Twelve
Nine months later…
JANIS
I faced up with my back lying on the hospital bed. I was wear, my weak eyes were fixed on the ceiling that seemed to spin in my orbs.
I was weak from pushing the baby from my womb, the pain was so excruciating, I almost gave up the ghost. My body and soul were engrossed with so much agony. Perhaps I wasn’t fit to bare a child yet but at last I give birth to my child safe and sound. I can’t lift a muscle or blink an eyelid because every part of my body was in pains.
Multiple sweat beads coated my forehead and heat radiated off my body.
My chest heaved frantically with each breath I took and I tried so hard not to pass out as a result of exhaustion.
“How are you feeling now?” the nurse who assisted the who doctor during labour walked up to me and placed her hands on my head.
“That baby almost claimed her life, she was almost about to give up” another nurse murmured to her colleague in the ward.
“I’m so glad she birthed the child successfully, the doctor had to call alot of nurses to assist because her case was very severe” she added with a warm smile.
“You grew weak by the second and your screams were faint, if the baby wasted another minute in your womb, we would have lost you both” the first nurse said to me, caressing my already ruffled up hair.
“Where’s my baby?” I whimpered, struggling to get up to. As if on cue, the doctor walked in and everybody at the ward tried to calm me down.
“Ma’am you need to rest”
“Please calm down”
“You still need energy to rise ma’am”
“The baby is under our care, we’ll bring him to you”
Hearing those words from everyone calm me down, I took a deep breath and loosed my body to the bed.
“It’s a boy?” I questioned whilst holding the doctors hand.
“Yes it’s a boy” his cheeks plumped a smile.This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
I let out a sigh and closed my eyes for a brief moment.
“Janis” Stravis uttered whilst walking towards me, she smiled and attempted to embrace me whilst I laid exhausted on the bed.
“I hope you’re feeling better” she added, caressing my cheek.
“Yes I am thank you” I gave a weary smile and rested my back.
“I hope labour wasn’t too painful?” She inquired with a glint in her eyes.
“You will get to experience it soon and find out for yourself” I teased her with a shallow chortle escaping my parched lungs.
“Please bring my son I want to see him” I drafted my attention towards the medical practitioners.
The minute I gave birth to him, I fell to the bed. Almost unconscious, it seemed as though all my energy dried up with an unexplainable level of pain saturated over my body.
“Get him” the doctor ordered one of the nurses.
Quickly she rushed out and in a few minutes she was back with my baby in her arms, covered with a blanket.
I raised my hands to grab hold of my baby, thereafter the nurses helped me to sit upright.
I looked at my handsome son, he was clean and fine. His hazel eyes twinkled, they were small and perfect, his nose and ears were small too.
What would I name him? I want to give him a unique and a beautiful name that would make him stand out.
I looked into his eyes and the name; Jerome echoed in my thoughts. I loved it the minute it came to my mind.
“I’ll name you…. Jerome” at the mention of the name he giggled so cutely in my arms.
Staring at him made me feel so nostalgic, I smiled and kissed his forehead. I still can’t believe I gave birth to this child at the end of the day. If I was told that I would bear a child whose father was unidentifiable, I wouldn’t believe it. I made sure to be careful when I slept with men but this was the first time I became careless.
I don’t regret giving birth to this child, I already love him so much and I’m going to groom him and train him to become a great person in years to come. With or without his father I would make sure to give him a good future.
“Let me get you some provisions so you could use them” Janis said before walking out of the ward and probably out of the hospital.
“Here let me take the child” a nurse offered, reaching out to me with outstretched arms and I handed the child over to her.
“Please take care of Jerome” I reminded her.
“Ok ma’am”
“In the meantime take this ok, it’ll give you energy and make you feel alot better. I know you are tired and still weary so you need to take this” the doctor handed a cup to me.
“What’s this?” I questioned.
“This is modafinil, it would give you energy and make you feel better” he answered.
“Just take it first while your sister goes home to bring things for you to eat” he added with a nod.
