Countless cups of warm chamomile tea had been handed by Samuel to Chloe this morning. Since arriving at the hotel and entering the room, she had been complaining of a slight headache and pain in her abdomen. It could be due to lack of rest or perhaps because of the stress from the continuous stream of problems she had been facing for the past few days.
Samuel had repeatedly suggested to Chloe to see a doctor, but as everyone knew, she was stubborn. She didn’t listen to any of his advice.
“Stop fussing, Sam. You’re giving me a headache,” she complained while massaging her forehead gently, which throbbed with pain.
“I’m just concerned, ma’am,” Samuel defended himself. It was his duty to take care of her and prevent anything bad from happening. “You haven’t even had breakfast, have you?”
Chloe shook her head weakly. “I have no appetite.”
“Why?” Samuel raised his head, moving closer to his boss. “Is ma’am still thinking about Mr. Edward?”
Chloe sighed deeply. Truth be told, she missed that jerk of a man. Why did he leave her at a time like this? But she knew it was also her fault for toying with him.
“Do I still have the right to think about him?”
Samuel smiled and nodded. “Why not? He is still your husband until this very moment.”
“But Edward doesn’t want to see me, Sam. You heard it yourself, he wants to end our marriage,” Chloe said weakly. Deep regret was clearly written on her beautiful face. There was no arrogance left, only sadness and profound remorse.
“I know I’ve disappointed him with my actions all this time. But can’t he give me one more chance?”
Unbeknownst to her, tears fell down Chloe’s cheeks. She never expected to feel this much pain. Her intention was to make Edward suffer, but now she was the one experiencing such profound agony.
“I guess, now you’ve truly fallen in love with Mr. Edward,” Samuel joked. “Meet your husband immediately. Tell him that you love him.”
Chloe closed her eyes for a moment. Samuel’s words rang true. Perhaps the hatred she had nurtured before had now turned into deep love.
Lost in silence, the headache returned to attack Chloe. Rising from her seat, she rushed towards the bathroom. The nausea that struck her stomach forced her to vomit repeatedly.
Panicking, Samuel quickly followed. He guided Chloe to sit on the couch. Moments later, he handed her another warm drink to ease the nausea that had struck.
“Ma’am, I’ll take you home right away. This can’t go on any longer.”
“I’m fine, Sam.”
“You’ve vomited more than twice,” Samuel argued, deeply concerned about his boss’s condition. “Or could it be that you’re pregnant?”
Chloe giggled reflexively. “No way I’m pregnant. I always take contraceptive pills after every intimate encounter.”
Samuel narrowed his eyes. “Nobody knows for sure, ma’am. If it’s God’s will for you to get pregnant, who can stop it?”
“But that’s impossible–”
“Ma’am…” Samuel interrupted. “Shall I take you to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test? After that, I’ll drive you home.”
Chloe remained silent for a moment, hesitating to answer, which prompted Samuel to ask again.
“What do you think?” He stood up, took Chloe’s work bag from the table, and approached her, gently grabbing her wrist. “Come on, let’s go home. There’ll be no refusal this time.”
Reluctantly, Chloe complied, following Samuel’s steps towards the lobby.
****
Chloe was lost in thought. After returning from the hotel, Samuel had insisted on stopping at a well-known pharmacy in the city. Reluctantly, she bought a pregnancy test and had just tried it after taking a shower.
Chloe could only remain silent, savoring the quietness as if she needed more time to comprehend the situation. The revelation she had just witnessed made her repeat one sentence over and over.
“I’m pregnant…”
She covered her face with her hands.
“I’m pregnant…”
She must have repeated it several times. The reality she couldn’t avoid. However, in her heart, it kept asking, how could there be a baby in her womb? Should she consider it good news? Or the opposite, considering that Edward was about to end their marriage.
“No…” Chloe shook her head repeatedly. “My child cannot be born without complete parents. I don’t want their fate to be the same as mine.” She kept uttering the sentence. “I have to do something. Edward has to know about this.”
Chloe hurriedly dressed up, grabbed her shopper bag from the wardrobe, and asked the driver to take her to Edward’s apartment. She had made up her mind to tell her husband about the current situation she was facing. No, she couldn’t bear to be apart from him. Whatever happened, they couldn’t get divorced.
After a fifteen-minute drive, the car carrying Chloe finally arrived at the parking lot of Edward’s apartment building. She walked straight to his unit, knocking several times until the person she was looking for opened the door.
“What else do you want from me?”
Instead of a warm welcome, Edward greeted Chloe with a cold and blunt tone. Gone was the tender and adoring attitude he used to display. Everything seemed to have disappeared, replaced by hatred.
“Ed… there’s something I need to tell you.”
Edward nodded. “Go ahead, I don’t have much time.”
Chloe took a deep breath. She had to be patient in facing Edward, who now harbored hatred toward her.
“Did you not let me in first?”
Edward sneered and then shook his head repeatedly.
“No… You don’t need to come into my apartment. Just deliver it here. After that, you can leave.”
“Ed —”
“Chloe!” Edward interrupted. “I’ll make it clear that you don’t have much time. I still have a lot of work that needs to be done urgently.”
Chloe swallowed back all the words she wanted to express. She reached into her bag, took something out, and handed it to Edward.
“I want to give you this.”
Edward raised an eyebrow in response to Chloe’s statement.
“A flash drive? What’s it for?”
“Inside, there’s a copy of the important project documents you’re working on. I know you must need them right now.”
Edward smiled and declined Chloe’s offering.
“I’m sorry. But I don’t need it. I’m not as foolish as you imagine, dear. Long before those documents went missing, I already had them stored neatly somewhere else. So, thanks. But really, you don’t need to bother coming here just to hand over this insignificant thing.”
