126 126. Real Pain

Clara’s tears melted knowing Lea’s and Dave’s feelings about the baby. She felt out of place. Their grief and pain reached her wounded heart, making her slender body feel boneless, unable to support the weight of her muscles.

The woman could only lean against the wall outside Lea’s room. Her hands covered her face, crying for the umpteenth time.

Clara canceled entering Lea’s room to do a health check. With tears in her eyes, she unsteadily walked back to doctor Kim’s office. She had no choice but to ask doctor Kim to do the task herself.

“What happened?” asked doctor Kim with confusion.

Usually, she would make fun of Clara, stating that she could not do her job professionally. However, Clara’s current state prevented her from doing so. She knew that Clara had messed up when she called that girl to the hospital earlier.

“I can’t do it. Sorry,” whispered Clara. She packed her things and rushed out of Doctor Kim’s room, without looking back and didn’t bother saying goodbye.

historical

Of course, her suspicious action made doctor Kim wonder. Not long after, another resident doctor patted the shoulder of the obstetrician who was lost in thought, watching Clara’s back slowly drifting away from her sight.

“You stare at the bride-to-be as if you were going to chase gossip from her,” said the resident doctor with an amused smile. She stared at her boss teasingly.

“Who is the bride-to-be?” asked doctor Kim in confusion. She didn’t even know that Clara was getting married. How could she miss such big news?

.....

“Clara. She’s getting married this weekend. Not many know about it,” answered the resident doctor. She was sorting out the files on her desk and compiling a report that she would give to doctor Kim. “Only a few were invited. You don’t know either?”

Doctor Kim shook her head slowly. She furrowed his brows. “No wonder she’s moody. Maybe she was betrothed to a rich old man?”

The young doctor shook her head violently. Her eyes slightly protested the ignorance of that senior doctor.

“I thought you knew it. Didn’t you talk to her fiancé?” asked the tanned-skinned resident doctor. “A few minutes ago, Dave Johnson walked into this room, didn’t he? I think he’s looking for Clara. He had a serious conversation with you, right?”

“Dave Johnson?” asked doctor Kim again, answered with a nod by the resident doctor in front of her. “He is .. her fiance?”

“Right.” The young resident doctor nodded confidently.

“Our Clara?” asked doctor Kim again, like a dazed person. She was completely stunned at the moment.

Doctor Kim didn’t ask anything else. The resident doctor’s nod was clear enough for that obstetrician. She didn’t expect that the man who came to her was Clara’s fiancé, who was even getting married this weekend.

What made doctor Kim have mixed feelings was that the man had introduced himself as the baby’s father. She thought the man was Lea’s boyfriend. What exactly happened? Was this what causes Clara to always go back and forth when she was about to interact with Lea?

Doctor Kim felt guilty. She should apologize when she saw Clara again. She shouldn’t have forced Clara to handle Lea’s case. It was so unfair to Clara.

Not long after, doctor Kim shoved a check sheet to the resident. No more talking.

“What is this? I don’t think it’s my job?” asked the resident doctor who wanted to go home because she was tired and disappointed.

“Never mind! Just do it! I’m not concentrating,” replied doctor Kim lazily. She forced the resident doctor to do Clara’s work.

“Doctor Kim!” she shouted a little loudly. Unfortunately, the doctor had left her. She had other important business to attend to.

The resident sighed softly. “She has a bigger fish to fry, huh?”

Annoyed, the poor resident doctor ended up taking care of Lea’s health check anyway. What could she do about it? She was not the child of a hospital owner who could pass when her feelings were sad and down.

***

Meanwhile, Clara walked through town, embracing her body which was wrapped in a thick jacket. Her tears had dried. But the pain and brokenness in her heart continued to cause wounds, gaping like burning coals.

No one knew for sure Clara’s feelings at this time. Why did two big claps of thunder hit the poor girl? Wasn’t she a noble and kind doctor? Helping sick people and was even willing to work overtime to save the lives of her patients. Why was she still getting punishment after punishment every day?

The confrontation with her parents this evening made her feel numb. Her father’s words which revealed her identity, made the woman feel like being injected into death right away. Whatever it was, she wanted to do all the bad things that could numb this pain right then and there.

Her thoughts were dark and ugly. Clara was very sure that she was not the only one who has a weak mind when people face problems similar to hers. Who was not? It felt like being catapulted high into the sky, then left crashing to the ground without any help. Bleeding wounds.

The difference was, the female doctor’s wound was now bloodless. Even though the pain was not a joke. She was deeply hurt.

‘You are a child born from a mistake... The stupidest mistake I’ve ever made. It always pisses me off when I see your face and that arrogant way of speaking.’

Her father’s words resounded in Clara’s head. Very hurtful words. Clara almost thought it was her father’s trick so that she would obey and not rebel.

However, her mother’s face, which turned so pale, made her sure that her father was not trying to trick her. Linda, who did not deny Patrick’s statement, was a claim to the truth without having to do a DNA test. Something she had wanted to prove outright. She truly wanted to know that she wasn’t Linda’s child.

She was not Linda’s biological child.