Only the sound of Deena''s sighs could be heard over the phone.


    It turned out that those herbal tonics Frances had prepared for me during the start of my marriage with Nichs weren''t meant to boost fertility. Instead, it was something akin to a type of birth control.


    Those tonics would not harm a man, but they could cause ovarian suppression in a woman. Even if I were to get pregnant, my progesterone levels would not be high enough to sustain the pregnancy. I bent over, heaving, unable to believe what I had just heard.


    "Ari, are you listening? I''ve already made an appointment for you with my senior this afternoon for a full body checkup. Got it?"


    "Checkup..."


    The sunlighting from the window was blinding, but my heart felt ice-cold. So, the loss of my unexpected pregnancy wasn''t because of my mood swings, but because my baby had been doomed the moment it was conceived. Tears began to gather in my eyes as I was overwhelmed with pain. I gritted my teeth and asked, "Deena, could you move the appointment to next week? Something sudden just came up!"


    "Ari, calm down. What are you nning to do?" Deena''s voice was filled with worry as she said, "Your career has just taken off. You can''t do anything stupid, alright? You need to think things through." "I got it."


    Tears began to stream silently down my cheeks, and my voice trembled when I said, "I want her dead!"


    Once I ended the call, I bit my lips, trying to force myself to calm down.


    After giving it some thought, I gave Dous a call. "She''s reluctant toe out with that money, isn''t she? That''s fine. We''ll give it to her."


    Dous sounded confused. "Ms. Jones, I don''t understand. Are you trying to-


    "Dous, just do as I say. Bring her along to tomorrow''s meeting regarding theunch of the new project."


    I hadn''t put much effort into managing thepany as believed Dous was much more professional than me, but with how things turned out, I could no longer tolerate everything that had happened. I had to do something for my baby.


    My gaze was filled with mixed emotions as I stared out the window quietly.


    The next day, I brought Dous with me to Hawk Corporation. Standing at the entrance of the building. I felt as if decades had passed since I hadst been here.


    Thedy at the receptionist recognized me and quickly dialed the CEO''s secretarial department, but I stopped her. Unlike most days, I wasn''t here for Nichs.


    We headed directly to the meeting room we had reserved the day before, and there were already several people waiting Inside the meeting room.


    "Good morning, Mr. Preston!"


    The people in the meeting room immediately got up to greet Dous. Someone even invited him over to take the main seat. However, Dous gave that seat to me, and he sat on the seat right next to mine.


    ve


    Despite being a frequent visitor to serious events and meetings like being in court, I couldn''t help but feel slightly nervous as running a business was not within my field of expertise. en


    But on the outside, I sat up straight, while my expression remained impassive. I looked like a seasoned businesswoman who would often partake in various business meetings. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Seeing me only nod slightly despite Dous'' reverent attitude, they exchanged nces as they could not seem to get a clear read on who I was. "Mr. Preston, why don''t we start the meeting since you''re here now? I''ll let Jack brief you on our progress so far," a man said suddenly.


    Dous lifted his hand and turned toward me. I looked at the crowd and smiled before saying Impassively, "Please wait a moment everyone." Frances camete. "Ari, I went to check up on udia as she''s interning here right now. I''m sorry for beingte."