Chapter 275: No Need For False Modesty

"We're quite lucky to be here at the same time, don't you think?" Leonie continues. "I wonder if our results will be the same. I kind of doubt it, though."

"There's no point in guessing or wondering," Avery says, feeling exhausted. "The reports will tell us the results soon enough."

Avery isn't sure how Leonie plans to tamper with the results, but she's sure her rival is planning something. After all, there's no other reason for Florence to have come to the hospital. Avery looks around the room and tries to guess the plan. Will they bribe a nurse? She wonders, looking at the team of nurses in the room. Or will they switch the names on the samples?

She shrugs and decides it doesn't really matter what they do. Across the room, the nurses whisper among themselves, shooting sly glances at both Leonie and Avery. Avery sighs and turns toward the door. She can hear voices in the hallway, and she casually moves closer to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Are you sure you don't want to go in, Mr. Howel?" Robert asks.

"Don't bother them," Florence says. "If you go in, you'll only stress them out, and the test is scary enough as it is. Leave the poor women alone."

Avery smiles to herself—clearly, Florence has something planned, and she doesn't want Evan around to see what it is. A nurse crosses the room and shuts the door. Then she waves her hand and leads Avery and Leonie down a long hall. She stops at the end of the hall and points at two open doors.

Each door leads to a small examination room. Each room has a table covered in crisp white paper and a scientific drawing of a uterus on the wall. The nurse gestures for Leonie to go to the room on the right, and Avery to the one on the left, and Leonie immediately walks to her table and sits on the edge, but Avery hesitates. She bites her lip and looks worriedly at the rooms.

This must be part of the plan, Avery thinks. They've probably told the nurses to change the results based on the room we go into. I don't want to interfere with their plans, but I'm scared to go alone. Who knows what Florence and Leonie have asked the nurses to do to me? It's not safe to be in this little room by myself.

Avery walks into Leonie's room and takes Leonie's manicured hand in hers. Leonie's face pales, and her eyes narrow angrily. She jerks her hand away from Avery and gets off the table.

"Leonie is right," Avery says. "We share a special connection, and I think we should acknowledge that now. We shouldn't be separated for the tests—we should be together—in the same room."

Leonie's lipsticked mouth falls open in shock, but she quickly closes it. She narrows her eyes with suspicion, but she smiles at Avery. Avery fights the urge to laugh at Leonie's ridiculous expression. She takes Leonie's arm and loops it through her own.

"The tests are done in the same laboratory," the nurse says, looking confused. "There's no need for you to use the same examination room. Besides, if you use the same room, we can only do one exam at a time. It's more efficient if you go to separate rooms."

Avery shakes her head, stubbornly. The nurse shrugs and walks across into the hallway to talk to the other nurses. As soon as the nurse turns her back, Leonie yanks her arm away from Avery. She steps back and looks Avery up and down.

She smiles sweetly and says, "I had no idea you were so nervous about the test."

"Oh, yes, I'm absolutely terrified of needles," Avery lies. "Besides, I think we should both look out for each other. Since Evan didn't want to come in, we have to rely on each other. I can hold your hand while they take the sample if you like."

"That's not necessary," Leonie snaps. She quickly softens her tone and says, "I mean, it's really sweet of you, but I'm okay."

The nurses gather around the table and put on blue rubber gloves. They ask Leonie to take her dress off and give her a paper hospital gown. Leonie strips out of her dress and kicks her heels off without any embarrassment. She hops up on the table and unties the gown to reveal the slight swell of her pregnant stomach.

"Are you afraid?" Avery asks, trying to provoke Leonie.

"Of course not," Leonie says defiantly. "Are you?"

"I am," Avery says. "But I'm so glad you're here with me."

Leonie rolls her eyes and asks, "Why are you so weird today?"

"Miss Peters, are you sure you don't want to have the test done now?" the head nurse asks. "Mr. Howel insists on getting the results as quickly as possible. If we do the tests at different times, he'll have to wait longer. I'm sure you already know that he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

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"I'm sure," Avery says.

The nurses whisper among themselves, and then the head nurse's face lights up. She shoots Leonie a meaningful look and puts her hands on her hips.

