Chapter Three
1700 Words
Cassidy came to slowly. Her eyes fluttered open as she took in her surroundings. She was a bit disoriented at first by the sunlight that streamed into the room and it took some time for her eyes to get used to the room. When she did, she realized she was in a hospital room, there was a drip stand next to her attached to her hand. As she took in all this information, the door of the room opened and a nurse walked in. On seeing Cassidy awake, the nurse smiled at her.
"Mrs. Peyton, you're already awake", she said as she walked towards Cassidy.
"Yes", Cassidy said, struggling to sit up.
"Oh no, you'd better be careful. You collapsed, it's best you rest", the nurse said and Cassidy laid still.
"I'll go get your parents, they've been waiting a while to see you", the nurse said and Cassidy nodded as she left.
A few minutes later, the nurse walked in again, this time with Cassidy's parents in tow behind her.
"Oh my Cassie!", her mother gasped as she rushed to her side.
"I'll just inform the doctor you're awake", Cassidy vaguely heard the nurse say softly before leaving the room.
"Oh my dear, you had us so worried", Cassidy's mother, Louisa, fussed.
Cassidy glanced at her mother, who looked at Cassidy with worried eyes.
"I'm fine mom. There's nothing to worry about", Cassidy reassured her.
"What were you doing at home anyways? You didn't even inform us first. You gave your mother quite a scare", her father, Pedro asked her.
"I just had to come home suddenly", Cassidy answered carefully.
"Why? Is something the matter?", Louisa asked sharply.
Cassidy bit her lips unsure how she felt about breaking the news of the divorce in the hospital.
"And where is Dave? Why didn't he come with you? What if you had collapsed by yourself, alone in the city?", her mother asked frantically.
"Now, now, Louisa dear, calm down. Don't panic like that", Pedro said trying to calm her down.
Just then the door opened and the doctor, Dr. Williams Abbey, who was an old friend of the family walked in. He smiled at them.
"Oh Williams, good, thank God you are here", Pedro said.
"Please tell Louisa that there is nothing wrong with Cassidy and she is just being hysterical by panicking for no reason", he added and Louisa nudged him.
Dr. Abbey smiled.
"There is nothing wrong with Cassidy. Her tests came back and it seems she collapsed because her glucose levels were low and she was severely dehydrated. There was also a small spike in her blood pressure but that's nothing to worry about", Dr. Abbey informed them and Louisa breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned to Cassidy.
"Are you feeling any pain or discomfort anywhere?", he asked her gently.
Cassidy shook her head.
"I still feel a little bit woozy but other than that, I'm fine", she told him.
Dr. Williams nodded his head.
"The dizziness is an aftereffect of the collapse. We already have you on glucose via IV so you should feel better in a while", He told her and Cassidy nodded.
"But you should be careful. It's likely your low glucose levels are a result of not eating for a long stretch of time", he added.
Cassidy winced as she remembered that it had indeed been a while since she last ate. With everything going on, she had just forgotten.
"Skipping meals...", Dr. Williams was still talking.
"...being dehydrated and a spike in blood pressure are the major things you should be avoiding in your condition"
Cassidy blinked at him. Her parents froze.
"Condition? What condition?", Louisa asked sharply.
Dr. Williams looked puzzled to see Cassidy staring at him with a confused expression.
"You mean you are not aware?", he asked carefully, his question directed at Cassidy.
"I don't understand", Cassidy shook her head.
"Is something wrong?", It was Pedro who asked this time, starting to feel anxious.
"No, nothing is wrong. I just thought you were aware...", he started before looking at Cassidy with a smile.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Lionel, you are two months pregnant", He announced.
Cassidy's head exploded. Dr. Williams' words echoed in her mind.
'Pregnant'!
Louisa gasped, excitement creeping onto her face.
"Are you sure?", Cassidy asked suddenly.
"Positive. We have the test results", Dr. Williams answered.
Cassidy went quiet, her mind working furiously. She was pregnant. She already signed the divorce papers and now she was pregnant. She was at a loss of what to do.
"Oh Cassie! This is wonderful news!", Louisa's excited voice brought Cassidy out of her thoughts.
"I must tell Helen at once", she said and Cassidy winced, Helen was Dave's mother.
Pedro chuckled.
"Shouldn't you wait for her to tell Dave first?", He asked Louisa, a broad smile on her face.
