Chapter 6 Secret

Arka couldn't wait to open it. His forehead frowned because what he saw was not the Raztan Hospital logo. Arka read carefully and found that his wife was almost six weeks pregnant.

"Six weeks already, Lisa? You didn't realize you were six weeks pregnant?" Arka exclaimed.

"Well, I refused to take a test or go to the hospital yesterday."

"Oh yeah, why don't you get checked at Raztan Hospital? Why did you go to Eka Hospital instead? It's not too far, but ...."

"I accidentally met Suga."

Lisa began to tell him about yesterday's events. She clasped her husband's hand, covering her nerves because there might be a lot of lies coming out of her lips.

"Last night I was going to the market, then I got dizzy and fainted, luckily Suga was there. Ah yes, you don't know him."

Lisa scratched the back of her neck for misremembering.

"Suga is my ex-boyfriend from high school. Hehe," Lisa chuckled.

"What?"

Arka glared. Lisa knew she'd get that look from her very jealous husband.

"He's already married. He has two children. What the hell!" Lisa said, pinching Arka's stomach.

Arka sighed. He just nodded and allowed Lisa to continue.

"Well, he immediately took me to Eka Hospital. He's also a doctor there. I found out I was pregnant after being examined by him," Lisa chuckled.

"Okay, tomorrow we go to the hospital for a follow-up check-up."

Of course, this was inevitable. Arka was a doctor at Raztan Hospital and even one of the shareholders. Dr. Grace had been treating Lisa for years. It would be very difficult for her to persuade Arka to keep Suga as her doctor during pregnancy.

"If I ask you for something, will you do it?" Lisa exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"I want Suga to be my doctor. So in the future, I only want to check up at Eka Hospital."

"What the hell? Raztan Hospital is the best hospital in Jakarta. Why are you looking for another hospital? No, at Raztan, I can consult with Dr. Grace every day."

Lisa started to rely on her pampering. She pouted and hid her face. Her sharp hazel eyes continued to fix on her husband's astonished face.

"I'm craving Dr. Suga, Ka."

A whine so spoiled that it made Arka cringe. What was the connection? What a strange request. Arka sighed and tried to be patient with his wife's unique attitude. He gently rubbed Lisa's chubby cheeks.

"Maybe, you like it when he holds you, huh?" joked Arka.

"What the hell? Suga is a Korean guy. Who knows, if I see him every day, and get petted by him, our kid will be cute like a Korean guy. I'm so happy!"

Arka gaped. Pointing at his face with an innocent expression. "I'm a guy, athletic and tan. What's wrong with me, I'm not handsome enough, what's wrong with my Chinese face and my squint? I'm looking like a Korean Boy. This is a boy band's face mold, you know!"

Lisa giggled. Arka was most upset when his wife complimented other men as being more handsome than him.

"I don't like it when my child looks like him," Arka babbled.

"I'm the one who's pregnant, this is my child, it's up to me where I want to get a check-up."

"My child too, right?"

"Anyway, other than Suga, I don't want any other doctor to check up on me. I'll just skip the checkup until the child is born."

Arka started scratching his head until his hair was a mess. He also took a yoga-style breath to be more patient with his spoiled wife. Lisa just smiled and hugged her husband.

Arka understood her very well, even when she was sad. For that, she had to look happy so as not to be suspected.

"I was craving Bogor pickles, but you didn't bring it, now I asked for a check-up at Eka Hospital, but you didn't give it to me either. I'm sad," Lisa complained while pinching Arka's abs.

Another long sigh was heard. "You want Bogor pickles, Lisa? I'll go back there, okay? Don't cry!"

"Uh, what? I don't want to. I just want to be with you here. You already smell of sweat, it's so salty. I like it," Lisa whispered.

Arka didn't speak again. He rubbed Lisa's back and let her play with him.

"But what about your uterus? What did Suga say?"

Lisa invited Arka to sit on the bed. While telling the story, her fingers continued to play between her husband's warm fingers.

"I've told Suga everything. Anyway, so far I've been undergoing treatment with Dr. Grace, it's been pretty good and my uterus can conceive. But Suga said I have to be more careful because my case is a bit different. So I shouldn't be tired and get plenty of rest. I'm also not young anymore, right? If possible, I can't move much before 5 months. He will still give me vitamins and womb-strengthening drugs too. I was told to be diligent in going there. I just agreed. After all, why is he so handsome now? It's true that when you're an ex, you're more seductive. Hhssshh, sexy!" Lisa joked while biting her lower lip, a sexy expression that she had only shown to Arka.

Arka sighed, resigned. He slammed his back against the mattress. He turned her face to the other side to show how jealous he was that Lisa kept talking about her ex.

"When my wife is craving for her ex, what can I do? It hurts."

How Lisa loved Arka's jealous expression right now. Usually, Arka would just mumble incoherently to release his jealousy. Possessivee husband. But because a pregnant wife is everything, the man held back his jealousy with a very sweet facial bias.

Arka came home on a hot day. His wet white shirt made some of his curves visible. Even the beads of sweat running down his slender neck showed how much sexier he was than just Lisa's jokes about Suga.

Arka smiled as Lisa began to touch and kiss him. The turmoil of longing was channeled.

"I miss you, Arka."

It wasn't Suga, but Arka that drove Lisa crazy. She missed the smell of sweat mixed with perfume that was so distinctive to his sense of smell.

"Take a shower! Even though I like the smell of your body, also if you sweat it looks sexier, but I think this baby likes it shiny."

"Alright, I'll take a shower first. We have to tell Dad and Mom the good news. By the way, isn't Farrel home yet?"

"He'll be home a bit later today, he still has taekwondo class. Hurry up! You haven't eaten yet, right?"

Arka loosened her embrace and let Lisa rise from her seat. She gave Arka a wink as she hurried to the restroom to freshen up.

The sound of the shower was heard, filling the silence on Lisa's face. She walked to the closet and took another envelope with Eka Hospital's logo under the folds of cloth. It was the envelope that she did not give to Arka.

It was a test result that showed the poor condition of her uterus and physique that would endanger her life if she continued to carry the pregnancy. There was even a line suggesting an abortion. Lisa didn't want to do it, even though her life was at stake.

"Arka shouldn't know about this."

Lisa grabbed a lighter from a desk drawer and burned the edge of the envelope to ash. All the evidence disappeared along with the pile of papers that burned in the tin trash can in the corner of the closet.

There was no remorse, instead, Lisa smiled as she rubbed her stomach.

"Hang in there, honey! Mama will do anything to keep you healthy in there. Can't wait to see Papa and Farrel, right? Even if I can't hug and take care of you later, you must still grow up to be a good and smart child. I love you."

Lisa had chosen a dangerous path to make Arka happy. Even though she knew it would be very difficult, there was a slight desire to still be alive when the baby was born later. The little family she dreamed of might come someday.