"Miss Summers, this is a really unusual situation," the nurse says. "Here at Memorial Hospital, we value our patients' privacy. Miss Peters is insisting on having the test with you, but we need your approval to allow it."

"Honestly, I am a little uncomfortable with it," Leonie says, looking shyly down at her flimsy hospital gown.

"Oh please," Avery says. "There's no need for false modesty. Everyone has seen your Livestream fashion show already."

Leonie grits her teeth and clenches her tiny hands into fists, but she doesn't argue. She nods reluctantly and lies back on the examination table. The room is small, and there's hardly any room for Avery, but she stands in a corner and observes, trying to see if the nurses pull any tricks. 

A doctor arrives and pushes her way through the nurses. She squeezes a clear jelly onto Leonie's stomach and uses the ultrasound scanner to look for the location of the baby. A nurse stands next to her, holding a silver tray with a wicked-looking silver needle. The needle is thin, but it's more than half a foot long.

A nurse wipes the jelly away and uses an alcohol-soaked cloth to sanitize the skin. The doctor slowly lowers the needle to Leonie's stomach, and Leonie flinches when it touches her skin. The doctor punctures her skin and sinks the needle deeper and deeper. Avery wants to look away, but she's scared she'll miss something important.

"Relax, Miss Summers, it'll be over soon," the doctor says.

The doctor pulls the needle out, and the nurses immediately swoop in to sterilize the small hole it left behind. They bandage Leonie's stomach as the doctor squirts the faintly yellow liquid into a clean test tube. The doctor carefully writes Leonie's name and patient number on a sticker and then puts the sticker on the test tube.

"If Miss Summers wants to listen to her baby's heartbeat, you can take her into the other room," the doctor says.

Before Leonie can object, the nurses are pulling her out of the room. Avery sighs and waits for a nurse to change the paper on the table. Then she takes off her clothes and puts on a hospital gown. She looks down at the fading hickeys on her body and cringes with embarrassment. She doesn't want the nurses and the doctor to see them, but they're impossible to hide. 

The ultrasound jelly feels cold and slimy on Avery's stomach. She closes her eyes as soon as she sees the doctor pick up the needle, but opens them again to see what the doctor will do with the sample. The woman puts Avery's amniotic fluid in another tube and attaches a sticker with Avery's name.

Avery rolls onto her side and looks at the tubes on the tray. While the doctor washes her hands, Avery slowly moves closer to the samples. She wonders if she'll be able to switch the stickers quickly enough. She reaches for the tubes just as the doctor turns around. Quickly, she groans and closes her eyes, pretending to be in pain.

"What's wrong, Miss Peters?" the doctor asks. 

"My stomach feels bad," Avery says. "Is it possible the test has caused me to miscarry? I feel really dizzy."

The doctor grabs her stethoscope and puts the cold metal on Avery's chest. She closes her eyes to listen to Avery's heartbeat, and Avery grabs one of the tubes. She slides her nail under the sticker and tries to peel it off. The doctor opens her eyes, and Avery drops the tube, wincing at the loud clatter it makes. 

"Everything seems alright," the doctor says, placing a cool but comforting hand on Avery's arm. "The pain is probably caused by anxiety. I heard you say that you're scared of needles. Try to take deep breaths and relax. If you still feel bad later, I'll have a nurse give you a second exam."

Avery nods slowly, desperately trying to think of another way to change the samples. Before she can come up with a plan, a nurse walks in and takes the samples away to the lab. Another nurse brings a wheelchair and helps Avery get into it. Then they wheel her into a private waiting room. Leonie is already sitting in an armchair, and Florence Howel hovers by her side, fussing over her.

"Are you nervous?" Leonie asks. "We'll get the results soon."

"If anyone should be nervous, it's you," Avery says cooly.

The door swings open, and Leonie jumps to her feet, eager to hear the results. Instead, Evan comes in. He's typing something on his phone, and he doesn't even look up as he enters. He sits down in a chair far from both Avery and Leonie and waits in silence. Finally, the doctor walks in with a piece of paper in her hands.

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