Chapter 7

seven

REBECCA

R ebecca took a deep breath and made the call back she'd been dreading. "Hello, Dr. Safar?"

"Yes, hello, Rebecca. Thank you for returning my call. Let me pull up your file."

Rebecca twirled her engagement and wedding rings around her finger while she paced in her bedroom, nerves getting the better of her. She'd have to rush to her next meeting back at her offices, but she didn't want to risk anyone overhearing. She also wanted space, just in case the news was bad…

"All right," Dr. Safar started. "The recent blood tests, mixed with the worsening symptoms you've had recently, leads me to believe you have a few things going on."

Oh hell. What now? "Okay."

"I think you first have polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS. We'd talked about this as a possibility a while ago, but the hormone levels from the blood test make me feel confident about it. I'd say it's a pretty advanced case. "

A name! She finally had a name for the way she'd been feeling. The awful periods and clots and cramping, the constant headaches and migraines, the hair on her face and body that was such a pain to deal with, the exhaustion, and the weight gain…all of which made it harder to get through the day, much less be a princess in the public eye. "You said there were a few things?"

"In addition to that chronic illness, however, I also believe you have another: endometriosis. This can be genetic and, given the symptoms your mother and you share, and the pain you have throughout your entire cycle and not just around your period, I believe you do have it. We can do a surgical test to confirm."

Another name! "Oh. Wow."

"Lastly, the very sharp pains you've been having are related to a polyp in your uterus. You saw it on the last ultrasound, and I know you were concerned. Polyps don't always cause issues, but I think we should go in and remove it. I'll also have it tested, just in case, but I'm not expecting anything abnormal."

"So more surgery?"

"We can remove it and do the endometriosis test at the same time. It should be straightforward. You'll be in and out the same day and shouldn't need to stay overnight unless there's a complication. However, I do these kinds of procedures every week and they're very routine, so while I am prepared for complications, I don't expect them."

"Oh my God." She let out a staggered breath. "I just…I can't believe we finally have a diagnosis. All these years in pain…" A sob broke free, she couldn't help it. "I tried to get people to listen to me for years— years! —before you finally listened to me and took me seriously."

Tears were flowing freely now as she stopped pacing. She leaned against a wall and slid down, down, down to sit on the floor. Years of being told the pain was in her head, or that it was just the pain of ‘being a woman', or being shamed for complaining about her pain in the first place…so much gaslighting and bullshit and it was finally fucking over.

But…was it really over? Could she trust these diagnoses were the right ones?

"Are you sure this is what I have?" She huffed between sobs. "Like sure, sure?"

Dr. Safar's voice was soft. "Very sure. As I mentioned, we'll do the tests to confirm, but I'm fairly confident. I'm only sorry it took so long to get to this point. Unfortunately, there aren't very good tests to confirm either PCOS or endo, so they take longer to diagnose."

Rebecca took several deep breaths to calm herself while Dr. Safar continued talking.

"In other countries, they don't even consider them chronic illnesses despite their obvious chronic nature, and insurance doesn't always cover the tests or the surgeries involved. I know that will be changing in Valleria with the latest initiatives we're launching."

Rebecca nodded then remembered she was on the phone. "Yes. We should make sure these tests and fertility needs are all covered. It might also be worth it to put some research funding towards developing better testing and diagnostic tools for these."

"Yes, we'll look at the budget and see what we can do. I'm not sure if anyone is working on that in Valleria, however."

Rebecca asked the question she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer to. "These diagnoses will make it harder to get pregnant, won't they?"

"Yes, they will, but it's not impossible. You have gotten pregnant, and that was before we started you on any medication or treatment. Things will get better from here."

She started crying again, quiet tears this time. Would they really, finally get better?

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"Probably a hundred of them but I can't think of anything right now. "

"That's okay. Feel free to call or message whenever they do come to mind. For right now, we need to schedule the surgery, which I'd like to do as soon as possible."

Oh shit. "How long will it take to recover?" What if something happened and she needed longer recovery time? There were events coming up she couldn't miss.

"Only a few days of rest, if that. You'll need to sleep off the anesthetic and meds I'll give you. After that, you'll likely bleed for several days afterwards, maybe even a couple weeks for some people, but it shouldn't be like your normal heavy periods, it would be fairly light."

Handling a light flow after the intense pain and exhaustion of her normal period would be easy, even if she had public events during that time. "All right. When?"

"I'd like to do it Friday, if possible. You'll come in early in the morning, and should be heading back home late afternoon."

"Friday. Okay, I'll…er, let me check my schedule and get back to you."

"Of course."

"Thank you, Doctor. Really. I'm…I'm so grateful for all your help."

"That's what I'm here for. We'll talk soon."

"Yes."

When they hung up, Rebecca continued to sit on the floor for several minutes, processing everything she'd been told. Even though Alex was generally a supportive husband, he didn't really understand the pain she'd gone through, and he definitely didn't understand the pressure and public backlash she faced on a regular basis. While it wasn't every member of the public, it was a small number of people who spoke the loudest, and it was hard to ignore them at times. She tried to keep a brave face, but she was so tired of pretending she was fine when she wasn't, and acting as if the words didn't hurt because they did.

She called the people closest to her that did seem to understand: her parents. She told her mother what the doctor had said and asked if her mother could be at the hospital with her. Alex may want to go, but she wanted her mother.

She finished talking to her mother just as Mara called her. She stood up and started straightening her outfit. "Hi, Mara. I know I'm running behind today. I'll be back in the office as soon as I can."

Mara's soft voice sounded only slightly frantic, which was good. "It's not a problem, Ma'am. I'm actually calling because of the latest email from His Majesty's office. Have you read it?"

"No, let me look now." She put the call on speaker, then found and read the email in question.

Oh fuck. Gabriel wanted her and Alex to take his place on a planned diplomatic visit to America, and this change would be announced in a few days. The actual trip was still a few months away. She understood why Gabriel made the change, but it was something else added to her plate, which was already piled high and growing.

"His Majesty feels it would be best to announce the coronation just before you leave for the trip, Ma'am."

"I saw. I think it will be better to announce the coronation and the trip together, and sooner than he'd like. I'll talk to him about it. In any case, this also means not a single thing can go wrong during the visit."

"We'll need to start planning right away, Ma'am."

Rebecca took a deep breath. Whenever she got overwhelmed, she stopped and focused on just one thing. What needed her greatest focus right now? "Actually, there's something else that needs attention first."

She outlined the bare minimum to Mara, simply saying she needed to go in for tests and a small procedure on Friday. "No one can know, not even the other chiefs of staff or admins."

"What about Tavin, Ma'am?"

"Don't say anything. I'll speak to my husband this afternoon, but I'd rather no one else outside family know. Focus on rescheduling everything slated for Friday and Monday too. I'll let you know over the weekend if I think I'll need more time."

"Yes, Ma'am. Right away."

Now to head to her next meetings, then tell Alex.