Chapter 4 YOU HAVE OLIGOSPERMIA

At the Powers mansion, Mrs. Powers was in the large living room with her maids while they admired some gold jewelry together. Cynthia climbed down the second staircase that leads to and from Ryan's room.

"Good morning, Mrs. Powers" Cynthia greeted politely.

"How are you, dear?" Mrs. Powers asked with a smile as she set the gold down. "Come and sit beside me."

Cynthia smiled and sat down next to her.

"Are these from my mum's collection?" Cynthia asked, looking at the golds.

"Of course. She supplies me all the time" Mrs. Powers said. "Now, tell me, how was your night with Ryan? I know you slept in his room."

"We slept well" Cynthia answered, looking so shy.

"Did anything happen between you two?" Mrs. Powers asked, leaning in.

"Uhmm..." Cynthia hesitated, and Mrs. Powers smiled knowingly.

"I knew it! Don't be shy. I just want a grandchild, even if it's just one. Make sure you two spend a lot of nights together. As soon as Ryan confirms you're his girlfriend, I'll talk to your mother about the wedding."

"Yes, ma'am" Cynthia said politely.

"I used to think if he was even capable of sleeping with a woman" Mrs. Powers said, chuckling. "But when I heard the noise you were making last night, I knew my son is definitely a man."

Cynthia raised her brows in surprise. "How did you hear that? Our rooms are far apart."

"I went on a little inspection around the house, and when I heard what I came for, I went back to my room satisfied" Mrs. Powers said, laughing. Cynthia giggled too.

"I should start heading to work now" Cynthia said, standing up.

"Where's Ryan?" Mrs. Powers asked.

"He got a call from a doctor friend at the hospital. I won't be coming back here tonight. Ryan and I will be staying at his villa."

"That's perfect. Until he returns to duty, don't miss a night by his side" Mrs. Powers said warmly.

"I'm leaving now, ma'am" Cynthia said. One of the maids carried her bags and followed her out. She got into the backseat of her car and her driver drove off. Cynthia smiled as she remembered Mrs. Powers' words, laughing softly to herself. Everything was working out just the way she wanted. She had broken up with her ex-boyfriend just to be with Ryan. She wanted to be his wife, Mrs. Powers Jnr sounds good.

Meanwhile, Ryan's black Rolls-Royce Sweptail pulled over in the parking lot of Morgan University Hospital. One of his bodyguards opened the door for him.

"Wait here" Ryan instructed, and the bodyguard nodded. Ryan entered the hospital, wearing a face mask to hide his identity, though he was dressed in his white ceremonial uniform.

He knocked on a doctor's office door on one of the upper floors.

"Come in, Captain Ryan" Dr. Daniel said from inside. Ryan entered and shut the door behind him.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked as he walked toward Dr. Daniel, pulling down his mask and putting his hands in his pockets.

"You called me a few minutes ago, and I'm not expecting anyone else" Dr. Daniel said. "Have a seat."

"What's so important that you couldn't tell me on phone?" Ryan asked, strolling around the office before finally sitting down.

"Ryan... I need to tell you something serious" Dr. Daniel said.

"Here we go again. Doctors and their dramatic buildup. Just spill the beans" Ryan said, clearly impatient.

"It's about you and Keiran" Dr. Daniel began.

"I don't want to talk about her. Weren't you the one who told me she already got married? She dumped me" Ryan said bitterly.

"This is the reason she broke up with you" Dr. Daniel said, handing him a letter.

Ryan opened and read it, frowning in confusion. "What does this even mean?"

"You two dated for two years and she never got pregnant. So she came here to get herself tested and her results were normal. That's when she became suspicious. The last time you were together before the breakup, she wore a condom and brought your sperm here for testing. That's how we discovered it."

"Discovered what?" Ryan asked slowly.

"You have oligospermia, your sperm count is extremely low. Right now, you're infertile. You can't get a woman pregnant" Dr. Daniel said carefully.

Ryan swallowed hard, his mind spinning. He thought about how no one had ever truly gotten pregnant for him, and how his mother kept asking for grandchildren. He had even joked about adopting a child someday to make his mother worry less and not bother him but now, that joke might become his only option.

"What causes it? Is there a cure? Can I still become fertile?" he asked, his voice serious.

"You have a hormonal imbalance, very low testosterone and an issue with your pituitary gland" Dr. Daniel explained. "We can put you on hormone boosters and fertility treatments, but it may take a very long time before we see any results."

Ryan let out a deep breath and stood up. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She was scared" Dr. Daniel said. "And I made her promise not to tell anyone to protect your image."

"Thanks. I'm leaving" Ryan said quietly and walked out of the room.

As he walked through the hospital hallway, lost in thought, he pulled his mask back up to hide his face and his sad emotions. Just as he turned to a corner, a female doctor in a white coat accidentally bumped into him. She had been distracted reading a patient chart, and the coffee in her hand spilled on Ryan's white uniform.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry" Regina gasped, realizing what she had done.

"What the fuck!" Ryan snapped, his eyes narrowing at the large brown stain. "This is a Class A uniform!"

"I didn't see you. I mean, I'm really sorry" Regina stammered, not finding the right words.

"You didn't see me? Are you blind?" Ryan shot back.

"Excuse me?" Regina retorted, now irritated. "I said I'm sorry. It's not like you're going to war or something. It's just a uniform." She said, trying to make a joke out of it.

"This uniform represent the people who died wearing it. Today is the Armed Forces Remembrance Day" Ryan said, his expression turning cold.

"I didn't know... I didn't mean to be disrespectful" Regina said.

"No, you just didn't care" Ryan said coldly and began to walk off.

"Ryan, you forgot the result!" Dr. Daniel called from behind.

"Keep it. I'll get it next time" Ryan said without turning around and left.

"You should have apologized properly, Dr. Coles. That was Captain Ryan. Special Forces. Silver Star. He's not the kind of man you want to disrespect in or out of uniform" Dr. Daniel warned before heading back into his office with Ryan's result.

Regina frowned slightly and shrugged without a care, then walked off toward her department.