Crown Me

9.

*Perrie's Pov*

I never imagined it would end like this. And it hurt. It hurt worse than any pain I'd ever felt. The agony carved through me and took up residence in my bones. My blood was cold fire in my veins, a stinging reminder that I was here and Jade wasn't.

But grief was the price of love and if I had my choice now, I would pay it again.

"Im sorry for you loss but if you like you can see Jade now, of course," The doctor continued. "She isn't awake from surgery but the operation went well. She's in stable condition. Not completely out of the woods but her prognosis is quite strong."

My mouth fell open and I shook my head, fresh tears pricking at my eyes. Warmth flooded through me. Life flooded through me. "W...w...wait. Jade is alive?"

"Yes." He looked as confused as I felt. "I assumed you had been told."

"You said her body had been removed." My finger shook as I pointed it at him.

He sat on the edge of my bed and took a deep breath. "No it wasn't Jade I meant not everyone made it. Your mother in law Jade's mother the queen is dead."

Guilt mixed with my relief. Tears fell freely down my cheeks as I realised that She had given her life for her daughter's. A final sacrifice that muddied everything I thought I knew about her, everything Jade believed to be true. When Jade finally woke up, she'd have to confront that and I needed to be by her side.

"I need to see her." I tore at the tape holding the IV in my arm and The nurse rushed to stop me.

"We'll arrange for someone to take you there." A vein tensed in The doctors jaw. "But before that I have to ask. Miss Edwards, are you aware that you're pregnant?"

Pregnant.

The world stopped and I stared at him.

The need for confidentiality. Their seemingly unjustified caution. Suddenly it all made sense.

"That's not possible." But even as I spoke, I felt the truth. I'd known. I'd known for weeks that something was different. But that didn't explain how it was possible. "I'm on the pill."

"The pill is not one hundred percent effective in preventing pregnancy. There's always a possibility a woman can become pregnant." His eyebrows knitted together as he consulted my chart. "We won't know until we perform an ultrasound but according to your hormone levels, it appears you're quite far along."

"How far along am I?" This couldn't be happening. I'd woken up this morning expecting the happiest day of my life and instead I'd experienced the ultimate roller coaster and the ride wasn't over. Pregnant. I couldn't be pregnant. This couldn't be happening.

"Months, I would guess. Based on your blood work at least three months, possibly more."

"But I haven't had any symptoms." My hand pressed instinctively to my stomach, trying to anchor what I was being told to something tangible. I cycled through the last few weeks looking for clues that I'd somehow missed. They were there. The stomachaches and mood swings. Feeling possessive of Jade to the point of obsession. Crying. I'd mistaken them for anxiety and sentimentalism.

"It's not unusual for a woman to not realise she's pregnant, particularly if she's been distracted by other life events."

Like a wedding, I thought. I'd had plenty to distract me but how could I have not noticed that I was pregnant?

"I've had my period," I told him. None of it fit together, because I wouldn't let it.

"How could I have been pregnant for months with a period?"