Reyna sat up with a gasp, her eyes darting around nervously as she tried to make sense of what was going on.
One of her hands unconsciously touched her stomach, searching for the life growing there.
What happened?
Where was she?
The last thing she remembered was falling into the river.
The impact had sent her reeling and had almost knocked the breath out of her, but she had been able to hold her breath just in time as the river dragged her away.
She had managed to swim back up to the surface to catch her breath when she realized she was heading in the wrong direction.
She had thought the river would take her northward, but it had been taking her south instead of north, which meant she was heading into a different country altogether.
Reyna had tried to swim against the current but couldn’t muster up the strength to fight it.
In her panic to get out, she hadn’t noticed the rock behind her until it was too late.
Now she had woken up in an unfamiliar place with no clue what happened in the time she was unconscious.
Had she been caught by the Villegas family and brought back to the mansion?
As she studied her surroundings, she quickly realized that she was inside a hospital and not the mansion.
She didn’t let herself feel relieved just yet and clutched the sheets with one hand while she glanced down at her flat stomach.
Was her child safe?
She knew what she had done was dangerous and prayed that her child was unharmed by her reckless actions.
A sharp throbbing pain stabbed at her head, and she pressed a hand against it.
Just then, the door to her room opened, and a woman stepped inside.
Reyna tensed, ready to act at a moment’s notice if the woman tried anything funny.
“Oh, none of that.
I’m not going to do anything to you.
I’m a doctor,” the woman said as she waved a hand.
Highly skeptical, Reyna refused to back down as she watched her every movement.
The woman sat down in the chair beside Reyna’s bed after she grabbed the clipboard hanging on the bed and examined its contents.
“You’re quite lucky, you know.
Several people spotted you floating in the river and dragged you out.
It was a miracle you survived, especially if you’re from the nearest town, about a hundred miles away,” the woman said without looking away from the clipboard.
The woman’s words left her stunned.
If what the woman said was true, then she really got lucky, especially since she was unconscious the entire time.
It was a miracle she hadn’t drowned before arriving at the hospital.
“It must be because of the brooch you were wearing.
It protected you and your child until you could get help,” the woman said nonchalantly as she finally looked at Reyna for the first time since she started reading what was on the clipboard.
At the word brooch, Reyna glanced down at her chest.
A ruby red brooch stared back at her, connected to a chain around her neck.
She remembered when she first got it.
Her parents had surprised her one day with it, saying it was their gift to her.
It was the first time they ever gave her anything without expecting anything in return.
It had made her believe that her parents really did care about her even if they didn’t show it most of the time, and she had cherished it immensely.
“In case you’re wondering, we couldn’t remove it.
Whoever gave you that brooch must have wanted to ensure you were well protected,” the woman commented.
“Mother, Father,” she murmured to herself.
Reyna could have never imagined it would have such an amazing ability, and a wave of guilt washed over her.
She had just run away from the Villegas without a word to anyone, not even her parents.
Reyna had just convinced herself that they didn’t care about her, but why would they gift her such a valuable gem with powerful magic if that was the case?
Why wouldn’t they give it to Dolores?
The woman suddenly tapped the clipboard against the bed, drawing Reyna out of her thoughts, and said, “I’ll be blunt.
You are a pregnant woman who has washed up in the city with no ID or anything else besides the clothes on your back.
Honestly, we should be handing you to the authorities.” She had a point even though Reyna wanted to argue otherwise.
Finding a random person, especially a pregnant woman, in the river was highly suspicious and highly concerning.
In fact, she was surprised the authorities hadn’t been called sooner.
The hospital should have contacted them so they could figure out her identity and close family or friends.
However, if that happened, they would quickly discover she wasn’t from the country.
The panic must have been obvious on her face as the woman continued, “However, I suspect there’s a reason you ended up in this situation.
Even if you’re really from the Kingdom of Goden, we won’t turn away someone in trouble.” The woman’s knowing, ruby red eyes had Reyna looking away, as she couldn’t bear to look at them.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she could scarcely believe how far the doctor was willing to go for someone she suspected was from an enemy country.
The Kingdom of Goden and the Ormstedian Empire had been enemies for many years, with a lot of deaths on both sides.
No one would blame the doctor for refusing to treat her and might even praise her for it.
For all they knew, she could actually be a spy sent by the kingdom and be trying to garner sympathy to sneak in.
“That’s why you need to be honest with me.
Do you wish to ask for protection?” the woman said as she held her hand out to Reyna.
As Reyna stared at the woman’s hand, her own hands trembled against the sheets.
Should she trust the woman and take her hand, or should she let herself be sent back to her country while hoping she won’t end up back in that place?