Part 5

"Ow! Hot!" Hayle finally noticed the milk spilling onto her hand. It was enough to make her hand turn red. She had deliberately kept it at 70 degrees Celsius to ensure the milk’s nutrients remained intact.

"I'm sorry for startling you." Lucas quickly grabbed Hayle's hand and led her to the sink, intending to administer first aid by running cold water over the burn.

This sudden act of care surprised Hayle. For three months, she had desperately sought his attention, sending countless messages, calling him almost every second, and searching for him everywhere. None of it had yielded any results.

But now, after Hayle had stopped bothering him for a moment, focused on her plans, and disappeared from his sight, he suddenly started showing his old caring self again.

This almost left Hayle astonished. Her hopes surged, but she tried to contain them. Was this what they called a bond between a father and his unborn child?

"I heard you were sick?" Lucas asked, looking at the woman beside him.

His gaze was kind, but somehow not as warm as she remembered. Was it because of the deep hurt he had caused her?

"Yes. I'm fine now." Hayle pulled her hand away. The image of him affectionately kissing Sonia at their engagement party flashed in her mind, stirring her emotions and making her feel nauseous. "I have to go."

Hayle hurried out of the pantry, leaving Lucas slightly furrowing his brow, wondering why she suddenly changed after a few weeks of not coming to the hospital.

Lucas sniffed his hand, which had a bit of Hayle's drink on it. He frowned even more. It was clearly the smell of chocolate milk, and since when did Hayle like to drink milk?

He glanced at the pantry trash can. His face showed even more surprise when he saw a package of pregnancy milk. Was this what Hayle was drinking? And there was no other packaging but that of pregnancy milk.

Lucas's eyes widened, and his face showed incredible disbelief.

She’s pregnant?!

After leaving the pantry, Hayle felt incredibly nauseous, and her breathing was labored, making it hard to breathe. She had to calm herself down to inhale fresh air, even to the point of tears, not because she was crying, but because she was truly holding back from vomiting. Being next to him felt suffocating. There was an aversion and a sense of rejection. This was vastly different from what she had imagined. Was this a sign that the insemination she had undergone was successful?

Why did she feel uncomfortable around Lucas? Did her baby know that he had treated her so poorly, causing her so much pain? Could it be true? But this was his own child?

She was supposed to wait 3-7 more days to check. But seeing these signs, she had to check immediately. Maybe tomorrow morning, as morning urine has the highest HcG levels for pregnancy hormones. Would the result be positive?

In the early morning, Hayle tiptoed to the bathroom. She couldn't sleep at all. In her hand was a pregnancy test, ready to use. This wasn't unfamiliar to her; as an obstetrician, this was something quite routine.

However, this was the first time she was doing it for herself. After a month of dealing with injections, tearing her body open just to insert her prospective baby, eating foods she never imagined she would eat, and battling extraordinary mood swings, here she was!

Hayle took a deep breath and collected her morning urine. Nervously, she opened three different pregnancy tests. Some required drops, others needed to be dipped into the urine. For some reason, this time, as the urine slowly climbed and formed lines, it felt like an eternity. Usually, it happened so quickly.

As the lines gradually appeared, Hayle's eyes widened. Her face showed disbelief. Could it be? This was the result!

Jacob rubbed his eyes and face haphazardly, rolling over with a sleepy expression. He yawned several times before finally reaching for his phone, which had been ringing for a while. He saw Hayle's name on the screen. Squinting at the phone, he realized it was only 4 AM, and this woman was waking him from his sweet dreams.

"Hayle! What's going on?!" Jacob's sleepy voice was thick. He rubbed his face again. If it wasn't important, he was ready to scold her openly.

"Jacob! It's positive! Positive!" Hayle screamed with joy on the other end, jumping up and down in her bathroom. She quickly remembered she shouldn't do that. Even though it was positive, her pregnancy was still very delicate. The first trimester was crucial.

"What?!" Jacob's eyes, which had been nearly closed, now widened, perfectly round, as if they would pop out. He sat up abruptly, making his head spin. He wasn't sure if it was because of the sudden movement or the news. "How?! How can it be positive?"

Hayle frowned at his response. "We made it happen, don't you remember?! You did the insemination! Are you getting senile?"

"But... but, with a 39% chance! Oh, damn!" Jacob slapped his forehead. His buried nightmare from a few weeks ago resurfaced. What now? Especially since Rosita had disappeared without a trace, leaving him with no one to explain why this was happening.

"Why? Aren't you happy?" Hayle asked, confused by Jacob's odd behavior.

Jacob immediately widened his eyes. "Oh no, I'm happy. Yay! Positive," Jacob said, sounding forced.

