Chapter 107
Isabella’s POV
Flashback
Fertility Clinic – A week later
It’s been a week since I had the IVF transplant done.
Today I came for the results.
I was so nervous as I sat alone in the corner and watched the other women being hugged by their nervous husbands or boyfriends.
I p>
I was all alone.
But this was my choice so I had no regrets on what I chose.
As for the people, they kept staring but all I knew was I wasn’t wrong in wanting my own child.
I sat nervously as I waited for my report.
Finally my turn came.
I exhaled as I walked inside his office.
“Doctor,” was all I could say as I sat in the chair.
“Ms. Isabella,” the doctor said. “Your results are in p>
He said as he removed a folder from his drawer and placed it in front of me.
“Go on p>
I saw his smiling face and then with nervous fingers I opened the folder.
At first it seemed like my eyes were blurry as I could not see a word, but soon my eyes fell on the word ’positive.
“Positive?” I said, confused.
“Yes,” he said. “Ms. Isabella, congrats you’re a week pregnant. Your IVF was successful p>
I couldn’t react for a few seconds as I was literally shocked.
I was pregnant.
The moment I had waited for, from the time I decided to have a child, to this moment.
No doubt I was stunned,
I was happy as well as terrified.
Everything happened so fast, I really didn’t realize until now.
The moment of having my own blood-related family was here.
I placed my hand over my stomach, and oddly as it may sound..it felt warm.
I took my report and went back home.
Isabella’s old home – a few moments later
As I didn’t have any family, only a few friends, so I called them over.
I placed the drinks and snacks and waited for them.
As they all arrived, I finally took the chance to tell.
I exhaled.
“Okay, here I go,” I said.
I paused then exhaled.
“Why are you so nervous?” one female friend asked.
“Oh,” one male friend said. “Don’t tell me, you got a boyfriend p>
“Hey, don’t be so fast,” he said. “Remember the last time p>
“No,” I said, waving my hands in the air.
“I’m done with boyfriends,” I said.
“I…actually went for IVF by choosing a donor (I spoke slowly so they could digest) and..now..I..am..a..week…pregnant p>
“There I said it p>
“What??? Pregnant p>
“Who’s the father? What does he do? Where p>
“Didn’t she just say, donor,” First friend said. “Obviously she doesn’t know, that’s part of the deal, right p>
“Yes,” I said. “I don’t even know his name, only donor number p>
“No photo,” I continued. “Only blue eyes, six feet tall, white, jewelry designer graduate, good family background, no bad habits, no smoker, no drinker, was a regular blood donor p>
“I think he must be a swell of a man, and having his child…is going to be the best decision I ever made p>
Then everyone went quiet.
Which wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.
I thought they would start scolding me immediately.
But they were shocked.
Some of them were disappointed I told them after being pregnant and some were shocked I didn’t tell them before the procedure.
Then the questions rose.
Why did I choose this?
Why did I choose to be a single mother?
What about marriage?
“Okay,” I said.
“Why?” I continued. “I want a family, you all know that p>
“I thought getting married would give me that family, but he betrayed me p>
“Isabella,” my male friend said. “I know he hurt you, but that doesn’t mean all men are the same, I’m sure you’ll meet the one who truly loves you, but with a child p>
“Look, I only want a family p>
“I did think of adopting, but this (I placed my hand on my stomach) is my child, my blood, my family, can’t you guys understand p>
I was at loss of words as the judgement I faced, but eventually they understood and accepted me.
Today, I also realized I really wasn’t alone as my friends truly cared for me.
The first two-three months were a little stressful.
My friends kept pressuring me to think.
Some told me to reconsider as it’s only been two months.
Some suggested I get married so the child won’t be called a fatherless child.
Some said a child needs a father.
I p>
I kept listening to what everyone said quietly.
Finally,
I calmly refused everyone.
I cleared this fact for everyone.
I did not make this decision out of impulse.
I did it knowingly.
I understood what the future may hold.
