Susana winced in pain as another sharp ache pierced through her lower abdomen, and a quick glance at her body made her tense up, a wave of panic rising when she saw the fabric of her clothes beginning to stain with blood. To avoid alarming her mother again, she tried to rise on her own, bracing herself with one hand against the wall and getting to her knees, but another excruciating pain seized her, and she couldn't stop herself from moaning loudly.
"Susana?" Teresa heard a moan from afar and quickly wiped her hands on the kitchen towel she had on the counter. She looked down the hallway and hastened her steps, calling out again to her daughter. "Susana, are you okay?" She didn't receive a response, but her tension spiked at the sight of her daughter sprawled on the floor. "What happened?"
"I... I think I had a fainting spell." Susana quickly pressed her hand to her stained dress, trying to hide it from her mother's notice.
"My daughter..." Teresa turned ashen, as white as the flour she'd just been using, seeing her child on the ground. She rushed over, helping Susana back up to her bedroom and onto the bed. "Now that you're in the final stage..." she faltered, filled with trepidation to utter those words. Deep down, she was both eager and nervous about the impending moment of meeting her grandchild. "You need to take even greater care."
"I know, mom..." Susana took a deep breath sitting up on the bed, attempting to look fine although the pain hadn't fully subsided, and she was unsure how much the bleeding had stopped. "I just need a little rest..."
"I see..." Teresa sighed skeptically; her daughter always agreed with her advice but seldom acted on it. Pulling up the blanket, she helped her daughter stretch out on the bed but immediately froze at the sight of the stained dress. "You're bleeding?" Staring at Susana with wide eyes, she commanded, "Don't move!" Teresa swiftly grabbed her phone. "I'm calling an ambulance."
"Wait, mom..." Susana called out, somewhat embarrassed. "Help me change first."
"Is this really the time to worry about that?" Teresa yelled back hysterically, not even looking behind her.
"My baby... what do you think you're doing?" Susana questioned her belly as if expecting an answer. "I know we're both excited to meet for the first time." With tears in her eyes, she whispered, "You need to grow a bit more in there. It's too early for you to come into this world."
"All right..." Teresa reappeared in the bedroom, out of breath, with a coat on her arm and a purse. "They'll be here in ten minutes." She gazed fearfully at her daughter's pale face, aware that losing blood was dangerous, especially if the child was already drawing nutrients within the womb; anemia could mean her daughter might not withstand labor. "Are you still having contractions?"
"No..." Susana sat up a little, noticing the pain had lessened. "I don't think so..."
"Then I'll wait outside..." Teresa said firmly, helping her daughter to lay back down. "The paramedics can help faster if they don't have to search for the house."
When Teresa reached the front door, she immediately stood on the front step, looking around for any sign of the ambulance she had called, pacing anxiously and glancing at her phone until she suddenly bumped into something.
"Mrs. Teresa, how are you?" A feminine and coy voice immediately filled the air.
"Nicole?" Teresa narrowed her eyes instantly, staring at the insincere woman before her. "What are you doing here?"
"My goodness, Mrs. Teresa, you act as though you've seen a monster." Nicole feigned disappointment at her words.
"It's almost that." Teresa muttered under her breath, eyeing Nicole with disdain.
"I have so much admiration for you..." Nicole pulled Andre's arm, adding with a smile, "We even came to deliver an invitation to our wedding."
"What?" Susana suddenly appeared, completely bewildered as she faced the couple before her. "You really have to be quite deceitful."
"Susana!!!" Teresa immediately turned her back on Nicole, ignoring both her and her companion. With a sigh of frustration, she faced her daughter. "I told you to stay in bed."
"You don't have to be so harsh..." Nicole huffed, looking to Andre for support, but he simply looked confusedly at Susana. Sighing, she disregarded her apathetic boyfriend. "We just came to bring our wedding invite..." She smiled broadly, a triumphant expression on her face. "After all... we've known each other for so long... and the past is the past, right?"
"No, it's not!!!" Susana clenched her teeth, looking from Nicole to Andre.
"Susana, it's not worth it…" Teresa grasped her daughter's shoulders, immediately noticing neighbors peeking through their windows, some even crowding around to see what was happening. "She just wants to provoke us..."
"Look, Susana." Nicole huffed, raising her voice so everyone could hear. "If you're upset because you don't know who the father of your child is..." She crossed her arms as though ready to annihilate her opponent. "Andre is not to blame... he's just another victim in this story."
"My God!!!" Teresa instantly flushed red, as no one had yet posed uncomfortable questions about her pregnant daughter, but now with the commotion starting, they would surely never have peace again.
"I'm sorry, mom..." Susana looked troubled by her mother's expression; she never intended to put her in such a position. Standing confidently and cradling her round belly, she took firm but slow steps forward as the pain began to return. "This was really unnecessary..." She snatched the wedding invitation from Nicole's hands, finally facing Andre. "I sincerely hope you know what you're doing... and that you find happiness."
"Come..." Teresa immediately ushered her daughter off the street as the ambulance arrived and the paramedics emerged with a stretcher.
"Susana is bleeding?" Andre paled at the sight of his former love's dress stained with splashes of red.
"So what?" Nicole snapped, uncrossing her arms in surprise. "You're worried about her... after everything she did to you?"
"It's not that..." Andre stammered, trying to hide his concern. "I would feel empathy even for a stranger..."
"Really!?" Nicole growled, clearly unconvinced by her fiance’s words. "I think coming here wasn't a good idea..." She immediately dragged him away, clutching his arm harshly.
"It was your idea..." Andre sighed as he seated himself in the passenger's side.
"I know..." Nicole grumbled, inserting the key into the ignition of her sports car.
Nicole drove off in silence but restless; she had always thought Andre held animosity towards Susana. Now, she harbored doubts. That woman couldn't triumph now, especially since she was at the end of her pregnancy. After everything Nicole had achieved, there was no way she was going to lose him, not now... not when she was just weeks away from finally having what she so ardently desired...
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