Love Unspoken
Chapter 48
Quinn found herself staring at her now-empty suitcase, its contents reduced to a mere handful of undergarments. A wry smile tugged at her lips as she chose silence over protest. The woman who had just left had no idea that the few pieces of clothing she’d just acquired could have covered the down payment for a decent apartment.
However, Quinn’s mind was not preoccupied with clothes. Her thoughts were consumed by the child growing inside her.
It was only after the woman had departed that Quinn summoned the strength to visit a doctor. The local clinic was unimpressive, a simple two-story building where the first floor served as the outpatient area and the second housed infusion and inpatient care. With only five doctors working in shifts, it was far from bustling.
Finding no other patients around, Quinn quietly knocked and entered the consultation room. The doctor looked up in surprise. He recognized her from the previous night when she had been rushed in, causing him and his colleagues to work overtime. The initial plan was to transfer her to a larger hospital, but with no next of kin, she ended up being treated here.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, sliding a pen and paper across the table toward her.
Quinn picked up the pen and wrote, “Doctor, how is my baby?”
After reading her note, the doctor hesitated before answering, “Well, your baby’s been a fighter, but the pregnancy is at risk. Even if we manage to save it, you’re likely to face complications, possibly even a miscarriage.” He paused, then added, “My advice is to consider a termination for both your well-being and the baby’s.”
Quinn was torn between relief that her child was still alive and distress at the doctor’s words. She wrote
again, “Why?”
Patiently, the doctor explained, “The fetus isn’t developing well, which could be related to your lifestyle and diet and the recent stress. Honestly, it’s better to deal with it now than suffer more down the road if
it has to be done later.”
Quinn bit her lip, taking a moment before responding. She didn’t immediately agree with the doctor. Everything she had done was for this child, her beacon of hope. If she was meant to lose the baby, she wouldn’t have risked everything the night before. She would rather perish alongside her child.
The doctor continued to persuade her, but Quinn wrote one final line on the paper, “I want to keep it.”
The doctor frowned, “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you? If you decide to keep it, the suffering will be on
you.”
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Neve