Mia and Mara

Catherine's POV

*At the hospital*

My hands trembled as I opened the envelope. Arthur kept on insisting I visited the hospital after I had been showing several symptoms of illness. I was scared of what could be in the envelope as I sat in the doctor's office waiting for her to come see me.

She greeted me and entered the office, she sat down on her chair and opened the file. She took a deep breath and suddenly widened her eyes.

"What is it doctor?" I said, I was almost running out of oxygen.

She was silent at first and looked at me.

"How is this possible?" She asked me as if in some kind of shock or amazement.

At that point I was sure that whatever was in that file was not good news.

"Tell me what the problem is doctor" I persisted as I could no longer tolerate the suspense.

"You are 2 months pregnant" she stated firmly, from her tune you could tell that she couldn't believe it but was left with no other choice because the reports couldn't be wrong.

"But I was told I will never be able to concive again after my last miscarriage" I questioned the doctor looking more surprised than her.

After I had 3 miscarriages, four consecutive years ago. The doctors were sure that I will never be a mother. Arthur and I made so many attempts as we went for so many treatments but I just couldn't get pregnant.

"Doctor, are you sure this report is correct because I don't want to give my husband false hope?" I was happy and at the same time disappointed because of my past experiences.

"I think we need to conduct another pregnancy test. It will be ready 2 days from now" the doctor concluded and I completely agreed with her.

I just couldn't get the thoughts out of my head, I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't even look where I was headed. I bumped into one of the workers at the hospital.

*At Catherine's and Arthur's home*

Arthur had returned home late that night and I was too worried to even ask why.

"What is it?" He enquired as we both sat to have our dinner.

"Thank you" I looked at the maid who served the dinner.

"Nothing" I lied trying to hide my concern.

Arthur clearly knew I was lying but he decided not to push the issue any further.

"So how was your visit to the hospital? What did the doctor say?" Arthur shoved a piece of meat in his mouth and drank a little wine.

"Uhrm nothing much. I just have a fever, that's all. Please excuse me" I wiped my face with the napkin on the table and walked away.

When Arthur was done with his meal and came into the room, I switched off the lights and pretended to be asleep.

As usual he went to the study room in the mansion to continue the work he brought from the office.

I don't know why I am so bothered about this. It is actually good news that I will finally have my own kids but I just can't tell Arthur yet at least till I am sure. The last time I had a miscarriage, Arthur almost took his own life.

I woke up the next day with a very painful headache.

"Celine, Celine" I kept on yelling to get the attention of one of the maids in the mansion.

"Yes ma'am" a young, fair, tall and elegant blonde ran towards me.

"You aren't Celine. Where is she?" I questioned the young girl as I have never seen her before, though it is impossible for me to know all the workers in the mansion, because they are over 500. I do keep the names of my favorites.

"I'm sorry ma but Celine went to see her family since it's the period of her 3 months off" she spoke softly and lowered her head as she spoke to me.

I completely forgot, Celine must be on her break. Every worker in the mansion works for a particular period then they get 3 months break to go see their families, normally they are set after set so it must be Celine's turn.

"Well okay, since you are here. Can you please prepare a hot water bath for me?" I said it more like a request than an order.

"Yes ma'am" she dashed out of the room immediately and in 10 minutes returned to tell me that my water was ready.

I went into my bathtub which was 14ft wide. I looked at my carved ceiling. My bathroom had two huge windows which weren't too high or too low. The floor had milk coloured tiles while the wall had light brown tiles.

I shifted the curtain to look at the other side of the bathroom which contained a 6ft deep swimming pool that was so wide I'm sure 40 to 50 people could fit in the pool at once.

I soaked myself in the bathtub with red rose petals in the water for about 20 minutes before I finally finished my bath. I took one of the 50 towels in the bathroom to dry my body and also took another one to dry my hair. I folded the towels neatl and kept them, while I put on my bathrobe. I came out with the two towels in my hand and two maids who were outside took them from me for washing. This is a daily routine.

A maid had already kept a dress for me to wear, I was given my privacy. I just creamed myself and put on a blue, mini, one handed Flora gown. I clapped my hands and three maids came to my attention. They helped me to heat my hair, making it drier and making it into a nice bun at the back just the way I liked it. The style they made my hair everyday mostly depended on what I wanted though. I was given a catalog before they started styling my hair.

