Chapter 130

130 Doctor Julie’s Questions

Ella’s ears picked up the incessant beeping of monitor devices, strange and familiar voices of people discussing in hushed voices, and the distant squeaking of clogs on the tiled floor.

“Where am I?” She queried her inner thoughts. Although her eyelids felt heavy, she fluttered them severally before her eyes finally opened. Due to the brightly lit room, she squinted a little until her eyesight adjust the bright light in the room.

“Doctor, I think she is finally awake.”

Ella picked up Denise’s voice. She slowly turned her head to the other side and was met by Denise’s affectionate gaze.

Denise quickly walked over to her bedside and sat down beside her, stroking her forehead tenderly. Denise wore a worried but maternal look, like a loving mother concerned for the well-being of her sick child.

“How do you feel, dear?” Denise spoke in her softest and most charming voice.

Ella stared at Denise in a confused and puzzled manner. She swallowed her saliva severally and moistened her dry lips before replying to Denise’s question.

“I am fine, I just need a glass of water.”

“Sure, I’ll get them.” Denise hurriedly stood up and walked over to the other side of Ella’s bed. She picked up a bottle of water and handed it over to Ella, after helping her to adjust her bed to a sitting position.

.....

Ella took a sip of water while giving the doctor standing beside her bed a questioning glance.

“What am I doing in a hospital?” Ella returned her attention to Denise.

“You fainted dear,” Denise simply replied. “You gave all of us quite a scare.”

“I did?” Ella ransacked her memory for the incident of the last few minutes or hours. She slowly recollected them and then her face turned pale when the memory of Silvia’s death hit her. Her eyes turned all watery and fresh tears started flowing down her cheeks.

“Ella, what is wrong again?!” Denise asked in an alarmed tone. “Are you feeling alright? Is any part of your body aching? Is there something you want me to get for you? Do you need me...”

“Denise, she is fine!” The doctor interjected. “Can you please excuse us for a few minutes so I can talk to your friend alone?”

Denise looked distressingly at the doctor and then at Ella.

“I am fine, Denise, don’t worry yourself,” Ella said in a slightly broken but reassuring voice.

“Okay, I’ll be back in ten minutes. That should be enough time for you to talk to her, doctor,” Denise spoke in an authoritative tone.

“One more thing, Denise, please don’t call Leon or tell him anything about this.” Ella became worried at the thought of disrupting Leon’s activities with her all her problems.

“I think Leon is already aware. Although I’m not so sure, I suspect that your bodyguards informed him when you were been rushed down to the hospital.”

“Oh, not again!” More tears flowed down Ella’s cheeks.

“Oh, Ella! Please, stop crying.” Denise was about to go over and soothe her when the doctor blocked her path.

“Denise, give us some time to talk in private. Ella is fine.” The doctor gave Denise an optimistic stare.

Denise hesitated for a while before leaving the room when Ella further encouraged her to.

“Miss Ella,” the doctor walked up to Ella’s bedside, “my name is doctor Julie. We have done some series of tests on you and discovered that you are doing great. Nonetheless, I will like to ask you a series of questions. What changes have you noticed about yourself for the past few days.”

Ella wiped her tears with the back of her hand before responding. “I can’t say for sure. When you say changes, what exactly do you mean?”

“Okay, let’s start from when you passed out this morning. How were you feeling?”

Ella thought for a while before answering doctor Julie’s question.

“Well, I felt hungry and nauseous at the same time. My head was aching and I was feeling dizzy. I guess the incident that took place in my office caused all of this.”

“Good, very good!” Doctor Julie nodded her head and scribbled into a file in her hands.

“Have you been having some food cravings before today’s incident? Do you feel fatigued? Have you ever felt nauseated without vomiting? Do you normally use the ladies more often? Have you been feeling too emotional of late? When was the last time you saw your period?”

Ella’s eyes shone in perplexity. Her head throbbed with a thousand questions as fear and panic enveloped her mind. The last question caught her by surprise and she quickly did a mental calculation.

“Shit! I’m twelve days late,” Ella said inaudibly. “It’s normal to be this late, right?”

Everything the doctor was saying was exactly the way she had been feeling for the past few days. All thanks to her younger sister, Olivia; who is currently a mother and expecting a second child, these symptoms the doctor had just identified were very familiar to her.

“Could it be...no...it can’t! I was careful! I occasionally took my drugs. Oh shit! Oh no! Okay, I’m overthinking this!” Ella chuckled like a patient, who was currently losing her mind.

“What are you trying to insinuate with all of these questions, doctor Julie? Please, please, don’t mess with my mind.”

Doctor Julie smiled at Ella’s cute response and scribbled something else on her file.

“What exactly have you been writing?” Ella looked at the doctor suspiciously.

“Just my flimsy report. There is nothing for you to worry about,” Doctor Julie smiled.

“You mentioned that you ran some tests on me. What were the results of the test?” Ella could feel her heart banging on her chest as she dreaded what the doctor was going to say next.

“Well, as I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with you. Your healthy lifestyle choice is highly commendable. Your vitals are good and your internal system is working perfectly.”

Ella’s panic and curiosity got the better part of her. She could tell that the doctor was prepping her to receive shocking news and this was almost ripping her heart out.

“All right, you don’t have to tell me everything is fine because I know something is not. Yes, I’ve been having questionable symptoms for the past few days. I thought that it was stress related but now, you are making my thoughts run wild. Please, go ahead and just tell me what is wrong with me. Am I...am I...am I...”