Chapter 326

ARIA'S POV

The next morning, the bright sunlight poured through the white curtains, waking me up from a deep sleep.

I had a busy day ahead of me with a major meeting involving the main shareholders of my father's company.

Antonio was assigned to escort me to the corporate building with two armed guards, while Marcus stayed back at the estate to guard Amelia since it was a Saturday and there were no classes.

Brandon had already left the house very early that morning. His regional shareholders had landed at the city airport late yesterday evening, and he needed to meet them at his headquarters before their site inspections.

Before he walked out the bedroom door, he leaned down, pulled me into a soft kiss, and made me promise to call him right away if anything felt wrong.

When I swung my legs over the side of the bed, a wave of heavy weakness washed over me. My limbs felt like lead, and my stomach churned with a sudden, sharp wave of nausea.

I swallowed hard, resting my head in my hands for a moment. I figured it was just pure exhaustion. Brandon and I had been up until the early hours of the morning, and the heavy stress of the last few days was finally catching up to my body.

I forced myself to get dressed in a tailored navy suit, brushed my hair, and walked down the quiet hallway to Amelia's bedroom.

When I opened her door, Amelia was already sitting up in bed in her cute yellow pajamas, finishing a small bowl of warm oatmeal that her nanny had brought up.

"Good morning, Mommy," Amelia said, smiling up at me with porridge on her chin.

I walked over, leaned down, and kissed her soft cheek. "Good morning, my sweet girl. I am heading to the office now, but Marcus and your nanny are right outside."

I looked her straight in the eyes, keeping my voice gentle. "I want you to promise me that you will stay inside the house all day today, okay? Daddy and I will be back home soon."

Amelia gave a firm nod, wiping her chin with a napkin. "I promise, Mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, baby," I replied softly, smoothing her hair before heading downstairs.

By the time Antonio opened the rear door of the sedan for me in the driveway, the cold sweat on my forehead had not gone away. The nausea was still rolling through my throat, making my head throb with a dull, aching pain.

As we drove through the city streets, Antonio kept checking on me in the rearview mirror. His sharp eyes noticed how still I was sitting against the leather seat.

"Are you alright, Miss Aria?" Antonio asked, his voice low and cautious. "You look very pale today."

I gave a small nod, keeping my eyes closed against the passing streetlights. "I am fine, Antonio. It is just a bad headache."

"Should I call the family doctor to meet us at your office?" Antonio offered, his hands firm on the steering wheel.

"No, not yet," I said, opening my eyes slowly. "It is just stress. I will take some painkillers as soon as we get upstairs. Do not worry."

Antonio stayed quiet for a moment, letting the matter drop, but he did not look convinced.

I looked out the window at the heavy morning traffic, my thoughts turning back to Gabriel and the upcoming meeting in three days.

"Antonio," I spoke up quietly into the back seat. "Are you really sure your decoy plan is going to work?"

"I am about seventy percent sure, Miss Aria," Antonio answered plainly, his tone honest and steady. "It is a solid strategy, but at the same time, we have to be prepared for an alternate outcome. Gabriel is not a man you can play games with. He is brutal, and he always makes sure he gets his revenge, no matter how long it takes."

His words made my stomach tighten even more, but I held my tongue.

When we arrived at my company’s glass tower, my assistant, Chloe, was already standing near the main elevators holding a thick leather folder.

Her face lit up when she saw me step into the lobby, but her smile faded as soon as she took a closer look at my face.

"Good morning, Miss Aria," Chloe said, walking quickly beside me as Antonio and his men followed a few paces behind. "The shareholders are already seated in the main conference room. I have prepared all the financial briefs and the quarterly breakdown reports for you."

"Thank you, Chloe," I said, taking the digital tablet from her hands. "Let us get this over with."

I stepped into the grand conference room, forcing a polite smile onto my lips despite the heavy weight in my body.

The meeting dragged on for two long, agonizing hours. My head throbbed with every slide presentation, and the bright overhead lights made my eyes water.

Near the end of the session, one of the senior board members cleared his throat and tapped his file.

"Miss Aria," the older man said, leaning forward. "Before we adjourn, there is a new manufacturing firm that reached out to us yesterday. They want to partner with us on the distribution of our new product line."

I leaned my elbows on the table, trying to keep my voice steady. "What is the name of the company?"

"Moretti Logistics," the board member replied. "They are a massive brand in the northern region, and the owner is a very influential young man with heavy backing."

My heart gave a sudden, uncomfortable flutter at the name, but I kept my face blank.

"I will look into their financial background personally before I make any decisions," I said quietly. "We will give them a response by next week."

The board member nodded in agreement, but another shareholder sitting near the head of the table looked at me with deep concern.

