When Lukas left, Shelia walked into the room.She stood by the bed, taking in her surroundings.The
room was well-lit and cozy.The queen-sized bed was dressed in bright yellow sheets and the floor was
covered with a fluffy light grey carpet.All sharp edges in sight had been baby-proofed.
"Well, little one, all this thanks to you," she said softly, putting a hand on her belly.
This was much different than the storage room she had called "her room" in the past month and a half.
She walked out to the balcony and was surprised to discover that she could see the garden from up
there.
The wind blew across the small pond in the middle of the garden, creating countless ripples on its
surface.
Occasionally, a koi fish would jump up and then dive back into the water.
While Victor's grandmother was still alive, she would take Rachel to that same pond, where they had
tea and chatted.
That had been the time of Rachel's life.
Even Victor's indifference wouldn't ruin her mood after a day like that.
But after the old lady passed away, Victor hardly ever came back home.
If Rachel wanted to see him, she had to go to the Sullivan Group.
Victor's grandma had always looked after her, taking her under her wing and when she died, Rachel
was left without protection.
The servants had started being disrespectful towards her and no one cared enough to stop them.
After all, who would stand up for her, a woman scorned by her own husband? Lukas had been the only
exception.
He had always treated Rachel with respect, but he was usually busy and besides, he was getting on in
years, so he couldn't watch her back all the time.
Knock, knock The sound dragged Shelia out of her reverie.
She walked back into the room and opened the door.
It was Lukas, holding a glass in his hand.
"Miss Bennet, I brought you some milk with cinnamon and honey."
The smell of the hot milk hit Rachel's nostrils, bringing about a wave of nausea.
"Lukas, I…"
Before she could finish, her stomach lurched violently.
She covered her mouth and ran into the bathroom, barely managing to reach the sink before the
contents of her stomach made their appearance.
Lukas, startled by this strange turn of events, left the glass on the table and followed Rachel.
He hesitated in the bathroom's doorway.
"Miss Bennet, are you okay?"
Still gripping the edges of the sink so tight that her knuckles had turned white, Rachel nodded.
She washed her face and rinsed her mouth and smiled weakly at Lukas.
"Don't worry.I'm fine."
"Was it the milk?"
"The smell, yes.But it sounds delicious.Why don't you drink it?"
As Rachel walked out of the bathroom, she saw the offending beverage on the table and quickly
covered her nose.
"But, the doctor said that milk and honey is really good for the fetus."
Rachel looked at the glass, then at Lukas's stubborn face and forced a smile.
"Lukas, even if I do drink it, I will just throw it up later.You know what? I'll try again later, when my
stomach isn't so sensitive."
Lukas still looked unconvinced.
"I really can't drink it now," Rachel said in a hoarse voice, her throat still raw from throwing up.
"Alright.You should get some rest.I'll ask the maid to make you another one later,"
Lukas finally relented.
He took the glass and turned to leave, but Rachel called out, "Wait…"
"Is there something else you need, Miss Bennet?" Lukas asked, turning back to Rachel.
Rachel bit her lower lip before asking hesitantly, "Do you know when will Victor be coming back?"
She knew Abby was still waiting for her but she couldn't leave this house until she had asked for
Victor's permission.She didn't know what he planned to do with her.
There were several guards in the house as well as in the garden outside, so it would be impossible to
sneak out.
And even if she did manage to get out and go back home, Victor would surely track her down and drag
her back by the hair.
So there was only one way out of there.
She had to talk Victor into letting her out.
"I don't know, Miss," Lukas replied kindly.
"Perhaps you could call him and ask?"
Call Victor? Lukas had already left the room when Rachel realized that she didn't even have Victor's
phone number.
In fact, she had never been given his personal number.
She had always used his work number, but he had blocked her a long time ago.
If she wanted to get to Victor, she had to reach Ivan.
She just stayed there sitting on the bed, looking at Ivan's number on her phone screen.
Would she really dare press that button and ask to talk to Victor? After a while, she put her phone on
the bedside table and laid down.
She couldn't make that call.
Not out of fear, but because she was certain that if Victor knew she needed to see him, he would take
his sweet time returning just to spite her.
It would be best if she just waited.
On the thirty-third floor of the Sullivan Group, Ivan knocked on the CEO's office door twice before
entering.
He handed the newspaper in his hand to his boss.
"Mr.Sullivan, the KD Group has let go of Dennis.It's all over the paper.The FBI has started a formal
investigation on him."
If everything went as planned, that bastard's career would come to an end, and he would be sent to jail
for a long, long time.
In less than a week, Dennis, a promising candidate for the position of the CEO of the KD Group, had
been fired and marked a spy.
Everyone in the business world was shocked by the revelation.
It was such a pity, some said, that a man of Dennis' potential ended up imprisoned.
Others, though- the smarter of the bunch- were wondering who on earth did Dennis offend and got
himself in that spot.
Because come to think about it, he had kept all his indiscretions secret for the past two years, so it
would take a lot of digging to bring them back to the light.
"The scandal has resulted in the stock price of the KD Group plummeting this morning.Our company
bought a lot of their shares through the accounts of individual investors.Plus we bought more shares
from several minor shareholders, and as a result, our group is now the largest shareholder of the KD
Group,"
Ivan finished his report It wasn't until the complaint was emailed to the board of the KD Group that Ivan
realized Victor had never truly intended to do business with the KD Group.
He had never intended to finance the company in exchange for a share of its profits.
All he ever wanted was to take control of the whole company.
Victor's eyes scanned the cover of the newspaper.
The headline read 'The KD Group's Project Manager Fiasco'.
"There is one more thing, sir."
"Out with it, Ivan."
"Miss Bennet was discharged from the hospital.She is at the Sue Garden," Ivan said.
Victor's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
He turned to Ivan and asked, "Did she say anything?"
"No."
Ivan paused, before adding hesitantly, "She had a quarrel with the bodyguards when she first woke up,
but in the next three days, she seemed much more compliant.She didn't ask questions or caused any
trouble.I went to the hospital myself to pick her up today at noon and took her back to the Sue
Garden.She didn't argue at all; she just came quietly."
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