For the first time I said it with full confidence.
“I chose my baby, and I will raise my baby alone p>
“If God chose someone for me, I will meet him and if he accepts my child, I will marry, or else I won’t leave my child p>
The next month was fine, but by the fourth month things began to change.
I began suffering from morning sickness.
My checkup appointments, which thankfully one or another friend would always be there to take me.
I began to prepare the nursery.
Bought clothes for the baby.
I stocked the baby supplies.
I also began to talk with my baby.
Despite the frequent glare from other people, I began to feel connected to my baby.
For the first time, I felt I finally would have a family of my own that no one can take away from me.
Soon the due date would arrive, and my baby would be in my arms.
Finally, the labor day came.
My friends drove me over to the clinic.
I was petrified as my friends kept consoling me.
They even learnt calming lessons for pregnant women so they could calm me down.
Then like a bolt of lightning and thunder struck me together,
I was under excruciating pain and finally exhaustion took over me.
I felt like I was not going to make it, until p>
A baby’s crying melted in my ears.
The nurse slowly brought a bundle close to me.
“Congrats, she’s a beautiful daughter.” The nurse said, handing me my baby girl.
From that moment on I became a mother and I named my daughter Jenny.
The moment I held her for the first time, every doubt,
Every speculation,
Every critisism p>
It felt useless before her sweet face.
Now if anything mattered,
Was p>
The health and happiness of my baby girl.
“Mommy promises to protect you and give you both mommy and Papa’s love p>
It has been five months since I gave birth to Jenny.
Though I was happy, reality had its own way of banging at the door.
I had to sell my house so I could complete my education, so I’ve been living on rent since then.
My initial intention was to secure a job, gather some savings and buy a home.
But now I was swamped with bills, electricity, water, groceries, and the municipality.
The rent, childcare.
On top of all this monthly medical expenses,
Vaccination,
Boosters,
And planning for her school as well.
This was also when I first felt the pang of being a single parent p>
No one to rely on.
No one to share your burden with you.
No doubt motherhood was harder than I expected.
But one look from Jenny, and everything was worthwhile.
Years passed by and Jenny was already six years old.
Over the years I took on multiple jobs so I could pay the bills and give Jenny a good life.
I endured long shifts and late nights.
I missed out on weekends only so I could give Jenny a better life.
Not only did I have to pay for her school fees, but as she was growing so was her need for bigger clothes.
Then every birthday, a gift.
And the urge to give her the best possible.
And the fact Jenny never asks for anything, makes it all the more important for me to fulfill her wishes.
Though I was completely happy with Jenny, and I never lacked the fact I don’t have a boyfriend or a husband.
But I could see Jenny missed having a father as she would often sulk on seeing other kids with their fathers.
Since she knew I had her without a father, she never asked p>
And apart from a profile, I really didn’t have much about him either.
I had just gotten a job as a receptionist for a jewelry designer.
At first I was shocked on seeing Daniel as his features matched the donor so much.
But eventually I made myself understand why a man like Daniel would ever donate his sperm.
I mean p>
Girls were literally dying to hear a yes from him,
While he had no interest in a relationship.
Overall, our meeting wasn’t a dramatic one.
He was my boss and I was his receptionist.
A simple boss-employee relationship, that’s all.
I couldn’t understand why, but I would immediately hide myself behind a wall as if I was trying to hide something from him.
And Jenny?
She was the complete opposite of me.
She loved being with him, which made me more conscious of him being around her.
Then what I feared p>
It happened.
Daniel was pursuing me.
He never imposed himself on me.
Rather p>
He was very patient.
He never pressured me nor made any demand that would hurt me.
He never asked for something that he knew I would be reluctant to.
But p>
Like an angle in disguise,
He was always there for me.
He was there to take Jenny to the hospital when she had a high fever late at night.
He attended her father-daughter dance at the school.
He took her to the park, and on summer trips
When he became a consistent and reliable person in my life, I barely noticed.
