Chapter 10: Truth in Five Boxes

ALICE

Grabbing the dress lying on my bed, I slid it over the hanger. Putting the dress on the bed, I proceeded to slide all my dresses over the hangers, which didn’t take long, as there were only six dresses.

The door of the bedroom opened, and Gideon sauntered in holding a plate with an assortment of food and a bag of some sort. Giving him a glance, I went back to my dresses.

“You didn’t eat breakfast,” Gideon stated.

I just ignored him, like I had been doing for the past two weeks. Grabbing the dresses, I went inside the walk-in closet. After hanging the dresses on the metal rails, I strode back to the bedroom.

Gideon was sitting on the bed with the plate resting on his thigh. The bag was on the bed. Without sparing him a glance, I made my way to the door, eager to get away from Gideon, but he stopped me.

“Alice, stop acting like a child and come eat something,” Gideon said in a stern voice.

“I’m not hungry,” I shot back. But the truth was I was famished, but just looking at the food had me feeling queasy. I had a feeling I might be coming down with a stomach bug.

“Alice, come back here and eat something,” Gideon repeated.

Sighing deeply, I decided to tell Gideon the truth. It didn’t matter that I was mad at him. I’d vowed to be a good wife, and I was not going to break my promise that I made in front of God.

“Gideon, I’m not feeling well, so please don’t ask me to eat. I can’t even look at food,” I told him.

Gideon’s eyebrows furrowed as concern flashed in his eyes. Standing up, he quickly strode over to me and gripped my shoulders.

“What do you mean you’re not feeling well?” Gideon placed a hand on my forehead to check if I had a fever. “You don’t have a fever. Come, sit down.” Gideon led me all the way to the bed.

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” Gideon said softly, surprising me with his gentle behavior.

“I feel fine, just queasy when I look at food,” I answered, trying not to look at the plate filled with food.

“Queasy, as in nauseous?” Gideon inquired.

“Yes,” I told him.

Nodding his head, Gideon stood up. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” Gideon went inside the bathroom and came back after a few seconds carrying five small boxes.

“Here, go and take these. I’ll be here.” Gideon handed me the boxes. My eyes widened when I saw five pregnancy tests, all from different companies.

My heart started pounding as my throat went dry at the thought of being pregnant. I knew I’d married Gideon for the baby, but now, when there was a strong possibility that I could actually be pregnant with Gideon’s child, I was terrified.

However, I did as Gideon said and went to the bathroom to see if I was pregnant or not. Closing the door behind me, I put the tests on the sink. With shaky hands, I took the tests from the boxes and, one by one, used them.

A knock sounded at the bathroom door. Opening the door, I stepped aside as Gideon entered the bathroom. Taking my hand, he led me to the sink where the pregnancy tests were sitting.

“How long until we know the results?” Gideon questioned.

“Um, two boxes said two minutes, while the other three said three minutes,” I answered. My hand went to my necklace as a wave of anxiety washed over me.

Gideon rubbed my back in a soothing manner, his eyes never leaving the tests. Meanwhile, my fingers kept twisting the necklace around my neck. I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy or terrified.

If I was indeed pregnant, then I would get the remaining five hundred thousand pounds that Gideon promised me, and I would fulfill my end of the bargain, but the thought of spending nine months carrying a baby and suffering from hormones and nausea made me wish I had never agreed to this deal.

Grabbing all of the tests at once, Gideon ran his eyes over each one. I just stared at him with wide eyes, afraid to know the answer.

A smile made its way onto Gideon’s face as his eyes lit up with happiness. My heart sank at seeing Gideon this happy. Before Gideon could utter a word, I already knew what the results of the pregnancy tests were.

“You’re pregnant.” Gideon smiled at me, a megawatt smile that I had no clue Gideon was capable of. Putting the tests on the sink, Gideon took me into his arms and spun me around.

Putting me down, Gideon took my wrist, and together we exited the bathroom. When we reached the bed, Gideon put the plate of food on the nightstand and gestured for me to sit on the bed.

“We are going to visit the doctor once you eat something, okay?” Gideon grabbed a slice of apple from the plate and handed it to me.

