Caleb smiled and said nothing before leaving.
I lay on the bed for the whole morning. After the doctor came in to brief me on things to take note of and taking my medicine, I was discharged from the hospital.
Stacey was waiting for me at the hospital entrance. She helped me into the car as I looked at her and said, “Please come up with something so that Rebecca knows I’ve had an abortion.”
She nodded, started the car and sent me back to the villa.
Ashton was not around. I sent Stacey back to the office. There was nothing much I could do since I had just been discharged from the hospital. So, I fell asleep on the bed.
However, before I drifted off, I heard the sound of an engine humming downstairs. I walked over to the balcony and saw Ashton and Jared.
Just as I thought, Ashton did not even cast me a second glance. He was just calling Jared here to check on me.
I got on the bed. Jared came in with his kit. At the sight of me, he titled his brows. He motioned for me to let him check my pulse.
“Have you brought the medicine I asked for?”
He looked at me and said, “Your cover-up plan is brilliant.”
I kept mum and he checked my pulse, taking some medicine out of his kit, and said, “These are all medicine to keep the baby healthy. If you eat these regularly and there’s no mishap, the baby should be just fine.”
Jared went downstairs afterward. I swapped out the medicine that Jared gave me with the ones I brought back from the hospital.
Then, I lay on the bed again. I had to take at least a week to fully recover from the miscarriage. There was no problem with dragging Caleb’s project for a week. However, it would feel like hell to stay at the villa for one whole week.
I thought Ashton’s fury would subside after he met up with Rebecca, and that it would take him only a while to move on from it all.
What I did not know was the fight between him and I was just about to start.
There were not many people in the villa. Ashton did not come back because he was still mad about the abortion. Well, I was actually quite pleased not having him around.
I stayed in for the whole day to keep up with my act, and would ask for Stacey’s help when I needed anything.
Soon, it was already afternoon. After Stacey placed everything in the fridge, she walked over to my side and said, “Ms. Stovall, the balance payment from Medwin Hospital has been pending for a number of days, and the Finance Department has called in a few times to check on it. Do you think you should make a call to Dr. Ludwick?”
I had a few bites of durian but could not stand the fruit’s strong smell and threw it into the trashcan. Stacey was still standing beside me. I gestured for her to take a seat, wiped my hands, and said, “How many days has it been pending at Dr. Ludwick’s end?”
“About two to three days.” She paused before continuing, “It’s not really about how long the payment has been pending. It’s just that the amount involved is quite considerable. The money has been earmarked for a new market development project of the company. Now that the payment has been delayed, it might affect the profit of the company for the next quarter.”
I nodded. Fuller Corporation’s cash flow had been very dynamic. Any delay from our partners will, to a certain degree, affect our operations. The amount pending on Dr. Ludwick’s end was quite huge. Even if the money had not been earmarked for any investment, it would still make a handsome profit just by sitting in the bank alone.
I paused for a moment before saying, “Dr. Ludwick is a man of his word. I’ve been staying at home these few days and this has been thrown to the back of my mind. I will bear responsibility for this payment. Just give a heads up to the Finance Department. I will deal with this as soon as I’m back in the office.”
“Yes, Ms. Stovall.” She rose from her seat and headed for the kitchen to make me some food.
I looked at my phone and there was a text from Martha. “Mrs. Fuller, are you feeling better? Caleb has managed to settle his cash flow situation. We really need to thank you for this.”
It seemed like the problem had been resolved at Caleb’s end. So, I could technically head right back to work. After replying to her message, I gave Caleb a call to set a time for him to sign the project completion agreement after he had cleared his payments.
Stacey was done cooking by the time I made an appointment with Caleb. She had something on and had to leave, and so I did not insist for her to stay. “I think I have almost fully recovered, so you can stay in the office tomorrow. I’ve made an appointment with Dr. Ludwick, and I will get to the bottom of it tomorrow.”
She was worried as she looked at me. “Are you sure you’re alright? Don’t you have to at least rest for about two weeks after a miscarriage? It’s only been a few days, Ms. Stovall.”
I smiled. “I look fine, right? Besides, if I don’t settle this thing with Dr. Ludwick, this would have to drag on for a long time. How much losses would the company have to bear by then? By that time I won’t be only getting dead eyes from Ashton.”
There was no abortion in the first place. Things would go haywire if I just sit here and do nothing all day. Besides, my belly would only be getting bigger with each passing day. I would have to deal with a bigger problem if I did not draw the line with Ashton as soon as possible.
So, my only choice was to hurry up and settle everything before I could leave J City for good.
Stacey sighed and said, “Alright, but you have to take good care of your health.”
