The convenient marriage

Chapter 11. A first time father

This was her intention, but the silent man by her side, who had not voiced even a word since he had entered the office, and was only quietly staying by her side, swiftly caught her small hands before she managed to lift her dress.

The bigger hands, that enveloped her smaller ones, confused Aria, and she immediately looked up at the man with a questioning face.

'Doctor!' The stern man icily said.

'Yes!' Replied the chief a bit startled at the sudden intervention, she had placed a thumb sized drop of gel on her gloved hand, and was only waiting for Aria to remove her dress.

'Does the hospital not allocate an appropriate budget for the OBGYN department?' He continued after a moment of silence. 

His voice was normal, but a displeased undertone could be felt nonetheless. It stunned the doctor, not understanding his point. Was the owner using this opportunity of coming with his wife for the appointment, as a disguised inspection? Alarms quickly rang in her head, and she honestly replied. 

'Yes, of course. The budget is established each year to meet all the expenses. It is enough to assure the best equipment and necessary staff. There is nothing lacking.' She immediately replied.

'Really? Then why is there a need for interns to assist you for my wife's ultrasound? Are you sure you have enough nurses?' Zane expressionlessly asked her, looking at the doctor as if he was ready to cut her in two.

'I am sorry. I did not consider this, it was my oversight. The interns are studying at the moment so...' The doctor hurriedly justified her actions.

It was normal in a hospital, for interns to do some of the jobs instead of the nurses, so they could learn. As such when the chief would have consultations, sometimes nurses did not need to be present, as the interns would take over their jobs. The chief had acted like she usually did in terms of the procedure. Moreover, Aria was also a rare case, she had been in a coma while pregnant, so she really was a valuable study case.

Aria was still looking questioningly at Zane, she also did not think it was that big of a deal. Interns had always been present whenever she had the consultations before. Not to mention, being in and out of the hospital for the most part of her last life, she knew it was a standard teaching technique. 

But hearing the word "wife" from Zane's mouth had momentarily reminded her of her position, it felt strange to her... foreign. But it also enlightened her a bit. Could it be that rich people did not like being used as study material?

'I am sure there are enough patients for you to help them in their studies. My wife is not a study case. This is the last time you will have interns present at her check-ups.' He firmly spoke.

Realizing her blunder, as she had only now thought the presence of the interns would upset Zane, the doctor immediately apologized and sent the interns out. By her side to assist her only remaining the nurse who had helped Aria walk.

The friendly atmosphere from before was naturally shattered beyond repair, as the women now did their jobs mechanically, a bit afraid of incurring the stern man's admonishing.

Aria, on the other hand, was not too preoccupied by his prickly words, as she had gotten used to, at least at a certain level, with his abrupt manner of speaking. But on the other hand, seeing the interns leave, she realized that he had also come with her to the check-up. Of course, she was aware of this from last night until this morning and even now, all this time she had known that he would participate during the check-up, but only now understood what it actually meant.

The problem was that, with the feeling of the big hands on her own as he had stopped her from lifting up her skirt, it dawned on her... she had just been about to show her belly to him without the slightest care. With all the check-ups, she was no longer shy of lifting up her dress whenever the doctor asked for her to do so, that was why she had also readily agreed just now. But how could she forget, he was also in the room.