After Divorce, She Bloomed

He was ignoring her. That was the first impression Serene got after Ethan had somehow become distance towards her for the past few days.

He rarely picked her calls or texted back. Each time they met up, he'd also be absentminded, in a world of his own, pondering about something.

And to make things worse, every time she tried to ask him what was wrong, he'd simply brush it off and tell her it was the stress from work getting to him.

Lies, She knew something was wrong, but since she wasn't a hundred percent sure, she decided not to pry.

But as things carried on like that for a day or two, Serene could no longer bare it and after long nights of pondering, she came to a conclusion; the cause of Ethan's sudden attitude change had to be his incompetent wife, Vanessa. But what exactly had she done to make Ethan change so much?

Serene couldn't tell, so here she was today, checking herself into Highland Hospital, the very same hospital that Ethan had promised would be theirs the moment he divorces Vanessa.

As one of the nurses took her to a medical room, Serene examined the interior of her soon to be property. Unlike other hospitals in the area, Highland wasn't all that big, but just like it's reputation, the facilities were top notch and the medical personnel were all competent.

Serene was more than pleased with this, even becoming ecstatic at the thought of it belonging to she and Ethan soon.

"Doctor Howard will be here shortly, please be patient," The nurse informed her with a kind smile as she checked her into one of the hospital rooms and Serene responded with a nod of her head.

"Thank you."

Alone, Serene pulled out her phone and texted Ethan.

[Hey Babe, how's work today?Wanna meet up later?]

While she waited for his reply, the door behind her slid open and she heard footsteps entering.

"Hello, my name is Lorraine Howard, and I'll be treating you."

She turned around and came face to face with a beautiful blonde lady in a doctor's coat.

She instantly recognized her as the face of the hospital, Lorraine Howard, from all interviews she had seen online.

"Ah, Hello Ms. Howard," Serene stood up and greeted her, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is-"

"Serene Vans." Lorraine interrupted her.

Serene was taken aback, not only by the fact that Lorraine knew her name, but also because of how serious the aura around her way. "Y-you know?"

Realizing her mistake, Lorraine quickly masked her expression, putting on a professional smile.

"Of course I do," She raised the clipboard in her hand, containing the patient's information.

"What type of doctor would I be if don't?"

"Oh," Serene breathed out in sudden relief. "You're right."

Lorraine gave a curt nod and gestured towards the bed.

"How about you seat, I'll run some tests on you."

With a nod, Serene sat down as Lorraine asked her a few basic questions and checked her pulse, among other things.

"Everything seems normal." She announced and then went ahead to draw some blood, handing the sample to her assisting nurse.

"Please run some blood work on this sample."

"Yes, Doctor Howard." The nurse said and left. A few minutes later, she came back with the result in hand, handing it to Lorraine.

"Here's the result, Doctor Howard."

Lorraine collected it. "Alright Ms.

Vans, your blood test result, shows that you're healthy and.." She

Suddenly paused and the expression on her face darkened.

...pregnant?"

At her words, Serene's heart stopped beating for a moment and she couldn't help but gape.

"P-pregnant?" She asked as the corners of her lips slowly pulled up.

"I'm pregnant?" The happiness of evident in her voice, which only grew at the thought of telling Ethan.

"This...this is good news!" She exclaimed happily, her hand finding her stomach and rubbing soothing circles around it.

At this point, Serene's words were like water running off a duck's back.

Lorraine could barely hear her. All she could think of was how, her friend was once again about to experience betrayal at the hands of Ethan and his mistress.

And the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

These bastards really had the audacity to rub more salt into Vanessa's wound!

"Ms. Howard, is everything alright?"

Her assistant nurse's voice snapped her out of her trance and she took a look at the young woman's concerned face, before flashing her a tight lipped smile.

"I'm fine," She lied, turning back to face Serene who was wrapped up in her own fantasy to even notice the deadly aura that had started oozing out of her a little while ago.

Keep it cool, Lori, she reminded herself before she could do anything drastic, hands tightening around the result she was holding.

One wrong move and you could mess up Vanessa's plans, she thought.

Right now, all you need to do is be a friend and support her. "Great news indeed Ms. Vans," She forced a smile.

"The father would be ecstatic to hear this."

"You're right!" Serene's smile widened, her eyes lighting up like a child's. "I can't wait to tell him!

We've been dreaming of having a child together since we got together."

"Is that so?" Lorraine mused quietly, trying her best to not snap up from her seat and claw the bitch's eyes out.

"Hanny's always wanted kids. He's going to be so happy when I tell him, In fact," She looked down at her watch.

"It's already lunch break. I should hurry up and meet him. Thank you Doctor Howard, 'll come visit the hospital again next week."

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a stack of cash and placed it on the bed as payment.

"Goodbye now."

Without waiting for a response, she had gotten up and skipped off happily just in time, missing the way the pen in Lorraine's hands had snapped. Once Serene had settled in her car, she found her phone and decided to call Ethan.

He'd be excited to hear this news, she thought as she dialed his number and waited for it to be answered.

Seconds later, the line was answered and with a big smile on her lips, she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hanny, I have good news! I'm-

"Before she could finish, Ethan's cold voice interrupted her. "Serene," She froze upon hearing how serious he sounded. Не sounded nothing like the man who usually made love to here while whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

It frightened her as much as it confused her.

"What…..what is it?" She tentatively asked, but sure as hell wasn't ready for Ethan's next words.

"I have a question for you and I want you to be fucking honest with me. Did you tell anyone about our relationship?"