Chapter 20

The Doctor seemed to have caught on to something she had said, so he prodded further, "And when did that happen, Ma'am?"

"About a month and a half ago," Kate replied.

"Did you experience any changes in your body recently?"

"Well, yeah. I've been feeling sluggish. I have been way more exhausted than usual, and I feel dizzy at times," Kate recounted to the doctor. "I also missed my period. It's been over a week, which is very strange for me because I've never missed my period even when I'm stressed with work."

"I see…" the Doctor cleared his throat. "You should get yourself tested again, Mrs. Woods."

Kate frowned, "I—Is there something wrong with my result, Doctor? You said that my results were all negative, why do I have to get tested again?"

"Not a test STDs, Mrs. Woods," the Doctor told her calmly. "You should get a pregnancy test. What you have been experiencing are the early signs of pregnancy, Ma'am."

"P—Pregnancy?!" That word sounded like thunder in a clear sky for Kate. She was dazed for a while before she chuckled because oh how ridiculous the doctor's words were. "Ah, pardon me, Doctor. I was just surprised by what you said just now."

"May I know what's so surprising about it, Mrs. Woods?"

Kate smiled bitterly at the doctor as she continued, "There is no way I can get pregnant, Doctor. I'm infertile, that's why I had so confidently allowed that man to have unprotected sex with me."

"That is a bold claim, Ma'am. May I know if you have ever done a fertility test?"

"W—Well, no…." Kate replied. She wanted to do a fertility test years ago, but Matt always blamed her because she couldn't get pregnant, and each time she brought it up, he'd say that kind of test wasn't needed when the result was obvious already.

"Then there is no reason for you to claim that you're infertile, Ma'am," the Doctor added. "But if you don't want to do a fertility test, you should just buy a pregnancy test kit in the nearest drug store and take the test yourself."

"But I've been trying to have a baby with my husband—I mean, my ex-husband, and we always failed," Kate said.

"Has he ever gone to a doctor for a fertility test?" The Doctor asked, and Kate shook her head.

The Doctor sighed, "Ma'am, there is also a high probability that your ex-husband might be the one who's infertile."

Kate was silent as she processed the doctor's words. When he realized that she was deep in thought the doctor took the initiative and spoke first.

"I highly recommend that you take a test first, ma'am, because I truly believe that you're experiencing early symptoms of pregnancy, especially after you had unprotected sex with another man."

Kate opened her mouth. She was thinking of a way to rebuke the Doctor.

But then she realized the Doctor could be right.

She always believed she was the barren one because she was a woman.

Nobody ever questioned Matt. Everyone just assumed that Matt was fertile since he looked healthy and able. So the blame was put on her head instead.

It made her feel hopeless and depressed, thinking that she had failed to be a good wife to Matt. Then she started working her ass off to support Matt during his struggle as an upcoming actor to compensate for what she lacked.

The Doctor sighed when he saw Kate starting to blank space because of the news. It must've been difficult to process since she was accustomed to thinking that infertility was always the woman's fault.

"You may leave now, Mrs. Woods. Please get yourself tested for pregnancy."

**

Kate left the Doctor's office and drove back to her apartment.

Her mind was a mess the whole drive back but she made sure to stop at the nearest drugstore and bought a pregnancy test kit.

She returned to her apartment and went straight to the bathroom.

Kate sat on the bathroom stool for a while, staring at the pregnancy test kit in her hand, "What if I'm actually pregnant?"

The idea of being pregnant made Kate excited but at the same time she feared it. She was excited by the idea that she could have a child of her own, a child she had wished for for so long.

But she was also scared because the baby's father wasn't Matt.

It was a random one-night stand.

She felt it'd be difficult for her to explain this whole predicament to her mother and probably Matt's family as well.

She knew that everyone would call her a cheating whore because of this, even though she slept with another man only because Matt had been cheating on her with her own sister.

But one thing was for sure.

Even if everyone condemned her because she got pregnant by another man, she still wouldn't abort the baby.

"No matter what happens, I will never abort it. Even if I have to be a single mother, I'll still raise it and give it a good life. This is my flesh and blood, the baby I've been waiting for so long…."

Thus, with a resolute will, she opened the pregnancy test kit and took a deep breath, "Here goes nothing."

**

Kate waited around five minutes to see the two blue stripes she had so desperately wished for for the past five years.

Her hand trembled as she felt unprecedented joy in her heart.

Tears slowly fell from her eyes as she murmured in her shaky voice, "I'm going to be a mother…."