Come Back, Dear Ex-wife.

The next second, a pair of leather shoes crushed her hands hard!

She dragged herself on the floor towards her car, as she slowly lost consciousness.

……..

Erica Shawn perceived the strong smell of a hospital as she slowly opened her eyes. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. She felt pains all over her body, including a throbbing headache.

She looked at the monitor which was beeping beside her and it took her a few seconds before she could see clearly. She saw the doctor dishing out orders to a young nurse who wrote things down quickly on a file.

The nurse nodded towards her after saying a few words to the doctor. The doctor turned and took a glance at her, seeing that she had regained consciousness, he rushed over to her side, feeling her temperature. “How do you feel now, miss?”

Erica Shawn took her hand to her belly immediately. “Please tell me I didn’t lose the pregnancy.” Erica whispered, her eyes were filled with tears and the veins in her head popped out. “How is my baby?”

The doctor let out a soft sigh. “You need to calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, just answer me. How is my baby please?” she whimpered, her eyes filled with pity.

“Your baby is fine, but you need to relax. Your body needs all the rest it can get.” The doctor assured her.

Erica sniffled and shut her eyes as she placed both hands on her stomach, tears rolled down each side of her face. She felt glad she still had the pregnancy even after everything.

“You were lucky to have been brought in here early, any further delay could have resulted in you losing the pregnancy. You need to be kept here for more observations. It is essential for the sake of your well-being and that of the child”.

Erica nodded, hoping that things would get better afterwards.

“Where’s my phone please?” she knew she had dialed Norberto’s number a couple of times, he must have called her back.

“I will have the nurse send it in right away. Your stuff is safe. We kept them in the security department”.

……….

Erica sighed and rubbed her temple as she stared at her phone. There was not a single call from Norberto. Who brought her to the hospital?

“Where's the person that brought me here?”

“He left already.”

“Did he introduce himself, who could he be?”

“You were brought in by a young man. He said his name was Peter and he was passing by when he saw you lying lifeless on the floor”.

“Alright, thanks doc”. Erica sighed, she tried to fight the tears that were threatening to fall again.

“He promised to come check on you later. Maybe you’ll get to see him then”.

Erica tried to hide her hurt and disappointment by bringing her knees up and burying her face between them as the tears slowly dropped.

“I don’t know what exactly you are going through or what might have happened but you need to be strong. Remember, when you are okay, your baby is okay and when you aren’t, it is the same case for your baby. Even though you are stabilized now and okay, there’s still a chance of you getting a miscarriage so that’s why we are still keeping you here to observe you and while doing that, we need you to please be relaxed and get enough rest. Keep in mind that your general health has a great effect on your baby”.

“Thanks for the kind words doc. I appreciate your great care of concern. I’m just concerned my husband never called to check up on me or the baby and I am worried”. Erica’s heart fell as she said those words. She couldn’t believe Norberto never returned her calls. Erica tossed her phone aside. She felt as if she was not existing anymore, especially to Norberto. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, as she slowly dozed off.

……..

Erica was strolling around the hospital premises, trying to clear her head when she got a glimpse of someone familiar on one of the nurse’s phones.

‘Lemme see this please, thank you”. She said, snatching the phone away from the nurse’s grip.

“No! this can’t be”. She sobbed, trying so hard not to break down. Her actions got the nurses worried, with confusion etched all over their faces.

It was a video of Delaney and Norberto. They were gorgeously dressed, holding hands like couples and kissing, with smiles on their faces.

“Latest billionaire couples.” The headlines made her heart tremble with fright. She sweated even though the weather was cold. Delaney was all over Norberto, flirting with him which further made Erica hurt.

Erica soon burst into tears after seeing the headlines. She felt betrayed by Norberto and her stepsister. She was in the hospital fighting for her life and her baby's too and all they could think of was to get engaged. Her absence was not even noticed by Norberto and he was still living fine. She sobbed so hard, which got the doctor and nurses worried about her health. She went inside the hospital room where her phone was and picked it up, still sobbing. Knowing she had no value in Norberto’s life, she resolved to accept his divorce proposal.