Cassidy sucked in a breath. She had no choice, she had to tell her parents.
"Thank you Dr. Williams, would you excuse us for a bit? I need to talk to my parents", she asked Dr. Williams who smiled at her before leaving the room.
Cassidy looked at her parents who had barely heard her over their excitement.
"Mom, Dad", she called carefully.
"I need to tell you something"
"What is it sweetie?", Louisa asked suddenly sensing something was wrong.
Cassidy drew in a deep breath, there was no delicate way to put this.
"Dave and I are divorced", she announced and she watched her parents' expressions morph into that of shock and confusion.
"I don't understand", Pedro was the first to recover from his shock.
"We've signed the papers. They are yet to be processed but I am sure they'll be finalized soon enough", Cassidy said, thinking of Dave's assurance that she had had an affair and his determination to divorce her.
"But why?!", Louisa asked almost shrilly, her eyes still wide in shock and looking at Cassidy like she must be joking.
Cassidy forced herself to look calm and her voice steady even though she was aching deeply inside.
"Can you really say you don't know why, mother?", she asked calmly.
She wasn't going to tell her parents of the cheating accusations Dave had made as it would only anger them and they would blow everything out of proportion. Dave had promised not to reveal anything and settle this quietly and she was sure Dave would keep his word so there was no need telling her parents. She was going to blame it all on the fact that their marriage had been arranged.
Louisa suddenly took on an expression of guilt.
"I thought.... I thought everything was going fine. I thought it worked out", she said softly, biting her lips.
Cassidy looked at her mom and she felt bad. She wanted to break down in tears, tell her mom she wasn't ok, have her console her but instead she ignored the dull ache in her chest and forced her voice to sound steady.
"Well it didn't. It's the end of the road for us", she told her mother.
"But what about the baby?", Louisa asked somewhat stubbornly.
"Surely if you tell Dave you're pregnant, the baby could help you two work over whatever it is that is the problem. It could even bring you guys closer and...."
"Mom please!", Cassidy said, her voice starting to break.
"Dave and I are over", I said softly, yet firmly.
Louisa bit her lips.
"What are you going to do about the baby then?", Pedro asked.
"I don't know yet", Cassidy admitted.
"The reason I told you about the divorce here is because I don't want you telling Helen or Dave or any member of the Lionel family about my pregnancy until I decide on what I want to do", she told them, staring pointedly at her mother.
Pedro looked at his daughter. Her voice was steady and firm but he could tell she was in so much pain.
"Fine, we won't tell anyone", Pedro agreed.
Louisa made a sound of disapproval.
"I need you to understand mom. This is my baby and my life, I want to decide for myself. If you tell the Lionels about my pregnancy, I will be very cross with you, do you understand?", Cassidy asked her mom.
"Fine! I won't tell anyone", Louisa finally agreed.
Relief flashed on Cassidy's face.
"Darling, I think we should leave Cassie to rest now", Pedro said as he began to usher Louisa out of the room before she could protest.
"We'll visit you later", Pedro said and smiled at Cassidy before closing the door behind him.
Staring at the door in silence, tears dropped from her eyes. Cassidy began to cry again. How had it all turned out like this? She cried for some minutes before recovering herself and began thinking of what to do.
She picked up her phone and her mother's words resounded in her head. Should she tell Dave about the baby? Will it help them get past this? Cassidy thought for a long time and finally decided she would tell Dave. She hoped her mother was right. As she opened her phone, a news article caught her eye.
'MIRA FORREST OF F-EST BEAUTY TO RETURN TO NASHVILLE SOON AFTER YEARS OF STUDYING ABROAD'
Cassidy paused. She was all too familiar with that name in the business world and also in her personal life because Mira was Dave's first love. She remembered how many times she had heard from others how surprised they were that she and Dave had gotten married because they had all expected Dave would marry Mira but then she had suddenly traveled abroad.
Cassidy's hand balled into fists as a thought slowly began to creep into her head. She couldn't help but consider the timing. Dave had suddenly decided to divorce her right when his first love was to return to the country and that cheating accusation was obviously bullshit.
Was this the real reason Dave had divorced her? Because of Mira Forrest? The dull ache pulsated again in Cassidy's chest but this time it wasn't because of pain, it was because of the growing and overwhelming anger and hatred she now felt for Dave Lionel.
- Writer
