by H. H. Fowler
The doctor turned his attention back to Armando, a worried expression now creasing his visage. “I’ve known only for a few hours.” Actually, the doctor had known for all of the fifteen hours since Annalise had been admitted to the hospital, but such a statement could cost him his professional license. Because if the full truth was to be revealed, it would show that the doctor had made a very bad call and was trying to cover it up. “I simply didn’t know how to break the news to you both…but I have been monitoring her the entire time because of an infection present in her body.”
“An infection?”
The doctor could detect a strong measure of distaste in Armando’s voice, which to him was quite understandable. He’d just told Armando about the tragic loss of his baby.
“That’s the reason why I have given her a dose of Misoprostol to induce labor,” the doctor explained. “It’s the reason why she’s now feeling the pressure on her cervix –”
“After all this time,” Armando snapped. “And you expect me to explain this to my wife? She’s already in enough pain, man! What sort of hospital are you guys running on this island, to be withholding such vital information? Maybe I should blame you for the death of our baby!”
Armando turned and walked away in the direction of Annalise’s room. If he’d stayed where he was a second later, he may have punched the doctor in the face. But deep down, Armando knew he shouldn’t be so quick to blame the doctor for the loss of their baby, because it was possible that the baby could have been dead in the womb before Annalise was even admitted to the hospital. He just didn’t understand why the doctor would hold back something as important as that.
However, Armando would be certain to get an autopsy to confirm exactly what had happened. For all he knew, it could be Annalise’s fault that their baby was dead, because he’d warned her that traveling at this stage in her pregnancy could result in something like this. But despite how traumatic the news was, Annalise needed to be told that she was about to deliver their stillborn daughter.
Back in the waiting area, Ms. Hive and the crew were suddenly greeted with a deafening scream, bringing them all fumbling to their feet. And as unfamiliar as was the intensity of the pitch, they figured that the scream belonged to Annalise. Not even a wounded animal sounded as pitiful. Ms. Hive deduced that something had gone wrong, but there was no use in trying to relieve their curiosity. Having no family connection to Annalise would exempt them from getting into Annalise’s room at the moment.
Instead of fretting over the situation, Ms. Hive dropped her head reverently and began to quote the ‘Our Father’ prayer to aid in Armando’s strength. Because Ms. Hive knew that if anything tragic had happened to that baby, Annalise would not rest until she made everyone’s life a living hell – beginning with Armando’s.
Chapter Nine
El- Shaddai Ministries - Sunday – 7:55 a.m.
This Sunday was their first Sunday in church since Drake and Sasha received the news that they’d inherited millions. And even now, the news and the excitement it brought along with it still hadn’t settled in. Especially for Drake, who sat prayerfully in his assigned chair, waiting to begin the eight o’clock morning service. He stole a glance at Sasha, sitting in the front pew with her gaze to the floor. She’d been that way ever since they’d arrived fifteen minutes ago, and Drake would have liked to think that her faraway look had something to do with the sudden turn of events in their lives, of them becoming millionaires overnight, but Drake sensed it was more than that.
When he got up at two o’clock that morning to use the bathroom, Sasha was still awake, so focused on whatever she was doing on her phone that Drake doubted she even noticed his movements. He called her out on it though, only to be met with a tight smile that told him that she didn’t want to be bothered. Even if he wanted to counteract, he was too sleepy to do so. He figured if there was a problem, Sasha would eventually let him know. They’d vowed not to keep secrets from each other anymore. So taking comfort in such thoughts, Drake rose to his feet and walked to the podium.
The entire congregation stood along with Drake, except for Sasha, who was now looking straight ahead at nothing in particular. Although her actions weren’t done on purpose, it came off as if they had. So Drake tried to get her attention with his eyes, but Sasha would not look in his direction. In a final attempt, Drake cleared his throat and called for the praise team to lead the congregation into a worship song. It was only then that Sasha came to her senses and practically jumped to her feet when she noticed she was the only one sitting.
But halfway through the singing, Sasha’s thoughts began to stray again. She couldn’t help it even if she wanted to, because her future was at stake. Her blackmailer, whom Sasha had nominated to be Myles Deveron, had threatened to expose her dirty little secret to the world, if she wasn’t able to convince Levi to accompany the boys’ basketball team to the national championships. And even though Sasha believed that it was Myles Deveron behind the emails, she still couldn’t be certain of how serious Myles really was. That was what had kept her on edge – the uncertainty and the fear of waking up and discovering her life had been ruined by a sixteen-year-old boy.
So the last twenty-four hours had been some of the most daunting hours she’d ever experienced in her twenty-five years of existence. Sleep forsook her and she barely ate any food, all the while praying that God would intervene. She should have said something to Drake when he got up to use the bathroom this morning, but she was too busy rummaging through the feeds on her social networks, checking to see if Myles had posted that ungodly video clip of her and Levi.
But perhaps she could really relax now, as it appeared Myles hadn’t gone through with his threats. Sasha wanted to relax, but there were still too many variables pending. For starters, her last conversation with Levi had ended unfavorably and she doubted she’d been successful in convincing him to do anything, except make him more annoyed with her. And although she’d sent him that raunchy video clip, praying that he would do the right thing, Sasha knew Levi usually did the opposite of what she wanted. He was out to make her pay for marrying Drake.
