Outside the CEO's office, Stella Harlow was clutching a report in her hand, her face tense with hesitation, too nervous to knock on the door.
It was currently lunchtime, and her colleagues from the secretary's office had all gone out to eat. Only then did she muster up the courage to come over and talk to the CEO about something.
She lowered her head to glance at the report again. It was an ultrasound report, and at the bottom, two lines of text were printed clearly: Early pregnancy, intrauterine gestation, viable embryo, 6 weeks +.
Stella took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, her mind unwillingly drifting back to that ridiculous night last month with the CEO.
That night, she had accompanied him to a business dinner and dropped him off at the hotel afterward. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she was pulled into his warm embrace. Both of them were under the influence of alcohol, and one thing naturally led to another—things that should never have happened.
Neither of them brought it up afterward. It wasn’t until her period failed to arrive, prompting a check-up, that she discovered she was pregnant.
She thought about it carefully. As one of the parties involved, the CEO had a right to know. She wanted to hear his opinion.
Summoning her courage, she knocked. From inside the room came a deep voice saying, "Come in."
Ethan Mercer looked up as the door opened and asked, "It’s lunch break—what’s the matter?"
Facing him now, Stella Harlow felt her heart skip a beat. The man before her was as refined and striking as ever, his sharp gaze fixed squarely on her.
She pressed her lips together briefly, walked over, and set the report on the desk, pushing it toward him gently. "Mr. Mercer, take a look at this…" Her voice was soft but steady.
Ethan Mercer noticed her hesitation. With a frown of curiosity, he picked up the report and gave it a quick scan. His brow furrowed almost instantly.
"This is… yours?" The question left his lips instinctively.
"Mm." Stella Harlow nodded weakly, her voice barely audible. "Last month… after that dinner with President Yu, I took you back to the hotel…"
The rest of her sentence was swallowed before it could reach the surface.
That night, Ethan Mercer distinctly remembered that he hadn't been drunk to the point of oblivion; he knew exactly what he'd done. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but seeing her slender waist and graceful back, his intoxicated eyes blurred, and he'd mistaken her for...
Stella Harlow noticed him staring silently at the report, and it left her feeling uneasy, her thoughts in turmoil.
"Mr. Su, you know I lead an upright life. That one night with you was my first."
The words "my first" were said so softly they were almost inaudible.
She stole a glance at him, then continued, "I don't mean anything else by bringing it up, but as someone involved, you should also be aware of it. Besides, I don’t know what to do now."
After she finished speaking, Ethan Mercer nodded lightly. Stella Harlow could not discern what that nod meant, but he offered no words in response. What could he be thinking?
After a long silence, Ethan Mercer placed the document down and said to her, "Let's discuss this matter properly after work. For now, go eat something." With that, he slid the report back toward her.
Hearing his words, Stella Harlow thought it made sense. She still had to work in the afternoon, and any discussion about this now would certainly affect her concentration and performance.
She picked up the report. "Alright, we'll talk after work."
Ethan Mercer didn’t look at her again; he simply nodded slightly.
Stella Harlow let out a quiet sigh of relief, turned, and headed toward the door. Perhaps because her head was full of anxious thoughts, she didn’t notice someone entering from outside and ended up bumping straight into them.
The report in her hand fluttered to the ground in the collision.
When she looked up, she saw it was the chairman's wife—Ethan Mercer's mother. She hurriedly apologized, "Madam Chairwoman, I’m so sorry, I’m terribly sorry."