Yolanda didn't hold onto much hope, having already researched it endlessly online.
Traditional medicine couldn't do much for her; the only real solution was surgery. And even after the surgery, she still wouldn't be completely normal.
She would never be able to conceive a child of her own.
So did it really matter whether she got the treatment or not?
By coming to Claire, she mostly just wanted confirmation on whether she truly had zero chance of ever functioning as a normal woman.
And zero chance of having a baby.
If that were the indisputable truth, she could finalize her decisions early.
"I don't want anyone else to know."
Despite her outgoing and confident exterior, the medical condition had buried a deep sense of insecurity inside Yolanda.
"Is that why you want to claim Reggie's child?"
Yolanda bit her lip. "That's part of it. But there's another reason..."
For years, she had kept this deeply buried secret from the entire world.
Yolanda didn't entirely understand why she suddenly trusted Claire as her confidant.
"You really don't have to tell me." It wasn't that Claire hated being an emotional sounding board.
She simply had no desire to uncover the dark secrets of the social elite.
The more you knew, the faster you became a target. She understood that rule of survival perfectly.
"No, I want to tell you."
Yolanda saw the reluctance on Claire's face and let out a sudden, genuine laugh.
This girl was born to be a doctor. You could tell just by looking at her that her lips were tightly sealed.
Claire sighed in exasperation, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm serious, you don't need to share this with me."
Yolanda exhaled slowly. "But if I don't tell someone, I think I'm going to suffocate."
"Alright. Go ahead, then." Claire didn't even know what to say anymore.
Keeping a heavy secret bottled up really could make a patient physically ill.
"It's just... Reggie might only ever have this one child in his entire life, and it's still a coin toss whether it survives or not."
Yolanda hesitated, her words tumbling out awkwardly.
Claire looked at her in surprise. "Why would you say that? What's the secret here?"
"When
we were kids, he got hurt
down there trying to protect me. And then in a horrible mix-up, I ended up njuring him a second time
It was the most awkward, wildly unfair way a man could possibly be injured.
"But he sleeps around with so many women. Maybe everything is functioning just fine?"
Claire wasn't convinced. A man whose core foundation had been destroyed wouldn't logically be a relentless playboy.
Yolanda looked even more deeply embarrassed. "He probably does it to overcompensate and hide his shortcomings."
"He only started cycling through girlfriends constantly after the injury."
Claire's expression was utterly complicated.
She genuinely didn't know whether she should believe Yolanda's theory.
More importantly, Yolanda didn't have any concrete proof, right?
Seeing Claire's clear skepticism,
a smiled gently. "He definitely
nds himself with a lot of
women, but I had someone look into it."
"With most of them, they literally just slept side by side without doing anything."
"He's always generous during a breakup, so none of those women ever run their mouths."
"But in our social circles, there have always been whispers that he couldn't perform."
"I figured he ended up like that because of me, after all."
"If the baby in that woman's
stomach is the only child he'll
ever
sto would be an absolute sin
produce
not to keep it."
Claire was still doubtful. "But how do you know the baby is definitely his?"
"Because I found a specific medication for him."
"He couldn't perform at all before, but things have improved slightly for him lately."
"And it's entirely because of the medication I found for him."
"I've also had my people keep a close eye on this woman. She hasn't been with any other man besides Reggie."
"That's why I'm completely certain the baby belongs to him."
"She's basically the one-in-a-billion lucky exception."
Claire stared at Yolanda with an incredibly complex gaze.
It seemed this woman didn't actually love Reggie. She was entirely driven by guilt.