But regardless of what Levi decided to do with that video, Sasha couldn’t care less about what Levi wanted as it related to her marriage. She had made up her mind to stay with Drake and all of Levi’s trickery and all of the manipulation in the world could not change that. Suddenly, that trend of thought caused Sasha to become suspicious of Levi all over again. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? Because it was just shortly over nine months ago that Levi had crafted an anonymous letter and had it sent to Drake on her wedding day, claiming that she’d been unfaithful to Drake. What would stop Levi from stooping so low in another attempt to destroy her marriage? With such a treacherous history, it was certainly possible that Levi had sent those anonymous emails to her, forcing her to reach out to him against her will.
Sasha would even go as far as to believe that Levi had put Myles up to it – those two working in cahoots to manipulate the situation to their benefit. It all seemed to make sense now – the way Levi was always praising Myles for his athletic abilities and doting on him like a proud father. Myles shared the same affection for Levi and would do anything Levi told him to do. Sasha seethed, vowing to pay Levi a surprise visit and shake the blessed truth out of him. Because by now, Sasha expected her personal business to be all over the internet and in the various media outlets. But that just showed that Levi and Myles were simply toying with her.
“And at this time, I will call my wife to bring the opening prayer,” Drake had had to repeat the words a second time because of how lost Sasha had been in her thoughts.
She smiled away her anger for the moment, as she swayed gracefully toward the podium. The spirit of conviction gripped her when her husband’s eyes greeted her warmly. She had not kept her promise to tell Drake about her indiscretion. And Sasha knew the longer she took to tell Drake, the longer it would be for her to release herself from this guilt. Had she not been so c
aught up in her lust, Myles wouldn’t have captured that devilish scene of her and Levi kissing in the first place.
With an air of reverence, Sasha took the microphone from Drake’s hand and led the congregation in a heartfelt petition for God’s protection and His divine providence. She prayed sincerely against the powers of darkness and against the enemy’s plan to ruin the lives of God’s children. By the time she was through, she was washed away in tears and so was the congregation.
****
The Smithson Hotel – 10:11 a.m.
Rena was scheduled to fly back home to Paris in less than six hours. She’d packed last night and was ready to go to the airport. But first, she needed to return that handgun to the store from where she’d bought it. There was no way airport security would allow her to carry a weapon anyway. In addition, she didn’t want to be reminded that she’d almost used it to kill Lewis, who’d turned out to be such an inspiration to her. She wanted to say goodbye to him and to thank him for ‘showing’ her the light before she left Devin’s Cay.
Her six-inch heels clicked against the porcelain tiles as she dragged her luggage into the small foyer of her hotel room. Her fitted jeans had a distinct flare at the bottom, which gave the illusion that her legs were longer than they actually were. Her light brown curls were piled high on the top of her head, loose strands flowing toward her ears. A pair of Ray-Ban shades were pushed over her eyes to complete the look. Being a woman just barely over five feet, Rena did what she could to add inches to her height.
All the while that Rena moved through the hotel room in silence, Armando weighed heavily on her thoughts. Being captured by that succulent kiss and the way he’d lowered his warm body on top of hers on the sofa, they almost did something Rena knew both of them would have regretted. Their actions simply revealed twenty years of sexual repression, which would have faded away once their carnal desires had been satisfied. Rena was not into one-night stands or one to break up a ‘happy’ home. She’d never been a home-wrecker before and she wasn’t about to be one now.
And although Armando said that he loved her, Rena dared not believe him, because Armando knew a relationship between them was impossible. How could he ever say he loved her when he was married and expecting a baby – a baby who may already be in the world by now? However, Rena had already predicted that such a situation would be too complicated and too much drama for her to accept as anything but confusion. It was best that she go back to Paris and enjoy the portion of money that her father had bequeathed to her.
Now with everything set to go, Rena looked around for her handbag where her passport, her IDs and all of her other personal artifacts were kept – including the handgun she couldn’t wait to discard. The last place she remembered leaving her handbag was near the door in the foyer. It was not there. She looked around in the vicinity, retracing her steps in the bedroom and the adjoining rooms. No handbag in sight. Rena’s heart rate began to increase as panic took a hold of her. She dared not believe that she’d left her handbag carelessly hanging about.
She grabbed the keys to the rental car and hurried through the room door toward the elevator. Maybe she’d left her handbag in the passenger seat and assumed she’d brought it out. Any other explanation could not be accepted or else she would be facing some serious setbacks. When Armando accosted her yesterday while she was on her way up to her room, she remembered holding her bag then, before he unexpectedly slipped his tongue between her lips and sent her hormones into overdrive. Had she been so taken with Armando that she lost track of her actions? What if she’d dropped her handbag in the hall somewhere and someone picked it up and ran off with it?
