Chapter 65

65 Ordeal

Luke.

We waited in the hallway for Caleb to return. Tia wasn’t feeling well, and I tried to convince her to go

home, but she insisted. I could not stop her, but I wasn’t happy that she refused to go home.

We sat on the chair in the corridor of the maternity ward, and I held her. Her hands were a bit cold, and i

knew it was part of it. “I promised Kimberly I would be here,” she said, and I understood her reasons.

“We’ll. Thank goddess, it is a hospital. I might just ask them to give you a room.” I said, and she smiled at

me. It would have been funny usually, but the situation was too dire. Kimberly had planned on leaving

Caleb after giving birth. I hoped she would survive this.

“How did it get this bad?” I asked Tia, and she sighed. “She was alone. No one attended to her,” she

explained, and I was angry. “You mean there were no workers in that wing?” I asked her, and she

nodded.

“Once your father, Stacy and Caleb are not in, they take a break. That is what Bart told me. Norman has

reported to Stacy, but nothing was done about their conduct,” She said, and I got angry because I pay

them full salaries with benefits. At this point, I felt robbed.

“I guess we will be hiring,” I said, and Tia nodded to agree with me.

Caleb returned, sweating. I knew he was panicking but trying hard to keep his shit together. It was sad.

“You need to calm down, Caleb,” I said, and he just stared at me.

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have left her alone,” he confessed.

“Yes. I heard the workers leave once father, you and your mother are not there. Only the goddess knows

how long Kimberly was crying for help before she could get a hold of Tia. Tia had to come from our

house to get her here. It is bad. Norman told your mother about their conduct, and she did nothing about

it. You should have instructed one or two to stay with her, though,” I said, and he was pissed off. “I am

sacking all of them,” he said, and I nodded.

“So, what did they say?” I asked him, and he bowed his head. I knew he was fighting back the tears. His

eyes were misty. “She is suffering from pre-eclampsia. I should have noticed from her swollen feet,”

Caleb said as if he was even paying attention. “They say she has a severe case,” he explained.

“What are her chances?” “Tia asked him, and he hesitated.

“They are taking the baby out so they can treat her. The doctor said he can’t make promises,” he said

and cracked. I had to let go of Tia to console him. “This is all my fault,” Caleb cried, and I held him. There

was no point in saying otherwise

because he was right, and I did not want to lie to him. He was a bit selfish like his mother. I guess he was

seeing the repercussion of his actions now. It wouldn’t have killed him to pay a little attention. If not for

anything but for the sake of friendship. As much as I hated what Elisabeth did to me, Tia and I always

made sure she was alright and cared for. She had workers watching her and caring for her around the

clock. The only thing was that I did not deal with her directly, and that was because of her intention and

the fact that I was a married man. Caleb’s case was different. He had Kimberly, but he was busy chasing

after my wife.

We hung around and waited. Two hours later, the doctor came to us. “Congratulation, Beta Caleb”,

Doctor Newman said, but Caleb interrupted him. “How is Kimberly?” He asked, and the doctor hesitated,

which meant it wasn’t good. “She slipped into a comma. We hope she will come out of it soon. We have

done everything we can to stabilise her. It is up to her and her wolf: You can see your daughter now.” the

doctor said and Caleb stood frozen on the spot. My key mark began to burn. I did not know why but

something told me the problem was coming from Caleb. “You need to calm down, Caleb. Let us go and

see your daughter.” I said.

“Can we take the swab for the DNA test you requested a few months ago?” The doctor asked, and Caleb

just stood there speechless. The doctor was confused.

“Take us to see her,” Tia said to the doctor, and he nodded. Caleb followed quietly. We got there, and the

baby lay peacefully in her cot. Tia picked her up gently, and she was beautiful. Her eyes were shut, and

she looked adorable. She was wrapped nicely. “Do you want to hold her?” Tia asked Caleb, and he

nodded reluctantly. I did not want Tia to hand the girl over, but she had already done it before I couldn’t

link her not to. Caleb held her and began to cry. “The baby has a key mark on her upper right arm,”

Newman said, and there was no disputing that she was Caleb’s at that moment, but the nurse had

brought the swab, and they took samples from both Caleb and the baby. He had ordered and paid for the

test, so they had to carry it out even though he was no longer clamouring for it. “What am I going to do

now?” Caleb asked me, and I honestly did not have an answer. “Pray she comes out of it and beg her for

forgiveness. Clearly, the baby is yours. All that stress you put the poor girl through was for nothing.” I

said, scolding him. The nurse came to take the baby for feeding, and we decided to check on Kimberly.

