Page 15 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

“It could be fibroids, ovarian cysts, or endometriosis,” she said, counting them off on her fingers. “It could even be a hormonal disorder, which would explain the irregularity.”

“What if it’s something worse?” Julian cut in, his grip tightening on my hand.

Dr. Kohler grimaced. “It’s a possibility. However, the most probable culprit is endometriosis. But I can’t say anything for certain without further testing. You need a pelvic exam,” she said firmly.

My ears were buzzing, but I knew I’d heard her correctly.

“That’s okay.” I released Julian’s hand and pushed to my feet, trying, but failing, to ignore the two men hovering at my side. I stepped past her—it was ungrateful, especially since she’d gone out of her way to see me, but I’d apologize later. “I’m going home now.”

“Bianca.” Dr. Kohler touched my shoulder as my hand closed over the doorknob. “No matter what it is, even in the best-case scenario, things will get worse if you don’t take care of it.”

I couldn’t breathe, and my stomach churned in pain. “W-worse?”

“You could become infertile,” she replied.

“What do you care?” I faced her, hysteria ripping from my throat. “I’m not supposed to have children anyway,” I reminded her. “Isn’t that why everyone decided to ruin my life?”

Dr. Kohler watched me with wide eyes—belatedly, I realized she’d never seen me angry.

“I’ve always cared,” she replied, wiping her hands. “That should be obvious by now. I only want you to be happy.”

“Well, guess what? I’m not happy.” The room spun, and I clenched my fists, fighting to keep my balance.

Julian reached for me. “Darling, I—”

He froze when I glared at him. “You told me I could say no,” I accused.

“You can say no!” he said. “But let’s look at other options. Then we’ll go home. But first, you need to calm down.”

“I’m fine!” I hissed and slammed open the door.

How dare he; he was the one who’d told me this was under my control. Suddenly, in my anger, the pain was much easier to ignore.

“I’m leaving,” I called behind me, unable to look at them anymore. “Thanks for seeing me.”

I stalked out and almost fell into the pink-scrubbed nurse from earlier. She nearly dropped the tray she was carrying and barely regained her footing in time to prevent herself from crashing into the floor.

“Mrs.—” she began, but I stepped around her.

“Sorry.” The heat rose to the back of my neck. This was the last thing I needed—more people to witness my humiliation. “It was nice to meet you.”

Someone moved to the doorway, but I wouldn’t let them stop me. I took off down the hallway. Bryce was still in the waiting room, face buried in his phone as I burst through the double doors.

He didn’t even have time to stand before I’d left the building.

Julian POV

Catalina loomed in the doorway with her hands on her hips as she glared between us. Finally, her gaze—as expected—settled on me.

“What did you do to her?” she asked, glowering.

I sighed. With Miles growing stronger, the other witches were starting to step up.

But she wasn’t my priority right now.

“Well,” Mom said and touched her head. “That went as well as expected. I really should call Jameson. It’s way past time for him to be involved.”

Catalina looked back at her, her posture faltering.

I frowned.

“What’s the point?” I asked and moved towards the door. “She’ll never let him see her. I don’t have time for this. I’ll convince her to come back so we can talk.”

Titus stepped in front of me. “I’ll go.”

“You?” I glared at him. After how useless he’d been? “What are you going to do? Because just standing there was so helpful already.”

“She doesn’t need me to speak for her,” he said, and a pang shot through my chest. “You need to stop treating her like she’s helpless.”

“I don’t.” Okay, maybe I did, just a little. My jaw tightened, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. “You’re no better.”

“Just meet us back home,” Titus breathed and, ignoring my accusation, added, “I’ve got her.”

He stepped past Catalina and left before I could stop him.

Catalina looked disapprovingly after him, then turned to me. “What are you two doing with a fae girl anyway?”

She turned to my mother, voice edged with something wary. “She knew you. But I’ve never seen her before.”

Mom squared her jaw, and when she finally spoke, her voice was calm. “Because she was never meant to be seen.”

Catalina stiffened, but Mom barely looked at her before adding, “She’s Mu.”

Catalina’s expression didn’t shift at first. But then she blinked, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and let out a breathy laugh. “You’re joking.”

I clenched my jaw. “That’s enough.”

But Mom wasn’t finished.

“No, it’s not,” she snapped, eyes flashing. She turned her anger to me. “You should have told me the moment you found out. She shouldn’t have had to collapse. She never should have been left untreated for ten years.”

My stomach tightened, but before I could answer, Catalina cut in, her voice sharper now.

“She’s been hidden for ten years?” She looked between us, her suspicion shifting into something colder.

“Yes,” Mom sighed. “Jonathon and Abigail adopted her.”

Catalina took a step back. “Jonathon. Like—” She scoffed. “Like… the Paragon Er Bashou? That Jonathon?”

“Would you like me to list all the people involved?” Mom raised an eyebrow. “Or are you starting to understand?”

Catalina exhaled sharply. “But… you said Jameson doesn’t know? Why not?”

Mom exhaled. “Jameson wasn’t told because it wasn’t safe.”

Catalina frowned. “Not safe?”

“She was eight when she was found.” Mom’s tone was flat. “She wasn’t in any shape to have a man examine her, let alone someone as overbearing as Jameson.”

Catalina’s arms tightened under her chest.

“We worked with what we had,” Mom continued. “Jonathon and Abigail agreed—no male doctors, no outside specialists. Just me.”

There was a quick knock before a bright-faced man in a white coat poked his head through the door. I frowned—perhaps it was good that Bianca had run away. The last thing she needed was to be bombarded with more family members.

“Do you need me?” Alex asked cautiously, his bubbly personality uncharacteristically subdued.

I opened my mouth, but Mom responded first. “No. She’s already gone. You may leave.”

He hesitated, looking between us, before he retreated and closed the door behind him.

“They know?” I asked.

“Apparently,” Mom sighed. “But I don’t know if the Stephens gave him clearance yet. The fae have a certain way of doing things. Regardless, while they sort themselves out, we need to focus on Bianca. She needs an exam. We’re not going to be able to wait for her consent.”

Catalina’s expression darkened. “What do you mean?”

“It’s been too long already,” Mom said, looking at the door, and a sense of dread pooled in my stomach. “We can’t put this off anymore. I have to call Jameson.”

Catalina let out a slow breath. “He’s going to be really angry that no one told him.”

“I don’t care,” I told them. “Jameson cannot know about her yet. He’ll take over everything.”

It would be over once he found out who she was—and what happened. Plus, the fact that she still had unknown medical conditions…

Bianca wouldn’t have any say at all. At least the fae cared about how she felt.

Jameson, on the other hand, didn’t care about feelings.

“Julian—” Mom started.

“Give me two weeks,” I interrupted. “I’ll try to convince her.”

Mom studied me, expression unreadable.

“You have two weeks,” she finally said. “No more.”

Catalina let out a sharp breath but didn’t argue. “And what do you want me to do?”

“Stand by for now,” Mom replied. “Just in case earlier intervention is needed.”

Catalina scoffed. “You shouldn’t wait.”

I turned toward the door. Two weeks. That was all I had.

Already, I knew the truth.

It wouldn’t be long enough.