From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

142. Pregnant

"Tessa, are you feeling alright?" Tessa heard her best friend's voice as soon as she opened her eyes to the white ceiling.

"Where am I?" Her throat felt dry.

"In the hospital," Ann answered. "P' Com [1] brought you here because you passed out in the car. He didn't know what to do, so he called me over." She pressed the button connecting to the nurse's station to notify them that Tessa was awake.

"I passed out?" Tessa tried to sit up.

Ann immediately stepped forward to help Tessa sit up. "You overworked again, didn't you?" she glared at her workaholic friend. "How many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself? Give yourself a break, will you?"

Tessa stared blankly at the ceiling listening to Ann's lecturing. But none of the words she heard was being registered. Her mind was still replaying the scene she saw back in the penthouse. A teardrop slowly rolled down the corner of her eyes.

Ann paused when she saw Tessa in tears. "Tessa, babe, are you alright?" she worriedly squeezed Tessa's arms.

Tessa looked at Ann with tear-filled eyes. She didn't know if she should tell Ann what was going on.

Ann had just returned from her honeymoon. Unlike her who got married in her university days, Ann had gone on to pursue her career as a model and an actress, causing her marriage to be postponed up to a few months ago.

"Tessa, what's going on? is someone at work bullying you?" Ann asked seeing Tessa hesitating.

"P' Saen... he is cheating on me... with his... secretary." Tessa tightly shut her eyes in pain.

"WHAT?" Ann was shocked. "Tell me what happened, Tessa."

Tessa sobbed as she narrated the whole story.

"That bloody bastard!" Ann was fuming listening to the narration. "Where's that asshole and bitch now? Tell me the location. I am going there. I will teach him a lesson on your behalf."

Ann growled. She never liked the idea of having her best friend marry her second brother, unlike the other time when her other bestie married her first brother. But Tessa had been so in love with Saen that she was unwilling to listen to anyone.

It was as if Saen had cast some spell on her. She couldn't see anyone else but Saen despite having so many admirers.

"No Ann, you shouldn't." Tessa was glad that Ann was siding with her despite being the younger sister of her husband.

"But why? He is being such a big douchebag and I want to thrash him." Ann was also in tears. She could feel Tessa's pain. She wanted to give her brother a tight slap across his face.

"I want to deal with it myself, Ann." Tessa pretended to be strong.

Ann took deep breaths to calm herself. "I totally understand this is between you and your husband. But do you expect me to sit hand on hand-without doing anything?"

"Ann, I think you should go call the doctor. Let him give me a last check-up and I can get out of here." Tessa said in an unwavering tone which asked Ann to shut her mouth.

Ann clenched her fists. She was internally making plans to ruin her brother. She still abided by Tessa's plan and went to get the doctor.

By the time she returned with the doctor, she found the room empty. She looked everywhere inside and outside the room for Tessa. A chaos began there. They looked everywhere until an old patient told them that he saw Tessa walking upstairs.

Ann had a bad feeling and she ran through the flight of stairs and reached the terrace. Her hunch was right. Tessa was there, standing on the parapet, clenching her chest as she cried.

"Tessa!" Ann shouted in fear.

Tessa turned to look at her friend.

"Babe, come down. It is dangerous there." Ann pleaded. She was scared and helpless.

"I don't want to, Ann. I don't want to live anymore." Tessa felt vulnerable. It was as if someone had ceased her reason of existence.

"Don't think anything like that, Tessa. Let's talk things out na. you have me na. please come down." Ann could see in her peripheral eye that the hospital staff was creeping behind Tessa. She just had to buy time and distract Tessa so that they could get closer to her.

"No, I..." Tessa felt dizzy. She held her head. "I wa-" she collapsed.

Ann was terrified to see Tessa fall. Luckily, the hospital staff managed to catch Tessa on time. They carried her back to the hospital room

"Khun Anaya, we will have to run some tests on her. She had fainted twice in a row today. We can't let it pass as stress." The doctor said.

"Khrab Khun Mo." Ann thanked.

"Also Khun Anaya, please stay by her side. She seems too emotionally unstable now." The doctor waied and excused himself.

A few more hours passed before Tessa woke up.

"I passed out, again." Tessa's words were much of a statement than a question.

Ann nodded. She didn't dare meet her friend's eyes.

"Ann?" Tessa looked at her friend carefully.

Ann stood up from the couch and walked up to the hospital bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and held Tessa's hand. "Tessa..." she gulped feeling heartache.

She moistened her lips, suppressing the turmoil of emotions within her heart. "You are pregnant." She choked on tears.

"W- what?" Tessa was beyond shocked. She had indeed been throwing up and feeling dizzy lately. But she had thought that those were the side effects of her working overtime.

"You are eight weeks pregnant."

Tessa touched her flat belly with her free hand. Her eyes teared up again. "I am pregnant?"

Ann held tightly onto Tessa's hand.

"What should I do now, Ann? P' Saen doesn't want me anymore. Will he even want the child I would give birth to?" Tessa was in tears. "Should I abort it?"

"No!" Ann screamed. "That's a life, Tessa. Please keep it. I beg of you." She pleaded. She knew that she was being unfair yet she begged.

"I know what you are thinking, Tessa. But, trust me you have to be strong now. You have to be strong for yourself and your children." Ann wiped her tears. "What were you thinking when you went up to the terrace? To take your life? That too because of a scumbag who uses the lower part of his body to think? Is your life all that's worth?

Aren't you letting him off too easily by doing that? did you think of what will happen to your Dad, your mom, your three-year-old son whom my dear Phi doesn't give a shit about? Did you think of anyone?

Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to put your husband in place? Or do you want things to go his way? Do you want him to use your ancestor's blood and sweat to pamper his mistresses?"

Ann's questions hit Tessa like a train, waking the old version of her up rudely.

[1] P' Com- Tessa's driver