The Woman He Married

30. Unexpected Revelation

She thought about it. Mae couldn't get rid of the pitiful look on her sister's face. Ellie had been all about the glams and the glows, so it was rare to see her falling sick. But that woman had lost a lot of weight and a lot of blood, for that matter, and she was clearly fragile despite the strong and rude front she had put up. Mae couldn't hate her too much, especially when Ellie looked so much like their dead father.

With the thought of Ellie in her mind, Mae went to the hospital that Sunday, alone since Zane had other matters to settle outside and she was alone at home. She wanted to see if she qualifies and compatible to become Ellie's donor. Her plan was to donate anonymously so Ellie would not retaliate or decline the help.

After a series of checkups in the hospital, Mae found herself seated in front of Zane's family physician, Dr. Grahams, a woman in her late 40s. Zane had the doctor assigned to monitor Mae's health since their wedding day but it was only the third time that Mae met that woman.

"First off, Mrs. Williams..."

"You can call me Mae," she shook her head, putting on a small smile.

"Mrs. Williams," Dr. Graham hummed in persistence. "When was the last time you got your period?"

"Uhm..." Mae pondered, counting back to the day she cried in the car because Zane got her the wrong flavor of ice cream. "Three weeks ago, I think."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, a little over three weeks," Mae took out her phone to check her menstruation calendar, "It has been 28 days since my last."

"I see," Dr. Grahams said, "And you came for your birth control shot, I saw that..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"I regret to inform you that you don't qualify to become a donor to Ms. Westbrook."

Mae's heart sunk as she placed her hands on the edge of the desk, glancing at the health report in the doctor's hand. "Why? I'm pretty sure we share the same blood type."

"You are compatible to donate your liver," Dr. Grahams paused, then passing one of the many papers she was holding, "However, your urine test shows that you might be pregnant, Mrs. Williams."

Mae felt lightheaded for a second, staring at the doctor as the reality settles in, "I'm sorry?"

"If it's okay with you, we'll run a couple of tests just to determine your pregnancy."

"Hold on," Mae almost retched at the unexpected revelation. "I'm what?"

"Mrs. Williams--"

"But I'm on birth control and my husband usually uses condom when we have sex, just to be safe. I mean, not all the time but most of the time and even if he--" Mae paused, slowly realizing she was blabbering without a clear point. She gulped, "Well, I'm on birth control. I don't think I'm pregnant is all I'm saying."

"Low risk is also a risk," the doctor pointed out, "Especially if you're sexually active. So, instead of wondering about the possibilities, we should do a couple of tests including ultrasound scanning to see if this is true."

And just like that, Mae found herself lying on a bed and doing ultrasound scan a few moments later. The other procedures were pretty much blurry, and the last thing she remembered clearly was asking Dr. Grahams to keep the news from Zane because she wanted him to hear from herself. Then Dr. Grahams passed her to the OBGYN department and there she was, not ready for whatever was waiting to surprise her next, because she was confirmed as pregnant.

"Oh, would you look at that," the lady whose name Mae didn't remember said with a smile as she turned the screen towards Mae, and the first thing Mae saw was a lizard-looking being inside her belly. Mae was overwhelmed that she couldn't say anything.