I remembered the story that Tamryn told me about Milli losing Merrick’s fortune to Milli and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt now that he was the traitor. He found out that I was pregnant and had Dr. Aurora keep it from me. He was trying to get me removed or killed before Gio found out he was going to become a dad.
Before history repeated itself.
“Okay,” the doctor said. “Let’s go back to the beginning then. You, my dear, are pregnant. From the levels of hormones, I’m guessing you’re pretty far along. Maybe twelve weeks.”
“Three months!” I said, then thought backwards. I looked over at Gio and grinned. “The car.”
He nodded. “The car.”
When Gio came to rescue me from my brothers’ compound, I was so overwhelmed when we left, that I started to have a panic attack and Gio had to pull over and guide me through it. After that, we ended up latching onto each other and having sex in the car. That would have absolutely been the first time that I let Gio finish inside of me.
The night we made our baby.
“So, sorry, all of these things I was saying must have sounded so strange,” the doctor said. “All of the symptoms you’ve been exhibiting are a subset of your pregnancy, but most likely related to being overstressed. You need to take it much, much easier than you have been. Your body is already going to a great deal of effort to prepare for the arrival of your little one, everything else needs to be put on the back burner so it can focus on that. You must calm down.”
“Yeah. Of course,” I said, but then my heart clenched up. “Oh my god. I’ve drank in the last three months, I’ve had coffee!”
“Relax,” the doctor said, chuckling. “While it’s true that a copious amount of alcohol or caffeine can be dangerous for the baby, so long as it hasn’t been an extreme amount it should be okay. It hasn’t been an insane amount of either, has it?”
“No. Coffee some mornings and I think one drink,” I said, then looked at Gio. “The wine on our date.”
“Yeah, but it was only a couple of glasses, and I don’t think anything other than that, right?”
“No,” I replied, feeling warmed that Gio was taking everything in stride.
“Switch to decaf immediately, and no more alcohol,” the doctor said. “If you’re very concerned, you can restrict yourself to water for the time being. Flush out your system, but as long as you aren’t a heavy drinker of either, you should be okay. You wouldn’t be the first woman to consume things one shouldn’t while pregnant before finding out they were expecting. Don’t worry.”
I let out a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Doc, I need to ask that you don’t share this information with anyone,” Gio said. “We are the only two that you are authorized to discuss this with. Is that clear?”
“O-of course. I wouldn’t discuss Miss Narzand’s health records with anyone other than herself without her permission,” he responded. “You should start taking prenatal vitamins immediately as well.”
“Yes. We’ll stop for some on the way home,” Gio said.
His confidence was so calming, especially because I felt on the edge of total panic. “Okay.”
“Someone’s gonna be a good father,” the doctor said.
I forced a laugh. “Looks like it.”
“Is there anything else we can do for now?” Gio asked.
The doctor spent the next twenty minutes giving us a rundown of everything the both of us could do to promote a healthy pregnancy and eventual birth. Hearing someone talk about me in terms of being a mother was freaking me out, especially because it made me think of my mother and the health complications she experienced after giving birth to me.
“Doctor,” I said. “My mom developed a condition after she gave birth to me. One that eventually took her life.”
Gio’s head whipped towards me and he looked completely panicked. “What?”
“Yes. I saw that in your medical history. Although in my humble opinion, and without being able to examine your mother, it seems that was a condition from her youth that made itself known during her third pregnancy. I don’t believe it had anything to do with the pregnancy or birth other than that they made the condition more severe.”
Both Gio and I let out sighs of relief and I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Once you’ve got a proper OB-GYN, you’ll be able to go over all of these things with them, but don’t worry, Miss Narzand. I think you and your baby are going to be happy and healthy. Just less stress, got it?”
I nodded. “Got it.”
With that, the doctor gave me some literature to go over regarding the pregnancy, had me sign some discharge papers, and sent Gio and I on our way. Gio held me close to him as we walked out to the car, but stopped me before we got in and turned me to face him.