Two maids stood by my side as I walked down the stairs. I got to the dining table only to find out that Arthur had left the house earlier so I had my breakfast all by myself while three security guards and the two maids stood by me waiting for my call, just in case I needed anything.

After having my breakfast, I walked towards my car and the guard opened the door for me. I didn't need to tell the driver where I was headed, he just drove me to the office at once. I was very absent minded during an important meeting at the office but I was happy that Arthur didn't notice as he didn't ask me about it or maybe he noticed and chose not to say anything about it.

I was still in very deep thoughts when my phone rang.

"Hello good morning ma'm. How is your day going?" The doctor asked from the other end of my phone.

"I am fine so far. Why have you called me doctor? Is there any problem?" I became a bit more concerned and attentive.

"Your reports are ready. You can come pick them up later this evening" she threw the bomb.

"What? But you told me that it would be ready in the next two days or so. It has barely been 24 hours yet" I protested out of shock.

", I know that ma'm but I only told you that because we usually have delays sometimes. The process is not actually long though" the doctor calmly explained.

I wasn't sure I would be able to wait till evening before I find out what is actually wrong with me.

"So what does the report say?" I asked the doctor in the hopes of finding out the littlest information.

"I am sorry but I really cannot tell you that until you come over to the hospital. I would advice you come with your husband" the doctor spoke before ending the call.

That's was rude, I thought to myself. Should I take Arthur along with me? Would he be able to handle what the doctor will say to me? What if I am actually not pregnant but I have a terminal case or something.

I didn't even notice when Arthur walked into the office, he just leaned on the door and crossed his legs.

"So are you going to tell me what the issue is or you are going to keep lying to my face?" He folded his hands and was calm. His voice was actually the thing that brought me out of my thoughts.

"How long have you been standing there?" I was concerned.

"Long enough to see that what ever is the issue it's definitely something about your test reports"Arthur sat on the chair in front of me.

I just couldn't hide it any longer but I also couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth so I lied again except this time it wasn't completely a lie.

"The doctor said you will have to come with me to the hospital before she tells me what is wrong with me and I have been thinking of how to tell you" I gave a faint smile.

"Is that why you are worried?" He looked confused.

"Yes" I lied again

"Then that's not a problem. Just tell me when we are going" he spoke calmly again.

"This evening" I replied almost immediately.

He smiled and agreed before he went to his own office in the company.

Arthur's POV

At the hospital ; doctor's office

I would be lying to myself if I say I'm not scared to the core. What could it be that the doctor needed my presence before she could tell Catherine what the problem was.

My palms had become so cold as I held Catherine's hand and we both sat in the office, waiting for what our fate would be.

I heard the door opening, I turned around to see a lady I guessed to be in her late 20's in a lab coat entering the office. Catherine and I stood up but she asked us to take our seats.

I was so impatient I rushed to ask questions immediately.

"Doctor, what is the problem?. Why did you insist I come along with my wife before you say anything?" I bombarded her with questions after questions.

"Mr Arthur please I would like you to calm down. Actually there isn't any problem but good news" the doctor gave a big smile as she began to flip through some papers that were on her table.

"Good news?" I got confused.

Catherine, who had been quiet all this while, suddenly looked at me and smiled as if she knew what the doctor was about to say.

"So what is this good news?" I looked at the doctor confused and lost.

"Well Mr Arthur.. your wife is 4 weeks pregnant" she blurted out and looked at my face as if trying to guess my next expression.

"Pregnant? But how? She.. she was" I stammered trying to comprehend the entire scenario.

Should I be happy or not or maybe they made some kind of mistake because Catherine can never be pregnant again. At least that was what her reports said after her last miscarriage.

"Doctor, are you sure about what you are telling me?" I was in disbelief.

"Yes I am very sure. You can ask your wife over here. I had to conduct the test 3 more times after finding out" the doctor explained and I just couldn't help but to look at Catherine who was seated by my side

"Is that true Catherine?" I looked at her.

"Yes" she finally confessed.

So she knew all about this and she didn't tell me, I was almost angered.

