Due to the Sullivan Group's high-intensity working procedures, the leave application system was vastly
different from other companies.
According to company policy, in addition to having ten days of annual leave, every employee was given
the privilege of asking for fifteen days of paid sick leave in total.
Rachel knew that if she were to go to work in this condition, she wouldn't be able to do anything.
She thought that Victor would only catch her making mistakes, and he would find an excuse to fire her
from the Sullivan Group, so she asked for a sick leave and stayed at home to recuperate.
Once she was done filing her leave, Rachel stayed at home for two days.
Today, early in the morning, she wore a comfortable sportswear, ready to leave the house.
When she passed by the kitchen, she saw Abby serving breakfast on the table, so she stopped and
said to her, "Abby, I'm going out for a while, but I'll be back later.You and Andy can have breakfast
together first."
Without waiting for her response, Rachel left the premises of the house and got in the taxi that had
been waiting outside the gate for a Iong time.
As the driver stepped on the accelerator, he looked at Rachel through the rearview mirror and asked,
"Where are you heading, Miss?"
Rachel glanced at her cellphone and saw the phrase "appointment confirmed", and said, "To the
Flowerence Hospital."
Two hours later, she had finished all her tests and was waiting at the Gynecology and Obstetrics
Department of said hospital.
"Miss Bennet, according to the results of our examination, you're four weeks pregnant."
The doctor adjusted her glasses and gave the detailed report to Rachel.
While looking at Rachel intently, she said, "You mentioned that you've ingested some antipyretics, but I
can't say for sure whether it will cause any damage to the fetus, since you're in the earliest stages of
pregnancy and it's too early to test out the effects of the medicine on the fetus.I suggest you come back
here when you're twelve weeks pregnant, and schedule another checkup."
"I see.Thank you,"
Rachel replied as she stood up.
With the examination report in hand, she walked out of the consultation room without looking back.
The doctor was stunned to see her take this news so calmly.
She had been working for this department for over twenty years, and she had seen all sorts of
reactions from people who just found out that they were pregnant.
Some were so delightedly excited that they — cried on the spot, while others felt depressed and
panicked.
But out of all the people the doctor had seen, none were as calm as Rachel.
That woman acted as if she didn't even care.
The doctor continued watching Rachel walk away until the next patient came in.
After she came out of the consultation room, Rachel didn't leave the hospital yet.
Instead, she sat on a chair in the waiting hall, staring at the result of her examination.
She really was pregnant.
Maybe the fact that so many things had happened in the past two days had numbed her from the
shock, though she gathered that this might not be a coincidence.
As a matter of fact, she had subconsciously accepted that she was pregnant.
Thus, when she heard the result, she wasn't really surprised, nor reluctant to accept it.
On the contrary, she felt that the air had finally cleared out, and she could finally breathe with relief.
But that moment of peace did not last long, because Rachel now had a big problem.
What was she going to do with the child developing in her womb? Rachel didn't like trouble, let alone
causing trouble for herself.
On top of it all, this was Victor's child.
The moment she gave birth to this child, it would only bring an endless supply of trouble for her.
And so, she decided that the best way to deal with this fetus was to abort it before it could grow mature.
With that in mind, she had made a decision.
She stuffed the report into her purse casually, stood up, and was heading to the nurse station to
schedule her abortion.
Just when she was about to walk there, her right leg was suddenly held by something that prevented
her from walking.
Startled, she looked down to see what was holding onto her.
Out of nowhere, a little girl appeared, holding Rachel's leg.
The toddler looked up at her and mumbled, "Mommy!"
After saying that, the girl drooled.
Noticing that the child's saliva was about to pour onto her leg, Rachel lifted the girl up, staring at her up
and down.
"Where did you come from?"
Since the girl was still a toddler, she had no idea how dangerous it was to be held by a stranger.
Instead of being scared, she was curious and excited.
She happily moved her legs, reached her hand out to Rachel and repeated, "Mommy!"
Rachel curled her lips as she put the baby girl on a chair.She didn't want to hold her anymore.
"I'm not your mommy."
After that, Rachel noticed that the line at the nurse station was getting longer, so she wanted to leave
right away.
However, when the little girl saw Rachel leaving, she thought that her mother didn't want her anymore.
Tears welled up in her does eyes as she opened her mouth and burst into tears.
Rachel wanted to get the abortion over with as soon as she could, so she quickened her pace towards
the nursing station.
However, the further she was away from the girl, the louder she cried.
The little girl shouted from behind her, "Mommy! Mommy!"
The people in the waiting hall of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics were either mothers-to-
be or already mothers.
When they saw how pitiful the girl was and how loud she was crying, they all looked at Rachel.
Now, more than ten people were staring daggers at Rachel, forcing her to stop in her tracks.
She pressed her aching temples, turned around, and held the baby girl in her arms.
"Don't cry.I'll take you to your mother," she comforted her.
The little girl smiled, revealing her two front teeth.She hugged Rachel's neck and said, "Mommy!"
"Little girl, I'm really not your mother.You've got the wrong person."
Rachel didn't know how to feel about her situation.
She saw the long queue in front of the nurse station.
There were probably more than twenty people waiting there now.
Even if Rachel hurried to the line, her turn wouldn't come soon.
Rachel glanced back at the little girl, took her away from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics,
and went to the hospital hall.
"Let's go.I'll help you find your mother."
With eyes welling up with tears, the little girl nestled in her arms, and obediently called out to Rachel
again.
"Mommy."
While she was carrying the toddler, Rachel couldn't resist the urge to look at her.
The baby girl was wearing a pink dress and had two plaits.
Her eyes were a little red from crying, but whenever she was smiling, her doll-like eyes would narrow
so much that her pupils were hardly visible.
Judging by the little girl's physique, and considering that she only had two front teeth, she was probably
just slightly over a year old.
And now, she was sucking her thumb and staring at Rachel.
"Riley!"
All of a sudden, a nurse hurried over to them from nearby.
"Oh, you're here! You almost scared me to death.Why would you disappear like that? If you go missing,
how will I ever explain it to Doctor Jimenez?"
While she was speaking, the nurse tried to take the girl from Rachel's arms.
Frowning, Rachel took a step back to avoid the nurse's hand.
At the same time, she looked at the name tag on the nurse's chest.
She was a surgical nurse.
Realizing that Rachel doubted her identity, the nurse smiled apologetically and said, "I'm really sorry
about this, Ma'am.That girl is Doctor Jimenez's daughter.She had a surgery earlier, so she left Riley in
the nurse station and asked me to look after her.Unfortunately, when I was called away by a patient,
Riley sneaked out of the room.Please give her to me, so I can return her to her mother."
"How do I know if you are telling the truth?"
Although Rachel was unable to schedule her abortion due to this little girl, and even a bunch of
strangers glared at her like she was an irresponsible mother, she was still concerned about the child's
well-being.
After all, this child was innocent.
Even if Rachel wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible, she couldn't just give the little girl to
someone casually.
"If you don't believe me, you can accompany me to the Department of Surgery to find Doctor Jimenez,"
said the nurse.
Rachel looked at the little girl, who seemed to have noticed her gaze and smiled at her again.
"Fine," Rachel replied as she pulled the girl's thumb out of her mouth.
Minutes later, they finally arrived at the Department of Surgery.
The nurse led Rachel to consultation room number three and knocked on the door.
"Doctor Jimenez, we've found Riley."
As the nurse finished talking, Rachel put Riley down, and looked at the woman sitting behind the desk.
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