"What's wrong with you?" Hayle asked, even more puzzled.

"It's just that I wasn't fully awake. You woke me up at four in the morning. Now I have to be excited because you're pregnant. I'm not the father of that child. Why did you wake me up first?" Jacob covered his nervousness, fully awake now. "By the way, are you going to tell him now?"

"Um, no." Hayle walked back to her bed, gently stroking her stomach, which felt ticklish. There was life inside her.

"No?"

"Yes. I'll wait until my fetus is 10-14 weeks old. I'm sure he'll request a DNA test, and I'll do it even before he asks. I'll throw the DNA results in front of him and Sonia. That way, he can't deny it." Hayle smiled slyly. She could already picture it all in her mind. At that moment, her pain would be avenged. What would the director do when he found out she was carrying the baby of his cherished future son-in-law!

"Yes! Yes!" Jacob shouted, suddenly bursting with energy. Hayle was startled, especially since he had just said he wasn't fully awake, and now he was yelling into his phone. "Oh, thank God!" Jacob whispered before returning to the call. "Yes! I support you! Do the DNA test first, then we'll see the results! Don't rashly tell him! Good girl! Genius woman!" Jacob felt like kissing Hayle if she had been there.

This would indeed be proof, showing whether they made a mistake or not. Jacob promised himself he would go to church every day just to pray that he hadn't made an error.

"Alright then. I want to rest a bit before heading to the hospital. Jacob, thank you, I'm so thrilled!" Hayle said with a sweet smile. Finally, luck was truly on her side.

***

"Don't you want to eat this steak, Doctor?" asked the cafeteria lady at the hospital, knowing well that Hayle loved steak. She always saved a portion for the woman she considered the friendliest at the hospital.

Hayle's face wrinkled with desire, but she knew she couldn't eat undercooked food like that. But... if it's well done, isn't it okay?

"Ma'am, can I have it well done this time? And I don't want the salad, just the meat and fries." Hayle had to settle for eating meat cooked more than she preferred.

"Well done?" the cafeteria lady asked in disbelief.

"Yes. And when it's ready, could you bring it to my usual table?" Hayle smiled broadly, a smile that hadn't been this bright in the past three months.

"Uh, okay, Doctor." The cafeteria lady was still puzzled. As long as she had worked there, Hayle had always been against eating well-done steak. She wouldn't like it at all. But why the change now?

This also raised questions in Lucas's mind, who was a few lines behind Hayle in the queue. Seeing the change in her eating habits was a clear sign she was pregnant.

"Lucas, darling!" A cheerful voice drew the attention of many in the cafeteria, including Lucas.

He immediately greeted his fiancée, Sonia, with a broad smile. Sonia shamelessly planted a kiss on Lucas's cheek, making him smile. His eyes glanced at Hayle, who seemed indifferent, happily pouring something into her glass, likely pregnancy milk again.

"What are you looking at?" Sonia asked, frowning. She noticed Lucas's gaze had wandered. Her face immediately soured. "Were you looking at her?"

"No, no. Why did you come here?" Lucas asked, looking into Sonia's eyes, making sure she wouldn't get upset. He knew about his past with Hayle.

"Oh, I wanted to invite you to eat. My father is inviting you to dinner." Sonia said cheerfully, with an air that some people thought was intentionally showy. But who cared?

"Alright, let's go now." Lucas took his fiancée's hand. Sonia glanced at Hayle, who seemed to be smiling to herself for some reason, enjoying her own company. This, of course, made Sonia unhappy. What was up with her rival?

Once again, Hayle seemed unfazed. She knew that showing her dislike would only please those who didn't like her. Besides, her brain was now filled with oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins—the happiness hormones.

Of course, her happiness was rooted in her pregnancy. For the first time, besides Lucas, she had someone she could love wholeheartedly. For the first time in her life, she would have someone connected to her by blood. This was incredibly impactful for someone who, as long as she could remember, had never had anyone.

But when Hayle lifted her head, she froze as her eyes met someone across from her. The figure seemed to exude an aura that turned the once bright and cheerful cafeteria into a dark and somber place. Suddenly, Hayle felt as if she was trapped in a room alone with a man who stared at her with a cold and expressionless face.

Hayle couldn't move a single muscle. She couldn't even turn her head to check her surroundings. As if hypnotized, her eyes remained fixed on the man whose gaze seemed to strip her alive. The man, with his sharply defined features and aesthetically superior looks, stood silent for a few seconds.

Then he rose, his tall, model-like stature making Hayle hold her breath.

Now, panic shot through Hayle's brain as the man slowly walked toward her with an overwhelming aura that somehow deeply affected her, making her heart race like a cheetah on the savannah.

“Wh-who... are you?”