0002

[Two Months Later]

“Are you absolutely sure?” Noémie asked in disbelief, her eyes widening as she heard the unexpected words from the woman in the white lab coat seated across the desk. “Maybe we should double-check. What if there’s been a mistake? Slip-ups can happen, right?”

The doctor responded with a polite smile, which both comforted and unsettled Noémie. “You seem surprised,” the doctor remarked. “Don’t you want to proceed?”

“No, it’s not that,” Noémie muttered, releasing a sigh and nervously biting her lower lip while rubbing her arms. It wasn’t because the room had gotten colder due to the air conditioning; she simply needed something to occupy her hands. Besides, it had a calming effect.

She realized that she desperately needed that calmness, considering how her heart was pounding erratically. She was overwhelmingly frightened.

“It’s just…” Now, how could she possibly explain this?

Two months ago, she woke up in her boss’s bed and immediately took drastic measures to distance herself from him. She completely changed her location, job, contact information, and most of her friends (well, maybe not all of them)—basically anything she could change. She did all of this to avoid feeling humiliated and to ensure she would never have to face that man again. She didn’t even wait for an apology for his crude behavior.

In hindsight, it was a kind of rash decision, yet not one she regretted.

She was so livid with him that day. How could he do this to her?

For three years, she had worked diligently and faithfully for him. He wasn’t the easiest boss to deal with, giving orders as if he were some kind of king.

But at least he wasn’t like his womanizing younger brother.

Unlike his flirtatious sibling, Ajax Halest was well-mannered, cultured, and focused. That was something she had always admired about him from the very beginning. He always appeared tough and determined, and Noémie rarely saw him without his trademark scowl, which seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face, even when he was asleep.

She found it hard to imagine if a guy of his status would ever apologize. He was so full of himself, as she knew all too well. She constantly dealt with his unpredictable mood swings alone. But everything changed on that fateful night when he shattered the idealized image she had of him. He fell so far in her estimation that she doubted if he could ever redeem himself.

Burying her face in her hands, she strained her face hard. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for it.”

“You’re nervous,” the doctor reassured, a pleasant smile lingering on her lips. Her eyes sparkled with a level of understanding that Noémie longed to find in her family’s eyes. Would they be angry with her? They’d probably want to know who the man was. How would she handle the barrage of questions they would throw at her? “It’s completely normal.”

Noémie took a deep breath and raised her head. “Are you really sure?” she asked, desperately hoping for a different answer this time. But she should have known better than to doubt her own ears.

“If you want, I can run another test,” the kind doctor suggested, showing patience in every word. “But I’m confident the result would be the same. You’re two months pregnant, Ms. Rochester. Congratulations.”

Deep inside, Noémie felt a rush of emotions. There was so much going on within her. This morning, when she woke up and ended up throwing up, she foolishly thought she might have caught a stomach bug from her colleague’s birthday party the night before. She hadn’t had any drinks, but there was definitely something suspicious about those Manchurian balls. They tasted… different.

Not that it mattered now.

Noémie sighed to herself as she thanked the doctor and grabbed her medical reports and prescription before leaving the hospital. Lost in her thoughts, she completely failed to notice the guy who walked straight into her on her way to the parking lot.

Suddenly, all the papers they were holding went flying in every direction.

“Damn it!” the guy exclaimed angrily, dropping to his knees and hastily gathering the scattered papers. He was in such a hurry that he growled in frustration as he struggled to figure out which ones belonged to whom. “They all look the same!”

They didn’t, but he was clearly panicking. Surprisingly, Noémie felt like she could see right through him.

Setting aside her unease, she knelt down and assisted him in organizing everything. She carefully collected the papers, briefly scanning each one before stacking them separately.

“Here,” she said, once finished, and placed all the papers into the file she believed belonged to him. Handing it over, she added, “Done!” accompanied by a gentle smile.

Taking the file, the man stood up and visibly relaxed, a sense of relief washing over him. “Thank you so much. I should probably apologize for bumping into you earlier.”

“No worries,” Noémie swiftly dismissed his apology. She had noticed his evident tension and restlessness a moment ago. It was clear why he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings. Hospitals weren’t exactly the most pleasant places in the world. Who knows what difficulties he was facing? She felt sympathetic towards him. “There’s no need to apologize. Take care of yourself.”

With that, she nodded and headed towards the spot where she had parked her car. It wasn’t far from where she had accidentally collided with the unfortunate man.

———

Little did she know that the accident wasn’t just a random occurrence. The guy who deliberately crashed into her had a larger purpose in mind.

As he observed Noémie getting into her car and driving off, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. After three rings, someone finally picked up.

“She’s in Bordeaux,” he confidently informed.

“Are you certain it’s her?”

“Absolutely sure.”

The person on the other end of the line pondered for a moment. “Anything else?”

“She went to the hospital today.”

“Why?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” he said, rubbing his temples and shielding his eyes from the harsh sunlight. “But she seemed anxious and lost when she left.”

“Find out why she was there. You have an hour.”

The man nodded firmly. “I’m on it.”