The lost true love

Chapter 4: The discovery

Dovey's POV

I was absolutely shocked to see my bad counterpart again. She is also just standing next to me as if she had not been away for eight months.
I am mostly glad she is back, but somewhere I am also very happy that Manley is no longer in my office every week complaining about too much paper work.
As Lesso leaves after the ceremony, I follow her to her office to ask how things are going. It is clear that she has been back for a while, but still some of her stuff is just standing on the small side table
I notice as I sit next to her that she looks very tired. She may have hidden it well with her make up, yet it strikes me because she normally looks different when she is tired. Though it will probably just have been the journey.
She really doesn't want to tell about her absence, but I'm glad she changed the subject.
Lesso is not the person to be easily mistaken in her words, but she has been away for eight months, not six. I update her on what else has happened during her absence.
Suddenly, I see her freeze next to me. She stops in the middle of her sentence and immediately stands up. Out of nowhere, she shuts down the whole conversation.
And then I hear it. Soft crying coming from her bedroom. Piece by piece I piece it together. Lady Lesso has given birth to a child in her absence.
I get up and wish her a good night and walk back to my school.
Along the way, everything really starts to fall into place. She must have obviously just found out she was pregnant when she left, because her departure was too sudden for her to have known for some time. That could also explain the six months.
I don't understand why she didn't tell. It's still Lesso I'm talking about though, I remind myself. I decide not to confront her about it, but I do keep an eye on her a bit to see if everything is okay.
Over the next few weeks, everything goes back to the way it was before. All meetings are attended by the red-haired one and her classes go on as usual. Though she looks sicker by the day. The bags under her eyes grow darker and darker.
During our weekly meeting in my office, she can barely stay awake. I even catch her falling asleep halfway through, but I decide to let her sleep for a while because she needs it.
When she jerks awake, she seems very angry with herself.
'I suggest we continue tomorrow,' I say.
'No, we'll still finish it. It's only a little more work,' she says.
'There's no shame in taking some ...'
'I'm okay Dovey. Stop being so worried about me.'
I sit back over her and in half an hour we are done. She struggles more and more to suppress a yawn.
'I'll get this pile of paper in order, you do that one,' I say as I deliberately give her the smallest pile.
An hour after she leaves, I decide to go to her office. She should be asleep by now.
With a small click, I open the door with my magic. I was right, because the light is out and there is no trace of the red-haired one.
There is no light coming from under the bedroom door either. I let my finger glow gently to still be able to see a bit of where I am walking.
I put my hand on the latch of her bedroom door. If I do this I can't go back, but I have to help her. Even if it's just letting her sleep for a night.
As I gently walk in, I see Lesso lying in her bed. She is sleeping peacefully. In the corner of the room, I see a small bed. When I get closer I notice it is empty.
I panic. What if the baby is no longer alive. That could also explain the tiredness, because she could be angry with herself.
As I turn back to the redhead, I see her holding a small baby. I move closer to get a better look at it when I notice it is awake by my finger glow. I see that she is about to cry. Carefully, I take the baby out of Lesso's protected arms. As I close the door, the baby bursts into tears.
'It's okay. I'm here and mummy is resting for a while so it's you and me,' I whisper to the baby.
In one of the cupboards, I find a can of milk which I heat up to the right temperature.
After I feed the baby, she falls asleep in my arms. Finally, I have time to look at her. She is a little girl with red curly hair like her mother. I can also see her mother in her face.
I am kept awake almost all night by her, but it is worth it. Lesso was able to sleep all night.