06: Support

WINTER: 

One month later…

The house looked empty when Calcifer was no longer with me in the house. No matter where I looked, I was always reminded of him and the things he did for me. Of the way he took care of me. Of pampering me.

It had been a month since I last saw my ex-husband. Daddy still did not know what happened to my marriage, but I knew it sooner or later he would find out about this. And he would explode in anger. 

As much as I hated my ex-husband, I did not want Dad and him to fight because of me. 

I don’t know if I was able to face him. Or not. It was scary to know the things Dad might be capable of doing against Calcifer and his company. 

“Miss Winter? Are you okay?” Ynes, my maid asked. She was a forty-year-old woman who had been with us for quite some time now. And sometimes, her children would come over to the house and help her clean it which I welcomed. After my ex-husband left, the house seemed sad. “Maybe it’s best if you just sit, Miss Winter.” She came to my side when the world suddenly spun. I was standing on my porch and looked at the sunrise, the usual things I did every morning. “Your Dad will kill me if he found out you’re feeling sick.”

“He won’t. I assure you.”

She dragged a chair and put it in front of me.

I have been feeling nauseous these past few days and have not been in a hospital to see my doctor. Maybe it had something to do with my pregnancy. 

I was the only one who knew about it. Not Dad or even Ynes had an idea I was carrying a child.

I did not know why I was scared of telling them. Maybe I did not want to hear their judgments. Or Dad’s scolding and anger?

“I’m okay. Don’t worry about me,” I assured her.

“No, Miss Winter. It looked like you were not okay. You look pale. Are you feeling sick?”

Smiling, I shook my head. “Don’t worry about me, Ynes. Everything is fine.”

Ynes temporarily left my side and grabbed a glass of water and when she was back on my side, pushed the water in my front.

Without wasting any more time, I emptied the contents and put the glass down.

“Thank you.”

“You want me to massage you?”

“No. I am fine. I just need to catch myself.”

Panic flashed in her eyes before she tampered it down. “Please tell me if you’re feeling sick, Miss Winter. Your Dad entrusted me to you. I’ve been calling Sir Calcifer, but he won’t answer my call.”

I bit my lower lips as it quivered.

Ynes did not know Calcifer won’t be coming here. 

“Don’t…don’t disturb him.”

“Is he on a business trip, Miss Winter? This is the longest time he has been away.”

I closed my eyes as emotions washed over me. “C-Can we stop talking about him?”

Ynes stared at me for a moment, before she sighed. “Did you two fight? Miss Winter. Sometimes, in order to fix an argument, one of you must lower her pride.”

“You think it was my fault?” I snapped. “Don’t you ever mention his name again? Calcifer won’t be coming back. He and I already got divorced.”

Ynes’s eyes widened. “D-divorced?”

“Yes. Don’t tell Dad about this. He will only get mad at him. I don’t want to add more problems.”

“I’m so sorry, Miss Winter. I did not know. I thought he was only on a business trip. Please pardon me for not knowing.”

“It’s fine.”

The sun's rays were already showing and spreading across the beautiful land. How beautiful…If I could not have a husband who would be looking after me at sunrise and sunset, then, sooner I would have my child who would be with me through thick and thin. Someone who won’t be leaving me. 

“Miss Winter. Isn’t it time to visit your doctor? You look pale and vomit every morning as if you’re…” she trailed off and stared at my tummy. 

I shook my head. It still scares me to visit the hospital. “Like I am what?” I asked, closing my eyes for a moment.

“Like you’re pregnant?” she finished.  “A-Are you pregnant, Miss Winter?” she mumbled. 

My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage. I laughed. “W-Why would you think I am pregnant?”

“I saw all the signs. You have a morning sickness. You don’t like to smell garlic. You like eating sour apples. Those are the signs that someone is pregnant.” She kneeled at me, her eyes still on my stomach. “Are you having a child?”

Tell her.

It was better to tell her so that you would have some emotional support.

Slowly, I nodded at her. “I am.”

Her eyes widened and sat on the floor.

“Does your Dad know?”

I shook my head.

“He did not. Not even my ex-husband.”

“Oh, my goodness. Do you have plans on telling them?”

“Dad, yes. But my ex-husband, you have to promise me that you won’t be telling him, Ynes.”

“But why? He has the right, Miss Winter. He is the father.”

Ynes had a loving and supportive husband, so she would not know the feeling. “My ex-husband did not deserve to know,” I stated.