Flash Marriage: My Penniless Billionaire Husband

Chapter 407: A Test-Tube Baby

While James kept in mind the exact date of their first encounter, she, in contrast, failed to offer him due trust.

With that in thought, she gulped down her glass of wine.

"Take your time."

James noticed her change of emotions and said.

Yvonne realized she’d been frivolous and put aside the glass, yet the bitter emotions remained.

Overwhelmed by guilt, she decided to confess to James everything tonight.

She replenished her glass, gulped it down again, and got ready to speak.

But then James’ phone rang, and he cast a glance at it and said, "Excuse me." With that, he stood up and walked out.

And the courage she’d just plucked up faded as he got away. She sighed with annoyance.

"Yvonne?"

All of a sudden, there came a voice from above.

She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar face.

"Dorothy?"

Yvonne was startled.

"What are you doing here?"

"For dinner, of course," replied Dorothy, "Is that man your boyfriend?" Yvonne paused for a moment and realized she was referring to James. Yvonne colored slightly and said, "It’s my husband."

Dorothy looked at her in disbelief, "You’re married already, Yvonne?" Yvonne nodded.

"You should have told me about it. Don’t I deserve to see your wedding?" said Dorothy reproachfully.

Yvonne felt a bit guilty. "I’m sorry, Dorothy, I..."

"Just kidding. Don’t be nervous," said Dorothy with a grin.

Yvonne let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Why are you in Tomaville, Dorothy?" "Because of work," replied Dorothy, "Our hospital opened a branch here and I was

appointed to work here. Could be sort of a promotion for me." There was an evidently delighted expression on her face. "Really? Congratulations!" Yvonne exclaimed.

"Thank you, Yvonne," said Dorothy. Then a glimmer of disappointment crossed her face. "But compared with my classmates, I really suck. You know, they’re directors or at least deputies, but I’ve always been a resident until recently."

"Take your time, Dorothy. I guess every person has his own pace," said Yvonne.

"Perhaps." Dorothy thought of an example and continued, "You know, there was a stunning beauty in our school; her name is Shelly Williamson. She was so exceptional when back at school, and everybody is convinced she’d make some accomplishments when she graduates, but you know what? I met her the other day in our hospital, and she told me she wasn’t in medicine at all."

"Is that so?" Yvonne went through the motions.

Dorothy went on, "She was married to a rich family and became a lady of leisure. But life was not as good as she expected. You know what? She had recently had an operation to give birth to a test-tube baby. It’s said that she’d tried by every means before she finally resorted to it."

Dorothy narrated the story with gusto, little noticing Yvonne’s attention was focused otherwise.

The anecdote was never her concern, but the test-tube baby inspired her.

It struck her she could also give birth to a baby through a test tube.

...

Yvonne interrupted Dorothy, "Is the technology reliable? I mean, the test tubes."

Dorothy was startled by her question as she was talking keenly, and she paused for a moment before she replied, "It depends."

"Tell me about it," Yvonne looked at her eagerly.

Dorothy was glad that Yvonne was interested in it, and she prepared herself for expounding it, but then suddenly her phone rang. She answered it, cast a look into the middle distance, said "I’ll be back soon", and hung up.

Yvonne’s expectant look made her slightly guilty.

"I’m sorry, Yvonne, but I have to go now. Here’s my card. Talk later."

She handed Yvonne a business card of hers.

Yvonne took it and waved goodbye to her with a smile on her face, despite her disappointment.

When Dorothy was gone, she took a look at it, which read: Dorothy Smith, attending, department of gynecology and obstetrics of Tomaville Benevo Hospital.

It reminded her she could turn to Dorothy for her troubleâ€Â"she was an obstetrician, after all.

Finally there was a straw for her to clutch at.

James finished his call and returned, and seeing her staring at the card, he got closer to peep it.

"What is it?"

Yvonne hastened to put it away and answered, "Nothing important."

He didn’t push; instead, he said, "Alright, where were we before?"