I took the cup from his hands and gulped down the medicine. It had a sweet taste but the aftermath taste was the opposite although it wasn’t excessive.
After taking it, I laid back on the bed and in two heartbeats I was already fast asleep.
******
Jax Pov
It was still difficult to completely assimilate what that young private investigator had said to me months ago, I pondered about it everyday.
Not a day passed without his words crossing into my mind.
I still can’t believe that my father is the Leo Storms.
Really Leo Storms!
Leo Storms was one of the richest business tycoons in the city, his name spreads across the country. He was a well known business man.
I fucking can’t believe I and my mother fed from hand to mouth meanwhile I was the son of a freaking billionaire!
All that still felt so unreal to me.
I remembered the days mother struggled to feed me when I was just little. She would starve herself for me to eat and yet my father was a freaking billionaire enjoying his life elsewhere.
But that didn’t change the fact that I hated him so much. It was quite unbelievable to think that my father was a rich man, making so much money and enjoying his wealth alone while my mother and I suffered and go through perilous circumstances to make earns meet.
I would have driven down to see him and atleast get to know him. But the fact that he left us was enough to know that he was a selfish and heartless man nevertheless I was still a little eager to meet my father.
I was pleased to know who my father was but at the same time I wasn’t pleased to know he was alive enjoying so much wealth. If he hadn’t gone we wouldn’t suffer so much to feed to live a good life.
I’ve begged my mother severally. I begged her to let me go and visit him but she refused each and everytime I begged her. I couldn’t help but hide my curiosity, it was almost tempting to go against my mother’s wishes but I’ll have to obey her.
If she says no, then she has a good reason for saying so. Perhaps he wasn’t a good person and that’s something I know of him.
My excitement and enthusiasm to see my father faded away as a result of the fact that I hated him so much and my mother’s disapproval of him.
It’s time I do away with the news and continue my life the way it is. If my father really cared he would have stayed. Why should I care if he doesn’t care? He isn’t as honourable as they say he is. If only the media knew what he did, they would immediately have him on their tongues for month and people would dislike him. Only an irresponsible person would abandon their wife and child.
It was another cold evening. I sat at the bar sipping an orange juice, it was almost time to get to work so I stood up and attempted to walk out of the bar when my ears welcomed a common name; Janis. I found interest in the conversation so I took a sit around the corner and began to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Yes I heard the same thing too. The eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Walter has just put to bed”
“She was rushed to the hospital at six am this morning. You need to see the crowd that rushed to her beck and call. Well the perks of the rich am I right Dan” the second man said.
“Wow. I heard she is still at the hospital now Jeff. I was told that she almost died today but she is still alive. Imagine if she did die. All the fucking wealth the Walter’s had would go to Stravis” the one named Dan replied.
“But you’re aware that she’s a single mother right? The press hasn’t said anything about the father of her child so everyone is still waiting to hear from him or atleast see him” Jeff said.
Janis is really a strong woman if you ask me and very different from her sister, she managed to give birth to that baby after nine hours in the labour room” Dan praised her.
“Yeah she really is a strong woman” Jeff concurred with a roll of his eyes.
“Is the child a boy or a girl?”
“According to what I heard she gave birth to a boy” Jeff replied.
“And what’s his name?” Dan inquired.
“His name hasn’t been disclosed yet but they are been taken care of at the hospital as we speak”
What if the child is mine? What if Janis got pregnant for me?
“I was also told that miss Janis Walter doesn’t know who the father of her child is” Jeff added dropping the bomb.
“I don’t think I’m surprised, she sleeps with numerous men she must have given herself to one of those lowlife men on the street who had nothing else to offer than sex in exchange for money. So I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the father is one of those men” Dan unapologetically said.
Those words hit me so hard, my blood boiled in rage. I was on the verge of walking over to them to bruise their mouths. What the fuck!
How dare they speak so bad about someone they don’t know?!
I couldn’t contain my anger so I stormed out of the bar and into my car.