Letting go of Dan, I say goodnight to him and head to the other side of the hospital ward.
When I get to my grandma's room, I fall into my bed, flipping my shoes off and dumping my purse beside me, not caring that I'm still in my scrubs.
I let my eyes fall closed until I hear a phone ringing. Absently, I reach for my purse, pulling Dr. Davies Miller's phone from it and put it to my ear.
"I've been so worried! You missed our sonogram appointment. Why haven't you texted me back all day? Was the ward that busy?" The woman on the other end of the line exploded with questions as soon as I picked up.
"You must have the wrong number," I told her, thinking she was way too wound up for nearly one in the morning.
She paused for a second—checking the number she dialed, I guessed. "No, this is my boyfriend Dr. Davies Miller's number. The man whose baby I'm carrying. The baby appointment he missed today," she screamed each word louder than the last, and the urge to vomit made me drop the phone.
I ran towards the bathroom, losing everything Dr. Davies Miller made me eat earlier.
I lay on the cold tile floor and let the tears flow. I could hear the phone ringing over and over in my bedroom.
How could I have been so freaking stupid? All the things Dr. Davies Miller said tonight rushed through my head.
Suddenly, I was thinking of all the times I remembered nurses at my previous girls school crying about doctors they had dated who had filled them with lies to get them into bed.
Peeling myself off the floor, I turned on the shower, wanting the smell of him off me. It was too much to bear.
I scrubbed my body clean, washing away his scent, but the little love bites he left still showed.
Seeing them made a sob escape from deep inside me. Turning off the shower, I grabbed my robe, making my way back into the bedroom.
I saw six missed calls all from my number, meaning it was Dr. Davies Miller. I pulled up his contacts, but the only number programmed was mine.
Dr. Davies Miller called again, but I just cleared it and clicked into his text messages. I saw a bunch from the number that called, claiming to be Dr. Davies Miller's girlfriend. I scrolled a few and read them.
One was a picture of a sonogram. The others talked about missing him, and another was about all the dirty things she was going to do to him.
I dropped the phone, not able to look at it anymore.
What if I'm pregnant? Dr. Davies Miller didn't use anything, any protection with me. Maybe it's, like, his weird kink or something. He liked going bareback, and maybe that's why he has a baby on the way.
The phone rang again. It was Dr. Davies Miller calling. I should just shut it off, but my anger got the better of me. He couldn't have faked everything with me tonight, and maybe he did feel something for me, but it was clear he had someone else, too. What could he say? "No, Sheryl White, I want to be with you, not her." Oh, sweet, just ditch your ex for the newest fling. What happens when someone else comes along that catches your attention? Thanks, but no thanks.
I picked up the phone, wanting to hurt him back. I didn't give him a chance to speak before I started in. "Dr. Davies Miller, it's over. Go back to your pregnant girlfriend and leave me alone. I'm marrying Sam Peterson." I hung up before he could respond.
I turned the phone on silent and put it back into my purse. I couldn't bear to look at it because it was something that would just remind me of him.
Tossing my purse on my nightstand, I knocked over the ring box Sam Peterson gave me when he asked me to marry him.
Well, I guess saying he asked isn't correct. It was him and my father telling me how this was a great idea and how Sam Peterson and I were a great fit.
I flipped open the box and stared at the giant diamond.
It's nothing like the ring I thought I'd wear one day.
The one my grandma gave me flashed through my mind, but I pushed the image away.
If I'm not going to be with Dr. Davies Miller, I might as well make things easier around here.
I slid Sam Peterson's ring onto my finger with no intention of marrying him, but maybe it would give me some time to figure things out.
Get them off my back.
I'm guessing Dr. Davies Miller isn't going to want to solve my problems now.
The tears started to flow again until exhaustion claimed me and I slept.
Dr. Davies Miller
"Let me in, Dan."
"I've told you five times already. The answer is no. It's three in the morning.
Anything you need to say to Sheryl White can wait until morning."
He was standing in front of the hospital, in just scrubs and a shirt.
I'm sure he could get official and take me to jail, but he must have sensed the desperation in me enough to give me a pass.
I knew it was late and her grandmother was sick. I just needed to wait until daylight and make this right, but I was going crazy for even a second she thought that I'd been with someone else.
I haven't touched a woman in years. Not so much as even had a kiss. It's scientifically impossible for me to be having a baby with someone.
I wanted to be able to talk to Sheryl White and explain this to her, but she wouldn't answer the damn phone.
Sighing, I turned and walked towards my car. I clenched my hands into fists, frustrated beyond belief.
All I could hear was her broken voice in my head. I was shocked she would think I could ever do something like that to her, deceive her in that way.
A pregnant girlfriend? She's marrying Sam Peterson? I wouldn't stand for it.
I walked away from the hospital and got into my truck.
I didn't want to bring the motorcycle because it's loud, and I knew her grandmother wasn't doing well.
I got in and drove away from the hospital, watching in the rearview as Dan went inside and shut off the porch light.
I circled around the block and parked along the fence at the back of the hospital property. Silently, I jumped the hospital walls and crept along the trees through the woods.
When I reached the back of the hospital, I climbed up the railing along the porch.
I was able to lift myself onto the second-story balcony, and I hid in the shadows, not knowing whose room I was outside.
The sudden revelation about Dr. Davies Miller's alleged girlfriend and pregnancy has completely blindsided Sheryl White.
Her emotional state is clearly one of shock, betrayal, and anger, quickly followed by a sense of despair and resignation. The idea that she's been deceived by someone she felt such an immediate connection with is devastating.
Her decision to marry Sam Peterson, despite having "no intention" of doing so, is a desperate attempt to create a buffer against her father's control and to buy herself time.
It's a pragmatic, albeit emotionally painful, choice to extricate herself from one complicated situation (her father's manipulation) by seemingly accepting another (the forced marriage), all while dealing with the crushing blow from Dr. Davies Miller.
Dr. Davies Miller, on the other hand, is in a state of intense disbelief, frustration, and fierce denial.
He's desperate to explain that the accusations of a pregnant girlfriend are scientifically impossible and that he hasn't been with anyone else.
His immediate reaction is to rectify the misunderstanding and prevent Sheryl White from marrying Sam Peterson, driven by a deep sense of injustice and a clear commitment to only her, his Duchess.