The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 133

The doctor studied her for a while and didn’t seem to understand her concern. "Can I offer you a word of advise?"

Avery nodded reluctantly. As long as it had nothing to do with her having to make a difficult decision.

"Well, not every woman is overjoyed to be told she is expecting a baby. And while some might be happy, sometimes they are nervous too. I understand your confusion and anxiety. Especially with the first child..."

"My son is five." She interrupted. "I’m not going to be a mother for the first time so tell me something new."

"I see. What seems to be the problem? If you want to talk about it, of course. If not, you don’t have to say anything."

Avery let out a breath, considering what she should do. She couldn’t talk about everything with a stranger but again, she didn’t want to tell anyone she knew what her real concerns were. Remembering the privacy policy, she decided that the doctor was the safest option.

"Aside from the fact that this will be my second child out of wedlock...Oh God." She sighed when she said it out aloud. "By the same man. What the hell is wrong with me? I made the same mistake twice." She laughed at herself.

"What’s the worst that could happen?" Asked the doctor.

"I tell him I’m pregnant and he runs for the hills. I’m not saying he ran..." she pulled at her hair in frustration. It was not his fault that he had missed the first years of Angel’s life, yet she couldn’t stop thinking that something would happen this time too. If he left again, the baby would not be only one affected by his absence. What about Angel, who had already become attached to him? What would happen to him if he lost his father again?

"My son is autistic." She blurted out.

"That’s not a concern to you, is it?" The doctor saw right through her.

"Not his condition in itself." She wanted to express her fear but didn’t have the right words. Feeling she was being dramatic, she shot to her feet. "Thanks."

"Take care, okay? If you need anything, you can call me." The doctor assured her.

She smiled bitterly. She was trying to be subtle but it was obvious what she meant. If she wanted to make an appointment to get rid of the baby... the thought of it nauseated her. It might not have come at the right time but it was her baby nonetheless.

She had intended to go to her office and resume her work—heaven knew she had an entire mountain piled up on her desk—but instead of Vaillant Telecommunications, she was in the lobby of RA Vaille before she realized it.

She nervously walked up to the reception, expecting to be sent back immediately. "Hi. I would like to have a word with Damon. Uhm, the CEO. Could you tell him it’s..."

"Miss Vaillant? You can go right ahead." Not only did the reception let her in too easily, but she also did so with a relieved smile as though she had been pardoned from a death sentence.

Avery vaguely heard her make a call and tell someone—probably Damon’s assistant—that she was here. Why did it feel like they were expecting her? Besides, how did they even know her?

It wasn’t long before she got her answer.

"Miss Vaillant, this way, please." Damon’s assistant, Millie, led the way enthusiastically.

"Uhm, are you sure he is not in a meeting or something? One of the innumerable things CEOs tend to have to do, perhaps?"

Millie turned to smile at her. "Mr. D’Aboville specifically showed us your picture a few months ago and clearly stated that if you were to ever show up at RA Vaille, you should be let into his office no matter what he is doing. Unless, of course, he is not here, in which case we should inform him immediately."

She shook her head at his dramatics. Wasn’t that too exaggerated?

Millie snuck several peeks at her. "Can I say something, Miss Vaillant?"

"Go ahead." She knew the woman was excited to say it and telling her no would be denying her the satisfaction of saying it.

Millie cleared her throat and treaded carefully. "I have not worked at RA Vaille for a long time but there is a vast difference between the period when Mr. Vaillant first took over the company and now. I always took him for a stuck-up grumpy boss but soon after he showed us your pictures and gave unlimited access for you to come here, I realized he is simply a friendly boss who was missing his other half."

"Why are you telling me this?" She wanted to laugh at her fairy-tale belief.

Millie turned serious. "He is back to the stuck-up grumpy CEO everyone was terrified of. I’m scared I might lose my job if I breathe too loudly."

"I’m sure that will not happen." She laughed it off, but Millie seemed serious.

"You have no idea. Everyone’s getting yelled at for simply existing. Whatever is happening to our dear boss has to be your fault since you came here today. You have to undo whatever you did to him."

"I didn’t do anything." She insisted.

"Did you hear a single word I said? I want this whole report redone! Half an hour!" They heard Damon’s bellow as they got close to his office, and froze on the spot.

Millie grabbed onto Avery’s arm in fear and shook her head. "Miss Vaillant, I just remembered I need to go through Mr. D’aboville’s emails. I’m sure you can go on your own, right?" Then she fled down the hallway, leaving Avery on her own near his office.

She couldn’t blame the poor assistant. Damon did sound terrifying. When the employee who was getting yelled at left the office in tears, she felt guilty. She must have set him off with her words. This was her fault and the poor employees were getting the short end of the stick for it.

She approached the door and knocked softly. It was partially open and she could see Damon’s downcast face. That didn’t hide his frown and when he looked up, his eyes were filled with anger. He looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"Avery?" He frowned when he saw her. His gaze softened but only for a bit. It was a drop in the bucket compared to the anger she knew was boiling beneath his eyes, threatening to erupt at the slightest provocation.

"May I come in?" She didn’t know she was trembling until she spoke up and her voice shook.

The sound of her seemed to shake him up a little more. He stood to meet her halfway through the office. "Of course."

He wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace. "I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry."

She burst into tears. Not because she was scared. If she was being honest, she wasn’t afraid of him. No matter how angry he was, he would never hurt her. It was the realization of this that came crashing down on her, and she couldn’t believe the accusation she had thrown at him.

"Vivi?" He checked her all over. "Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

She nodded and then shook her head. Unsure he understood, she nodded. "I’m okay. I just... I’m sorry. That night, I was so..."

"Forget about Friday night." He patted her, holding her tighter in his arms to soothe her.

"But your employees are bearing the consequences of what I said even though it’s not their fault. They don’t even know why you are acting like you swallowed tons of gunpowder for breakfast." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

He forced a smile and shut the door, then took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the rest of her tears. He then pulled her over behind his desk and pulled her on his lap when he sat on his chair.

"Do you truly believe I messed with your birth control?" He asked directly. "Because I have no way to prove my innocence if that’s what you think, but I must assure you..."

She kissed him to make him stop talking. "You don’t need to prove anything. I know you wouldn’t."

He squinted. If she was so certain he would never do that kind of thing, what was she implying over the phone call? ’Why were you certain I would be pregnant?’ Her question had held more meaning than he wanted to admit.

She knew what he was thinking. She swallowed nervously. "It’s not an excuse for being such a jerk but I wasn’t myself. I was feeling angry. Overwhelmed, and I had strange urges. I’m sorry I said such hurtful things. I trust you."

He quietly hugged her. Why did that make him nervous? What she had just described could be nothing; maybe she was tired after planning the party, or maybe it was the onset of something that was better off being discovered as soon as possible. Or maybe, he was just being paranoid. Mabella’s lectures must be getting to him.

"You don’t need to be sorry." He kissed her forehead. What was important was the fact that she was back to her usual self. At least, he hoped so. But when he caught sight of her helpless face, his heart broke. "You’re not telling me everything, are you?"

"I’m pregnant." She blurted. There was no soft way to put it anyway.

___ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

AN

How do you think Damon will react to the news?