Chapter 121 - Who Told You?

Lea’s and Clara’s eyes locked in tension. One stared in disbelief, the other stared full of sadness. Both woman’s faces flashed sad looks. Anybody who saw them would easily understand that they were facing nightmares.

Clara was unable to convey this harsh reality to Lea. It was so hard to tell. That was why she had asked Doctor Kim to do it. She already thought, the task this time would be so difficult. She regretted soon, why did she agree to come to Lea’s room and tell the harsh reality to the pregnant woman? It was a big mistake.

“What do you mean by early delivery? Is that similar to aborting the pregnancy?” asked Lea fearfully. “Do you want me to get rid of the baby?” she added, the color drained from her previously rosy face.

“Your pregnancy is at high risk. If you force it, not only the safety of this baby will be threatened, but also your life,” Clara said, trying to stay calm, whatever Lea’s reaction would be.

Lea shook her head, refusing Clara’s suggestion. “It’s still too early to give birth, isn’t it? How can he survive at a gestational age that is not even six months old?”

“Lea, if you continue this pregnancy, your life will also be threatened,” Clara pleadingly explained. Her lips trembled as she said that to Lea. “Your heart won’t last long, Lea!”

“Who cares about me?” Lea snapped, her hands squeezing the buttons of her top shirt as if that might relieve the tightness in her chest.

“Lea?” Clara whispered. “If you give up on the current pregnancy, you can still try again later. Even if that’s not possible, you still be able to adopt a child, and…”

.....

“No!” snapped Lea stubbornly. “I will still deliver this baby when he is old enough to be born! A patient has the right to choose, right? So, the doctor has no right to force me to give birth now.”

Lea burst into tears. Likewise with Clara, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes were now flowing one by one. Her chest felt so tight.

“Why?” Clara asked once she got her emotions under control. “Why do you still want to give birth to this baby even though your life is at stake?”

“You will never know if you aren’t a pregnant woman,” whispered Lea. She looked away from Clara because she didn’t want Clara to see her cry.

Clara’s heart felt like it was being squeezed hard. Lea’s words felt like a mockery to her. She couldn’t have children.

“Did anyone say it to you?” Clara asked, wiping the tears off her cheeks. “Who was it? Dave?”

Clara looked at Lea with piercing eyes. If eyes could cut, Lea would be bleeding profusely by now.

“Clara, I… I didn’t mean….” Lea flinched when she realized that she had offended Clara.

“No wonder why you suddenly forced me to accept your child? You must feel sorry for me, right? You feel you have saved me from sinking deep into the sadness if you give your baby to me, right?” Clara said curtly. She gave a wry laugh, then left Lea’s room without another word.

At that time, Lea could only watch Clara leave so she couldn’t see the back in the white coat. She deeply regretted her carelessness, and how carried away she was. She shouldn’t have said such things to Clara. Lea hissed, thinking of what she could do to explain to Clara.

***

Clara raced her car home. She interrogated Dave as to whether he had told Lea about her infertility. However, Dave insisted that he didn’t say anything to Lea.

Afterward, Clara called her mother’s secretary and forced her to provide guest data for the last six months. Clara was right. She discovered that Lea had been visiting her mother’s office several times. Her heart was shattered because she felt betrayed by the only person she believed would never betray her.

Roughly, Clara opened the door of the house and packed her clothes. Everything she put in a suitcase, nothing was left behind. She will be out of her parents’ house forever. She didn’t want to see her mother’s face again.

Clara’s dramatic return made Linda worry. The middle-aged woman then hurriedly ran to her daughter’s room.

“Where are you going? Have dinner with us. Your father has been waiting for you,” Linda said worriedly. Especially when she looked at Clara’s face and didn’t find a smile there at all. Surely, something happened to her.

“Clara, if you want to go on a trip, do it after your wedding day!” she said again. She still thought Clara was going on a business trip.

There was no answer from Clara. The young woman continued to pack up everything she had, clearing drawer after drawer one by one and tossing the contents roughly into a large suitcase.

Once one suitcase was full, she closed it roughly and opened another large, empty suitcase. When packing cosmetics, Clara just collects them roughly, randomly puts them into a cosmetic bag, and throws them into a suitcase.

It was then, Linda knew that her daughter would not be going on a business trip. Instead, she wanted to leave the house.

“Clara, don’t act like a child! Tell me what’s your problem?” Linda took her daughter’s hand. The eyes of the two met, staring intently at each other.

“Mom, you are the one who treats me like a child, right?” Clara asked sarcastically. “So let me do what you think is childlike.”

Clara shook off her mother’s hand, continuing to pack up. This made Linda even more curious.

“Why are you suddenly behaving like this?” she asked. her small body pulled her daughter’s tall body then sat her on the side of the bed. “Tell!”

Clara just looked at her mother with a disappointed look. Her tears rolled down her cheeks one by one.

Clara’s slender fingers wiped away the tears. She swallowed hard and said, “How about you explain first, why did Lea suddenly say she was going to hand over her child to me? Does what Lea did have anything to do with you?”