Page 137 of Begin Again, Part 2

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" Eden frowned at him, unable to understand why he was spoiling for a fight.

"And you don't have to come with me. You need to focus on the meeting with Aleksei. I'll be okay," she added as she headed out.

"Where are you going?" Liam asked. "I thought we'd have lunch together?"

"I have a portfolio to update and a job to secure," she called over her shoulder.

By the time she polished her digital portfolio, it was almost time for her doctor's appointment. She grabbed her handbag and rushed off to take care of her little problem.

The office was the same, but the staff was different. The receptionist wasn't the bubbly, chubby, pink-haired girl who welcomed Eden into Dr Waylon's office two years ago and made her feel like she was family. No, this receptionist was haughty, and the longer Eden spoke to her, the more she made her feel like she was being a nuisance and irritating the hell out of her.

The nurse who took her vitals, a silent, speak-when-spoken-to type, was also new. She clucked her tongue, and shook her head at Eden's readings and measurements, but didn't say a word. She didn't have to. The grim look on her face as she pushed her inside the doctor's room did all the talking.

Eden's biggest shock yet came as soon as the door slammed behind her, and she came face to face with the beautiful, dark-haired woman with the sincerest brown eyes she'd ever seen.

She looked too young to be a doctor, but her white coat told Eden she'd better take her seriously. She didn't go to med school for eight years to be trifled with.

"Ms McBride?" said the doctor in a booming voice Eden would never have expected from someone so wispy-looking.

"That's me!" She picked up her hand like she was in class and immediately brought it down, wishing she could kick herself for acting like a dork.

"Please take a seat." Dr Waylon's partner or replacement waved at the unfamiliar-looking chair in front of the equally strange desk.

How could so much change in two years, and where was Dr Waylon?

"He's gone. It's been a year now. I miss him every day. I'm Dr Emily Waylon, but you can call me Emily."

Eden didn't realise she'd spoken her thoughts out loud until the doctor replied, and she was too afraid to ask what she meant by 'gone'. Did her favourite doctor retire? Or was he 'heaven' gone?

She didn't have to wonder long, the sorrowful look in the other woman's eyes hinted at the latter, and she was happy to fill her in. "He went to sleep and never woke up."

"I'm sorry," Eden said, and she genuinely meant it. She liked Dr Waylon. He was nice to her when her life was at the height of its messiness. He made her believe she'd handle being a single mom like a pro. Maybe that was why she'd sought him out today, so he could assure her she'd handle being a mom of two like a boss if it turned out science had failed her.

"Now, what can I do for you?" Emily asked and pulled the file closer, a frown marring her face as she looked through Eden's past medical records.

"I think I'm pregnant, but I shouldn't be, because I had an implant two years ago, and I don't know how this could have happened." Eden blurted out and spent the next eight minutes bringing the doctor up to speed on her horror two years ago.

Emily nodded patiently as she listened to her babble on, stopping her occasionally to get clarity on her first pregnancy.

"Okay, let's see what's going on," she said, and showed Eden to the bathroom to collect a urine sample.

Ten minutes later, Eden sat stewing in disappointment and blind hot rage when the doctor confirmed her worst fears. She was roughly six weeks along.

"Who do I sue for this?" she asked in a strangely calm voice. "I was told I wouldn't have to worry about an unwanted pregnancy for three years. They promised me...I have a user card at home with the date for my next scheduled visit!"

"I understand you're shocked, but you have to calm down. Stress isn't good for the baby. Your blood pressure is extremely high and a big concern for me right now—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Eden shrieked. "I did everything right! How did this happen?"

Emily explained that sometimes stuff happened, and things could go wrong with the insertion procedure. "My guess is the insertion failed."

"How? How does it fail?" Eden asked. "You mean I wasn't on the implant for two years like I thought? But I have a user card with my next date."

"We can do a physical exam to check if the implant is there," the doctor suggested.

Eden was all for her idea, and for fifteen minutes, she lay on the examination bed, counting the geometric shapes on the ceiling, while Emily prodded and poked her arm, searching for the plastic coil under her skin.

"Anything?" she asked when she was allowed to sit up again. "Did you find it?"

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