Chapter 507: Michael, I’m Sorry
Wendy had not anticipated that to be Michael’s first question about the paternity test. Even at this time, Michael was still worried about her. Wendy could not stop her tears from falling. She burst out crying, reaching over to hold Michael’s neck.
Since finding out that she was pregnant, Wendy had been suppressing her emotions the entire time. Now, she was finally able to let it all out.
She held on to Michael tightly. Her tears had soaked through his suit. "Michael, I’m sorry."
"Don’t be silly. I’ve told you before. You don’t ever have to say sorry to me," Michael said, his hand gently caressing Wendy’s hair, trying to comfort her. This was not what anyone would have wished for. This was not her fault. Wendy was a victim.
How could Michael bring himself to blame her? If he wanted to blame anyone, he could only blame himself for not being able to protect her.
"I know you love children and you’ve been wanting to have another one. I never told you this. Back when I had fallen into the sea, I almost died. It was a miracle that I was able to give birth to Jake and Leah. But my body suffered some damage then and the doctor told me that it’ll be very difficult for me to get pregnant again. So I didn’t expect to conceive again, and, and...and..."
Wendy started sobbing again. Wendy’s crying had attracted the attention of the people passing by. There were many people who knew who Wendy and Michael were. Her crying had attracted attention.
"Isn’t that Mr. Lucas and his wife? Why are they at the hospital?"
"I think it’s really them. Why is Mrs. Lucas crying?"
"If she’s crying in the hospital, could it be some terminal illness?"
"Don’t spout nonsense. They’re such a loving couple."
...
Michael overheard the whispers and he helped Wendy up and whispered to her, "Let’s go home. This is not a good place to talk."
Wendy nodded and followed Michael out of the hospital. Once in the car, Michael reached over to fasten the seatbelt for Wendy. Then he drove off.
Michael did not say a word. Wendy also seemed to be trying very hard to calm herself down. On their way home, they were both very silent.
After they reached home, Zess was shocked by Wendy’s red and swollen eyes and Michael’s solemn face. Even though Zess was like family, she did not know about what happened between Wendy and Clement in Rheinsville City. Because it concerned Wendy’s reputation, it was best not to let too many people know about it.
Michael said to Zess, "Could you head out and do some shopping, and then fetch the two children home?"
Zess naturally understood that Michael wanted her to give them some privacy. She had worked for Wendy for years, so she knew what she should or should not do. She was worried and curious about what had happened, but if they didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t poke her nose into their business.
After Zess had gone out, Michael and Wendy were alone in the house. Michael helped Wendy to the couch and gave her a warm drink. He sat down next to Wendy.
"What do you want to do about the baby?" Michael spoke up first.
"I don’t know." Wendy shook her head. "If this baby is yours, I want to keep it. But if it’s not yours, I don’t think I can bring myself to keep it."
"So the problem now is how to determine whose baby this is, right?" Michael analyzed the situation seriously.
Wendy nodded and Michael continued, "At the hospital, you mentioned the possibility of doing a paternity test. How bad will that be for you?"
...
"I can take a paternity test at eight weeks but there are definitely risks," Wendy told Michael truthfully. She did not intend to hide it from him because he could always investigate and find out the truth. "Doing the paternity test at four or five months would have lower risks but that would be too long a wait. I would be living each day in suspicion and fear. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep this baby until then."
"Which means that no matter when you take the test, there will be risks," said Michael. That was what he was most concerned about: Wendy’s safety. "But at four or five months the risk is lower?"
Wendy nodded. Michael looked like he was deep in thought. After a while, he said, "Wendy, if we did a paternity test while you’re pregnant and it might harm your body, then let’s just keep this baby. We’ll take the paternity test it after the baby is born, alright?"
"But..."
Before Wendy could say anything else, Michael quickly interrupted her. "Wendy, let me finish. You and Clement had only spent one night together. So the chances of this baby being his is actually quite low, isn’t it? Over the past month, we’ve done it so many times, and we never used any form of protection. So the possibility of this baby being mine is very high. If, and I mean if, we were so unlucky, this baby is still yours, right? As long as we don’t tell others, nobody will know who the baby’s biological father is."
