Miriam’s POV
I scrambled out of bed like something had grabbed me from underneath.
My stomach twisted violently, and there was no time to think, no time to prepare.
I barely made it to the bathroom before everything came up.
This was the secret I carried alone.
The one secret that only I knew about.
Williams didn’t know.
Nadia didn’t know.
Nobody knew except me.
I sat on the cold bathroom floor, my body shaking, my mouth tasting bitter.
The vomit made me feel weak and helpless, and I hated that feeling.
I hated being this vulnerable.
I caught my breath slowly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
Three weeks.
That’s what the hospital had told me during my last visit.
Three weeks pregnant.
Three weeks of carrying a life inside me that belonged to me and nobody else.
The morning sickness was relentless.
Just when I thought I was done, another wave hit me.
I gripped the edge of the toilet, my body betraying me in ways I couldn’t control.
Finally, after what felt like forever, it stopped.
I dragged myself to the sink and rinsed my face and mouth.
The cold water felt like a shock to my system, but it helped.
It grounded me.
It reminded me that I was still here, still standing, still fighting.
I was still sitting on the bathroom floor, trying to gather the strength to stand, when the doorbell to my room chimed softly.
“Good morning, Mrs. Ashford,” a voice said from outside.
It wasn’t the same hostess from yesterday.
This was someone else, someone younger.
“Your breakfast is ready whenever you’re prepared.”
I managed to call out an “Okay” even though my voice came out weak and broken.
It took me a few minutes to pull myself together enough to stand.
I gripped the sink for support and slowly pushed myself up.
The room spun for a second, but I forced my eyes to focus.
I walked to the mirror and stared at my reflection.
The woman looking back at me was someone I barely recognized anymore.
She looked pale and tired and haunted by secrets she couldn’t share with anyone.
I peeled off my nightgown slowly and stared at my bare body.
There was no visible bump yet, but I could feel it.
I could feel the changes happening inside me, the life growing that belonged to me and no one else.
I thought about Williams.
I thought about how he’d made love to me- or what I thought was love.
How he’d been inside me, creating this child, all while he was fucking my sister.
All while he was making plans to destroy me.
All while he was lying about everything.
But I forced it down.
I closed my eyes and held it back.
I couldn’t let it break me.
Nothing would break me at this point.
I had survived too much already.
I straightened my shoulders and walked into the shower.
I filled the tub with warm water and let it wash over me.
The warmth felt good against my skin.
It felt cleansing.
As I scrubbed my body, I thought about what was coming today.
The lawyer would be here soon.
Victor would introduce me to the board members as the new CEO.
This was the moment when everything would become official.
This was the moment when my old life would truly be behind me.
But Victor didn’t know about the baby.
He didn’t need to know.
The baby wasn’t part of our contract.
The baby was mine alone to carry, mine alone to protect, mine alone to raise.
That was the agreement I’d made with myself the moment I found out I was pregnant.
Thirty minutes later, I stood in front of the mirror again, this time fully dressed.
I’d chosen a floral gown that fell below my knees.
It was elegant but loose, designed in a way that would hide any changes to my body for as long as possible.
The morning sickness was still wearing me down, but I pushed through it.
I needed to look strong today.
I needed to look like I had everything under control.
I applied light makeup carefully.
Just enough to make myself look alive.
Just enough to hide the exhaustion and the fear that was eating me from the inside out.
I stared at myself one more time.
Well, I didn’t look so sick now.
I looked almost normal.
I took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly, and I walked out of my room.
The hallway leading to the elevator was lined with expensive everything.
Expensive art on the walls.
Expensive lighting fixtures.
Expensive carpet beneath my feet.
Every step I took felt like I was walking through someone else’s life.
The elevator ride to the bottom floor felt slow.
My heart was beating faster than it should have been.
When the elevator finally pinged and the doors slid open, I walked out into the sparkling living room and paused.
There were more than three staffs working in the living room.
They were all wearing matching uniforms, moving with precision and purpose.
The moment they saw me, they bowed slightly.
They acknowledged me as Mrs. Ashford.
They treated me like I belonged here.
This was on another level entirely.
Victor Ashford’s world was nothing like anything I’d ever experienced before.
“Do you wish for us to change it?”
I looked at the table.
The food was beautiful and carefully arranged.
There was no way I could waste such a sumptuous meal.
“This is good,” I said, sitting down at the table.
As I picked up my fork, I wondered if Victor was still upstairs in his room.
Speaking of the devil, my phone rang almost immediately.
I smiled subconsciously as I picked up the call.
The timing was almost funny.
“Hi,” I answered, trying not to sound awkward.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Miriam,” Victor’s voice came through smooth and warm.
“I trust your night was good?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me.
“Yes, very comfortable, thank you.”
“I needed to attend to some urgent business,” he said.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes with the lawyer. You don’t have to worry about anything, okay?”
“Of course not,” I replied.
“I’ll be expecting you.”
We ended the call after that.
There was nothing else to say.
The conversation had served its purpose.
He was letting me know he was on his way.
He was making sure I was prepared.
He was establishing his control.
I put the phone down and picked up my fork again.
I had just raised the first spoonful to my mouth when my phone rang again.
This time, the number was unknown.
I squinted at the screen, wondering who could be calling me.
Victor had given me this phone just yesterday.
He said that only his family and close business associates had this number.
Nobody else should know about it.
I picked up cautiously, not knowing what to expect.
“Hi, hello, Miss Miriam? Yes, thank God,” a woman’s voice came through.
She sounded older, professional, like she was calling from an office.
“I have been trying so much to reach you. Your mum needed to give you something.”
I felt my entire body go cold.
I stared at the number again, trying to figure out what this person was scheming.
What did they want?
How had they gotten this number?
“I don’t have a mum,” I said slowly.
“I think you got a wrong number. My mom is long dead.”
“Oh my bad, I am sorry to come in like that,” the woman said, and she sounded genuinely apologetic.
“I am your mum’s lawyer. She had told me to give you something.”
My heart stopped.
What had my mum instructed to be given to me?