She was hooked to machines and looked like she was sleeping. Tia broke down a bit. “We hung out

yesterday, you know, and she was so full of life,” Tia said between tears, and it was amazing to see what

brought people together. “Tia, we have to go home,” I told my wife. She had dark circles, and I knew she

needed to rest. She agreed, and I asked Caleb if he was coming, but he refused. he said he would sit in

the hospital with Kimberly and his daughter. I expected that from him. so I told him I would send a worker

to attend to his needs. He thanked Tia and me, and we left. “Do you think he will be okay?” Tia asked me

as we walked away, and I nodded. “He is coming to terms with his mistakes. “I told her, and she didn’t

repeat anything. Two days passed, and Kimberly did not come through, The DNA result was out, and the

baby

was Caleb’s. Caleb did not want his daughter in the hospital, so he asked us to care for her. Tia was

more than happy. Stacy took offence, but Caleb did not want to put his daughter in his mother’s care. I

doubt Stacy knew how to nurture, but I also knew it would be tedious. I was afraid the baby would strain

‘Tia, but Michelle stepped in. Tia didn’t have to do much.

I told Bart to take Elisabeth for a thorough check-up because of what happened to Kimberly. I did not

want her to have complications. I wanted her to be able to care for her child and return to Joey alive.

I spent the entire week working from home and helping Tia with Caleb’s daughter. He remained in the

hospital, waiting for Kimberly to wake up. He refused to name his daughter, claiming Kimberly would

name her. It was sad. His beards had grown out in that week. He looked a little bit like me now with the

beard; for someone that was always clean-shaven. Kimberly had no improvement, and Tia was getting

attached to the baby. Our sex life suffered a bit during that week, but it was worth it.

Tia and I lay in the room after changing the baby’s diapers and rocking her to sleep: it was nighttime. She

snuggled into my arms. I knew she was sad about Kimberly. She visited the hospital every day to see

Kimberly, hoping she would wake up. I followed her three times, but she went alone the other days.

“Luke,” Tia said, resting her head on my chest, and I was attentive.

“If Elisabeth’s baby is yours, do you think we should take the baby from her?” she asked me, and I was

stunned.

“That is a lot of commitment, Tia; besides, you are pregnant. She will have to care for her child by

herself, of course, I will pay for a nanny, that is, if my father does not take the child.” I told her, and she

adjusted herself in bed and sat up.

“Caleb does not trust his daughter with Stacy, who happens to be his mother. I do not think you should

trust them with your child Luke.” She said I honestly did not want to talk about Elisabeth and her baby.

She would soon be due, and my panic meter was high. I honestly did not want the baby to be mine, but I

knew how conniving Elisabeth was, and there was a high possibility it was mine.

“Do you mind not discussing Elisabeth, please, Tia? I do not want to deal with it right now. I have a lot on

my plate, Tia.” I said, and she shook her head.

“We need to decide what to do right now. If we don’t, we will be confused when the time comes.

Elisabeth will be due in three weeks or less; we have to decide where we are going with this,” she said,

and I got off the bed.

“Please, Tia, let us not talk about her,” I begged Tia, and she nodded.

By the second week, Caleb called us to inform us that Kimberly was awake. Tia was about to go to the

hospital when she got that call. We were overjoyed, and we went to visit Kimberly with her daughter.

Kimberly was sitting up in bed when we arrived. She looked well-rested. The coma had afforded her

body time to replenish and fix itself. She stretched her arms towards Tia, and Tia went to hug her. I

placed her baby in her hand, and she shed tears. I could see relief in Caleb’s eyes. His beards were

bushy, and his eyes were tired. This was a blessing, and I hoped he would seize the opportunity.

“Since Kimberly is awake and looking strong, we should leave the two love birds to settle their

differences. We will just be in the hallway.” I said aloud, but Kimberly shook her head.

“I do not love Caleb anymore. Right now, I just was to take my daughter, go to that awful place, pack my

things and leave. I only hung around to prove that I wasn’t a slut, and my baby was Caleb’s. There is no

need to hang around after that.” Kimberly said, and Caleb was tongue tied. It was apparent he had a lot

of work to do.