"No..." Wendy did not expect Michael to be willing to accept the possibility that the baby might not be his. But even if Michael was able to accept that possibility, Wendy was not as willing as he was. She knew that Michael accepted it because he loved her.
But if the baby was really not Michael’s, how would Wendy face Michael and the baby if she gave birth to it?
"Michael, I simply cannot accept it if this baby isn’t yours. If after giving birth and the test shows that the child isn’t yours, I won’t be able to accept that. Whenever I think about what happened that night, I will feel disgusted and have nightmares. If I have to look at the child from that night, I really don’t think I can do it." Wendy shook her head and said fearfully, "Also, if we find out after giving birth that this child isn’t yours, how are we going to handle it?"
"I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought about that," Michael said and took a deep breath. He had only thought of how not to put Wendy in any danger. She was right. If they were to find out after the baby was born that it was not Michael’s, that would be too cruel to Wendy. That child would be a life nonetheless. After the child was born, it would not be possible to do anything about it by then. And that brought them back to square one.
"I think, let’s just not keep this baby." Wendy looked at Michael with tearfully. "This baby really came at a bad time. I cannot bear the risks."
"But there is also the possibility that this baby isn’t his." Michael was also filled with mixed emotions. This matter was simply too complicated. If this baby was Michael’s, he would definitely want to keep this child. Wendy would also want to as well.
However, there was no way to determine that now. By the time they were able to, it would be too late if the outcome was not what they wanted.
"I really don’t know what to do," said Wendy with her head in her hands. She was in turmoil. Why did she have to have such an experience and make such a difficult decision? Why didn’t this baby come a little later Even just a month later would have been good.
That way, they would most certainly welcome the baby’s arrival with joy.
...
Michael looked at how helpless and lost Wendy was. He did not know what to do either. He held Wendy in his arms and patted her back gently, comforting her silently. The baby was inside Wendy. Michael could not make the decision for her.
"Wendy..." Michael thought for a while before saying, "We only found out about this baby today. It happened so suddenly and we’re not mentally prepared for it. What do you say we take a few days to calm down? A few days out of the entire pregnancy isn’t considered too long. We’ll use these few days to carefully consider what to do about this baby."
Michael paused for a bit before continuing, "Of course, I will respect your decision.
Whether you decide to keep this baby, I will support you."
Wendy felt very touched by what Michael said. Not only had he not despised Wendy after that night’s incident, he was even willing to support her after she found out she was pregnant. And he let her decide what to do.
This isn’t easy for any man. But the better Michael treated her, the worse she felt.
She regretted being over confident and acting on her own. If only she had not tried to get close to Clement. If only she had not invited him to her home. Then none of this would have happened. But there was nothing in the world that can cure regrets.
Michael took Wendy’s silence as consent. It would be best for the both of them to calm down before making any decision.
"You haven’t had lunch yet," Michael let go of Wendy and said gently. "I’ll prepare something for you. What would you like to eat?"
Wendy had gone straight to the hospital after sending the two children to school.
After receiving the report, she must have been feeling too depressed to eat.
She shook her head. Michael had expected her response.
"I’ll make you a bowl of instant noodles." Michael thought that instant noodles would not take too long to cook. So he stood up and went into the kitchen.
Wendy looked towards the kitchen but could not see anything. After a long while, Wendy finally walked into the kitchen and hugged Michael from behind. She closed her eyes and the tears started to fall.
"Thank you, Michael," Wendy said in a voice that was hoarse from crying.
"You’ve been saying either ’sorry’ or ’thank you.’ Wendy, you really haven’t been listening to me..."
Michael pretended to get angry. But before he could finish his sentence, Wendy said to him seriously, "This is the first time I realized how much you truly love me."
"Good that you know," said Michael. He blinked his eyes at her words, and his frown relaxed a little.
To Michael, Wendy was way more important than what happened that night or the baby that was now in the picture.
Michael fried an egg and laid it atop the noodles. Holding the bowl, Michael said to Wendy gently, "I know you probably don’t feel like eating, but could you at least eat some?"
"Ok," Wendy said. She sniffed and tried her best to stop her tears and smiled.
She followed Michael to the dining table. The aroma of the noodles made Wendy feel hungry. She started eating under Michael’s gentle gaze.