"Arthur, please don't get mad. I just wanted to be sure before I tell you anything I didn't want to give you false hope" she pleaded and looked so innocent. She folded her heart shaped pink lips and looked down.

Well she is right though.

"Anyways that's not the reason I wanted you to be here before I tell her about the pregnancy" the doctor drew the attention of both Catherine and myself.

"So what is the reason?" I paid more attention to the doctor this time.

"Your wife's pregnancy is complicated due to her previous miscarriages. If we are not careful she might lose the baby again" the doctor was disappointed.

I closed my eyes and breathed out heavily, I knew that this miracle wouldn't just come like that.

"Please can I have an ultrasound?" Catherine was so excited. I wondered how she could be so excited.

"No not yet. You will have to wait till the pregnancy is 21 weeks then you can come for an ultrasound" the doctor advised.

Then the doctor's phone rang and she walked out of the room. If I guessed correctly she had an emergency.

Catherine's POV

*At the house of Catherine and Arthur"

"Arthur, you have to calm down. You just found out today and you are already giving me restrictions" I was happy and angry at the same time

"You heard what the doctor said. I cannot risk the life of this child so you have to stop working for now please" Arthur said in a low and appealing tone while he asked me to sit on the bed.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. The pregnancy journey went so fast and I was already in my 21st week of pregnancy.

At the hospital

"Please lie down and avoid moving your body too much Mrs Catherine" the doctor instructed as she conducted an ultrasound.

She didn't take her eyes off the screen and I was so tense. I wanted to know what I was carrying, a beautiful girl or a dashing and handsome looking boy.

"Congratulations, you are pregnant with twins. Two girls precisely" the doctor helped me stand up.

At Catherine and Arthur's home

Arthur was more than happy when I told him about the twins.

"So you mean I am going to have two beautiful girls running around the house and calling me daddy?" Arthur dropped the documents he was holding earlier and came closer to me.

"Yes" I laughed.

The joy in his eyes was simply something I couldn't ignore. I have never seen him this happy after my last miscarriage.

"So can I call my brother and tell him the good news?" Arthur looked at me as if asking for permission.

"No Arthur not yet. I still stand by my decision that no one would find out about my pregnancy till I deliver the babies safe and sound" I tried my best to explain things as best as I could.

I don't know why but ever since I found out about the baby Arthur has been so eager to tell the whole world but I have been insisting he waits. I don't even know the reason why I felt like it was the best choice, maybe it was because I was afraid of taking the shame of losing another baby.

"Okay as you please your highness" Arthur took a cheerful bow in front of me that made me laugh.

I have never come this far with a pregnancy before. In Fact my stomach had never been this swollen.

I never knew that pregnancy was this challenging. I got so many cravings and crazy mood swings.

I was in the 8 month already and so far so good.

Arthur's POV

At the office

Each and every day that passes by my fear gets bigger and bigger. I get so scared of losing the babies and what if I lose Catherine this time.

I wouldn't stop calling her more than five times a day anytime I'm at work..

"Arthur this is the 9th time you have called me to ask whether I have eaten" Catherine was complaining from the other end of the phone.

"I know but I cannot help but worry about you" I tried to defend myself knowing fully well that I was overreacting.

"Arthur you left the house 3 hours ago and it's not 12 noon yet" she sounded very sarcastic.

"I know that as well," I said.

"Ok. Do you even get any work done?" She was slowly becoming enraged.

"Ok bye" I ended the call trying my best to escape her anger.

The 8 month went by smoothly thankfully and finally we were in the 9th month and for some reason Catherine kept falling sick. It was from one problem to the other and I could tell that the doctors weren't even sure about the babies survival.

At the hospital

"What is happening doctor? Is my wife going to be okay" I waited outside the ER of the hospital. I rushed Catherine to the hospital for the 3rd time in the same week after she passed out suddenly.

"Is she conscious?" I asked the doctor again but she ignored me and kept on walking.

I couldn't sit or stand or do anything. I just kept on pacing outside the ER, nurses would rush out of the room and I would try questioning them but none of them gave me any reply. The ones who would try to reply to me would tell me to be patient that they were in a hurry. My palms were already sweating and I rubbed my hair with my palm vigorously.

A nurse holding a tray was approaching me, I was so absent minded that I bumped into the nurse

"I am so sorry" I helped her to pick up the items that fell on the floor. Although that nurse wasn't attending to my wife.

