MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

The private medical wing was cloaked in eerie silence as Rose made her way down the sterile tiled corridor. A handful of staff members acknowledged her with respectful nods, but none dared impede her progress.

At last, she reached the lavish examination room, where Dr. Martina Lenz awaited her arrival. Rose's personal physician, the woman rose to greet her with a warm smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.

Rose had never needed Martina for the conventional doctor's visit. In fact, she never fell sick. But for public eyes and lessons learned from the past, those that may try to look into her would come across such necessary distractions along the way. Martina was more of a decoy more than anything else.

However, when Blake was sick, she would come to the main house to treat him. She had other specific services she rendered to Rose though.

As Rose settled into the plush armchair, she couldn't help but admire Martina's professionalism, despite the woman's true role being more about appearances than actual medical necessity. Yet, Martina's presence provided a sense of security and normalcy amidst the intricate web of secrets that defined Rose's world.

"What seems to be the trouble, my lord? I don't remember fixing any appointment with you," The elderly doctor ushered Rose towards the exam table with a comforting hand on her elbow.

Rose took a deep breath, preparing to come clean about the true reason for her visit. "No, Martina, it's not the usual appointment. I'm not in need of blood or anything like that today," she explained, her voice tinged with a hint of reassurance.

Sometimes when her imported blood, the one usually disguised in fancy bottles as wine failed to arrive on time, her doctor was the next handy option available. But rarely did that ever happen so she never really utilized that option.

"And no, I'm not here for another reconstruction surgery," Rose clarified, noticing Martina's gaze drifting towards that direction as well.

Over the years, Rose had changed certain features about herself to blend in with society. She couldn't remain the same, or else someone would straight up recognize her. However, being so much in love with herself and how she looked already, she only ever did minor tweaks, never one to go the extra mile.

But for the longest periods, she had avoided any surgery done to her facial appearance. The strange thing was, over the years, due to her healing abilities as a vampire, her features always seemed to return back to their original form.

It's like her body saw each surgery as a wound it needed to repair and fixed it..

Under the harsh fluorescent lights, Rose felt exposed, vulnerable in a way she hadn't experienced in years. She fought the urge to squirm beneath Lenz's gentle yet evaluative gaze as she detailed her symptoms.

"I've been feeling dreadfully run down as of late," Rose began, perching on the edge of the exam table. "An overall fatigue that seems resistant to rest. "

Lenz nodded, making a note on her tablet. "And you mentioned abdominal swelling?"

Heat flooded Rose's cheeks as she nodded, smoothing her hands over the prominent swell of her stomach. "It's...unmistakable."

"I see." Lenz's expression remained neutral as she made a few more notations. "Well, we'll run a full panel of tests and get to the bottom of this. Modern medicine can detect most any abnormality these days."

With no further preamble, Lenz set to work drawing vials of blood and checking Rose's vitals. She poked and prodded with clinical detachment, scrutinizing every test result and analytic reading.

"I'll have these samples analyzed straight away," Lenz assured Rose once the examination had concluded. "Though I may require some additional tests depending on the initial findings."

"Of course." Rose shifted atop the crinkly paper covering the exam table. "Whatever is required, Doctor."

"You're welcome to return to your quarters and await the results." Lenz ushered Rose off the table with a gentle hand at her back. "Or you can wait here, if you'd prefer."

The thought of lingering in these clinical surroundings made Rose's skin prickle with unease. "I'll return to my rooms. Please send word the moment you have something."

With a curt nod, Lenz swept from the exam room, her white coat billowing behind her like the wings of an ovenbird in flight. Rose watched her go, chewing her lower lip anxiously.

What fresh hell awaited her now? She had stared death in the face more times than she could count without so much as flinching. But this, this new ailment, it hinted at an unseen threat. The unknown had always been Rose's most insidious enemy.

Rather than linger in the empty exam room and allow her mind to wander down that treacherous path, Rose beat a hasty retreat towards the private residential wing of the hospital. Once ensconced within her lavish suite, she set about pacing the length of the bedroom, running her hands over the intricately carved mahogany furniture.

She mapped every inch of the room, trying in vain to corral her frantic thoughts. Outside the arched windows, the sun made its unhurried descent towards the horizon, painting the clouds in brilliant streaks of crimson and violet.

Night had well and truly fallen by the time a hesitant rap at the door announced Dr. Lenz's return. Rose ushered her inside, heart thundering in her ears as the doctor crossed to the sitting area.

Lenz seemed to fold in upon herself as she sank into the armchair beside the bed. She cradled a manila folder against her chest, worrying the edges with trembling fingers.

Dread coiled like a venomous serpent in the pit of Rose's stomach as she watched the older woman's ashen face, her lips pressed into a grim line. Something was dreadfully amiss.

"Well?" The single word emerged as a hoarse rasp from deep within Rose's throat. She perched on the edge of the bed, poised to bolt at a moment's notice. "What did the tests reveal?"

Lenz opened her mouth, but seemed to think better of whatever placation she'd intended to give voice. Instead, she slowly shook her head and extended the file, offering it to Rose with a shaking hand.

A thousand frantic thoughts chased each other through Rose's mind as she accepted the file. Had it been inevitable from the start? Was this some cruel twist of fate, her penance for the sins of her past?

With dismay rapidly morphing into grim acceptance, Rose flipped open the file and began to read the test results.

The words seemed to blur on the page, her vision swimming as comprehension gradually dawned. Rose blinked furiously, squeezing her eyes shut as if to dislodge the stark reality staring back at her.

It couldn't be. Not after everything she had endured, every trial and tribulation that had stood in her path.

Lenz looked at Rose, her brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. It shouldn't be possible," she muttered.

"It hasn't been, until now," Lenz replied, her voice tinged with disbelief.

And yet, there it was in black and white, shattering her world into a million fragmented pieces.

The folder slipped from Rose's limp grasp, papers scattering across the thick carpet in a flurry of chaos. She lifted her gaze slowly, feeling as though she moved through a thick syrup, to find Lenz watching her with solemn understanding.

A lifetime of shared history, unspoken truths and lingering turmoil passed between them in those agonizing moments of silence. The weight of it all threatened to crush Rose beneath its enormity.

With trembling fingers, she brushed away the solitary teardrop that traced its way down her cheek.

Now what?