Stefan leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming silently against the edge of the desk. His office was quiet now, the hum of the air conditioner the only sound filling the space.
Morning had co and gone with a blur of etings and greetings, but he hadn’t truly been present for any of it. His thoughts had been miles away.
They were still back at his house thinking about the ultrasound result he’d stumbled across while looking for his forgotten file.
He took out the scan photo again and stared at the image. He must’ve looked at it a dozen tis already, but it still felt unreal. A heartbeat. A growing life. Sothing so small, yet suddenly it was the biggest thing in his world.
And yet, no one had told him. No phone call. No conversation. No warning. No nothing. He doesn’t even know who it belongs to and if it’s his for real.
He needed answers. He couldn’t sit here and wonder anymore. Not with sothing this important.
Reaching for his phone, he opened his contacts and scrolled to his doctor’s number. Dr. Sylvia. The sa doctor who had been attending to "his wife." He pressed "call" and waited, his heartbeat thudding like a drum in his ears.
Once the call connected, he imdiately booked a session even though it wasn’t to check on himself or anything but to get the truth.
Though his session wasn’t until thirty minutes later, he hurried out, unable to wait any longer.
Stefan sat in the backseat of the car, the ultrasound scan resting gently in his palm. His fingers curled around it as if it might disappear. His thoughts had been spinning from the mont he ended the call with Dr. Sylvia.
There were too many questions bouncing around in his head, and none of them ca with answers. The scan was nine weeks old. Nearly two months. And yet, Ivy had said nothing to him. Not even a hint.
"Why wouldn’t she tell ? Unless... unless it wasn’t her at all." That thought refused to leave his mind.
His driver pulled up outside the clinic, and Stefan stepped out slowly, tucking the scan safely into the inside pocket of his coat.
The receptionist at the desk gave him a surprised look but quickly smiled and led him toward the hallway where Doctor Sylvia’s office was.
She was walking out of another room when she spotted him.
"Mr. Winters?" she said, blinking in surprise. "You’re here already."
"Yes," Stefan said, his voice low but steady. "I couldn’t wait for another thirty minutes." He reached into his coat and pulled out the folded scan. "I found this. It was tucked in my dical file at ho."
Doctor Sylvia took the paper from his hand and opened it. She glanced at the image and nodded. "Yes, that’s from about a month ago."
"I know," Stefan said. He hesitated, then continued, "Is it true? Is my wife pregnant?"
f.(r)eewe/bnov\ll
Doctor Sylvia’s expression was unreadable for a mont. Then she nodded again, more slowly this ti. "Yes. She is. Was there... doubt? You don’t believe her?"
Stefan gave a quiet sigh and looked away. "I’m not doubting her or the results, doctor. I just—" He shook his head, struggling to find the words. "She hasn’t told anything. Not a single word. I only found this by accident while looking for a file."
Doctor Sylvia’s face softened. "Really? I guess she still hasn’t said anything to you," the doctor said and Stefan frowned.
"What do you an?" he asked in confusion.
"She said she wasn’t going to say until she’s told you the truth."
That made Stefan pause. He turned his head and looked at her again. "What truth?"
"I don’t know," she said gently. "She didn’t say exactly. Only that she had sothing big to confess before she could tell you about the baby."
He swallowed hard. "When did she say that?" he asked, his heart beating very fast and loud that he was sure the doctor could hear it.
"The day your bandages ca off," Doctor Sylvia replied without hesitation. "She ca in for her check-up that morning. She was quiet... a little emotional. I asked if you knew yet, and she said no. That she’d tell you after she told you her biggest secret that morning. Guess she never did."
Imdiately he heard that, Stefan stood there, frozen. That day. He rembered it clearly now. No one had co to him. Infact, his wife had been with him all through and the only person that had co and wanted to tell him sothing was.... Ruby.
Did that an Ruby not only knew the truth he needed to know but was also the one carrying his child? But how? Was she the one by his side ever since?
The woman who had cared for him when he was blind. The one who had never raised her voice. The one who had read to him every night. Who had sat silently while he struggled. Who had gently held his hands and told him he wasn’t alone. That was Ruby?
He had felt sothing then. A quiet warmth. A pull he hadn’t wanted to question when she stepped into the hospital room.
And yet... he had pushed her away the mont he saw Ivy.
No. The mont he thought he saw Ivy—his wife.
His chest tightened. He stumbled back a little and sat down in the chair beside him, his legs suddenly too weak to carry him.
She had tried to speak. Tried to explain. But he hadn’t let her. He’d shut her up and hadn’t listened to her.
She’d cried and had left that day, and hadn’t returned.
"I was blind," he whispered to himself. "Even after I could see again... I was still blind." he said, telling himself what Ruby had said to him.
Doctor Sylvia sat beside him, concern on her face, not knowing what to say.
"She must have been hurt," he said softly, more to himself than to her. "She was right there, trying to tell . And I chose the wrong woman."
The guilt hit him like a wave. He hadn’t just hurt Ruby. He had crushed her. Turned his back on her after everything she had done for him. And now... now she was gone. Disappeared without a word. Carrying what was possibly his child.
Stefan stared at the floor, jaw clenched, as the realization set in deeper.
"I should’ve known," he muttered. "I should’ve seen it. The way she talked... the way she moved. It was never Ivy."
"I’m sorry, Mr. Winters," Doctor Sylvia said gently. "I don’t know what you’re talking about but I do know you have to stop blaming yourself and go fix it. Whatever it is."
He sat in silence for a long while, letting the weight of everything settle over him. The lies. The mistakes. The things left unsaid. Then slowly, he looked back up.
"I need to find her," he said. "No matter what it takes. I have to fix this. You’re right."
Doctor Sylvia nodded, standing as he rose to his feet. "That’s a good start."
"I’ll find her," Stefan said again, this ti with more strength in his voice. "She didn’t deserve what I did. I was too busy chasing a ghost to realize the real thing was right there with the whole ti."
And with that, he turned and left the room, the scan now back in his pocket—but this ti, it ant more than a piece of paper.
It was a sign. A second chance. And he wasn’t going to waste it again.
********
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