Chapter 5
When I woke up, I found myself lying on a hospital bed with an IV drip in my arm.
My mother was sitting by my bedside. The moment she saw me open my eyes her voice trembled with emotion.
“Anstey… how are you feeling now?”
I shook my head slightly, my throat dry and scratchy. She helped me sit up, propping a pillow behind my back before handing me a glass of
water.
Outside, the sound of a heated argument filtered in.
“She went through so much just to conceive a child for your Fairclough family! Is this how you repay my daughter?”
I recognized it was my father yelling.
I froze, confused. “What is he talking about?
The Fairclough family’s child?”
A wave of disbelief washed over me as my hand instinctively moved to my abdomen.
My voice was hoarse when I asked my mother, “Mom… am I… pregnant?”
Her eyes turned red as she nodded.
“Yes… but… the doctors couldn’t save the baby…”
A deafening roar filled my head.
I couldn’t believe it. I had been pregnant with Nelson’s child.
My menstrual cycles had always been irregular, and with everything going on recently, I hadn’t even noticed the changes in my body.
And now… the baby was gone.
A crushing sorrow. COOSUmed me
A crushing sorrow consumed me.
Nelson’s voice echoed from outside.
“I didn’t know Anstey was pregnant… she never told me…”
My father’s fury boiled over.
“You heartless bastard! Don’t play dumb. I know everything! You were fooling around with your cousin’s wife, got her pregnant, and came to this small hospital to have her deliver that little bastard, hoping Anstey wouldn’t find out. And then you had the audacity to hit Anstey! It’s your fault she lost the baby!”
Just then, Rosina arrived on the scene, immediately siding with her son.
“How dare you speak to my son like that? If your daughter couldn’t keep her baby, that’s her own bad luck! Don’t you dare call my grandson
bastard!”
My father’s voice trembled with rage.
“Your son cheated on his wife, and you still defend him?”
“It’s all because your daughter couldn’t give him a child! They’ve been married for years, and she never got pregnant. My son had no choice but to find someone else!”
“You… you’re absolutely shameless!
Rosina, ever the brazen shrew, kept spewing her nonsense. My mother, unable to endure it any longer, stood up and opened the door.
Instead of arguing, she spoke calmly, “There’s no point in this shouting match. You owe Anstey an apology. Think about how you plan to make
it right.”
Rosina sneered, undeterred.
“Make it right? The only thing left is for them to divorce! My son is going to marry Olivia. My grandson deserves a proper family!”
My mother turned to Nelson.
“And what about you, Nelson? What do you have to say?”
With his mother backing him, Nelson’s tone was firm.
“Then let’s divorce. I’ll make sure Anstey gets her fair share of the property.”
My father’s anger erupted.
“You’ll leave with nothing!”
Rosina snapped back, “Why should he? Nelson, don’t listen to him. Just give Anstey tens of thousands of dollars and call it done!”
My father glared coldly.
“Tens of thousands of dollars? Are you trying to insult us?”
By now, I had calmed down completely.
I knew the divorce was inevitable. But I wasn’t about to let them walk away unscathed.
My mother made one final statement.
“This is not the place for this discussion. We’ll involve lawyers and settle this properly.”
The confrontation ended in hostility.
<
My parents came back to the ward to comfort me, but I remained unusually calm.
I asked my mother to hand me my phone and began searching for a contact.
My mother looked puzzled.
“Who are you calling? A lawyer?”
I shook my head.
“No. I’m looking for Nelson’s cousin, Edmund.”
