Veronica's POV
My head felt dizzy as I felt a throbbing pain in my stomach. I tried to feel, but a hand stopped me.
"Who?" I said trying to make out who held my hand as my vision was still blurred.
"It's me," he said in a soft voice. "Nicky. Don't touch your stomach."
"What happened?" I was confused. "I was—"
"I'm sorry," he said. "You got hurt cause of me, and and now I made you—"
"What's wrong with me?" I demanded in a trembling voice.
His face lost its color.
"What's the matter?" I said again. "Am I sick or—"
"No!" he said, holding my hand. "It's…that..it's…"
"Jonathan," I said in a weak voice. "You know me, I'm stronger than most think."
"I know," a tear rolled down his cheeks.
"The doctor said," he continued in calculated words, as if afraid to hurt me. "You had a silent rupture. This time when you bled, it was your uterus."
I clenched the blanket with one hand, recalling the nurse saying, 'it's good you have a daughter.
Did her words have anything to do with that?
"The doctor had to take the decision and remove it to stop the internal bleeding," he said in a low voice.
For a few seconds, I stared at him, trying to process the words.
Removal?
His words kept repeating in my mind over and over again. My mind was still fighting to understand what it meant. Slowly, my hand went over the place the dressing was. Something important to me was no longer part of my body.
For some odd reason it felt distant. Like it happened to someone else, and not me.
"No wonder, the sister said, 'it's good I have a daughter." I let out a laugh. "After all, according to them my husband is—"
"Mrs Rollings," the doctor said as entered came in, shocking me as no one called me that in ages.
"You'll have to be careful for a while." the doctor continued. "Don't get the stitches wet. And take your medications on time."
"Doctor," he said, concerned. "Will her life be affected?"
"No," he said. "Since Mrs Rollings is still young, the ovaries haven't been removed as that would have caused an early menopause. But with proper care, your wife should be able to have a normal life. And for the stab wound, the stitches may be painful in the winters. Pain killers are prescribed. Take as prescribed."
"Doctor," he said. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of my wife."
Another shock.
The man who wouldn't acknowledge me in public, not only allowed a man to call me his wife, he himself acknowledged me as his wife.
I had begged him for years to acknowledge me, but he never did.
Now, in this hospital room, where no one from his circle was here, he's recognizing me without hesitation.
The irony made me let out a laugh.
The next day, he came home on time, and even cared about me.
For a while, I thought, my life finally settled.
During the few days he was with me, he seemed to have changed.
He worried if I took my medicine. He made juice and cooked food for me. He even began to take care of Janet.
Watching the father-daughter together made my heart ache in a special way.
Finally, this was a home and no longer a house.
But one can't see dreams and live in the real world at the same time. And eventually one has to wake up from a dream and come back to reality.
A few days later a party was organized, and he was the host.
Nothing new to this.
But this time I wasn't the server, but a guest.
That was new.
I sat on the bed watching the gown he sent for me contemplating whether I should wear it or not. I couldn't get it out of my head.
Then the dress he sent for Janet saying she was going to be the limelight of the party.
Was he really going to tell everyone who I am, or is he playing another game?
My heart began to beat faster as a small foolish part of me hoped that today maybe he finally decided to acknowledge me in public as his wife. But my mind told me to stay grounded as how could he change overnight.
Eight years and no acknowledgement, and now–only one day?
The time came and the driver came to take me.
As I arrived with Janet clutching onto my skirt, I didn't know what to do.
I was going to go backdoor, but Jonathan came over and not only lifted Janet in his arm, escorted me to the center.
In the past, whenever there was a party hosted by him, I would be standing in the line with the waiters holding the tray of drinks.
But today, the same guests who didn't even notice I was serving, were now looking at me and smiling as Jonathan took me past them.
Some of them frowned in confusion, while some began to whisper. They couldn't understand the woman who used to serve drinks at the party, why was she dressed up.
The reason was tonight–
I was on the stage as the person in the limelight.
As we reached the stage, Imelda was already on-stage with Adrian beside her.
Jonathan left me standing at the center as he took Janet, still held in his arms, on-to the stage.
"Everyone," he spoke. "Thank you for taking time to attend this party at such short notice. Today, I have an announcement to make."
"I want to introduce to you all, Janet Rollings."
Everyone gasped in shock.
"She is…" his voice faded. I followed his eyes, and they stopped on Imelda's father, Frederick's face.
That was a surprise as Fredrick never attended these parties, especially the ones where Adrian was.
Jonathan swallowed something. What, I couldn't say.
Fear. Disappointment. Guilt.
He continued.
"I, Jonathan Rollings, have adopted Janet Smith as my daughter," he said with an unreadable face. "From today onwards she will be Janet Rollings."
I was clutching the side of my gown in anger, as everyone gasped.
He actually said he adopted his own daughter.
My nails dug into my palms as rage filled inside my chest. Janet was his biological child. His blood. Yet, in front of everyone he said he's adopting her.
I quickly went up and took Janet from him.
"No wonder the server is dressed today."
"Oh, look at the nerve of the server. It's the child's blessing Mr Rollings is adopting her."
"How can a mother actually not be grateful her child can live a better life."
"Now that's called rags to riches."
"Mr Jonathan," I finally spoke up. "My daughter doesn't need any charity. I can raise my daughter on my own."
"Nicky?" he said. He was going to come towards me, but Imelda stopped him.
"Jonathan, are you out of your mind?" she whispered into his ear. "You want to adopt Janet, fine. But Veronica? Dad will kill her."
Jonathan took a deep breath and stepped back.
"Veronica," he said. "The papers have been finalized, and you've signed them."
"Signed them? When did I sign any adoption papers?" I said.
Then I recalled Jonathan made me sign some papers at the hospital saying they were discharge papers.
Had I known.
"Janet is my daughter from today onwards. Speak ill of her, you're speaking ill of me."
"Janet will stay with her mother," he continued. "But I will take care of her as a father."
Everyone clapped as I swallowed my anger.
The applause was like a hundred bullets being fired. To them Jonathan looked like a generous man who just adopted the daughter of his dead bodyguard.
No one knew what me and Janet really were to him.
Fury was evident in my eyes, as he shifted his gaze from me.
And why would I not be furious, my daughter just got treated as a thing he took as charity.
After the party commenced, everyone left.
Including Jonathan.
As far as I knew, he left with Imelda and Adrian, as always.
I went back to my downtown apartment with Janet.
Compared to the dazzling mansion Jonathan lived in, our apartment was a small, and quiet place. It was the only place where no one whispered behind my back and no one looked at us with curiosity.
"Mommy," Janet asked as I was tucking her in bed. "What did dad—Mr Rollings mean by adopting me?"
"Honey, I don't want to say something as I really don't know." I said. "Why don't you sleep now."
As I came out of her room, I sighed as I really didn't know.
Can she now call him 'daddy' in public or not?
The question lingered in my mind long after I had turned the lights off. Tonight, something had changed between me and Jonathan, again forever. Whether this would bring us closer or increase the distance or would this destroy the little fragile bond we had left, at the present I had no idea.