Chapter 5

Much to everyone’s dismay and disappointment, the hospital’s policy didn’t allow more than one person to stay the night. In the end, Ella was the one staying in Clarabelle’s room while both Javier and Draven were staying in a hotel nearby.

“You both should head to the hotel and get some sleep,” said Ella to both her husband and Draven. All of them were evidently exhausted. This night had taken more than a physical toll on everyone. Now that the storm had indeed passed, they should rest up for the next day. “I’ll see you guys in the morning, okay?”

“You too. Rest well.” Javier leaned down and planted a small kiss on top of Ella’s head. His baby blue eyes locked with Ella’s brown eyes. There were both affection and concern in his blue eyes that mimicked hers. “Let me know if there’s anything.”

Ella gave him a reassuring nod. “I will.” She rose to the balls of her feet and planted a soft kiss on her husband’s lips. “Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.”

Draven grabbed his brother’s arm and dragged him by his arm. “Okay, come on now, lovebirds.” He rolled his gorgeous green eyes when Javier’s baby blues were still unwaveringly focused on Ella as if he was reluctant to part with her. “Are you taking a piss right now, Brother? You’ll see each other again in a few hours.”

Javier let out a small sigh before finally letting himself be dragged away by his brother.

Although it would make much more sense to have Ella stay with Clarabelle (since Ella was female and so was Clara thus Clara would feel more comfortable in case she needed help with anything), Ella had to admit that she was hoping nothing bad would happen and praying for Clarabelle’s recovery. Ella gave one last look at both men’s retreating backs, Draven seemed to be talking to Javier about something. Her husband merely nodded his head every now and then. Letting out a small sigh, Ella turned and entered Clarabelle’s spacious hospital room.

Being in a premium VVIP room, Clarabelle’s room was bigger, almost thrice the size of a normal hospital room. Her bed was placed in the middle while on her right, there was a small living room with sofas, a small coffee table, and a mini fridge. The additional bed for visitors was placed on the left side and that was where Ella was heading.

Even though it was a bed for visitors, the mattress was soft and the bedding was elegant in the color of cream. With only one glance at the bed without looking at the rest of the room, anyone wouldn’t have thought that this bed belonged to a hospital room.

Ella sat on the bed and made the pillows first before she finally laid down on the bed, facing Clarabelle’s bed, and gave one last look at her before closing her eyes and succumbing to the heaviness of her eyelids. In a matter of mere minutes, Ella was already falling deeply into her sleep. 

Luckily by the time the nurse had gone into the room for the third time that morning, there was nothing alarming that happened to Clarabelle. In fact, according to the nurse who had come and checked every two hours, Clara was recovering quite well and by the time the clock on the wall above the door struck six in the morning, Clarabelle had regained her consciousness. She blinked, her hand was covering her eyes as the light from the window was too much for her. 

“Gosh, what happened?” Clara mumbled as she was trying to rise from her sleeping position, her eyes were still closed. “Why do I feel sore everywhere?”

Ella, who couldn’t truly sleep throughout the night and had merely been resting her eyes, immediately jumped at the sound. “Clara!” She approached the bed, not caring about the fact that she was barefoot and the floor was icy cold. “You’re awake.” Her hand quickly caught Clarabelle’s hand before Javier’s sister moved more than her IV tubing would allow and accidentally pull the needle out of her vein. “Hey, stop moving so much. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Where am I?” Clara opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. Albeit the room was unfamiliar, she could pretty much guess where she was from the IV. “Why am I in the hospital?” A small frown appeared in between her eyebrows. Her green eyes scanned her surroundings one more time before they were once again back to her sister in law. “What happened?”

“You had a car accident last night on your way home after meeting Autumn,” answered Ella while holding Clarabelle’s hand. “But no need to panic, you’re alright now. That’s all that matters. You should lie down and relax, Clara. I’m gonna alert the nurse, okay?” She helped Clarabelle lay back down on the bed and then pressed the button to call the nurse.

For a moment, Clarabelle was following Ella’s request and stared at the plain white ceiling while they were waiting for the nurse to come. A few heartbeats passed and all of a sudden, she jerked upright one more time. Her eyes found Ella’s one more time. “Do Mom and Dad know?”

As much as Ella wanted to lie to avoid Clarabelle from worrying, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Yes, but don’t worry, okay? Everything will be fine.”

Clarabelle laid back down once again. “They must have been worried.”

“All of us were.” Ella patted her hand, trying to comfort her. In an effort to change the subject, she added, “Two of your boyfriends were here last night. They seemed pretty worried too.”

The younger of the two blinked, and a small frown reappeared on her forehead. “What boyfriend?”

Ella rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be shy about it, Clara. Just like Javier, I don’t judge.”

