[39]

“Hurry up!” said Victor who was already sitting in the driver's seat of his metallic blue car. Miya was still frowning at his strange appearance. What Victor said was too much but Desi agreed with him.

A bodyguard swiftly opened the door for Miya. “Thank you,” said Miya who immediately sat down and put on the seat belt.

The bodyguard just nodded slowly and quickly entered another car to accompany Victor's car. Desi was also in the car. The car sped off towards one of Damian's shopping centers. Victor only said they could get out in four hours, but Miya didn't care. Most importantly, today she can feel the free air.

As soon as they arrived, the mall staff immediately opened private shopping access for them. Miya gaped at the sight.

“All this for us?” she asked with a look of awe and disbelief.

Victor nodded casually. “You can take whatever you want. But remember, not too much.”

Miya smiled widely, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Don't worry. I intend to spend your money in this place.”

“I'm giving you a stern warning, Miya,” Victor said with an annoyed look.

“Oiya?” Miya couldn't care less. “Show me the latest dress model. Do you have the Valencia brand? I like dresses from that brand.”

Miya was a money-sucking machine who wouldn't hesitate to leave a zero balance in other people's accounts.

“That girl is really annoying.” Victor looked annoyed at the many card usage notifications that kept coming. The girl was enthusiastically visiting almost every store, picking up items she liked without hesitation. Victor could only shake his head as he followed behind her.

“Miya,” Victor called with a resigned look. “You realize you've been such a drain on my account?” she quipped.

“This is you offering,” Miya replied casually, holding up the branded bag she'd just picked out. “After all, you have a lot of money. What's wrong with sharing a little? You have nothing to lose because I know this will all be paid for by Damian.”

Victor clenched his fists in annoyance. Miya? Giggles with delight at the sight of an exasperated Victor while Desi tries to hold back her smile. The bodyguard following them, seemed to be struggling with Miya's many paper bags but apparently, the girl was not about to stop shopping.

As they passed by a luxury watch outlet, Miya accidentally saw a familiar figure. Tessa Monroe, her best friend, was with one of their friends from college. “Isn't that... Tessa?” she murmured softly. “What's she doing here?”

Tessa seemed to be mostly silent, just following what her friend was saying.

Seeing that, Miya felt her chest tighten. She missed Tessa, but also felt sad to see her best friend like that. Victor noticed the change in Miya's expression and immediately knew something was wrong.

“What is it again?” asked Victor, trying to act like he didn't know. He couldn't ignore the direction of Miya's gaze on one point-the presence of Tessa, Miya's best friend. Victor knew his students well. Tessa was with Jacquline. They were from different faculties.

“Nothing,” Miya replied listlessly. “Come on, let's go there.”

Victor nodded but asked Desi to come closer. “Desi,” he whispered. “Arrange for them to talk in private.”

Desi nodded and moved quickly.

**

Tessa was absolutely terrified. Being approached by a strapping man, with a fierce look and forceful tone, she almost fainted. Fortunately, she had asked Jacquline to leave her alone. She promised she could solve this problem on her own. Although her friend's gaze was clearly incredulous.

“So... tell me what's up?” asked Tessa as she tightened her grip on her sling bag. She did so to cover her nervousness.

“Come with us, Miss Tessa.”

“I can't do that without knowing what you want.” Tessa said firmly despite her fear.

“Miss Miya wishes to see you,” one of the guards said once it was safe enough.

“Miya?” Tessa was stunned. Part of her didn't want to believe it but the rest of her heart had high hopes, if it was true that the one who wanted to see her was Miya Ashton, her best friend. But... why go through a bodyguard? What was really going on?

“You'd better keep your voice down a bit and we hope you won't waste any time because Miss Miya can't stay in this place for long.”

There was no other choice but to follow the strapping man's directions, right?

“Please,” one of the bodyguards pointed to a room that looked very private. From the moment she entered the restaurant, Tessa was mesmerized by the interior. Adding to her curiosity, it was Miya, her best friend, whom she was about to meet.

“Miya... is in this room?” asked Tessa.

“Yes, Miss Tessa. Miss Miya has been waiting for you since earlier.”

Tessa ventured to slide the door open and to her surprise, she saw Miya sitting there. It really was Miya Ashton, her best friend. “Yes, Lord! Miya!”

