To My Beloved Oppressor

Chapter 17

That evening, Annette woke up.

Her body was as heavy as wet cotton. A sharp pain came from her stomach. Annette let out a faint moan and curled up her body slightly.

A black figure appeared at the edge of her half-blurred vision. She blinked her furrowed eyes several times. Slowly it came into focus. It was Heiner.

Heiner looked down at her as if he had seen a ghost. It was so unlike him that Annette mistook it for a dream for a moment.

Heiner called a doctor as soon as he saw that she had regained consciousness. The doctor arrived shortly after and diagnosed her condition.

He said the gunshot wound was not very deep. It was a diagnosis that was nothing compared to the pain that she had felt so horribly. Annette wondered for a moment, but was soon convinced.

Arnold said she was hypersensitive. He said she was sensitive to even the slightest discomfort. Judging from his words, she guessed that she must be hypersensitive this time, too.

After giving some precautions regarding the gunshot wound, the doctor hesitated for a moment and then told Annette that she would be bleeding for the next three to four days. Annette thought it was menstruation.

Normally her menstruation was very irregular. Sometimes it would skip months at a time. She assumed that was the case again.

But the doctor said it was because she had a miscarriage.

Annette could not believe what she heard.

Don't be surprised, as the byproducts left in your womb should come out later.

If the bleeding continues, surgery will have to be performed. The uterus may contract and cause pain in the abdomen..............

The doctor's voice was half disconnected. A blue vein appeared on the back of Annette's hand as she clutched the bedding.

The doctor looked very sorry and informed her that it would be difficult for her to conceive in the future. By then Annette was half lost.

"Well then, you should get some rest."

The doctor bowed politely and left the room. Annette sat in a daze, not having a mind to greet the doctor.

She involuntarily put her hand on her stomach. She could feel the bandages wrapped tightly under the hospital gown.

'Pregnant-? When? How?'

She hadn't been feeling particularly well lately, but she just assumed it was stress, never dreaming it was pregnancy.

A strange chill came over her. Annette's shoulders shook lightly. It was a child she had never even known existed, and yet there was a great sense of loss in her stomach.

It was a child whom she would never get to meet, whom she desperately wanted.

"...I kept your miscarriage a secret from the outside world."

Heiner opened his mouth quietly.

"I will handle all matters concerning the incident myself, so don't worry about that part."

Annette slowly turned her head to look at him. His words sounded very strange.

'He's going to handle it?'

There was no way that Heiner would handle things in her favor. He normally would let her fend for herself when the reporters bothered her. He was fed up with newspaper stories.

"The perpetrator was apprehended at the scene. We are investigating what his purpose was and whether he had accomplices."

"..."