“No, seriously, what boyfriend? I may have occasional hook ups every now and then so I won’t get crazy and stressed out but I don’t have any boyfriend.” Clara let out a small huff. “I am too busy to keep one. They can be quite needy sometimes and I am a busy woman. So let me ask again, who were you referring to?”

Yet before Ella could answer her question, the door was swung open and a doctor strolled in, followed by Nurse Aimee Sonata.

“Good morning, Miss Summers,” greeted the doctor with a polite smile. “My name is Richmond Carlisle. It’s good to finally be able to see you wide awake this morning.” The kindness in his voice matched his dark brown eyes. He moved his gaze to Ella and gave a small nod of acknowledgment. “Mrs. Summers.” He must’ve been alerted by the nurse about the patient’s relative who stayed the night. “Your sister seems to be recovering well. I didn’t expect to be called here by the nurse after finishing another surgery yet here we are. I can’t be happier, truly.”

Nurse Sonata gave him Clarabelle’s chart in which Doctor Carlisle briefly reviewed her medical information and other pertinent details. Since he was also the doctor who’d performed the surgery, it didn’t take long before he returned the chart back to Nurse Sonata. Then he began asking Clarabelle some preliminary questions. “How’re you feeling, Miss Summers?”

“A bit dizzy,” replied Clarabelle. There was a small frown on her delicate forehead.

Doctor Carlisle nodded. “Any headache?”

“Yes, but very mild.”

Nurse Sonata diligently wrote something down on Clarabelle’s chart.

“How’re your chests?” asked Doctor Carlisle. “Do you feel any pain when you take a breath or breathe out? Any chest pain?”

“It is a bit hard to take a breath but I don’t feel any chest pain.” As if to prove it, she took a deep breath. “It’s like it’s harder for me to take a breath now than I would normally feel but it’s not so much that it’s painful.”

“Very well.” Doctor Carlisle approached Clarabelle’s bed and prepared his stethoscope. “May I begin the examination?”

“Please,” said Clarabelle, giving him her permission.

With her permission, the doctor began the post-op examination. At first, the doctor was doing the normal physical examination with his stethoscope, listening to her breathing while asking her to take a deep breath every now and then. He also opened the bandage slightly and examined the wounds. Doctor Carlisle did a thorough examination including checking the drain outputs and performing other relevant tests.

“So far so good,” concluded Doctor Carlisle once he’d completed the examination. “I’m very pleased with your progress however I have to advise you to lay down for the next two days and refrain from moving around too much. We can’t completely rule out any possible risks or complications such as SSIs.” He looked at Nurse Sonata briefly. “Nurse Sonata here will monitor you closely for the time being. She will update me on your recovery and alert me should anything happen. Although, I don’t think anything would considering you are doing this good.” Doctor Carlisle tilted his head to one side and flashed that charming smile one more time at Clarabelle. “Is there anything you’d like to ask me, Miss Summers?”

“Yes,” said Clarabelle almost immediately. Looking at Doctor Carlisle squarely in the eye, she asked, “When do I get to get out of here? No offense, the accommodation is good but I want to get back to my desk. There are so many things I have to work on.”

The calm and controlled doctor almost lost his collectedness as a burst of shocking laughter escaped his mouth. He quickly cleared his throat to cover it up and tried hard to regain his composure. “That’s the first time anyone asked me that in a mere hours after they had surgery.”

“That’s all I care about right now.” Clarabelle cooly shrugged one shoulder. “I have to get back to my office as soon as I can. So,” she tilted her head and fixed her gaze back on the good looking doctor. Her lips curved into one killer smile that had left several men brokenhearted. The doctor was a mere mortal too, after all. “When can I leave this place?”

Doctor Carlisle cleared his throat one more time. “Once you are fully recovered, Miss Summers. You have to get an all clear from me as well as your obstetrician.”

Clarabelle’s eyes widened. “My — what?” she said it at the same time as Ella said, “Pardon?”

Both women looked at each other, equally shocked by the news, and almost convinced that there was something wrong with their hearing. 

Doctor Carlisle remained calm as he explained, “Your baby’s health is as important as yours, Miss Summers. And I certainly hope it is also more important than your work.”

“What are you talking about?” Clara frowned and eyed the chart. “Are you looking at the wrong chart? You must be if you think I am pregnant. My name is Clara Summers.” 

Doctor Carlisle glanced at Nurse Aimee before fixing his gaze back on Clarabelle. “I believe I have the correct chart.” He looked down at the chart and began reading, “Your name is Clarabelle Anneliese Summers. Born on August 7th—” 

“Doc, I think I need another test to prove this pregnancy,” said Clarabelle, cutting the doctor’s sentence before he had any chance to finish it. 

“Very well. Nurse Aimee will assist you on that.”

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Author Note : So it seems that Clarabelle Summers is ... pregnant? Stay tuned for more and do not forget to vote and leave a review for more updates!