Chloe could only stay silent. But she couldn’t give up. For the second time, she reached into her bag. With a little hesitation, she finally dared to show Edward what she had.
“I’m pregnant…” the woman said softly as she handed the pregnancy test kit to her husband.
Edward remained silent for a moment. His eyes fixed on Chloe’s downcast face.
“So?” he said. “If you are indeed pregnant, what do you want? Do you expect me to take responsibility?” His eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you refuse to have a child with me before?”
“Ed… please,” Chloe stepped forward, reaching for Edward’s wrist and holding it tightly. “What else can I do to make you forgive me?”
Edward chuckled lightly.
“Ask your own heart. What should you do to earn my forgiveness?”
Then Edward stepped back, pulling his wrist away. He prepared to enter his apartment unit.
“I think there’s nothing more we need to talk about. And remember! Don’t see me again until you figure out how to make me forgive you.”
Edward closed the door just like that. Meanwhile, Chloe could only cry as she walked back to her car.
“You’re outrageous, Ed!”
Hans, who had been listening to Edward and Chloe’s argument from behind the apartment unit’s door, finally voiced his protest. He had been in Edward’s residence for a long time.
“Do you think I’m not sad doing this?” Edward replied, rubbing his face harshly.
“Then why don’t you just forgive her? Your wife is pregnant now. She needs you as her partner. I’m sure she’s feeling very sad.”
Edward nodded.
“I know, Hans. I even want to hug and kiss her. Tell her how happy I am to hear that she’s pregnant with my child. But you should know, I’m doing all this to teach her a little lesson.”
“But, Ed —”
“Don’t worry, Hans. This won’t last long,” Edward assured him. “This Saturday is Chloe’s birthday, and at that time, I will meet her and introduce her to the mother she’s been searching for all this time.”
Hans gently tapped his forehead.
“Oh, I almost forgot that you haven’t introduced Patricia to her yet.”
“Yes…” Edward nodded. “It should have happened a few days ago. But you know that I’m facing some problems. I haven’t found Damian yet.”
Hans nodded slightly.
“I’ve mobilized everyone to search for Damian all over England. I’m sure we’ll find your cousin soon.”
“I trust you with everything,” Edward said. “But, by the way,” he continued. “About the diary book. Where did you find it? Samuel told me he searched every corner of the room but found no clues about its whereabouts.”
Hans laughed heartily. To him, there was nothing in the world he couldn’t solve. He had solved many complicated cases before.
“Do you want to know where Nathalie hid her diary book?”
“Where?” Edward looked so eager to find out.
“In the drawer partition, or more precisely, in the row of cabinets that store spices. I don’t know what motivated Nathalie to keep it there.”
“Insane!” Edward exclaimed. “I didn’t even think of looking there. But you’re amazing, Hans. Thanks to your instincts, one by one, these problems can be solved.”
This time, Hans nodded. He organized the folders on the table that he had brought earlier. He was ready to leave because it was already late at night.
“I still have to deal with Damian Dimitri. But don’t worry. I’ll find him even if he’s hiding in a rat hole.”
****
This afternoon, for the umpteenth time, Samuel found Chloe in a mess. Her swollen eyes indicated that she had cried too much. Not only that, her cheeks and nose were still red. He wondered what else made her cry last night.
Samuel had asked his beautiful boss to calm down many times. Instead of going to work, it would be better to rest at home until she felt better. It could be dangerous if Mr. Dylan caught Chloe in this state.
“Ma’am…” he called. “What should I do to make you stop crying? Look at the trash can next to you.” He pointed. “There are so many tissues scattered there. How many more tissues do you want to waste wiping your tears that keep falling?”
Chloe shook her head, struggling to calm herself to stop the tears that kept flooding her cheeks.
“I’m pregnant, Sam,” she said softly. “And Edward doesn’t care.”
“Oh my goodness…” Samuel exclaimed. He was quite surprised by this revelation. “So, Ma’am really is pregnant, just as I suspected?”
Chloe nodded weakly.
“What should I do, Sam? Should I get rid of this baby from my womb?”
“Ma’am!” Samuel’s voice raised. He clearly didn’t like that idea. “Don’t be crazy! The baby has the right to live.”
“But for what?” Chloe argued. “Even its father doesn’t care.” Chloe wiped away the remaining tears.
“No, Ma’am…” Samuel shook his head. “I’m sure Mr. Edward wants the baby. It’s just that you need to be patient a little longer.”
“I don’t know, Sam.” Chloe replied. “I can’t be sure how long I can continue to be patient.”
At that moment, the door to Chloe’s office was knocked. A room boy entered and delivered a message to her.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. Sorry to disturb you. I want to inform you that there’s someone looking for you and waiting in the hotel lobby.”
Chloe looked puzzled. Who would be looking for her in the middle of the day like this? If they were friends or relatives, they usually contacted Chloe directly by phone.
“Who’s looking for me?”
“I’m not sure, but it seems to be very important.”
Chloe wiped the remaining tears on her face. She then got up and was followed by Samuel as they made their way to the lobby. And indeed, there was a well-dressed man waiting there.
“I’m sorry, what do you need that you’re looking for me?” Chloe asked politely. But looking at the
“I have to take you to the hospital. Mr. Edward had an accident and needs you right now.”
Chloe was startled. She was naturally shocked to hear this news.
“Sam, I’ll go to the hospital first. You can follow me later. Maybe Edward really needs me.”
Samuel nodded. “Alright. Let me know where you are once you get there.”
Chloe followed Alfredo’s steps towards the car, moving quickly to reach Edward as soon as possible.