“Put them on my desk. I don't need them,” he said coldly, not even bothering to look at me.
Asshole,I thought as he confirmed my suspicion. I put them on his desk and suddenly felt my heart drop in my chest as cold sweats coated my forehead.
Maybe eating every single item of food offered to me hadn’t been smart.
I looked at the time and saw that it was time to get the snacks ready. I went into the small kitchen area behind my desk and took a deep breath.
Seven hours, Ava. Just seven hours.
I opened the fridge and stayed in front of it for a few seconds, the cold soothing me somehow.
“You really don’t look well, hun.”
I peeked up from the fridge door and met Marie’s eyes, her brow etched with concern.
I sighed. “I’m not great,” I admitted.
“You look flushed.” She approached me and rested the back of her hand on my forehead and then my cheeks in a motherly gesture. “You’re warm, even after keeping your head in the fridge. Just go home. I’ll handle St-John’s wrath. I’ve been dealing with him for years.”
I shook my head. Finishing the day was much more important than his anger. He’d just given me two conditions for my freedom and I was not going to mess them up.
“No, Marie, I'm going to be okay,” I said with pleading eyes.
She shook her head with a sigh. “Fine, but go to the bathroom and take a breather. I’ll prepare everything in the meanwhile,” she added, jerking her head toward the narrow metal cart.
I nodded mutedly and went to the two-stall bathroom we had on this floor. A luxury I appreciated more than I could say.
I splashed some water on my face and looked in the mirror as I patted it dry. No wonder Marie was worried; I looked like death. My skin was greenish and my lips were colorless. I brought my hand to my forehead, feeling sick.
I grabbed the sink and closed my eyes as I felt the stabbing pain coming back, except that this time it didn’t subside. It kept on increasing until I ended up folded in two with the air knocked out of my lungs, preventing me from calling for help.
Another hard pain came on the other side, maybe from me losing control of my legs, which I realized only when my backside connected with the hard tiled floor.
“Marie,” I groaned, grabbing at my stomach. The door remained closed and when I tried to help myself up, the pain felt like I was being ripped from the inside.
I’m losing my baby,I thought with a sob.
“Do I need to make cof— Oh, God!” Marie stopped with the door half open, resting a shaky hand on her mouth. “You’re bleeding.”
I let my eyes trail down and saw the thin line of blood running down my leg.
“Marie!” I cried, and then everything went black.
Chapter 20
Hugo
Nomatterhowangryand betrayed I felt, I couldn’t help the infuriating hint of concern from seeping through me every time I looked at her during the morning.
I’d initially thought that her illness was fake, as everything else about her was, especially when she announced her fake doctor appointment at the exact same time as her interview. It didn’t really matter as I was letting her go today, but I refused to let her pull another trick on me.
The more I saw her though, the more I started to wonder if she really was sick. Her usual healthy golden skin looked more and more ashen as the morning went by and her features looked taunt, as if she was in pain. As she exited the office after bringing up the files, she swayed as she walked, even hitting the corner of her desk.
I glanced at my watch; she would be here with the snacks any minute and despite the way she'd betrayed me, I would let her leave now.
Why did the thought of not seeing her again hurt me? She was nothing more than a manipulating snake, and yet—
I shook my head as David Brown, the representative of the Governmental Consortium that approved public investment, looked at me pointedly.