“I’m scared, Gideon,” I whispered. It was only when the words left my mouth that I realized what I had said. Shit, Gideon wasn’t supposed to know what I was feeling.

Putting the slice of apple back on the plate, Gideon cupped my face. “Why, little fairy? Why are you scared?” Gideon had never been this gentle with me.

“I—I don’t know.” I sobbed. Tears pricked my eyes as my heart constricted in fear.

“Hey.” Gideon wrapped me in a secure embrace as tears fell freely from my eyes.

~Bloody hell, woman, what is wrong with you? You never cry. Why are you crying now? You’re pregnant, not dying, stop crying!~ my subconscious scolded.

“Ssshhh, you have nothing to be scared of. I’m here, and I’m not leaving you, got it?” Gideon kissed my forehead while rubbing my back.

Wow, if I had known he was going to be this gentle and sweet with me when I got pregnant, I would’ve gotten pregnant sooner. At least then he wouldn’t have called me a whore.

“I’m sorry.” I sniffed, pulling away from Gideon. “I didn’t mean to cry.”

“It’s okay. Don’t apologize,” Gideon responded, kissing my temple.

Picking up the plate of food, Gideon placed it on the bed. “Eat something, and then we’ll go to the doctor.”

“Gideon, I really can’t eat anything, please,” I whined.

“You have to eat something, little peach. It would not be good for the baby,” Gideon stated.

“But I really can’t. I might end up throwing up,” I argued.

Gideon sighed. “Okay, tell you what, if you eat the fruit on the plate, then, after visiting the doctor, we’ll go to see your brother,” Gideon told me.

“Really? You’ll take me to see Nico? Promise?” I really wanted to see my brother; it had been so long.

He was supposed to come live with us now, but Gideon had followed through with his consequences and threats, and Nico was going to come live with us after another two weeks.

“Yes, but you’ll have to eat the fruit on the plate first,” Gideon responded.

Without another word, I grabbed one of the two bananas from the plate and hurriedly peeled it. Finishing the banana in three bites, I threw the peel back onto the plate and immediately grabbed the other banana.

Once the bananas were gone, I proceeded to eat all eight slices of apple, which didn’t take me long to finish.

“Done. Let’s go,” I told Gideon.

“Okay, go put on your hat, coat, and gloves. I don’t want you catching a cold,” Gideon ordered.

Skipping to the walk-in closet, I quickly grabbed my coat, gloves, and hat. Exiting the closet, I quickly put on my coat and slid my hands into the woolen gloves. Putting on my hat, I went to stand in front of Gideon.

“Done. Let’s go. I want to see my brother,” I said.

Just the thought of seeing Nico after so long had me forgetting my fear of being pregnant. As long as I would have my brother, nothing could put me down. Nico was my happiness.

“We’ll go to the doctor first,” Gideon said as we exited the bedroom.

—***—

Gideon opened the door to Dr. Beck’s office. There wasn’t much in the room. A desk was placed against one corner, behind which sat a woman who looked to be in her thirties.

The walls were white with a few framed certificates hanging on one wall. A bed was placed against one wall, with one of those plastic curtains hanging from a metal rod.

“Mr. Maslow, what a pleasure to see you,” Dr. Beck said with a smile. She had a nice smile, soft and sweet.

How did the doctor know who Gideon was? Maybe Gideon took an appointment before coming here. Or maybe he was just famous enough that everybody knew him.

“Call me Gideon, and this is my wife, Alice,” Gideon said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Maslow. How may I help you today?” Dr. Beck didn’t beat around the bush. That was good.

“My wife is pregnant. I would like you to take a look at her, make sure she’s all right,” Gideon told her.

Under normal circumstances, Gideon’s concern and gentle behavior would have me swooning over him. But I knew Gideon was not acting this way because of me; he was acting this way because of the baby.

“Oh, I assume the pregnancy test was positive?” Dr. Beck smiled once again.

“Five of them came out positive,” Gideon responded proudly.

Dr. Beck proceeded to get me situated on the examining table. When I was comfortable, she said, “All right, how far along do you think you are, Mrs. Maslow?”

