Page 162 of From Rivals to I Do

The police can’t find any information on Reece, and his name is not in the police database. They run his SSN and cannot find his first or last name. Does this mean he is not who I thought he was all those years? I was married to a monster, for goodness’ sake, and my marriage was a lie. This makes me worry more about Charlee, and I do not know what Reece is capable of doing.

As I pace around the police station, anxiety claws at my chest like a frenzied beast. The officers have been searching for Charlee for hours now. The silence is deafening, and I am struggling to keep myself together. The feeling of impotence is killing me.

Suddenly, my vision blurs and my legs buckle beneath me. Everything goes dark as I collapse onto the hard, unforgiving floor. I feel a sharp pain in my head as it strikes the ground, and then there’s nothing.

When I wake up, I am lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by blinding white walls and beeping machines. A man is sitting beside me, his face etched with worry. Who is he?

“Rayne, oh, thank God,” he murmurs, his hand squeezing mine tightly. “Are you okay?”

I groan, my head throbbing with pain. “Who are you, and why am I here?” I croak.

His face has confusion written all over it. “I’m Leonard, your fiancé,” he says, trying to press a remote.

“You fainted in the police station. You hit your head, but the doctors say you will be all right. They also ran a couple of tests to determine why you fainted and…Rayne love, I know this is not the best time to tell you this, but you…you’re pregnant.”

The words hit me like a sledgehammer, and for a moment, I am too stunned to react.

“Wait, what? Pregnant? Police station? Where’s Mom?”

I look down at my hand, and a big diamond rock shines bright in my eyes.

Leonard’s face splits into a wide grin, and he leans in to kiss me gently.

“I’m going to be a dad,” he says softly. “We’re going to have a baby, Rayne. I have called your mom, and she is on her way, and Charlee is going to have a brother that she will grow up with if it is the last thing I do.”

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips despite my aching heart and confusion about the situation. A tiny, helpless life is growing inside of me…it’s overwhelming, but at the same time, it fills me with a fierce sense of hope.

A female doctor who introduces herself as a neurologist alongside the chief of staff and a resident comes in around 6 pm. They do a series of checks after

Leonard tells them I don’t recognize him. The neurologist asks for an MRI, CT, and scans. She reports it may be temporal memory loss, something she calls TGA, that can last for several hours. But to be sure, she runs the tests.

After all of the scans are done, I am starting to feel tired again. Leonard tries to get me to eat a little before I sleep. It is almost 9 pm when I finish my last bite. I decided to rest my head.

Soon after, I wake up sweating and palpitating. In my dream, I see the face of a child. Who is she? I tap Leonard, who is sleeping in a seat beside my bed. If he is my fiancé, he should know who she is. He stirs awake before jumping up, terrified.

“Rayne, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” I say calmly. “I saw a 5-year-old girl in my sleep. Who is she?” I ask.

“Your daughter,” he whispers. “You should rest, baby. We will talk about it when you wake up in the morning,” he says, getting in bed and softly rubbing my face. This whole situation seems unbearable, and I could not imagine if I did not have Leonard here at my side.

I fall asleep for a little while, but my eyes are closed before the memory of the child returns. My heart sinks into a deep hole.

“She’s still missing,” I say, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.

Leonard tightens his grip on me.

“We’ll find her, Rayne,” he promises. “I won’t stop until she is brought back to us. I’ll find her with everything I have. I promise.”

We lie there in silence for a few moments, lost in our thoughts. I am still grappling with the news of pregnancy, while Leonard is no doubt struggling with uncertainty and fear of not knowing where Charlee is or what’s happening to her.

By daybreak, the doctor comes in to check on me. She confirms it is TGA, gives me a clean bill of health, and advises me to take it easy for the next few days.

Leonard and I make our way out of the hospital later in the afternoon, Leonard’s arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. I can’t help feeling a

sense of bittersweetness. How can I enjoy the news of my pregnancy? All these years, I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to conceive again after Charlee,

thanks to the complications with her birth. But this is not a time to celebrate. Charlee is missing. Or rather, Reece has her. Somewhere. I can’t help but wonder if

---