Outside the CEO's office, Stella Harlow was clutching a report in her hand, her face tense with hesitation, too nervous to knock on the door.
It was currently lunchtime, and her colleagues from the secretary's office had all gone out to eat. Only then did she muster up the courage to come over and talk to the CEO about something.
She lowered her head to glance at the report again. It was an ultrasound report, and at the bottom, two lines of text were printed clearly: Early pregnancy, intrauterine gestation, viable embryo, 6 weeks +.
Stella took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, her mind unwillingly drifting back to that ridiculous night last month with the CEO.
That night, she had accompanied him to a business dinner and dropped him off at the hotel afterward. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she was pulled into his warm embrace. Both of them were under the influence of alcohol, and one thing naturally led to another—things that should never have happened.
Neither of them brought it up afterward. It wasn’t until her period failed to arrive, prompting a check-up, that she discovered she was pregnant.
She thought about it carefully. As one of the parties involved, the CEO had a right to know. She wanted to hear his opinion.
Summoning her courage, she knocked. From inside the room came a deep voice saying, "Come in."
Ethan Mercer looked up as the door opened and asked, "It’s lunch break—what’s the matter?"
Facing him now, Stella Harlow felt her heart skip a beat. The man before her was as refined and striking as ever, his sharp gaze fixed squarely on her.
She pressed her lips together briefly, walked over, and set the report on the desk, pushing it toward him gently. "Mr. Mercer, take a look at this…" Her voice was soft but steady.
Ethan Mercer noticed her hesitation. With a frown of curiosity, he picked up the report and gave it a quick scan. His brow furrowed almost instantly.
"This is… yours?" The question left his lips instinctively.
"Mm." Stella Harlow nodded weakly, her voice barely audible. "Last month… after that dinner with President Yu, I took you back to the hotel…"
The rest of her sentence was swallowed before it could reach the surface.
That night, Ethan Mercer distinctly remembered that he hadn't been drunk to the point of oblivion; he knew exactly what he'd done. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but seeing her slender waist and graceful back, his intoxicated eyes blurred, and he'd mistaken her for...
Stella Harlow noticed him staring silently at the report, and it left her feeling uneasy, her thoughts in turmoil.
"Mr. Su, you know I lead an upright life. That one night with you was my first."
The words "my first" were said so softly they were almost inaudible.
She stole a glance at him, then continued, "I don't mean anything else by bringing it up, but as someone involved, you should also be aware of it. Besides, I don’t know what to do now."
After she finished speaking, Ethan Mercer nodded lightly. Stella Harlow could not discern what that nod meant, but he offered no words in response. What could he be thinking?
After a long silence, Ethan Mercer placed the document down and said to her, "Let's discuss this matter properly after work. For now, go eat something." With that, he slid the report back toward her.
Hearing his words, Stella Harlow thought it made sense. She still had to work in the afternoon, and any discussion about this now would certainly affect her concentration and performance.
She picked up the report. "Alright, we'll talk after work."
Ethan Mercer didn’t look at her again; he simply nodded slightly.
Stella Harlow let out a quiet sigh of relief, turned, and headed toward the door. Perhaps because her head was full of anxious thoughts, she didn’t notice someone entering from outside and ended up bumping straight into them.
The report in her hand fluttered to the ground in the collision.
When she looked up, she saw it was the chairman's wife—Ethan Mercer's mother. She hurriedly apologized, "Madam Chairwoman, I’m so sorry, I’m terribly sorry."
Mrs. Mercer, a woman in her fifties, exuded warmth and grace with her kind demeanor and noble poise. She gave a soft smile and said, "It's alright."
Then, her gaze shifted down to the report that had landed near her shoes.
Mrs. Mercer spotted it too, her expression turning serious. Just as Stella Harlow bent down to pick it up, Mrs. Mercer moved faster and had already grabbed it.
