"Blame me?" Anna White sneered, "Kate killed my dog, and I didn't seek justice. It is her that is to blame."
"But you are sisters. Why don't you get along? Kate has always been easy to get along with."
Anna cringed whenever she heard anyone complimenting Kate. She smiled politely, "Nick, I am happy to meet with you, yet you keep talking about Kate. If you continue to, I will not stay. Kate is nothing but an annoyance to me!"
"Who's the annoyance?" Lisa snapped from around the corner, "Why do you always bully Kate? Did she ever do anything wrong to you?"
Anna White was shocked by the sudden appearance of Lisa at first; then she glared at Nick. She realized that she had been set up.
Nick knew that Anna would be angry, but he didn't regret asking her to meet. If he could do something to make Lisa happy, he would.
"Anna, you killed Kate's baby. You must pay!" Lisa said before pulling out a small stick and slamming it down on Anna's hand.
"You are so ungrateful! Kate treated you like a real sister, but you just took advantage of her! You did nothing but hurt her! Anna, you will learn what it is like to be hurt!" Lisa shouted as she continued to hit Anna.
"Help!" Anna screamed immediately.
Nick was standing back; he did want to stop the fight but was afraid that Lisa would be unhappy. So, he just waited to see what would happen.
"Help? Do you help Kate when you hurt her unborn child?" Lisa didn't stop swinging her stick; she knew it wasn't strong enough to kill Anna, but it would definitely damage her.
"Nick, tell her to stop! She's crazy! Ouch…" Anna cried while trying to hide behind him.
The small pub echoed with the sound of the stick slapping Anna and her cries.
**
At the hospital, Daisy tried to talk with Kate. However, Kate only stared out the window.
Daisy encouraged, "Kate, don't be sad. You are young, and you will have other chances."
Kate replied with a faint smile, "Daisy, I need to ask you something important. Would you support me if I was to leave Joseph right now?"
When Kate was going to leave Joseph before, Daisy reassured her that things would probably get better because she knew Kate loved Joseph. After Flora passed away, Daisy and Lisa were like Kate's guiding light, always giving her warmth and support.
"No!" Daisy was confused and then immediately said, "I mean, you'll have another baby in the future…"
Daisy said while thinking of what Anna said when she was beating Kate. They were too vicious not to remember, and she was sorry that she had been unable to stop Anna. Kate had suffered so much, but there was nothing she was able to do for her.
"Kate, you…" Seeing Kate was bewildered, Daisy guessed that she didn't know what had happened.
Should I tell her the truth?
"Daisy, tell me what happened," Before Daisy could change the subject, Kate shouted. She could see from the expression on Daisy's face that there was more to the story.
"Kate, I don't want to upset you. I thought you knew what happened, and that is why I came here to comfort you…" Daisy sobbed.
Kate held Daisy's hand to comfort her in return; she said, "Why are you crying? I've suffered through so many things, but I am tough now. Tell me, I promise that I can accept whatever you need to say."
Kate thought Daisy was going to say that Joseph was trying to force her to divorce him. Kate was aware of that because Anna told her.
"Your…your baby's gone…"
The light in Kate's eyes suddenly faded, and she stared into space.
"Kate, don't be so sad…"
No wonder that her stomach hurt before she lost consciousness. As Kate thought back, she could hear Amy shouting that she was bleeding but then Anna kicked her and she passed out. The next thing that Kate remembered was waking up in the hospital. However, Joseph never mentioned anything about a miscarriage in the times he had visited her; Kate immediately assumed he was covering for Anna.
Suddenly, Kate clued into what Amy said; Joseph suspected that she had affairs with other men. It must have been a plot to start a rumor that the baby was not Joseph's.
Kate put her hands on her stomach; tears filled her eyes.
"I was pregnant, and I didn't even notice. No wonder I had such a big appetite and always want to sleep so much lately," Kate whispered to herself. Her world had been in chaos since Anna returned; she and Joseph hadn't continued to try having a baby; she didn't even pay attention to her cycle.
"So, you didn't know…" Daisy felt sorry for Kate, and she said, "Kate, don't worry, you can have another baby in the future. The most important thing for you now is to take good care of yourself. So…"
No more children in the future, there was no chance to have a baby with Joseph.
"Daisy, it's late. I would like to sleep; you can go home. Don't worry, and I can take care of myself," Kate pretended to be calm.
"Kate, you need someone to take care of you right now. I can't leave you here alone…" Daisy was worried about Kate. She knew how much Kate had suffered and didn't want her to be alone.
"You can tell me if you are upset. We are family, and we can share our sorrows," Daisy reminded her.
"Don't worry about me, Daisy. I won't do anything silly again, nor will I be sad about how I have been hurt in the past. I just want to recover emotionally and physically, then make a strong plan for my future," Kate calmly told Daisy.
Daisy didn't know what more she could do to convince Kate to let her stay, so she said goodnight and told Kate to call if she needed her.
The room was tranquil after Daisy left. The only sound that could be heard was Kate snarling with resentment toward Anna and the sobs over the loss of her unborn baby. She didn't know that she was pregnant, but it still felt like part of her had been taken away.
The rollercoaster of emotions played in Kate's head. She was forced to get pregnant, then had to cooperate with Joseph in order to get pregnant, and finally, she was carrying their child, but then it was unexpectedly gone. Kate was sad partly because she knew Joseph didn't love her, but also partly because she did want to have his baby.
**
Joseph had taken on a new project to keep busy and to keep him distracted from thinking about Kate and their baby. He worked late into the night, hoping that by the time he got to the hospital, Kate would be asleep, and he could watch over her. Around 10 p.m., he was about to leave the office when Nick called him.
"Joseph, you need to come here now. Or else someone will die!" Nick demanded.