Yvonne remembered she was just now about to confess that she was actually infertile, but now she changed her idea.

She said, "Again, nothing important. Here, try this," she offered him something to eat.

James smiled.

"Thank you."

Looking at James, Yvonne secretly rejoiced that she hadn’t told him her secret, otherwise she didn’t know whether she could take the consequences.

She heaved a sigh of relief and made a decision in her heart.

"Dorothy, what took you so long?"

"Um, I met Yvonne on the way back. Remember her, Stanley?"

There was a hint of surprise on her face, yet it soon vanished. He replied, "Sort of."

"She’s got married," Dorothy said enviously.

"Are you sure?"

Stanley’s eyes dimmed with disillusionment.

Immersed in the joy of reunion, Dorothy took little notice of Stanley. She went on, "Curious enough, she asked me about test-tube babies."

Stanley was startled at that, and asked, "What did you say then?"

"Nothing. I was about to tell her something about it, but you called, and here I am," Dorothy said.

Stanley felt a sense of relief and frowned, then he said to Dorothy, "Listen to me, next time when she asked you about it, tell her that..."

He whispered in Dorothy’s ear.

Dorothy looked amazed. "But why?"

"Just do as I said. It can’t be wrong," he gave her a meaningful wink.

Hit by the wink, Dorothy found her heart pounding in her chest and she was unable to think. "I’ll do it."

A satisfactory grin curved his lips.

...

Yvonne made an appointment with Dorothy the next day at a cafe.

After the greetings, Yvonne came straight to the point, "Dorothy, I’ve come to ask you to do me a favor."

Dorothy said, "Just name it, Yvonne; we’re friends, remember?"

Yvonne paused for a moment and continued, "One of my friends recently had a physical exam, and the results showed that her uterus is malformed. That means she can’t give birth to babies. Is there a way...? Can you help me with it?"

"Of course. Have you brought the results with you?"

Yvonne hesitated for a little while before she handed her phone. And when Dorothy was examiningg it, she couldn’t help feeling nervous, although she had deliberately effaced her personal information.

As Yvonne fidgeted in her seat, Dorothy uttered, "Tell me the truth, Yvonne, do these results really belong to your friend?"

Dorothy eyed her with skepticism.

Yvonne took fright at it and figured Dorothy might have found out something.

She paused for a moment to conceal her anxiety, and replied, "Of course they are."

Dorothy didn’t persist, after a few extra looks on Yvonne, she focused her attention on the phone again.

Yvonne silently heaved a sigh of relief and ventured, "Is it possible for her to deliver a baby through test tubes?"

Dorothy looked away from the phone and opened her mouth, but suddenly Stanley’s enjoinment crossed her mind.

She had no idea what Stanley’s purpose was, but the promise to Stanley was hard to break for her.

She paused for a moment and said, "I’m afraid there’s only a small hope. Your friend’s got a complex problem. Her uterus is absolutely not in a good shape to form a baby, and surrogacy is forbidden in most states."

Dorothy felt as if she’d fallen into an icy winter lake.

"Is this a death sentence?" she wondered.

Yvonne said as a last resort, "Is there another alternative..."

"Probably no," Dorothy interrupted her. "To tell the truth, test -tube babies are much more difficult to deliver than you imagined. One may suffer a lot both mentally physiologically in the process, and the cost is often very high. Besides, the rate of success doesn’t look that optimistic, so it is highly not recommended."

Her words, like cold water poured on Yvonne, nipped her last hope in the bud.

She had always held an optimistic mood that things would finally work themselves out and kept trying her best to make it happen, yet in the end, as is often the case, she found lying before her were often endless dead ends.

Her heart momentarily sank.

Dorothy noticed her pale face and showed concern, "Are you alright, Yvonne?"

Yvonne collected herself and managed a faint smile, "I’m fine, thank you, Dorothy. I’ll tell her about it. And...guess.. guess it’s about time. I’ve paid the bill in advance. See you later."