“No effect at all.”
“That’s good to hear. I’ve already had my assistant transfer the remaining balance to you,” the client said with a smile, “you charge high, but I think it’s worth every penny. Why haven’t you even done any marketing on yourself, Doctor Tate? I wouldn’t have known that you studied under Professor Hough had it not been for the kidnapping incident.”
“I have to return to Aryadelle in order to fulfill the dying wish of a senior.”
“I see. Can I come to seek your help in the future when I need to?”
“It depends on whether I have the time for it, since I will be going back to Aryadelle in a few days’ time.”
“What a shame, I was going to introduce a few other clients to you! I guess I will have to wait until your next visit.”
“Yeah.”
Averie had earned 780000 dollars from the surgery, and the pay was decided by the client, not her.
She needed the money and also knew that it was an acceptable amount if the client himself proposed it, so she did not reject the offer.
It took a little over a week to prepare for the surgery and the wound on her arm was not longer as painful.
It had been two months since she was separated from her children and she missed them.
After exiting the hotel, she made a reservation for the pregnancy check-up for the next day.
She was four months into the pregnancy, so she would like to undergo a check-up before returning to Aryadelle.
Upon arriving home, Averie glanced at the calendar and researched on flights.
For some reason, she kept thinking of Elyette whenever she thought about going back
Elyette had stopped contacting her since his outburst the last time he called. She couldn’t help but feel upset whenever she thought back to the words he said.
He said that she didn’t care how he felt, but how could he make such an accusation so easily? Was it only right if she accepted 1400 million?
She didn’t have the courage to accept the money, considering the nature of their relationship.
After taking a shower, she got into bed feeling exhausted. She had an early appointment the next morning for the check-up, so she couldn’t stay up late.
The next day, the bodyguard sent her off to the hospital.
She went to the doctor she made the reservation with and after describing her condition to the doctor, the doctor told her to lay down on the bed. “Is your baby sixteen weeks old?” The doctor ran the ultrasound sensor across her abdomen.
“Yes,” Averie said.
“Indeed, your baby is slightly under-developed,” the doctor said after a pause, “you mentioned that it was two-weeks behind when you did your check-up two weeks ago?”
“Yes. What now?” Averie’s heart sank as he awaited the doctor’s judgment. If the baby had stopped developing, there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to keep it and she was prepared for the worst.
“Can you show me the ultrasound report from the last check-up?” The doctor set the ultrasound sensor down and passed her a piece of tissue paper.
She accepted and took out the ultrasound report from her purse and passed it to the doctor after wiping her belly clean.
After inspecting the report from the time before, the doctor said, “though your baby is not developing all that well, it is still growing in comparison to the last time. If you want to keep this baby, you need to take good rest and make sure to take enough nutrition. Let’s observe the situation foree now.”
Averie’s heart calmed at the doctor’s advice.
The doctor printed the ultrasound report and handed it to her. “Have you done the screening test for Down syndrome?”
Averie shook her head.
“You can do it now,” the doctor deadpanned, “have you eaten breakfast today? If not, you can proceed with the test today!”
The screening test for Down syndrome was to check if the embryo had trisomy 21 or had an inherent defect in its nervous system. If it was diagnosed with Down syndrome, the child will be born with delayed growth and intellectual disability, along with difficulties in organ development or even deformity.
Averie knew that she could go through the test, but she didn’t have the courageza to.
‘What should I do if the test suggests that something is wrong with the baby?’ She thought in fear.
Though she once said that she would give birth to it even if the baby was not healthy, facing up to the reality still required a tremendous amount of courage.
“Miss. Tate, your child is slightly under-developed, so it is crucial that you do the test,” the doctor noticed her hesitation and encouraged, “if the baby is not healthy, we need to terminate the pregnancy. This is the best choice for you and the child.”
“The best choice…” Averie mumbled.
“Yes. There is no cure for Down syndrome in the present. Miss. Tate, I know that you are a skilled neurosurgeon, but still, there is nothing you can do about this, right? If you can’t guarantee your child a normal life, it is best to stop the pain during the pregnancy.”
The doctor’s words helped Averie regain her composure.
Back when she argued with Elyette over matters concerning the baby, she did so mainly under the influence of emotions. She blamed Elyette for neglecting the health of the baby and how cold his attitude was towards the child; that was the reason why she told Elyette that she would give birth to the baby even if something was wrong with it.
“Write me a referral letter, then!” She said.
The doctor complied and handed it to her. “I wish both you and your baby good luck.”
“Thank you.” She accepted the letter and started her way towards the clinical laboratory. There were a lot of patients in the clinical laboratory and she had to remain in line for a while before it was her turn.
After taking her blood, the doctor informed her that the results would be out in a week’s time.
“Will there be an electronic copy of the results?”
“Yes. We will send it directly to your phone.”
“Sure, thank you.”
After exiting the hospital, Averie bought her ticket for the flight back to Aryadelle. She instinctively wanted to send her flight details to Mike, but hesitated right before sending the message.
Mike couldn’t control his mouth and would tell Chad everything, while Chad was loyal to Elyette.
After some thoughts, she deleted the message and decided that she didn’t need to tell Mike everything from now on.
The next day, Averie stepped out of the exit of the airport in the capital of Aryadelle with her luggage in hand.
She had become an infamous scammer who tricked Elyette into giving her 1400 million, so she wore a cap along with a face mask to cover her face entirely. She wore an oversized t-shirt to cover her belly, a checker long shirt and a pair of sneakers.
She caught a taxi after exiting the airport and told the driver the address of her mansion. As the car drove off, she took out her phone to scroll through the contact list, before making a call to a certain number…
“I’m back. When are you free? Let’s meet up,” Averie said once the line was connected.
The other person in the line sounded surprised. “Why do we need to meet?”
“I thought you care about me. You even went to Bridgedale to ask around about me, after all,” Averie said sarcastically, “since you care so much about me, I decided to contact you first once I’m back.
Zoe sneered. “Get over yourself. I went to Bridgedale to see my relatives. I only asked about you because I thought you have to be really ill to not come back, when both of your kids have returned to Aryadelle.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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