Chloe walked wearily into Le Meridien Hotel Piccadilly. Upon entering the room, Samuel greeted her. He was slightly puzzled to see his boss looking so pale. In his mind, he suspected that something might be wrong. With that thought, he quickly walked over to her.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” Samuel inquired as he placed the shopper bag she was carrying on the table. He then sat down, bringing his right hand to gently massage his forehead, which was still throbbing with pain. For the past two days, she had been feeling unwell.
“I don’t know, Sam. I think I caught a cold or maybe it’s because of lack of sleep. My head has been hurting for a few days now,” Chloe replied.
Samuel nodded, turned around, and headed to the pantry. He took the initiative to prepare a warm cup of chamomile tea for Chloe and immediately handed it to her.
“Maybe this can alleviate your headache,” Samuel said, offering the cup to the woman in front of him.
“Thank you.” Chloe didn’t hesitate to take a sip of the tea that Samuel had given her, hoping that it would make her feel better.
“I think I should take some medicine again,” Chloe said, reaching for her bag on her left side. She took out a pill and swallowed it.
“Ma’am… I hope I’m not being too forward, but… you’re not pregnant, are you?”
“Uhuk!”
Samuel’s question made Chloe choke on the water she was drinking. Quickly, he approached her and handed her a tissue to wipe her wet lips and chin.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Chloe exclaimed angrily. “There’s no way I’m pregnant, Sam.”
Samuel’s eyebrows nearly knit together. Intentionally, he moved closer to her.
“Are you feeling unwell as well, ma’am?” Samuel asked, concerned about his boss’s condition. “If you are, it could be a sign that you’re pregnant.”
Chloe immediately shook her head repeatedly, trying to deny what Samuel said. It would be crazy if she was actually pregnant with Edward’s child.
“Sam, I’m sure I’m not pregnant. Just so you know, Edward promised not to touch me until I ask for it myself. It’s an advantage for me, right?”
Samuel let out a relieved breath. At least, his worries were lessened. He just didn’t want his boss to get involved in any more complicated situations, especially having a child with a man she didn’t love. It wouldn’t be the right choice.
“My suggestion is, just in case, ma’am, you should keep some contraceptive pills. Just in case something unwanted happens,” Samuel advised.
“Hmm…” Chloe hesitated for a moment before finally making a decision. “Alright, I’ll follow your advice. After work, I’ll stop by the pharmacy.”
“Oh, and ma’am,” Samuel added. “Hmm… is there anything you wanted me to tell you?”
Samuel picked up a file from the coffee table and handed it to Chloe. “As you requested, I’ve investigated who Damian Dimitri is.”
Chloe accepted the brown folder Samuel handed her, opened it, and began reading carefully.
“Damian Dimitri is the firstborn of Thomas Altemose and Rose Valeria Martin.”
Samuel nodded. “It can be said that Mr. Damian is a close cousin of your husband. However, he is not part of the inheritance recipients of the Martin family because his father is not from the noble family line.”
“Oh dear…” Chloe joked. “His fate is quite unfortunate.”
“Indeed, Damian is so ambitious to snatch Quantum from your husband’s hands,” Samuel continued. “My advice is that you shouldn’t collaborate with him. Damian is known to be cunning and dangerous.”
Chloe furrowed her brow in response. “Why? Isn’t it good if we work together? We both have the same mission, which is to see Edward utterly destroyed.”
“The problem is…” Samuel interjected, “… people like him are hard to trust. One wrong move, and we might end up being ruined because of his actions.”
“You’re exaggerating, Sam,” Chloe retorted. She wasn’t surprised that her assistant often worried about her safety. “I know what’s best for me. So, just relax.”
“But, ma’am-”
Chloe raised her right hand, signaling Samuel not to argue with her anymore.
****
Later, Chloe walked leisurely through the hotel corridors towards the building’s lobby. It was time to go home from work. Accompanied by Samuel, the beautiful woman waited calmly until Edward came to pick her up.
It was an agreement, or rather, a coercion from Edward, that he had to drop her off and pick her up from work, no matter how busy he was. Now, instead of being angry and annoyed as usual, she waited patiently until Edward arrived at the hotel’s lobby. Hurriedly, Chloe got up and walked a few steps towards the car when suddenly, she fainted and lost consciousness.
Edward was clearly panicking. With Samuel’s assistance, they both lifted Chloe’s body into the car.
“Mrs. Chloe seems to be ill, Mister. Since this morning, she has been complaining about a headache,” Samuel said.
Edward nodded, understanding the situation. “I also thought so. She has looked pale for the past few days. In that case, let me take her straight home.” Edward patted Samuel’s arm, intending to bid farewell. “Thank you very much for your help and information. I’m going home now.”
Arriving home, Edward carefully carried Chloe’s body to their bedroom, gently laying her on the bed, and immediately called the family doctor to check on her condition.
“Doctor Monica, how is my wife’s condition? Is she okay?” Edward couldn’t hide his worry after the doctor arrived and examined Chloe. He was afraid that something dangerous had happened to his wife.
“Relax… Your wife is fine, sir,” the young doctor replied, handing over a prescription note she had written. “Mrs. Chloe is just exhausted. She needs plenty of rest to recover physically. That’s why I gave her a sleeping injection so she can rest well. Don’t forget, once she wakes up, give her nutritious food to meet her nutritional needs.”
Finally, Edward breathed a sigh of relief. At least, Chloe’s condition wasn’t as bad as he feared. He hoped that after ample rest, she would recover and be healthy again.
“Thank you very much for your assistance, Doctor. I hope her condition will improve quickly after taking the medicine.”
After completing her duties, Dr. Monica left quickly. Edward chose to let Chloe rest.
However, in the middle of the night, while deeply asleep, Edward had to wake up again. He could hear Chloe crying in her sleep, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Strangely, even while crying, she remained asleep, seemingly unaware of what was happening to her.
Edward, who was initially watching, decided to get up. He reached out his right hand and gently stroked his wife’s cheek, only to discover that Chloe’s body temperature was quite high.
“Oh my God, why is she running such a fever?”
Worried about what might happen, Edward slowly got out of bed and left the room to fetch warm water and a small towel. Then, he returned and immediately applied a cold compress to Chloe’s forehead to lower her body temperature back to normal.
“Nathalie… Take me away with you.” In between doing the compress, Chloe suddenly began to deliriously mumble in her sleep. With her eyes closed, she continued to babble incoherently. “I’ll kill that man! Please take me away!”
Edward was puzzled. He was curious about what his wife was saying. “Chloe, who is the person you want to kill?” he mumbled. In fact, he was concerned about what she was saying. “It seems you’re having a really bad dream. Crying like this…” Edward continued to compress Chloe’s forehead while wiping away the tears that continued to well up in her eyelids.
Because he was so worried about her condition, Edward decided not to sleep. Instead, he chose to stay by Chloe’s side until her condition improved.