……..

“I’m so happy we are finally a couple.” Delaney giggled as she flirted with Norberto. They walked into the big hall where Norberto’s family were all seated awaiting the arrival of the couples. Norberto’s family had organized a big family dinner to welcome Delaney into their family.

“So many of my friends are so going to be jealous of me, when they see my posts on Instagram.” She squirmed.

Delaney looked at Norberto as they sat beside each other at the dining table.

“Norberto, what’s wrong?” you have been quiet, why aren’t you even saying anything? Or you are not happy?”

“Of course, I’m happy my dear. Just tired.” He said distantly.

Seeing he was aloof, Delaney decided to let him be and focused on her meal.

Norberto’s phone buzzed and he quickly picked it up from the table. His eyebrows lit up in surprise as he stared at the screen.

“I accept the divorce. You won’t ever get to feel even a bit of love from me. We are done… like you’ve said. Enjoy my absence since my presence never made you recognize my worth”. His jaw dropped as he read the message.

“What is the matter sweetie?” Delaney asked, snatching the phone away from his hand. “Good riddance to bad rubbish. I’m glad she realized already that she has no chance with you. It's only quite unfortunate it happened late”.

Norberto looked at Delaney with a puzzled look as she said those words. “Can I have my phone back please?” he asked, suddenly feeling hot and uneasy. He kept reading the text message he had received from Erica over and over and he wondered why he felt so concerned when he was the one that had asked for the divorce in the first place.

He excused himself and rose up, heading towards his room. Delaney felt pissed off and gritted her teeth in anger. She could feel a burning rage inside of her even though she tried to remain calm. She stood up just immediately and went after him.

She met him stretched out flat with his back on the bed. He was facing the ceiling, obviously in deep thoughts. Delaney walked towards him, sashaying. “I feel you are not in a good mood. I can lighten up your mood.” She said seductively, tracing his bare chest with her fingers.

“Not today Delaney, please, I’m tired.” He shoved her aside and went to sit at the edge of the bed.

“What is going on, Norberto? What is wrong with you? Don’t tell me you are in this mood just because of that text you received from Erica.”

Norberto stared at Delaney curiously, wondering if there was something she wasn’t telling him. “Do not talk of Erica like that. I am only a bit worried and concerned that she isn't at home by this time of the night. And her text message was just so sudden. I wasn't expecting her to accept the divorce this way”.

“The good thing is she already accepted it. Let's have some good time together”. She bit her lower lips flirtatiously, playing with a strand of hair that fell over her face.

Norberto looked at her and let out a sigh.

“I am not in the mood for this Delaney. We'll meet tomorrow. Goodnight!”. Norberto tried walking away but was pulled back by Delaney.

“Really! Are you sending me away now?” she asked unbelievably.

Seeing that there was no response from Norberto, she walked towards the shelf just beside the bed and took her bag. “I’m leaving; I’m going home”. She said and stormed out of the room, slamming the door really hard.

Immediately Delaney was gone, Norberto sprang up and headed straight for Erica’s room. He pushed the door open and his heart fell. Norberto could not explain the coldness that swept through his heart, numbing him, when he saw just an empty room.

Erica had never slept outside the house or stayed out late before. She had no friends and no family where he could say she was staying with at the moment.

He walked back to his room feeling dejected and with a very blank but heavy mind. He flunked himself on his bed and buried his face in his palms. He was wondering why he was feeling the way he felt at the moment. He couldn’t understand why he felt a sudden feeling of loneliness and fear.

Norberto started debating on whether he should return the numerous calls he had missed from her or reply to her text message. He didn’t even know where she was at the moment and this made his heart beat in trepidation.

He finally resolved the conflict in his mind and decided to call her. He picked up his phone and dialed her number with his heart in his mouth.