I still followed her and saw a little girl in a room. The girl should be around 6 to 8 years old. She was indeed beautiful and I wished that my daughters would end up being as beautiful as she was.

"Nurse, why is no one attending to that girl?" I tried to make inquiries.

"Her parents stopped paying her bills. They said they couldn't afford her surgery, she has very little time left as her kidney is failing her"the nurse's tone was more than sad and I could tell from her voice that she felt pity for the girl but yet there was absolutely nothing she could do about the entire issue.

I thought about it for a while and decided to pay the 1 million dollars that was required to carry out the surgery but I pleaded with the staff to keep my identity away from the parents of the girl no matter what happened. I already had media problems. I didn't want more issues.

Just then I took notice of the doctor coming out of the ER with some nurses, she seemed to be giving them instructions. Sweating, I slowly started to walk towards the doctor's direction and immediately she saw me, she wore a sad expression on her face.

"I'm really sorry Mr Arthur" she lowered her head in disappointment and just then I knew it was over. All my happiness would soon fade.

Arthur's POV

At the hospital

"It's okay doctor" I used my palms to clean my face.

"Sorry that I wasn't able to attend to you. I didn't want to waste time because your wife was in a critical position. Congratulations your wife and kids are fine now* the doctor stretched forth her hand for a handshake.

"Wait, you mean my wife and daughters are alive?" I asked again because I couldn't believe my ears. I felt like my ears were playing a cruel trick on me.

"Yes you can go and see them" the doctor smiled at me and walked away.

Wait ! So this means I am now a father of two beautiful girls.

My heart just couldn't contain my joy, I called my younger brother immediately.

"Louis, you have two nieces now. Two beautiful princesses" I said over the phone the moment he picked the call.

"What?" He sounded lost and confused

"Yes, Louis , my wife , was pregnant, come down to Shiline hospital as soon as possible. I will explain everything to you" I was so excited and ended the call before I ran into the ER to see my beautiful daughters.

"Arthur," Catherine whispered, trying to struggle to talk. She looked more than exhausted.

"Shh you have to rest now" I took both babies and held them in my arms. They were so tiny and had the cutest eyes.

"I'm sorry sir but I need to go and clean the babies up" a nurse came and took the children from me.

I felt like a huge part of me was being taken away. I wanted to follow the nurse but Catherine stopped me. She asked me to wait because it was improper. But still I wasn't at ease.

"Mr Arthur you need to come to my office now" the doctor rushed.

"Why?" I was worried at this point.

"Doctor if there is anything you want to say please say it here" Catherine urged the doctor,. I believe she had also seen the fear in the doctor's eyes.

"I'm sorry, we lost one of your daughters' ' the doctor finally spoke up after much persuasion.

"That is not possible. My daughters were here and then the nurse came. Where are my kids" Catherine, who was weak earlier, suddenly developed strength and attacked the doctor.

"I'm really sorry" the doctor kept on begging and pleading with Catherine to let her go.

I had to step in to separate Catherine as she refused to let go of the doctor's coat. She was indeed angry.

"Catherine please get a hold of yourself" I tried to put her under control. By that time the doctor had already made her way out of the room.

"What do you mean by that? You were here, you saw my healthy babies and now she is telling me that they lost one of my kids. Do you know the pain I went through? Do you know how long I have waited? I will set this hospital and everyone in it ablaze if they don't provide my children for me" Catherine was so enraged she began to destroy things.

"Catherine calm down, don't forget the fact that I'm the father of these kids as well so whatever pain and anger you are feeling. I experienced it ten times as well" I held her preventing her from breaking more things in the hospital.

Not too long after the incident my brother rushed into the hospital with his maids carrying a baby troller and some other baby stuff.

"Oh my gosh Arthur. I can't believe this, I am an uncle of not just one but two. Where are the angels? I want to see them" Louis was so excited but stopped talking when he noticed I was wearing a sad look.

"Hey why the long face?" He became worried as he lowered his eyebrows and looked at me.

"I lost one of my daughters" a tear escaped from my eyes. The words were so heavy for me to say.

"What? But you just called me an hour ago. I was even happy I was in the city at the right time, I left everything and rushed down here" Louis kept on demonstrating with his hands. He was more confused than frustrated.

