Chapter 2

In the hospital, Gregory was already at death's door. Because of his immune system, his high fever wouldn't subside, and his periods of unconsciousness grew increasingly long. "Sylvia…" Despite his condition, when he spotted Sylvia, he still forced himself to smile at her. He simply didn't want her to worry about him. "Hang on a bit. We'll be able to proceed with the transplant surgery soon. "Gregory, I believe you can do this!" Not wanting to cry in front of Gregory, Sylvia turned around to wipe the corners of her eyes the moment her eyes turned red. "D-Don't beg for Aunt Willa's help. She asked for eight million dollars because she never intended to donate. Don't resort to doing anything foolish… just for the money." Back when Willa had made that demand, she hadn't bothered keeping it from Gregory. In fact, she'd declared it right in the ward so both Sylvia and Gregory would give up. "I know what I'm doing. Just remember one thing—you're all that I have, so you must make it through, okay?" Sylvia wanted to provide more words of encouragement to Gregory, but he quickly lost consciousness yet again. As she left the hospital in a daze, she went back to her shabby rental to take a shower and change. Then, she took the subway to Kaplan Group. Such was the hardship of adulthood. No matter how crushing the weight on your shoulders was, reality would still push you forward. "Ms. Reid, regarding the deal with Jacker Group as the financing party, the project department has conducted several rounds of modeling and analysis. This is the final proposed investment structure and recommended investment amount. "Please pass it to Mr. Kaplan for his review. If there are no issues, we can proceed with the signing." "Got it." After receiving the file, Sylvia rose from her desk and took her superior's schedule for the day. Then, she headed to the CEO's office and knocked on the door. "Mr. Kaplan, it's me." She wanted to force herself not to dwell on the previous night's incident. Pretending as though nothing had happened, she acted as though everything was normal and went to work as usual. Inside the office, Arnaud merely said, "Come in." At that moment, Sylvia's mind automatically replayed his muffled grunts. They'd been low and husky, brushing against her ear like a feather, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake. Awkwardly, Sylvia cleared her throat a few times. Then, she pushed the door open and went in, not even daring to lift her head. "These files are for you to review and sign. I've also organized the materials for the shareholder meeting at 3:00 pm later." After quickly blurting everything out, Sylvia made to leave. But Arnaud suddenly said, "Where's breakfast?" Sylvia froze. "I-I didn't buy any today." For the past six months working as his secretary, Sylvia had been nothing but considerate and attentive. She'd buy him different types of breakfast every morning so he wouldn't work on an empty stomach and risk triggering any gastric problems. She also knew he preferred hand-brewed coffee, so she'd taken lessons to learn it herself. She was always diligent and cautious at work too. That day was the first time in six months she didn't buy breakfast for him. Noticing the brewing anger in Arnaud's gaze, Sylvia quickly offered, "I'll go buy it now." "No need." After that cold statement, Arnaud got up and left the office. Sylvia pressed her lips together and exhaled. Then, she headed to the usual store where she had always bought breakfast, and bought two portions of it. Now that she had changed her target and time was running out, she needed to move quickly and find a chance to make Tyler impregnate her. … When Sylvia returned to the company, she didn't deliver the breakfast to the CEO's office. Instead, she headed straight to the project department. After asking around, she found out that Tyler hadn't been directly appointed as the deputy CEO after his return. Instead, he'd wanted to start from the bottom, working on projects for a few years first to gain experience. "Ms. Reid, why are you here?" As fate itself would have it, she spotted Tyler immediately after stepping out of the elevator. Flashing a smile, Sylvia quickly approached him. "I'm here because of you." "Me?" Tyler raised a brow, warmth flooding his gaze. "What is it about?" "Oh, I bought some breakfast just for you to thank you for your help. I hope you'll like it." Tyler glanced at the breakfast and smiled. "I love meat pies from Minden Street. Of course I'll enjoy them. Thank you!" Sylvia was about to grab the opportunity to get closer to Tyler, but then, she caught sight of someone in her peripheral vision. Arnaud was standing behind Tyler, and she had no idea when he had gotten there. But he wasn't looking at Tyler. Instead, he was staring at the meat pie in Tyler's hand and the other one in Sylvia's. "Mr. Kaplan, this is yours!" Assuming he wanted to eat it, Sylvia offered it to him, but Arnaud merely ignored her outstretched hand and walked away. Sylvia then quickly bade goodbye to Tyler and ran after Arnaud before finally catching him in the elevator. "Mr. Kaplan, the meat pie will get cold soon. Why don't you finish it first?" But Arnaud said nothing. His expression was taut, and his eyes were clouded with gloom. Despite having changed her target, Sylvia knew she had to remain at Kaplan Group to get close to Tyler, and that meant she couldn't afford to offend Arnaud. So, she simply kept quiet and followed behind him. Back at the CEO's office, they were left alone again after the door closed. At that moment, Sylvia felt as though her entire body was encased in cement. She felt so stiff that even her joints couldn't move. Finally, Arnaud broke the silence. His voice was dark and menacing as he said, "Explain what happened last night." Sylvia dug her nails into her palms and replied, "Mr. Kaplan, that was an accident. We both had too much to drink. But don't you worry, I promise this won't get out." Arnaud merely narrowed his eyes and stared at her face. After going through the memories from that night, he quickly came up with a conclusion. "You want to have my child." "No!" Sylvia blurted out almost instantly. To prove her point, she quickly added, "It's true we didn't use protection, but I'd immediately bought contraception pills after leaving the hotel. "Look, this is the box. Of course, if you're still not convinced, I can take another dose in front of you." She dug out the box of pills Margot had bought for her, and it was indeed empty. "Mr. Kaplan, please don't fire me because of this. I really love working here at Kaplan Group!" Sylvia pressed her lips together and lowered her head. "If you're upset, then transfer me instead. I can be an assistant at the project department!" Preferably, the very one Tyler was overseeing. Upon seeing her act, Arnaud was a little confused. Could his guess have been wrong? They did have sex, and it had indeed been Sylvia's first time. Not to mention, despite his indifferent attitude, he was still a responsible man. Soon, the confusion in Arnaud's eyes faded away. A brief silence later, he said, "I'll take responsibility for you. Do you want money or a title?" Sylvia paused, then shook her head. "I don't want anything!" If possible, she wanted to ask if he would transfer her to be Tyler's assistant instead. Of course, she dared not say that out loud. That would sound too obvious, and Arnaud was smart—what if he saw right through her? By then, if both uncle and nephew compared notes, she, as an outsider, wouldn't even know what would've caused her downfall. At the moment, Sylvia only wanted to fulfil the contract requirements and get herself pregnant with Tyler's child. After then sacrificing ten months in exchange for Gregory's life, she'd disappear from Portsham and cut ties with the Kaplan family forever. Upon seeing how quickly Sylvia had rejected his offer, Arnaud assumed she hadn't understood what he'd meant. "I mean, a title is also possible," he repeated. Although he didn't hold much affection toward Sylvia, he also felt no different toward any other woman either. Not to mention, now that they had slept together, the bond was there. And besides… Arnaud had to admit that he'd enjoyed the experience. Hence, there was no harm in trying to date Sylvia. "I understand, Mr. Kaplan. You don't have to force yourself to take responsibility for me. Let's just pretend nothing happened last night. I was perfectly willing, so it had nothing to do with you!" Arnaud was speechless. "If there's nothing else, I'll get back to work for now," Sylvia added.