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THREE WEEKS LATER
After weeks of settling in at Aunt Lin's house. A small, rented apartment, Ruonan finally feels more relaxed even if the two weeks given by Wang Wei is over. But at least she can have rest from doing chores all day including cleaning up Madam Wang her mother-in-law that is disable with stroke.
Since the call from Aunt Lin's colleagues at work, Ruonan has been thinking about how to help her aunt instead of putting more burden on her.
Perhaps asking Mr Wang to pay her weekly for her work at his house wouldn't hurt so much, at least that way she can support her aunt, Ruonan thought in her mind.
But then the thought of going to back to that house haunt her not to mention asking for a weekly paycheck.
"Ruonan? Breakfast is ready!" Aunt Lin called.
"Aunt Lin? You didn't call me to help you in the kitchen, why did you do everything yourself?" Ruonan asked walking out of the small room to hug her aunt from behind.
"How can I disturb you after everything you went through? Don't worry, just take your time feeling better." Swiftly, they both began to eat their food.
"Aunt Lin? I don't want to go back." Ruonan's eyes filled with tears.
"Ruonan my dear, I'm sure we'll find a solution soon, okay? Just endure for few days, I'll ask around from people I know to help. Do you trust me?" Aunt Lin asked with tears also rolling down her cheeks.
Ruonan nodded in agreement to her question but still feels uncertain about what she'll have to face.
"What if he comes here suddenly and drags me out of the house? I'm scared, the two weeks is over, and I haven't seen any of his texts or calls. Or is he watching me from somewhere?" Ruonan wipes her tears off and quickly closes the windows.
"No one is watching dear; it's just a delusion. Everything is going to be fine, I promise. Please eat your food now and take a rest." Aunt Lin assured with a worried look.
"I just want to continue my studies and be happy" Ruonan said in a hoarse voice as she continues to eat her food in tears.
Immediately Davina picked up one piece of the sliced egg on the plate to eat, her nose scrunched up in a frown as she covered her nose instantly and dropped the egg back into the plate.
"Ruonan dear, what's wrong? You don't like it?"
"No aunt, it's smells weird. I don't want to— Ruonan's face scrunched up again causing her to almost throw up, but she quickly ran towards the bathroom to vomit.
"Ruonan! Are you okay? Why are you suddenly throwing up?" Aunt Lin gently massaging her back, so she feels better.
"Aunt— Lin, I feel– I feel."
Ruonan didn't finish her words before fainting in Aunt Lin's arms.
"Ruonan! Ruonan!"
***
Moments later, Ruonan opened her eyes, but the view was different from the last one she remembered which is Aunt Lin's house but right now she is in the hospital.
"Ruonan! Are you okay? I was so worried." Meiling whispered gently to her friend.
"What happened? I was just with Aunt Lin and then- and then—."
"Ruonan, Aunt Lin brought you straight to the hospital because you fainted immediately after throwing up and she called to tell me about it. How are you feeling now?" Meiling's face dulled.
"I'm feeling much better. Where's Aunt Lin? Why isn't she here?" Ruonan asked looking around.
"She went to see the doctor for your test result; she should be back soon?"
While the two friends were catching up, Aunt Lin just ended the conversation with the doctor and came out looking dumbfounded. Her right-hand dangling by the side holding on to the test result. At some point she stumbled and fell to the ground, but she regained consciousness minutes later before she continued walking down the hospital stairs leading to the ER (Emergency Room).
"Aunt Lin! What's wrong? Why are you looking like that? What does the result say?" Ruonan and Meiling staring at her waiting for answers.
"Ruonan—." Aunt Lin didn't say anything again and instead sat on the bed quietly beside her niece.
"The doctor– The result says that— You are pregnant"
Immediately Aunt Lin revealed the result of the test, Ruonan thought she heard wrong and began to laugh while staring at her friend.
"That's impossible Aunt Lin. How can I be pregnant? Mr Wang has always hated the way I look, and he has never made any approach towards me not to talk of getting pregnant. This must be a joke, right?"
Wang Wei has always been interested and obsessed with slender figured women so when he made the deal with Lady Chen, he thought Ruonan had a slim figure like her mother until he saw that she is a little bit thick curvy and busty. That was when he decided to use her to care for his disabled mother which was a way to not waste the money he paid to Lady Chen.
Ruonan continued to search for answers from Aunt Lin's eyes but it's true.
"There must have been some mistake somewhere. This is not true; they didn't confirm it well. Maybe–."
Ruonan grabbed the test result from Aunt Lin in a rush with tears flowing down her cheeks "it can't be, it's not true"
While staying adamant on the result being wrong, she finds out a blood test was done and she's already two weeks pregnant.
"Two weeks? It's not possible, I didn't meet anyone, Mr Wang wasn't even with me. So how? —."
"Ruonan, what if you didn't remember something? Maybe he–."
Meiling couldn't help but also think about it again and immediately stopped talking.
"Hello— yes this is her, how may I help you?" Aunt Lin receiving a call from an unknown caller.
"Okay, thank you!" She ended the call.
"The OB-GYN department we visited last time is requesting our presence immediately, it's urgent." Aunt Lin announced in a dulled tone.
Just when Aunt Lin thinks she could run round looking for help to free her niece from her abusive husband, now that she's pregnant with his child, all hope has been lost completely, she thought in her mind.