She rushed out of the elevator and into the grand vestibule. For a Sunday morning, the hotel was swarming with people, but Rena paid little attention to the crowd as she weaved in and out to get to the exit. The rental car was still parked beneath the portico and she was surprised that she hadn’t been called to remove it. Just as she descended the steps, a white SUV pulled in front of her. A middle-age woman was behind the driver seat and as she leaned over to say something to the man in the passenger seat, Rena immediately recognized the man to be Armando.
Her initial instincts were to scurry away and continue with her search for her handbag, but for some odd reason, she kept her position until Armando exited the SUV. He walked toward her, his gaze suddenly becoming affixed to her presence. There was a glint of hope registering in his visage before it morphed back into an expression of gloom. Rena turned her head slightly away when he stopped his sluggish strides in front of her.
“Do you realize,” he said with a certain rasp in his voice, “that this is the third time in a row we’ve bumped into each other. That has to mean something.”
“I don’t see any significance in it,” Rena responded stiffly, feeling more of an urge to find her handbag than to exchange pleasantries with Armando. “How are your wife and baby doing, by the way? She was rushed to the hospital on yesterday.”
“Annalise will make it,” Armando said after a brief pause. “But our baby didn’t.”
Rena snatched off her sunglasses and shot Armando an incredulous look. “What do you mean the baby didn’t make it?”
“She was stillborn, Rena,” Armando clarified, finally being able to say the word without falling to pieces. “I was with Annalise all night and this morning, trying to comfort her. They made her push out a dead baby, as if the fact of having the baby die wasn’t cruel enough.”
Rena was quick to drop her defenses, if only for a minute, to show some much needed compassion. “I am terribly sorry for your loss – for what both you and Annalise have had to go through.” She instinctively threw her arms around Armando’s waist. A brief embrace, so powerful that it brought down Armando’s tears.
“I can only imagine how much you two are hurting,” Rena continued. “No parent should have to go through something like that.”
Rena released Armando, but he pulled her back into his arms and held her for what seemed like an eternity. The amount of concern that Rena showed was astonishing on its own account, which by and large was a huge comfort to Armando. He needed a woman like Rena in his life, especially now – to help him get over the loss of his precious daughter.
“Thank you,” Armando said, finally letting go of Rena. He stared at her, seeing for the first time that she was dressed as if to attend an uptown event. Under different circumstances, he would have told her how sexy she looked. “And I’m sorry…it seems as if I’m hindering you from going somewhere.”
“Yes, I’m on my way to the –” Rena paused. She didn’t know how to say that she was going back to Paris, especially after hearing Armando’s sad story. But she had to tell him and not run away and hide, like she’d done all those years before. “My flight leaves for Paris in five hours.”
Rena’s words only added to Armando’s crestfallen expression. “When were you going to tell me?”
I wasn’t going to tell you, Rena wanted to say, but instead she drew on the frustration of trying to find her handbag and said, “I don’t know, but it looks as if I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. I can’t find my handbag, which has my passport and all my identification inside of it.”
Armando felt some measure of relief. Not because of Rena’s dilemma, of course, but because there was a possibility that she would remain in Devin’s Cay for at least another night.
“Do you want me to help you look for it?” he asked her.
Rena brushed him off. “No, no. I’ll be fine. I was going to check to see if I had left it in the car.”
“I don’t mind helping you,” Armando insisted.
“I know you don’t, but you’ve just been through a tragic experience and I would prefer you take some time to sort out your emotions. Take my word for it, I’ll be fine.”
Rena scurried away before Armando had the opportunity to say anything else, though there were a lot of other things that needed to be said between them. But what sense was there in trying to plan
a future with a man who was already taken? Rena couldn’t get back to Paris fast enough and if she had to call in the entire police squad to find her handbag, she would do just that. With a woman like Annalise hanging around, Rena knew she didn’t stand a chance with Armando anyway.
Forgiveness is the best form of love. It takes a strong person to say sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.
Unknown
Chapter Ten
Initially, Hunter’s plans were to return to Devin’s Cay alone, but when her plane landed at a few minutes after one in the afternoon, Kevin was walking out of the aircraft’s door along with her. It was yet another impromptu move on Kevin’s part, who decided to ‘show’ Hunter rather than ‘tell’ her that he was serious about marrying her and the directional change he was about to make in his life. He was in the process of cutting all ties to Tampa, Florida and reestablishing new ones on the island on which he’d been born and raised as a precocious teenager.
Did he regret his decision to dissolve his partnership with Brier and Co.? Not in the least. He had future plans to open up his own accounting practice in Devin’s Cay. That way he would make it that much easier for Hunter to spend more quality time with him before they tied the knot. In addition, moving back to Devin’s Cay gave Kevin a chance to reconnect with his family on a whole new level, thinking now about the joy of becoming a father for real this time.
Shiloh had yet to reap the consequences of taking it upon herself to abort his first child. But Kevin was grateful to God for second chances. With Hunter, he could build a wonderful family. Two boys and two girls, or however many Hunter wanted. It didn’t matter. So as long as Hunter was the mother who carried his seed. She was a beautiful woman inside and out and Kevin knew his children would be proud to call Hunter their mother. So there was no turning back to his old, solitary life. From now on, it would be him and Hunter – doing everything together and for each other.