When Lena received Yann’s call asking if Audrey had been acting strange lately, it nearly scared her out of her wits. “No, no she hasn’t,” she stammered.
“Are you sure?” Yann frown
“Absolutely sure. Really, there’s been nothing.”
“Don’t introduce her to any of your sketchy friends.”
“Oh, okay Yann. Got it.”
After Yann hung up, Lena immediately called Audrey and learned she was in Ironhaven. She bought a ticket that same night and flew over. Yann was too terrifying. She needed Audrey’s protection.
The next day, Lena arrived in Ironhaven and Calvin picked her up to take her to Royal House. “Wow, this renovation is absolutely amazing” She gushed as they walked in.
“Have breakfast first, then you can look around.” Audrey suggested.
The newly renovated kitchen and dining room were separated by an island where two or three people could easily eat. Lena tossed her bag onto the sofa and sat down beside Audrey. “Wow, even the dinnerware is gorgeous,” she said.
“Ms. Smollett picked out the dishes,” Zoe said as she set breakfast in front of Lena.
“Thank you, Zoe.” Lena took the plate and immediately started complaining to Audrey. “Yann is seriously unhinged.”
After hearing the whole story, Audrey realized her actions had created a butterfly effect.
Zoe cleaned the kitchen while listening to their conversation, a smile tugging at her lips the entire time. ‘The fact that Mr. Winifred cares so much about Mrs. Winifred is a good thing,‘ she thought.
After breakfast, Audrey took Lena to Baldwin Biotechnology.
Baldwin had been wanting to meet her for ages, but Paul had never made the introduction. When he learned she was coming, the reception immediately became much more elaborate.
Miguel joined them, and the group headed to the production line./
Audrey outlined her requirements for the next phase of development. Lunessé’s face masks needed to maintain their quality standards, and the next step would be developing face creams and serums, still focusing on herbal ingredients.
When it came to the specific equipment needed, Baldwin had more expertise and shared his own ideas. The exact machinery would depend on Audrey’s formulations, so everyone agreed to prepare while waiting for her detailed proposal.
They all had lunch together, but by the time Paul got word and rushed over, Audrey had already left with Lena.
“Baldwin, that’s not cool,” Paul complained.
Baldwin raised his eyebrows smugly. “Mr. Gibson, thought you could see Ms. Henderson anytime you wanted. Turns out you can’t either, huh?”
Paul had no comeback for that.
When Audrey and Lena arrived at Steven’s clinic, he was seeing a patient. They waited in the break room until he finished and came to join them.
“Dr. Lewis, I’d like to buy another beauty and spot removing formula from you,” Audrey said, getting straight to the point.
Steven was holding a large cup of coffee. Whatever beans he’d used smelled amazing. He took a long sip before responding. “Did Yann sell out all my
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secrets?”
Audrey’s eyes darted around, but she didn’t deny it. When Yann had originally guided her to ask Steven for face mask ingredients, she’d already suspected that Yann knew exactly what Steven was capable of.
So the face mask was just the opportunity Steven had been waiting for. He seemed to know this day would come and pulter several sheets of paper from his drawer to hand to Audrey.
Audrey took them and looked through the documents. They were exclusive licensing agreements. Steven would provide the beauty formula and receive a certain percentage of shares in Lunessé skincare in return.
Audrey thought this arrangement made perfect sense. If Steven had simply sold her the formula outright, she would have suspected he was trying to make a quick profit and distance himself from any future responsibility. This way, they were both invested in the same outcome, which benefited everyone involved.
“Deal,” Audrey said immediately and called StrideVestment’s Ironhaven office to bring over the partnership contracts. By the time they’d negotiated all the terms, it was already dark outside.
Lena was genuinely shocked by Audrey’s business capabilities.
She’d felt an instant connection with Audrey when they first met, but deep down, she’d always assumed that while Audrey must have had some good qualities for Yann to choose her, her appeal was probably more about her looks than anything else.
After spending the entire day watching Audrey work, Lena finally saw her true abilities in action and gained real respect for her competence. Audrey was resilient, sharp, and decisive.
As they were preparing to leave, Steven called out to stop her. “Hold on a second. Let me give you a quick physical exam and draw some blood while you’re here.”
“That’s really not necessary. I feel fine,” Audrey protested.
“Come on, Audrey. You’re already here anyway,” Lena said, pressing her back into the chair. “Besides, I’d love to see Dr. Lewis‘ medical skills in action.”
Audrey could tell Lena was just curious to watch and shot her a playfully annoyed look. After the blood draw, she sat down in front of Steven for the examination. Her heart suddenly started racing. She couldn’t tell if she was hoping for something specific or hoping against it.
Steven placed the stethoscope on her chest and looked up at her.
Audrey’s heartbeat quickened even more, her throat felt dry, and she had the urge to swallow.
All the staff were waiting outside, leaving only Steven, Audrey, and Lena in the room.
Lena was practically glowing with anticipation, hunched forward and rubbing her hands together.
Audrey thought she looked like an oversized fly, which made her suppress a laugh. But when she saw Steven’s expression suddenly turn serious as he requested Audrey’s blood test results from the staff, her amusement quickly faded. ‘I don’t actually have some kind of problem, do I?” she thought.
Steven pulled back, and Lena immediately pounced with questions. “Well? Is she pregnant?”
“Lena-” Audrey rolled her eyes.
Lena was like someone who’d just won the lottery, completely wired with excitement. “We bought a pregnancy test two days ago, and it wasn’t super clear, but if you looked carefully, you could see two lines. Audrey is pregnant, right?”
Audrey tugged at Lena’s sleeve. If she wasn’t pregnant, this whole scene would make it look like she’d been desperately hoping for it. She and Yann had used protection before, but they’d stopped for various reasons. Pregnancy wasn’t in Audrey’s plans, but if it happened, she could accept it.
Steven stayed quiet for what felt like forever.
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Lena gradually calmed down and tested the waters carefully. “It’s okay if she’s not pregnant. Audrey and Yann are both still young. As long as they’re healthy, that’s what matters.”
Steven nodded, and Audrey’s heart sank. ‘This reaction… I don’t actually have some serious problem, do 17 Apart from some breast tenderness and cramping during my period, I don’t have any other symptoms. When I came to get medication last time, Dr. Lewis wasn’t this serious; she thought.
“Dr. Lewis, I can handle whatever you need to tell me. Please go ahead,” Audrey said.
Steven looked at the test results, then back at Audrey. “The blood work confirms that you are pregnant. Your hCG levels support this conclusion.”
Lena went silent, not immediately processing what she’d heard.
Audrey was confused too–pregnancy was good news, but Steven looked so serious. “Is there another problem?” she asked.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Lena pressed.
Both Audrey and Lena waited for him to say the inevitable “but“.
Steven continued, “But your hCG levels are lower than we’d like to see, and your other indicators show that your overall health isn’t ideal right now.”
Lena didn’t understand the medical terminology, but Audrey took a guess. “Are you saying there might be something wrong with the baby?”
“It’s hard to say at this point. Come back in a month for more detailed tests,” Steven replied.
As Lena helped Audrey into the car, Audrey’s mind was stuck on the possibility that something could be wrong with the child. She didn’t notice that Lena, being the gossip she was, immediately texted Yann with the news.
Yann was in the middle of a meeting when he stared at his phone screen for a full minute.
Lena: [Audrey’s pregnant!] The message was followed by a mischievous emoji.
“Mr. Winifred? Mr. Winifred-” Freya noticed Yann spacing out and gently reminded him where he was.
Yann suddenly stood up. “We’ll postpone this meeting.” He swept out of the conference room like a whirlwind.
AD
