic, he had placed Henson as a guard.

He had a feeling the bald guy was lying, and he had been right.

Henson had sent him different pictures of June and had been giving him updates on her every minute.

According to Henson, June worked as a clinic assistant for Andy Barret. He owned Andy’s Pet Clinic, and her pay was nothing to write home about.

It was no wonder she was moving about in those tattered dresses. It would be one of the things he would change once he won her back.

She was usually the one who opened the clinic daily, while Andy resumed later in the day.

Just seeing her picture alone brought a sense of relief Rauf didn’t know he needed.

Until he was able to get more information from Henson, he kept staring at the picture.

At one point, he was tempted to go to the clinic and claim her back.

But even he knew he had wronged her and needed to win her back the right way.

With those thoughts in mind, he planned on getting expensive dresses for her. There was no way any woman would reject fashion accessories, especially since she was used to getting all she wanted as Mrs. Salvador.

A rare kind of smile appeared on his face.

A rare sense of hope filled him at the thought of going back to Kansas with June. He would finally be able to keep the promises he had made to her.

A few hours later, more pictures, along with a full schedule of June’s day, were sent to his phone.

Open daily as early as eight a.m.

Rauf balled his hand into a fist. When was she supposed to rest if she had to wake up that early?

Then his gaze moved towards the rest of the schedule.

Mostly cooped up in the clinic for the rest of the day, but actively helping Andy out.

Then close around four p.m.

She walked back home, where she stayed with her friend, Ellie, and her friend’s grandmother.

He sent the picture of her apartment.

There were some pictures of her looking back as if she knew someone was following her.

According to the information he had gotten, June seemed to be living a simple life.

His heart ached when he felt like she had moved on without him.

He had spent five years with her, and he thought he knew everything about her, but staring at the picture now, she felt like a stranger to him.

And now, he suddenly wanted to know everything about her again.

He was about to close the phone and make his next plan when his phone buzzed with a new message.

"Boss, Mrs. Salvador went to the hospital yesterday?"

Rauf frowned at the message.

Unlike every other message he had ignored, his gaze was fixed on this one.

His fingers moved furiously across the keyboard of his phone.

"Why? Is something wrong with her?"

Henson’s response was immediate. "I’m not sure, boss. I’m looking into it."

But Rauf wasn’t satisfied with that response. He needed to know everything about her. He needed to know if she was okay or not.

He picked up his car key.

There was no point delaying his meeting with her when something was clearly wrong with her.

As he left the hotel, he typed a message for Henson.

"I don’t care what’s wrong. I want you to schedule an appointment with the best hospital here. I’ll make sure to bring her over."

He dropped his phone aside and pressed on the accelerator of his car.

With her new location sitting in his phone’s messages, he hadn’t bothered to stop at Andy’s Pet Clinic. Instead, he drove directly to the building, parking his car a few houses away from it.

He picked up his phone to inform Henson to stop tailing her and join him in his car.

But as soon as he unlocked his phone, his eyes bulged at the message staring back at him.

His heart rate picked up immediately, and for a minute, he had no idea what he wanted to do anymore.

When he regained his composure, he read the message again just to be sure he hadn’t been mistaken.

"Boss, Mrs. Salvador went to the hospital yesterday to see a gynecologist. She’s pregnant."