Slowly, I began to lower my walls around him, and soon enough p>
He was in my heart.
After my breakup, nine years ago, it was the first time I actually felt safe with a man beside me.
Within months, Daniel became part of our lives.
Though he never proposed to me,
And never made any suggestive comment,
But his bond with me and Jenny just felt so natural.
Jenny loved him.
Daniel adored her.
Even though we weren’t a family, we began spending weekend outings.
One thing I loved about Daniel at the time was,
Whenever Jenny needed a father, I don’t know how,
But he knew and would always be there for her.
In the beginning I used to be reluctant while talking with him, but soon I became comfortable around him.
Then one day,
I realized p>
I had fallen in love with him.
Present Day – still night time
Daniel’s Mansion
I was still sitting on our bed with the files around us.
I stared at the record files,
Then the donor files,
Then the fertility clinic files,
The truth was right in front of me.
Everything that was in these files,
Everything that I discovered with Daniel,
Is what brought me to where I am.
Everything came back rushing to me.
My boyfriend’s betrayal.
My urge to want a family.
My decision to do IVF.
Having Jenny.
Meeting Daniel.
Now p>
At this very moment p>
Every step I took from my betrayal onwards,
My decision to have Jenny,
All of it p>
Now I was connecting bit by bit.
And p>
The image that was forming before me p>
Was one p>
I never expected.
I felt as if I was engulfed in a blanket of silence.
The files and records still lay in front of me.
I saw Daniel was still oblivious and trying to figure out who the lady was.
He was still trying to process what it meant to have another woman out there with his child
He was still trying to process the possibility.
I slowly opened my lips.
“Jenny p>
It wasn’t a call, it wasn’t a question, I just called her.
“Mom?” Jenny came in running but stopped the moment she saw not only Adrian was in our room, but Jonathan and Veronica as well.
“Is everything okay?” She asked with evident concern in her eyes.
My eyes moved from Jenny to the files, to Daniel, back to Jenny.
More memories rushed into my mind.
The consultations.
The paperwork for the process.
Reading the donor’s profile over and over again.
The days I counted till Jenny’s birth.
The years I saw her yearning for a father.
The past years seeing the bond between Daniel and Jenny.
The bond that was too perfect for a man who wasn’t her real father.
Now p>
Everything made sense.
My breathing became uneven.
For years, I believed I would never know who the donor was.
Till my last breath, he will remain a stranger to me.
Someone I would never know,
Someone who would never know I existed.
Someone who would never know I have his child.
Yet here I sat on the bed with my daughter whom I had through IVF with a strange man’s donated sperm p>
Was with me.
Daniel noticed my facial expressions and called out frantically p>
“Bella? Bella? Are you alright p>
Seeing this, Jonathan and Veronica also became worried.
“Isabella,” Veronica said. “You don’t have to worry about the other child p>
“Daniel?” Jonathan tugged on Daniel’s sleeve.
“Huh?” Daniel said, still shocked.
“Bella,” he said, taking my hands in his. “I won’t deny I am shocked to know that I have another child somewhere, but if you don’t want to, then I won’t pursue it any further p>
I was shocked at his reply.
He was willing to not follow up, if I forbid him to.
For me, he was willing to not search for his other child.
I managed to part my lips p>
But my voice was barely a whisper.
I looked up at him as tears welled up in my eyes.
“What’s the matter Bella?” Fear was clear in Daniel’s voice.
But I was certain.
I finally understood why we shared such a lovely bond with Jenny.
Because now p>
I finally understood.
I looked up at Daniel with proud eyes then my gaze shifted slowly towards Jenny.
“Jenny, Daniel p>
I trailed off a bit.
I showed her the donor profile page.
“Daniel is your biological father, and both you and Adrian share Daniel’s blood, that makes him your brother p>
Then I looked back proudly towards Daniel.
“I’m the Isabella who chose yours to have my baby p>
“Jenny is your biological daughter, our biological daughter p>
“Even if you don’t adopt her, Jenny is your daughter p>