Page 69 of The Wife Deception
My head began to throb again. The room spun. I felt my balance tilt, and I tried to rectify it, but I stumbled. Nolan, Carey, and pretty much everyone were staring at me now. Nolan said something, but it sounded muffled. Then he took a step forward, coming towards me as I saw myself come closer to the floor. The last thing I felt was Nolan's chest behind me as my vision faded to black.
36
Aire
Iwoke up in a foreign bed. A foreign room, I realized as my vision became steady. The bed I lay on top of was soft and comfortable, but the springy mattress made me feel like I was sinking into a sandpit. Events of how I got here filtered through my mind. I remember being at a party, Ivy's baby shower, and then falling into Nolan's arms. This room must be one of Ivy's guest rooms. The dizziness was still there, but I was no longer feeling that dull ache in my head. Nolan was sitting on a chair next to the bed and when I turned on my side to face him, he got up and placed a hand on my shoulder, gently pushing me back onto the bed.
"You need to rest. Ivy's calling the doctor. She'll be here soon."
"I'm fine. How long was I out?"
"About thirty minutes."
"I'm fine." I repeated and sat up against Nolan's protests. The room spun as I got into a sitting position.
"The doctor will be here any moment." Was that worry etched on Nolan's face? He looked like he had aged years in a day.
"And I am telling you, I don't need one."
Nolan raised his eyebrows. "Do you often faint? Is that a normal occurrence for you?"
I adjusted myself again when I felt another bout of dizziness and leaned my head against the headboard. "No. I must have not eaten enough today or something."
He frowned. "You threw up earlier." Recalling the morning.
Before I could launch into another protest, a soft rap sounded on the door and Nolan went to open it. A woman in a doctor's coat, a stethoscope around her neck, and a white Gladstone bag came in.
"Hi, I'm doctor Miller," she said, shaking Nolan's hand. "Is that the patient?" She nodded in my direction.
"Yes," Nolan said, "Come on in."
She strolled over to the bedside. Her disarming smile made me relax but not enough to take my guard down.
"I heard you fainted," she asked.
"It's nothing, really."
"I think it's better if we make sure," Nolan interjected.
Reluctantly I consented. She sat down next to me and took several tests, including blood pressure and glucose levels. My glucose levels were normal for what I had eaten, but my blood pressure was high. Probably because I was pregnant, but I didn't tell her that. Not with Nolan present.
"I don't see anything amiss," the doctor said when she finished the checks.
Nolan thrust his hands in his pockets. "She threw up in the morning."
Doctor Miller raised her eyebrows. "Was it something you ate?"
"I don't know, probably."
"Could be the milk." Nolan rambled. "Food poisoning, maybe."
I leaned into Nolan's suggestion. "Yes, maybe that."
But the doctor didn't seem to buy that explanation. "Are you two sexually active?"
Nolan nodded. I was too scared to respond.
"Maybe you're pregnant," she said. "We could do a pregnancy test..."Doctor Miller stopped talking when she saw the way my face probably drained. I glanced at Nolan. His demeanor changed as he took in what Doctor Miller was suggesting.
