Chapter 7

Lexi felt her stomach churn and couldn't help but vomit right onto Zachary, who was in front of her. Zachary's expression stiffened with disgust. He looked at the vomit all over himself and glared at her with widened eyes filled with rage.

Lexi covered her mouth in apology, though she felt a trace of satisfaction inside. "Sorry. I've been feeling unwell for the past few days."

Utterly disgusted, Zachary took off his soiled clothes and threw them into the laundry basket. His lean but muscular physique was exposed.

Before he left the study, he warned Lexi coldly, "Move back to Flowerhill Estate. If Grandma finds out you've moved out, I won't let you off."

Lexi couldn't move back to Flowerhill Estate now. She had something very important to do. She had to find a safe place to get an abortion. Otherwise, the fear of Zachary finding out about her pregnancy would loom over her constantly.

Once Lexi made up her mind, she acted swiftly. She booked a flight to a small city. She caught a plane that took her there that very night. Next, she took a taxi to a small town and booked a room at a motel near Adstrum Hospital.

At dawn, she arrived at the hospital to see a doctor at the gynecology clinic as soon as the doctors started their shifts. Feeling a bit self-conscious, she requested to see a female doctor.

The nurse responded impatiently, "If everyone made such requests, how would we manage? Only Dr. Quall has a slot available. Do you want it or not?"

Lexi flinched at the nurse's irritable tone. She hesitated for a second and replied meekly, "Yes."

She then made her way to the clinic on the first floor. When there were two numbers left before it was her turn, there came a phone call from Quinton.

"Ms. Loyle, why didn't you come to work again?" he asked.

"I've submitted my resignation letter. I'm on annual leave now," Lexi replied.

She then added, "I'm traveling now, Mr. Shaw. I'll be back in a week to hand over my work. Please handle things in my absence."

She hung up decisively.

Quinton was left speechless. He relayed Lexi's message to the busy Zachary. "Boss, Ms. Loyle is traveling. She said she will return in a week to hand over her duties."

Zachary frowned and sipped his coffee. He found the taste unsatisfactory. "Who made today's coffee? Go make me another."

Quinton took the coffee away and instructed the assistant secretary to go and brew Zachary a fresh cup. It took four attempts before their boss reluctantly accepted the coffee presented.

Seeing this, Quinton surmised that Zachary must have gotten accustomed to the coffee Lexi made.

"Book a table at the Cadorian restaurant for tonight. I have a date with Yvonne. Order a bouquet of roses as well."

Zachary's request surprised Quinton, who started to doubt his initial guess. Could it be that Zachary's true love was still his ex-girlfriend, after all?

Quinton collected his thoughts and replied, "Sure. I'll see to it."

Before he left, he turned to Zachary and said, "Zach, Lexi has always done her job well. You... Don't regret this in the future."

He and Zachary were college mates. Right now, he was speaking to Zachary as a friend.

Zachary looked up, and his eyes were cold. "Why would I regret it? I've always loved Yvonne."

Why would anyone think he would regret it? Zachary sneered and didn't think much of it.

...

Lexi was unaware of the conversation that had taken place between Quinton and Zachary.

The nurse opened the door and called out, "Ms. Loyle."

Lexi nodded and entered. As she walked in, she overheard another nurse saying coquettishly, "You're so mean, Dr. Quall."

The nurse's voice was overly sweet and coy. It made Lexi cringe. She glanced at the doctor, who was enjoying this attention, and realized that it was the man she'd encountered in the elevator. It didn't occur to her that he could be a doctor when she saw him.

The tall man with broad shoulders was standing at the sink and washing his hands meticulously. He was wearing a white coat. With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his strong arms were exposed, revealing the tattoo of a black mamba coiled around a rose.

Lexi didn't know what to make of this. This was her first time seeing a doctor with such scary tattoos on his arms.

Claude, who was wearing a surgical mask, noticed Lexi and raised an eyebrow. He wondered why she had come to such a remote town to seek treatment.

He sat down and dried his hands leisurely. Then, he asked in a laid-back tone, "What's wrong?"

After waiting for some time, he didn't hear any answer from Lexi.

Claude cocked an eyebrow and asked again, "Is your throat so sore that you can't speak?"

Doing her best to maintain her composure, Lexi whispered, "I'm here… to get an abortion."

Claude fell silent. Lexi blinked at him and stayed quiet too.

He had not expected this.

"How many times have you gotten pregnant? Have you given birth before?"

"No. This is my first time."

"When was your last period?"

"I think it was around the end of April."

"Have you tested with a pregnancy test kit?"

"Yes."

After inquiring about her medical history, Claude said, "Let's do an ultrasound."

Lexi nodded. She had come this far, so she didn't want to waste her time and effort.

She followed the nurse and walked to the back of the curtain. After taking off her shoes and lying on the hospital bed, she pulled her shirt up to reveal her abdomen.

With gloved hands, Claude applied some gel to her fair and smooth abdomen. As she took in rasped, nervous breaths, her belly moved up and down rapidly too.

"Relax," Claude reassured her.

After the ultrasound, he said, "You have two options: surgical abortion or medical abortion."

Lexi had researched this. She replied, "I'll go with a surgical abortion."

Her voice was steady, but her fingers trembled slightly.

When he noticed her shaky fingers, Claude raised an eyebrow. "The procedure can be done tomorrow afternoon."

Lexi wiped the gel off her stomach with some tissues. "Okay."

Claude noticed that her hands were trembling even more now. For once, he decided to be kind and advised, "If you don't want to abort the child, you should keep it."

"The father is abusive. It would be cruel for me to keep the child," Lexi replied indifferently while tidying her clothes.

"That's unfortunate," he remarked matter-of-factly.

Lexi agreed, "Yes, it's very unfortunate."

Claude stepped out from behind the curtains.

As she looked at his broad shoulders, Lexi recalled the wet dream she had a few nights ago. She pondered that maybe she had it in her to become a promiscuous woman.

While keying Lexi's information into the computer, Claude explained the precautions for surgical abortion in detail. Lexi listened to him attentively.

When Claude saw her name, he paused for a moment. Finally, he knew her name.

He mentioned casually, "You know, I have a nephew whose wife's name is also Lexi Loyle."

Lexi looked at him. She was unsure of what to say.

Claude brought it up offhandedly. He had overheard that name during a family conversation. As he wasn't close to his extended family, he didn't know his nephew well.

Lexi's eyes widened because she realized that his surname was Quall, just like Zachary's mother.

The Quall family was mainly based in Jover City. So, she had never really met anyone else from Zachary's family despite having been with him for years.

Was such a coincidence even likely? A sense of unease crept over her as she contemplated that possibility.

"Stop pulling my leg, Dr. Quall. I'm not married yet." On her medical information sheet, she stated that she was single.

She couldn't give herself away at a crucial time like this.

Claude gave her a cryptic glance and calculated the dates inwardly. Going by the dates, there was a possibility that the child was his.

Lexi felt uneasy at the way he was looking at her, but she couldn't figure out why.