Glancing over the item, Mrs. Mercer’s eyes widened in astonishment as she looked at Stella. Without thinking, she said, “Secretary Gu, is this yours? Oh, your name is on it.”
Stella Harlow’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Trapped, she could only force out a soft, “Yes.”
On the other side of the room, Ethan Mercer looked over as well, his gaze complicated. His eyes locked with his mother’s in an unspoken exchange.
After a moment of contemplation, a knowing look dawned on Mrs. Mercer’s face. Her eyes darted between her son and Stella, and she could barely contain her excitement. “Could it be… this child—is it Eth’s?”
Stella Harlow was momentarily startled by Mrs. Mercer’s excited expression. She hadn’t seen this coming.
At a loss for words, she chose to stay silent and tightly pursed her lips.
Ethan Mercer stood and walked toward them. Speaking to Stella Harlow, he said, “You can leave now.”
Stella felt as though she had been granted a pardon and hurried to make her exit.
But Mrs. Mercer grabbed her by the wrist before she could leave, pulling her further into the room. Smiling, she announced happily, “Seems like I was right! The two of you better make things clear to me right now.”
Seated on the sofa, Mrs. Mercer glanced over at her son, who was still standing there awkwardly. Clicking her tongue, she let out a light hiss. “What are you standing there for? Waiting for me to invite you over? This is fantastic news—shouldn’t we start discussing the wedding details? A baby doesn’t wait for anyone!”
Stella Harlow felt dizzy as if the world were spinning around her. What on earth was this? Chairwoman, are you misunderstanding something?
Ethan Mercer reluctantly sat across from the two of them, meeting his mother’s gaze. He said with a steady voice, “This matter is between me and Secretary Gu. Mom, could you please not interfere?”
Mrs. Mercer raised an eyebrow and smiled as if she had everything figured out. “If there were no baby, I wouldn’t meddle. But,” her smile deepened as her gaze shifted to Stella’s belly, “Secretary Gu is pregnant now. This concerns the Mercer family’s descendants; how could I not intervene?”
Stella looked at Ethan Mercer’s increasingly dark expression and braced herself to speak up. “Chairwoman, um, about that... Mr. Mercer and I—we haven’t planned on getting married.”
"Not getting married?" Mrs. Mercer widened her almond-shaped eyes, glaring at her son in anger. "You got her pregnant, and now you’re refusing to take responsibility? Do you even call yourself a man?" After saying this, she leaned forward and gave him two hard smacks on the shoulder, the sound of her hands landing crisp and clear.
Watching the president get scolded and even hit, Stella Harlow silently bowed her head and covered her forehead with her hand, unable to bear the sight.
Ethan Mercer took the blows without uttering a word, though his cold gaze flickered in Stella Harlow's direction.
Mrs. Mercer, after a brief moment of contemplation, glanced at the clock and stood up. "Let’s go. We’ll eat first. Once the civil affairs bureau opens in the afternoon, the two of you will go and register for your marriage."
"What?" Stella Harlow's eyes widened in shock. "Madam Chairwoman, this… this…"
"Enough of this 'this and that.'" Mrs. Mercer clasped Stella Harlow’s hand, gently patting the back of it as she spoke to her in a heartfelt tone. "I know about your family situation. Don’t worry about your mother’s illness. After you and Ethan get registered, I’ll cover all the medical expenses."
The temptation was huge.
Stella Harlow came from a humble background. Back in high school, her father had cheated on her mother and filed for divorce. From then on, she and her mother had relied on each other to survive. Though life was difficult, her mother had insisted on supporting her all the way through college. Stella had only been working for two years when her mother fell ill with a strange affliction, leaving her unconscious and confined to a hospital bed that seemed to devour money.
If marrying Ethan Mercer meant she had the means to treat her mother, how could she refuse? How could she bear to lose her mother?
Thinking of this, she didn’t even glance at Ethan Mercer. Instead, she turned to Mrs. Mercer and nodded firmly, agreeing to the arrangement.