“Um, we got married two weeks ago, so I guess two weeks, maybe one,” I answered.

“And you never engaged in any sort of sexual activity before you got married?” she inquired.

“No,” I replied.

“Well, okay, so if you are pregnant, then it’s too early to tell because we can’t do an ultrasound or it might all be a false alarm,” Dr. Beck stated.

“Excuse me, what do you mean a false alarm? My wife is pregnant. She was feeling nauseous today,” Gideon told her.

“It could be a simple stomach bug. Being nauseous doesn’t always mean the person is pregnant,” Dr. Beck responded.

“All five of the pregnancy tests gave a positive result,” Gideon persisted. I could tell that Dr. Beck’s claims were starting to piss Gideon off.

“Pregnancy tests are never a hundred percent reliable, Mr. Maslow, but I will take a sample of your wife’s blood to check for any sign of pregnancy.” Gideon was none too happy about Dr. Beck saying that I wasn’t pregnant.

“Fine, but I’m telling you my wife is pregnant. I can feel it.” Gideon muttered the last part to himself.

“Right. Mrs. Maslow, if you could just hold out your arm, I’ll take your blood,” Dr. Beck told me.

I did as she said and held out my right arm. Dr. Beck came and stood in front of me. Upon closer inspection, I was surprised to see exactly how blue the doctor’s eyes were, and there was a pimple on her left cheek.

Dr. Beck removed the cap of the syringe, rubbing some antiseptic liquid on my arm with a cotton ball. She placed the needle where she’d rubbed the cotton. I winced when the needle pierced my skin. It hurt when crimson blood left my body and flowed into the syringe. The sight of my blood both disgusted and fascinated me.

Soon it was all over. Dr. Beck withdrew the needle from my arm and bandaged the pierced area. Putting the cap back on the syringe, Dr. Beck went behind her desk and sat down.

“Now that I’ve taken a sample of her blood, Mr. Maslow, you can come and collect the reports in three days.” Dr. Beck then turned to me.

“And do take another pregnancy test after a week, just to be sure. As a precaution, I’m prescribing you some vitamins. Do not forget to take them. You can come back if you have any problem,” she said.

“Thank you, Doctor,” I told her.

“Well, we should get going. Thank you so much for your time, Dr. Beck.” Gideon stood up while I followed his lead and slid off the table.

“It’s no problem at all,” Dr. Beck replied.

“Let’s go, Alice.” Taking my hand, Gideon all but dragged me out of Dr. Beck’s office and out of the hospital.

Once we were in the car, Gideon finally let loose of all the anger he had reined in while we were with the gynecologist.

“That stupid doctor, who the hell gave her a fuckin’ degree?” Gideon seethed. “Like hell you’re not pregnant. I know you’re pregnant. I can feel it.”

“Gideon, relax, the doctor was just being cautious. She didn’t come outright and said that I wasn’t pregnant. She just said it’s too early to tell,” I said softly, trying to calm my husband.

“Well, she should be sure. I mean ~I’m~ sure that you’re pregnant.” He seethed.

~Well, you’re not a doctor,~ my subconscious stated.

“Ignore her. If you believe I’m pregnant, then you must be right.”

“You are pregnant. She shouldn’t even be called a doctor since she can’t do her bloody job right,” he snapped.

“Okay, we’ll go to another doctor the next time, okay? Let’s go and see my brother.” I fastened my seatbelt. “You’re going to take me to see Nico, right?”

“Yes, of course, I promised to take you. Plus it will make you happy, and a happy mother means a healthy baby,” Gideon responded.

Gideon wasted no time in driving out of the hospital parking lot. I had a feeling that Gideon wouldn’t come back to this hospital ever again.

However, once again, my thoughts were occupied with that of my little brother. I was so excited to see Nico after two weeks. I hoped he was okay and happy with Kieran.

I didn’t trust Nico with anyone. If Kieran hadn’t taken proper care of my brother, I swore I was going to pull out his heart and switch it with Nico’s.

I couldn’t wait to see my little brother.