Chapter 62

Olivia

It was only a few days after the luncheon that the morning sickness finally began. For weeks, I woke up every morning feeling incredibly ill. The relentless waves of nausea left me unable to eat anything, and I worried about the well-being of my baby.

Nathan kept insisting that I go to the doctor, but I refused every time.

“It’s just morning sickness,” I would tell him as I was wiping the sweat from my forehead. “It’ll pass. I read online that it kicks in right about now and can last for a while.”

“Yeah, but you should still get checked out,” Nathan insisted. “You look like you’ve lost weight. I’m getting worried about you and the baby.”

I had been trying harder to hold my tongue when it came to matters involving the baby, as my previous coldness surrounding Nathan not being the father only hurt him, and I was tired of arguing.

Finally, I told Nathan that I would go by the end of the week if the morning sickness didn’t improve at all.

It was Friday morning, and I was lying on the couch after hardly being able to sleep all night. Nathan was acting like a saint, bringing me trash cans to throw up in when I didn’t feel like I could get up and dabbing my forehead with a damp washcloth.

Suddenly, however, I heard a knock on the door.

“Nathan, could you get that?” I called out weakly.

Nathan's footsteps approached the door. I heard the sound of hushed voices, which made me sit up and peer over at the living room doorway curiously. Just moments later, he returned with Jenifer.

“Jenifer!” I exclaimed. I stood suddenly, which made my head reel and caused me to sit back down abruptly. “Sorry… I’ve been having a hell of a time with morning sickness.”

“I know,” Jenifer replied, holding up what was in her hands. It was a crockpot. “Nathan told me. I brought you some soup.”

Instantly, I remembered Maria’s awful soup. Was she sending Jenifer now to deliver that horrid stuff since Nathan banned her from coming to the house?

Noticing my concerned expression, Nathan let out a laugh. “It’ll be fine, Olivia,” he said. “My mom didn’t make it this time. Jen made it, and trust me when I say that she’s an amazing cook.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘amazing’,” Jenifer interjected, “but it is a medicinal recipe from my old clan. It was something that we always used for expecting mothers when they were having bouts of morning sickness. It’ll be gentle on your stomach, and I can guarantee that you won’t be nauseous when you’re done.”

Jenifer normally made me uncomfortable, but there was something genuine in her large eyes today. Finally, with a deep breath, I nodded and stood. I followed Jenifer to the kitchen, where she plugged the crockpot in and stirred it while it heated up.

“Here you go,” she said a few minutes later, setting a bowl of the aromatic soup down in front of me.

The aroma of the soup filled the room, and it did smell different from the last one. I peered warily down at it, my eyes wandering over the pieces of juicy chicken floating in the creamy broth, and the colorful vegetables poking out.

“It smells delicious,” I murmured.

Jenifer nodded. “Try it.”

Tentatively, I took a small sip. I was expecting the worst, but to my surprise, it was absolutely delicious.

"It's good!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening in surprise. "It’s, like… Really good!"

Jenifer chuckled, seeming relieved. "I'm glad you like it. It's always been a hit with my family, and it's full of nutrients. Hopefully, it will help with the morning sickness."

I couldn't stop myself from devouring the entire pot of soup. It was as if my body had been craving the nourishment all along.

As I finished the last spoonful, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. A few minutes later, I was walking Jenifer over to the front door. My body was no longer shaking, and the nausea was long gone already.

“Thank you so much, Jenifer,” I said in the doorway, feeling stronger already. “You were right; I don’t feel nauseous at all now.”

“No problem,” she replied as she stepped out onto the porch. “I can come back tomorrow with some more, if you want.”

I nodded profusely, but then felt embarrassed by my eagerness and blushed a bit. “You don’t need to go out of your way if you’re busy, but it would be very nice of you,” I said, smiling.

“It’s nothing.”

She smiled, but there was something odd about it, something that gave me a lingering feeling of unease. Nevertheless, I brushed it aside, attributing it to my overactive imagination due to the pregnancy hormones.

As Jenifer left, I waved her goodbye, feeling grateful for her thoughtfulness.

“See?” Nathan asked once the door was closed and we were alone once more. “You should know by now that Jen would never do anything to make you sick or hurt you.”

I turned around to see Nathan standing there with a cheeky smirk on his face and his arms folded across his chest as he leaned on the wall.

“Alright, alright,” I admitted, raising my hands in surrender as I felt my face flush red. “You win. I’m sorry for doubting your sister.”

Nathan simply chuckled, and walked away.

For the rest of the day, I felt as though my energy had finally returned. I even felt healthy enough to get some housework done, and finally finished the book that I had been putting off reading since I had gotten sick.

However, that night, my stomach began to churn with intense pain as I laid awake. It felt unlike anything I had experienced before.

Groaning, I clutched my stomach and crawled out of bed to the bathroom. I made it just in time before the vomit came pouring out.

Damn morning sickness, I thought to myself as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and leaned back against the wall as I sat on the floor.

I knew that morning sickness was a bit of a misnomer, as the nausea caused by early pregnancy could come at any time during the day. But all day, I felt so amazing after eating that soup. I didn’t feel nauseous at all.

Suddenly, as I sat there, I felt a distinct cramp in my abdomen that caused me to cry out in pain.

I clamped my hand over my mouth, my eyes widening as I clutched my stomach with my other hand.

This wasn’t morning sickness. This horrid cramp was something else.

Before I could even react, more vomit came bubbling up. I must have thrown up two or three more times in the span of ten minutes; I eventually lost count.

It got to the point where, just when I thought that it was over and that the contents of my stomach had officially been emptied, bile started coming up. I felt as though my throat was going to come out next, and I would die right there on the bathroom floor.

The cramps didn’t stop, either. Finally, I knew that something was seriously wrong.

Somehow, I managed to climb to my feet, gripping the bathroom wall for stability as I tried to quell the urge to vomit again.

Groaning, I stumbled down the hall until I came to Nathan's door. Without hesitation, I began to pound on the door with urgency. “Nathan! Please, I need your help. Something's not right.”