Chapter 147: Chapter 145: Overflowing from the Chest Is Despair (Part 1)
Mrs. Grant’s expression changed. "Quentin, you promised me you’d keep her a secret. You’re going to go out with her? Isn’t that just announcing to the world that you two are together?"
Quentin Grant was speechless. He looked at Nora Ainsworth, his heart aching for her, but he still said, "I understand. You should head back now."
Only then did Mrs. Grant stand up. But before she left, she added, "Know your place and don’t take a single step out of line. Otherwise, you won’t even have the right to stay by our Quentin’s side."
Nora Ainsworth stared at the tabletop, her heart growing numb.
"I’m done eating. I’m going to go change."
Pushing back her chair, she put down her spoon and walked toward the staircase in her slippers.
Quentin Grant came up and hugged her from behind. "Don’t be angry, and don’t overthink it. My heart belongs to you, and no one can force it away. The only way I’d ever take it back to put in my chest is if you yourself said you didn’t want it and threw it away."
She turned and hugged him back. "I’m not angry, and I’m not overthinking it. I know my place. I also know how hard it was to win your heart. I’ll cherish it. I’ll cherish every minute and every second with you. Even if we have to part tomorrow, I’ll still be happy to have such a beautiful memory."
He cupped her face. "Don’t say such things. We won’t be separated. We’ll be together, always and forever."
She gazed at him. "Okay. We’ll be together, always and forever, and never be apart."
’But even as I say the words, why do I have this nagging feeling that everything before me is just an illusion?’
’It feels like a single gust of wind could shatter these scenes, making them impossible to piece back together.’
"I’m going to change. I need to go out for a bit."
Quentin Grant nodded. "Okay."
Nora Ainsworth returned to the bedroom and went straight into the bathroom.
Sitting on the toilet, she could feel something flowing out of her body, gushing out in waves.
She looked down and her heart seized. There was so much bright red blood, mixed with dark red clots. The slightest movement sent more blood pouring from her lower body like a stream of water. Nora Ainsworth sat there, her heart turning completely to ice.
She wiped gently with a tissue. The color of the blood was completely different from her usual period. This abnormal bleeding had come on so suddenly. Counting the days, she realized her period wasn’t due for another ten days. For it to be this early meant something might be wrong with her body.
It took a lot of tissues to clean herself up. She put on two sanitary pads, flushed the toilet, then took out a lighter. Nora Ainsworth burned the tissues in the wastebasket, poured the ashes into the toilet, and flushed again.
After composing herself, she changed her clothes. She put on a short black coat, let her hair down, and went downstairs wearing sunglasses.
"Nora, where are you going?"
"I want to go shopping."
Quentin Grant chuckled. "Should I go with you?"
Nora Ainsworth’s expression was normal. "No need. Don’t you have to go back to the family estate? I just want to wander around by myself."
Quentin Grant nodded. "Alright then. Do you have enough money? I can give you another card if you don’t."
Nora Ainsworth took out the card he had given her before. "There’s still over a million on this. I can’t possibly spend it all."
Quentin Grant then hugged her. "Go on, be safe. Buy yourself whatever you want."
Nora Ainsworth pulled away. "Okay, I’m heading out."
She took a cab straight to Alveria Women & Children’s Hospital and, wearing a mask, went to the doctor’s office.
There were several other women inside for gynecology appointments. Nora Ainsworth registered first and then waited in line.
When it was her turn, the doctor asked, "What’s your name?"
Nora Ainsworth didn’t dare use her real name, so she just said, "Nora."
"How old are you?" the doctor asked.
Nora Ainsworth had to lie about her age. "Twenty-six."
"What are your symptoms?"
"My period came ten days early, and I’m bleeding heavily, with a lot of clots. I have lower abdominal pain."
Hearing this, the doctor finished writing, put down her pen, her expression growing serious. "When did these symptoms start?"
Nora Ainsworth had no choice but to answer truthfully. "I felt some pain in my lower abdomen this morning and went to the bathroom. I found an amount of blood similar to my period, but after I went down to eat, it felt like it became unstoppable. It was a lot."
The doctor said bluntly, "This isn’t a good sign. Go get an ultrasound first."
Nora Ainsworth took the order form and went for the ultrasound.
Down the hallway, she saw a door with the two words "Ultrasound Room" written above it. She pushed the door open and went inside.
She handed the form to the ultrasound technician, who looked at it and then immediately at Nora Ainsworth. "Is your bladder full?"
Nora Ainsworth nodded. "I really need to go."
"Then lie down on the bed, quickly."
Nora Ainsworth did as she was told, lifting the clothes over her abdomen. The technician began the exam.
A few minutes later, she got off the bed. "Doctor, is something wrong with me?"
The ultrasound technician handed her the report. "Everything is written here. Take it back to the gynecologist."
Nora Ainsworth went back to the gynecology office.
The gynecologist then had her undergo a series of thirteen more tests.
’I have a bad feeling about this.’
The doctor looked at the final test results and said immediately, "Nora, are you trying to have a child?"
Nora Ainsworth’s heart sank, but she nodded.
"Nora, I can tell you responsibly that you have a classic case of infertility. It’s pathological and quite obvious. You are unable to ovulate and have a menstrual disorder. Furthermore, you have a severe internal imbalance. Even if the infertility is treated, getting pregnant will not be easy. However, with determination, the condition can be managed over time, and there is still a very small chance of conceiving."
Nora Ainsworth felt a chill run through her entire body at these words, and her face went pale. "So, Doctor... are you saying there’s basically a ninety-five percent chance I’ll never be able to conceive?"
"That’s the gist of it, but it’s not entirely hopeless—"
Before she could finish, Nora Ainsworth snatched up all the test reports, shot to her feet, and ran out.
She ran to a hospital restroom.
She sat on the toilet, completely stunned.
’Just a few days ago, I was thinking about how Quentin Grant couldn’t be without children. I really thought I was just being paranoid, but now that it’s actually happening, it feels like fate is playing a cruel joke on me.’
’I finally found the courage. I finally decided not to care about status or anything else, as long as I could be by his side. But why... why has it sentenced me to life in prison?’
’Just this morning, we promised to be together forever. How can we possibly uphold that fragile vow now?’
Her body trembled uncontrollably. She buried her face in her lap and sobbed, a wrenching pain tearing through her insides. It felt like a knife was lodged in her heart, impossible to remove, tormenting her to the brink of death.
After crying for a long time, Nora Ainsworth knew she couldn’t stay there forever. She stood up hastily and looked in the restroom mirror. She turned on the faucet, quickly splashed cold water on her face, put her mask back on, and walked out of the hospital with her head down.