"How did this happen? When?" Louis kept on pacing and the maids who came with him looked so confused, probably because Louis is someone who is always calm. It might have been the first time they saw Louis so tense and frustrated.

I embraced Louis in a hug as I let my tears flow.

"I don't know Louis. My daughter is dead" I kept on weeping not even caring about the people that were at the hospital.

"It's okay, you will have more kids. Where is Catherine?" Louis tried his best to sympathize with me.

"She is in the ER" I led him towards the ER and he got talking with Catherine.

We all engaged in a conversation and the nurse soon came with the only surviving baby. After much debating we decided to name her "Mia" the meaning varies though but to me she is my beloved beautiful queen.

"So Mia it is then. Mia must be the most beautiful girl in the world. She has bright blue eyes, something so rare" Louis pointed out.

"Yes she is" I immediately agreed.

"Arthur, when I recover we are going to sue this hospital, they will pay for the death of Mia's sister" Catherine was holding the child and declaring.

"Yes Ma'am whatever you say" Louis and I both teased Catherine who wasn't in the mood.

I know it's insane how we got over our daughter's death so quickly but the happiness was just a cover up for the pain and agony we were hiding inside.

Somehow the media got to find out about Catherine's birth. They started asking so many questions and we just couldn't bear it. It was very frustrating. Whenever I go to work I will see journalists outside my office and even when I'm about to close I will still see them waiting for me.

Catherine didn't trust anyone with her bundle of joy as she refused to get a nanny that would look after Mia. She stayed at home until Mia turned two years old. I really didn't have any problem with it though.

The pain I felt from losing one of our daughters was just something I didn't want to experience again.

Things started to change for the worse not too long after Mia was born. Catherine began to be more suspicious of everyone especially after the incident that happened on Mia's first birthday.

The whole place was crowded and everyone came to celebrate our beautiful daughter, everyone was distracted by the whole event. Catherine left 3 maids to dress Mia up and look after her while we were attending to the media persons that attended the event.

"Arthur, can you please wait here for me? There is something I want to check on" Catherine left me with a glass of wine and excused herself from the conversation we were having with other guests.

Not too long after that I heard someone scream from our room. Not just me but many workers in the house ran upstairs to check what was going on.

"Mia, Mia" Catherine was shivering as she looked at my almost lifeless baby. She wasn't breathing or smiling the way she used to. A dark substance was also gushing from her mouth. We immediately rushed Mia to the hospital. For some reason none of the maids that were with Mia earlier were in the house.

"Doctor is my daughter is going to be fine" Catherine kept on pacing around in the doctor's office.

The doctor kept on scanning our baby cautiously without taking her eyes off her for even one second. She gave Mia an injection and Mia began to breathe normally.

"Your daughter seems to be okay. I can't find anything wrong with her'' the doctor shook her head in utter disbelief. Catherine and I were relieved but our problems had only begun. After that day we searched and searched for the maids that were present but we couldn't find them.

We also sued the hospital Catherine gave birth in and they were indebted to us for at least 20 to 25 years but I found it strange that nurses and doctors began to resign.

We noticed many changes in our daughter. Mia was already 2 years old and she didn't walk nor crawl nor did she voice out anything. She became too attached to things and sometimes would refuse any of us touching her. She refused to eat for 3 days sometimes and she was just excluding herself from the crowd. We made sure she started school early so she was put in school but she didn't talk or play with her mates like normal kids do.

Out of concern we decided to take Mia to the hospital to find out if something was wrong with our child but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her. Over and over we kept on visiting different hospitals until it was finally confirmed that Mia had Autism. A disability which delays speech and doesn't allow one to associate properly with others. It was really traumatising for both Catherine and myself.

My child was already 4 and she couldn't voice out words although she had started walking, I never heard her call me daddy for once. She didn't run to approach me whenever I came back from work, rather she ran away from me most of the time. She would always be alone and whenever we came close to her she looked scared or frightened, we only had good memories with our daughter on very few occasions.

Catherine and I just didn't know how much of all this we could bear and how long it would take us before we got fed up but Catherine wouldn't stop trying. She just refused to give up on our daughter. I had an emotional breakdown one day.