Chapter 15

Perry remained motionless in front of Stephenie as he patiently waited for her response.

"Bleeding?" Stephenie asked him. She was even more confused with his question. She was having such a difficult time as a result of all of the endurance she had been experiencing that she was unable to notice the stream of blood that had left some scattered crimson lines across her legs.

Stephenie was only able to comprehend everything after she caught a glimpse of it. She was bleeding, but she had no idea what was causing it. All she could think about was the painful belly she was experiencing and how it had become too much for her to endure that made her completely lose consciousness.

Perry regained his composure and picked Stephenie up off the floor with his hands. He rushed her to a nearby medical center, where she was well taken care of by the nurses who assisted him. Despite the fact that his parents were with him outside the emergency room, they were the complete opposite of Perry, who was extremely anxious following Stephenie's condition. Because, in the back of their minds, they would prefer Stephenie to be dead than alive.

Besides the fact that Stephenie was still unconscious inside the emergency room, there were a slew of other issues that Perry was concerned with while he took the patience to wait outside the room.

He couldn't help himself to think about the reason she bled so profusely which stood out above all other things that happened to Stephenie. Perry wiped his palm across his face while deep in thought. What he was thinking about the first time he saw it couldn't possibly be the reason why Stephenie bled.

What could possibly be the cause then? He thought.

Perry rested his chin on his hands, which were clasped together. He was deep in his thought of the possibilities behind it, but he only ended up burying his face on his palm instead because it couldn't possibly be him. He had not touched her ever since, so then who else could have had her?

The mere thought of it made him feel anxious and enraged at once. As much as he adored Stephenie, he cannot bring himself to accept the truth. However, if she had been seeing someone else for the past few months, then he couldn't do anything about it.

After a few more moments, a doctor spread the door open from the emergency room looking for Stephenie's companion. Perry drew his feet up to meet the doctor and inquired about Stephenie's health condition. He was relieved to hear Stephenie's bleeding had come to a halt. And then the doctor said something to him that confirmed all of his worst suspicions about the situation.

"Your wife is now taking her rest. She passed out in shock from the bleeding. However, she, as well as the baby, should be fine. There is no need to be concerned as this is just a false alarm of miscarriages," said the doctor.

Perry's ears felt as if they were ringing from what he had just heard, "Wait a second, doc, did you just say baby?" he wondered. "Is she pregnant?"

The doctor responded with a quick nod. "Yes, she is four weeks pregnant,"

Perry's face turned pale, and he could barely feel any of his limbs from where he was standing at the time. The next thing he knew, his parents were escorting him to a chair near the lounge. He was stunned.

"I'm sorry son, but I should've just told you when I had the chance." Perry's mother told him while she patted his back.

"Told me what?"

"I have been suspecting her for quite a long while now for having an affair with someone else, son. A few weeks after she moved in with us, I noticed her unused tampons and unusual morning sickness, which she had attempted to hide from us."

Perry was even more puzzled by one aspect of his mother's statement: why would his mother have also assumed Stephenie was having an affair with someone else rather than suspecting that it might be his in the first place?

"Mom, did it ever occur to you that the child she's carrying could be mine rather than thinking it could be the child of someone else?"

"Son, I can assure you that that child in her womb is not yours."

"How did you come to be so certain?" For the second time, Perry was beginning to become agitated.

"Because I'm aware that you're infertile. You'll never be able to impregnate Stephenie."

Perry was horrified upon hearing the news, which went far beyond the fact that Stephenie has been conceiving a child.

"But mom, how—"

Perry's mother didn't even give him a chance to finish his sentence before responding. The reason for this is that you caught yourself with a severe case of mumps back then. Doctors told me at the time that it would have a negative impact on your fertility."

A few moments lapsed with the sound of thin air traveling across the hallway filled the space after Perry was shut to silence. Perry's mother was taken aback by his sudden outburst. He slapped his palm against his face as he threw his chin upward, letting out a horrifying laugh after.

"I am such a fool!" Perry told himself as he glanced back to look over his mother. She put on a worried expression, but he could see through it lies her triumphant grin.

All Perry could think about was turning away from everything, including Stephenie, who was still under observation in the emergency room. Perry's mind had become jumbled with so many thoughts that all he could think about was simply walking away.

His parents attempted to follow him, but he warned them not to do so, and they had no choice but to abide by his instructions. Because of the way Perry appears right now, it would be best not to intrude on him for the time being unless they want to take on all of his frustrations.

Perry walked out of the facility with a great deal of rage in his heart. He couldn't believe how everything had turned out in such a bad light. Even though he had begun to think ahead of them following the most memorable evening between him and Stephenie, his thoughts were quickly replaced by something that was too difficult for him to bear. First, was Stephenie's baby. Then there came the fact that was not his child, followed by the realization that he could never be a father to any other child.

It was so difficult for him to accept everything at once that the only thing he could do to come up with something was to slam his fist against the brick wall. The suffering he endured was not even close to being enough to compensate for what he was already going through. Even if he broke his hand, it would not be enough to distract him from the agony and emotional pain he has been enduring.

A DAY AFTER THE INCIDENT. Stephenie was finally released from the hospital, but she had no idea what she had been diagnosed with. Perry has requested that the doctors keep the news from her in order for him to be the one to break the news instead.

After everyone had returned home, Perry accompanied Stephenie to her room and let her settle by her bedside.

"Perry, you've been deafeningly quiet since I woke up. Is there a problem?" Stephenie asked.

Perry, on the other hand, didn't say anything except shake his head.

After being baffled by his sudden gesture, Stephenie got out of bed in an attempt to get closer to him, but Perry intervened and stopped her. "Stay back." He warned her. Stephenie noticed that his expression had become stern enough to make her feel out of place.

Perry had never approached her or looked her in the eyes like this before, at least not until today. She was bewildered as to what had happened to Perry while she was unconscious in the hospital that had caused him to behave in such an unusual manner towards her.

"What is wrong with you, Perry? You're acting so strange. It's almost as if I don't recognize you anymore." Stephenie expressed her disappointment.

Perry had finally had enough. "It's you, Steph, that I don't recognize anymore!" He screamed. Perry's face contorted immediately after he vented his rage.

"Perry—" Stephenie was about to tell him something, but Perry interrupted her right on the spot.

"Tell me, Steph! Because I can't understand why you would do such a thing to me. How could you have betrayed me?"

"I betrayed you? That's something I'll never be able to do, Perry. Not to you! I'm not sure what you're talking about. Really, what exactly is going on?"

Stephenie was completely unaware of what was going on and was so confused by Perry's behavior that she became frightened. She was afraid that Perry would do something more violent to her. Stephenie may have known Perry since they were kids, but she had never witnessed him become so enraged in their entire lives, which makes her even more terrified.

Perry moved closer to Stephenie and said the words she had not expected to hear.

"You never betrayed me?" Perry said before he flashed a quick grin and continued, "Then how will you explain that child you have in your womb? More so, Stephenie, I am infertile. So, who the hell is the father of that child?"