"Are you feeling alright, Miss Aria?" he asked softly. "You look exceptionally pale today."

"I am just suffering from a light headache," I replied, standing up to signal the end of the meeting. "Thank you for your time, everyone."

As the board members filed out of the room, the heavy wooden doors opened, and Antonio walked inside. He was holding a cold bottle of water in one hand and a small paper cup with two white painkiller pills in the other.

"I would have come in twenty minutes ago, Miss Aria," Antonio said, stepping up to the long table. "I was watching you through the glass wall the entire time, and you look like you are about to collapse."

I took a small breath, reaching out for the water. "I told you, Antonio, it is just a headache. You do not need to worry so much."

I placed the two pills on my tongue and swallowed them down with a big gulp of water.

"Boss called a few minutes ago while you were in the middle of the presentation," Antonio added, watching me closely. "He said he is heading over to inspect his new construction site on the south side of the city. He might be late coming back tonight."

I nodded my head slowly, setting the water bottle down on the polished wood. "Okay. I will text him a bit later."

"He sent you a text message already," Antonio noted softly.

I reached for my leather bag on the table, preparing to stand up, but the moment I lifted my body, the entire room suddenly tilted sideways. The ceiling spun wildly, my knees buckled beneath me, and the world went completely gray around the edges.

"Miss Aria," Antonio called out, moving with sharp, fast reflexes.

He caught me by my shoulders before my knees hit the hard floor, holding my weight easily and helping me sit right back down in the heavy leather chair.

"That is it," Antonio said firmly, his tone leaving zero room for argument. "I am taking you straight to the hospital right now."

"No," I gasped out, grabbing his sleeve as my vision slowly cleared. "No, Antonio, please. If we go to the hospital, Brandon will find out from the security detail and he will worry himself to death."

"Your health comes first, Miss Aria," Antonio insisted, looking down at my pale face.

"I will go," I bargained, keeping my voice low. "I will go to the clinic right now, but only if you promise not to inform Brandon until we know what is actually wrong. He has so much on his plate with Gabriel and his shareholders today. I do not want him dropping everything he needs to do for something that is probably just severe fatigue."

Antonio stared at me for a long, heavy moment, weighing my words in his head.

"Alright," Antonio finally gave in with a quiet sigh. "I will not call Boss right now. But you have to promise me that you will tell him whatever the doctor says the second we leave the clinic."

"I promise," I nodded weakly.

Before I could even take another breath, a violent, hot wave of nausea rushed straight up from my stomach into my chest.

I slapped my hand over my mouth, pushed myself out of the chair, and bolted out of the conference room into the private executive bathroom down the hall.

I dropped to my knees in front of the white toilet bowl and threw up the entire contents of my breakfast. My whole body trembled as I choked and gasped for air, tears stinging the corners of my eyes.

Antonio stood quietly outside the closed bathroom door, waiting for me.

When I finally rinsed my mouth at the sink, washed my face with cold water, and stepped back out into the hallway, my head was spinning with complete confusion over what was happening to my body. I had never felt this sick or this weak in my entire life.

"How are you feeling, Miss Aria?" Antonio asked, his dark eyes searching my face.

I leaned against the wall for support, my throat feeling dry and sore. "We should head to the hospital right now, Antonio."

"Okay," Antonio said quietly.

At that exact moment, Chloe came rushing down the corridor, her arms full of folders, her face etched with deep worry. "Miss Aria, are you okay? I saw you run out of the room."

Antonio stepped between us smoothly, taking charge before I could even answer. "Chloe, Miss Aria is heading out for the rest of the afternoon. Clear her entire schedule for today."

Chloe blinked in surprise, but quickly gave a firm nod. "Of course. I will email all the urgent files that need your digital signature straight to your personal account, Miss Aria."

"Thank you, Chloe," I managed to say softly.

Antonio grabbed my leather bag from the conference chair, looped it over his arm, and gently guided me down the private elevator to the basement parking lot.

He opened the rear car door, helped me slide onto the soft leather seat, and closed it shut before getting into the driver's seat.

"Thank you, Antonio," I murmured, resting my cold forehead against the cool glass window. "I am sorry for making a scene. I just feel so weak."

Antonio started the engine, shifting the sedan into gear, and pulled smoothly out of the underground garage onto the main road.

The drive was completely silent for the first ten minutes. The rain had started to patter softly against the windshield, wiping away the morning heat.

Suddenly, Antonio cleared his throat softly in the quiet car. He adjusted the rearview mirror with one hand, looking straight at my reflection in the back seat.

"Miss Aria," Antonio asked, his voice flat, calm, and completely serious. "When was the last time you checked your cycle? Are you pregnant?"

I froze completely, my breath catching tight in my throat as his words echoed through the silent car.