Not much different from Tessa, Miya immediately got up from her seat and greeted Tessa. The two of them embraced tightly and before they knew it, they were crying.

“Oh, my gosh. Do I have to see college kid drama like this?” asked Victor sarcastically.

Miya broke their hug and immediately turned to Victor, saying, “If you're jealous, you can do it with Mr. Marcus.”

“Wow, your mouth is getting smart, Miya?”

Tessa gaped. She couldn't believe who she was meeting here. “Mr... Victor. Good afternoon,” she said politely despite her confusion.

“Good afternoon, Miss Monroe. Please take a seat and enjoy your time.”

Tessa still didn't understand what the situation was here.

“Just ignore her,” Miya said. “Come on, have a seat. I'll have the waiter prepare the order. You don't mind sushi, do you?”

“No,” Tessa replied shortly. “But why is Mr. Victor here. No, he's not. Why is he with you?”

Miya snickered. “Do you want to talk about it? When you see me?

Tessa let out a long sigh and it was true what Miya said. “Where have you been? I thought you...” Tessa trailed off, her eyes glazed over. “But thank goodness you're okay.” Tessa watched Miya with an intense gaze as if checking whether she was physically injured or not. “You look much better than the last time we met.”

Miya smiled softly. “I'm fine, Tess. Just... a little business.” She glanced at Desi and the two bodyguards standing near them. “It's a bit complicated to explain. I told you, right?”

Tessa nodded in understanding. There did seem to be something Miya was hiding and Tessa had to respect that. After all, they had just met after a long time, right? Why were they talking about something so complicated? Their conversation was warm, although there was a bit of tension due to the presence of Desi and the bodyguards. However, the mood changed drastically when the food was served.

Miya was eager to enjoy the sushi. Miya suddenly felt nauseous. Her face turned pale, and before she could say anything, she vomited violently. “Get rid of it all!

“Miya!” Tessa panicked, but Desi quickly took charge of the situation.

“What's going on?” she asked with a calm demeanor, but still, the worry was there.

“I don't know. Miya just turned pale and threw up all of a sudden.”

“Is there anything on the menu that she has eaten?”

“Nothing yet. But... it looks like Miya's condition is very worrying.”

Desi nodded immediately. “Get Mr. Victor,” she ordered one of the bodyguards.

It didn't take long for Victor to arrive and immediately approached Miya who was still feeling nauseous. “What happened?” he asked in a worried tone.

“She's vomiting, Mr. Victor,” Desi replied quickly. “But none of the food has entered Miss Miya's body yet.”

Without thinking, Victor picked Miya up and carried her outside. “We're going home. Call Sofia's doctor right now,” he ordered Desi.

Tessa stood transfixed, not understanding what was happening.

“And one of you, escort Miss Tessa home safely.”

**

Victor sat on the edge of Miya's bed. In his hand was a file containing the composition of the food Miya had consumed today. He found nothing unusual but why did Miya vomit so violently at the restaurant earlier?

Currently, Miya was fast asleep. Sofia is still conducting a thorough examination of Miya's weakly lying body.

“What happened to Miya?” asked Victor with great curiosity.

Sofia smiled slightly. She had just finished her examination and came to a surprising conclusion.

“I shouldn't have told you this, Mr. Victor.”

“What do you mean?” Victor was provoked. “Miya is my responsibility in Damian's absence. Whatever happens to her, I have to know about it. Including today.”

“Miss Miya is pregnant,” the doctor said calmly.

Victor froze in place. “What?”

“I'm not leaving the mansion for the morning examination. If the result is truly positive, Miss Miya will have to go to the hospital to find out the details of her pregnancy.”

Victor still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“I hope you inform Mr. Damian immediately.”

“Oh, of course!” Victor quickly pulled out his cell phone and moved away from Miya's bed. It didn't take long for the line to connect with Damian.

“Do you still have business with the Port?” Victor asked matter-of-factly.

“Nothing, it's just that I'm on my way to the airport. Kayoko asked to be picked up,” Damian replied casually.

“Leave it to me. You should go home now.”

“What's wrong?” asked Damian in a suspicious tone. “What's going on?”

“Miya's pregnant, Damian.”