Episode 19

The first glance.

Vivian.

The words Mr. Smith just uttered surprise me greatly. It's not that no one has ever told me that I'm beautiful before, it's more about the way he says it, his tone of voice, and his warm gaze that tell me he's being sincere, and that somehow makes me happy. I feel my cheeks burn from the compliment and I can't help but smile, feeling both embarrassed and grateful.

"Thank you," I say. "For what you just said, and also for wanting to help me, I really appreciate it," I comment, looking into his eyes. "I'll think about your ideas," I add, and he nods and smiles.

"Very well, think about it and give me an answer later," he says. I get up from the chair and give a nod.

"Permission to leave," I say.

I turn around and walk towards the door, feeling somewhat nervous, because I know he's watching me. When I step out of the office, I inhale and exhale deeply. I walk towards my desk and take a seat, Pamela is not at her place, I suppose she must be doing something ordered by the vice president.

"Which of Mr. Salvatierra's two ideas is better for me and my baby? Waiting to give birth in order to divorce Thomas is a good idea, although I don't think I can endure the months that are left. And who guarantees me that Mrs. Caroll won't come up with some trick to force me to stay married to Thomas? To be honest, the idea of disappearing seems better to me, but starting over in a new place scares me, and I also doubt that I'll be able to tell my mother where I'll be, as they could find me through her. I would have to look for a job in an unfamiliar place, where I most likely won't know the language. Although Mr. Salvatierra said he would help me settle in the new place, does that include a job and a place to live? I suppose. And on top of all this, can I afford to accept this man's help? Despite the fact that he's my boss and has been very kind to me so far, the truth is, I don't know him that well. What if he has bad intentions? Well, so far he has proven to be a gentleman, and he has never said anything that made me feel uncomfortable or disrespected. Although I have noticed that he looks at me with some interest.

"Vivian, Vivian," I snap out of my thoughts when I hear someone calling my name, and I look at Pamela.

"Yes, what is it?" I answer.

"You seemed quite distracted," she comments with a smile.

"Yes, sorry, I was thinking about something. What were you saying?"

"Did Mr. Salvatierra catch your attention?" she asks, and I nod.

"Yes, lately I've been very distracted, and I've made some mistakes," I comment and sigh. "But despite that, he was very kind," I say. She smiles and makes a gesture as if she knows something I don't.

"What does that gesture mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing," she comments while organizing some documents.

"Yeah, sure, nothing," I mutter. She continues with her smile and then gets up from her chair.

"I just noticed that Mr. Salvatierra is... Let's say... attentive to you," she comments as she walks towards the vice president's office.

I say nothing and look at the screen of my computer. Well, she's right, but he's like that with everyone, right?

Oh no, Vivian, don't think about nonsense! Better focus on your work and stop overthinking.

With that thought, I decide to start being the attentive and capable Vivian once again.

"Vivian Smith," the nurse announces. I stand up from my chair and make my way towards the gynecologist's office.

It has been two weeks since I found out that I am pregnant, and a week since Mr. Salvatierra proposed to me. Today, I am going to have my first prenatal check-up.

I enter the office and I am greeted by a woman in her early 40s, with a dark complexion and curly hair. She smiles at me and I return the gesture.

"Good morning, Vivian. I'm Sharon O'Brian. Thank you for choosing me as your doctor," she introduces herself and shakes my hand.

"It's nice to meet you, and well, Dr. Rubios spoke highly of you, so I didn't hesitate to choose you as my doctor," I say as I shake her hand.

"Well, please have a seat and tell me everything about your pregnancy so far," she says.

"Well, three weeks ago I started feeling discomforts like dizziness and nausea. I fainted and was taken to the hospital, where they discovered that I was 10 weeks pregnant. Two more weeks have passed since then, which means I am now 12 weeks pregnant. I hadn't realized I was pregnant because my period has been coming normally. Is that normal?" I ask, and she nods.

"Yes, some women continue to menstruate until the fifth month of pregnancy. I assume the amount of flow has decreased compared to before?" she asks, and I nod.

"The doctor advised me to have an ultrasound to check on the fetus," I finish, and she nods.

"Well, I'm going to send you for some routine tests, including hemoglobin, blood sugar, and tests for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases," she informs me, and I nod. "In addition to that, I'm going to prescribe some vitamins for you to take during pregnancy," she says as she quickly types on the computer. After a few seconds, she stands up and walks towards a table with a screen, along with a machine. "I need you to lie down here," she says. I get up from the chair, leaving my bag on it, and walk towards the table. With the help of the steps, I climb onto the table and lie down. "Lift up your shirt a bit and also lower your skirt," she instructs. I do as she says while she turns on the machine and applies a transparent gel on my belly. She then starts moving a device that looks like a massager over my belly. She moves it in various directions and I keep my eyes on the screen.

"There it is."

Tears fall as I am able to distinguish my baby on the screen. I can see their little head and part of their body.

"Apparently, everything looks good. It has a good formation and measures approximately five or six centimeters, which is normal," she says.

"Do we still not know if it's a boy or a girl?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"No," she responds. The doctor puts the device back on the machine, hands me some papers, and cleans the gel off my belly.

After that, she weighs me to track the baby's weight progress. I leave the office with the ultrasound in my hand, excited to have seen something so beautiful, the first glimpse of my baby.

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