Will You Marry Me, Again

or two days, Maia. How are you feeling now? Does it still hurt?”

“Two days?” Maia was disoriented and tried to recall what had happened.

“Yes, you were bleeding, but you're fine now. All you need is rest.” Tess sounded relieved. Maia nodded. “Thank you for taking care of me, Aunt Tess.”

“Hey, I’m your family, alright?” Tess handed her a glass of water and asked, “So what’s with you and Cedric? Why have you gotten a divorce?”

Everyone knew how deeply Maia loved Cedric, so the divorce seemed sudden.

Maia only said, “The marriage had run its course.”

She could not bear to elaborate further. All she wanted was to start a family with him, but where had that led her? Remembering her lost baby, she felt a pang of sorrow and cradled her tummy.

“What on earth are you talking about? Maia, you can’t get a divorce! You'll be left with nothing.” Tess was agitated and said, “You have to beg Cedric to reconsider!”

Maia sensed something was amiss and asked, “What's going on?”

Collecting herself, Tess let out a smile and shook her head. “Nothing, okay? Everything's fine.”

Maia saw the shifty look in Tess’s eyes, as if she were hiding something.

Scanning the room, she realized that her younger brother was not there. She asked, “Where’s Errol? Does he know I’m in the hospital?”

Not seeing him heightened her unease, so Maia picked up her phone to call him.

Tess quickly stopped her. “Maia!”

Maia became more convinced that something was wrong. “Aunt Tess, you're keeping something from me, aren’t you? What's going on?”