01

The ultrasound machines hummed faintly in the distance while the posters of smiling babies adorned the walls. The soft murmurs of expectant mothers, the gentle chatter among nurses and doctors filled positivity in the air. 

Holding the test result in her hand as she gazed up at it, her face lit up. 

"Congratulations, Mrs. Bronze. You are five weeks pregnant."

The words the doctor said a while ago beat in her ears and an overwhelming feeling washed over her. She clasped her hands, cradling her belly, "I'm gonna be a mother, I'm really gonna be a mother this time."

Sienna Waters looked at her phone screen, a beautiful wedding photo of her with her husband was kept on as the wallpaper where they seemed to share their wedding kiss.

"Lovell, you are going to be a father. When you hear this news, you will be very happy. I can't wait to tell you t..."

Ring!

"Hi, Ollie. You called me at the right time. I have something..." Even before Sienna could finish what she wanted to say, the panicked voice of her best friend came from the other side of the call. "Sia, are you in the cafe right now?"

"No, I could not inform you of this as I was in a hurry. Actually, I didn't feel well so I went to the hospital for a small check-up." Sienna replied. 

Married to the wealthiest, the top businessman and the most handsome man in the country she could choose to be only a housewife but after her marriage, she chose to keep her profession as the 'cafe owner'. 

"Are you alright? What happened? What did the doctor say?" Olive asked, her voice filled with anxiety. 

"I am alright but is something wrong? You don't sound good." 

"Well... Please, don't leave the hospital. Wait until I am there." Hearing how panicked Olive sounded, Sienna felt somewhat odd. "Ollie, did something happen?"

"No, it's... Sia, send me your live location right now. And, please don't go anywhere until I arrive. I'll soon be there."

Since the two were in kindergarten, they had been best friends. Having a good bond, they could understand each other without the other person expressing it.

"What exactly has happened? Ollie? Hello?" 

Beep!

As the connection cut off abruptly, Sienna sadly looked at her phone screen. "She sounded anxious, something must have happened. Well, if she wants me to wait for her here then I... oh, right. I want to tell Lovell first about my pregnancy then I will tell Ollie about it. If she sees me in the hospital, she will definitely think that it's weird so... I will just go to the first floor then I will wait for her there." 

Reaching the first floor of the hospital, Sienna sent her the live location like she was asked to before settling on the nearest bench. She let out a big sigh and hugged the envelope against her chest. 

"I have been waiting for this moment for over a year now, I know that he likes kids and wants to have a family of his own. When he learns that we are about to have a baby, what faces will he make? Will he cry in happiness? Ahh, I can't wait to see how he will react... I wonder when he is coming back from the business trip. It's been hectic for him recently so we could not talk to each other for the past few days.."

It has been two years since she got married to her husband, growing up in a loving family but without a mother Sienna always dreamt of having a family of her own. At first she was worried about how her husband would turn out to be, if he would be a good husband or a bad one but Lovell changed her thoughts and her married life filled with joy.

"When Ollie picks me up, I will tell her to drive me to his office. First, I will pretend to be mad at him and then I will give him the surprise. Hehe." She murmured and giggled like a fool.

"There, I found her!" Suddenly some people ran to her, even before Sienna could get a grip of what was happening around they surrounded her as they started throwing a bunch of questions on her way, "Mrs. Bronze, what's your take on the embezzlement case? Did you know that Mr. Waters was going to steal the company's money? Did you perhaps help him? Why didn't you stop Mr. Waters from doing it? Didn't you think about what w..."

With a stunned expression on her face, Sienna gazed at the reporters who anticipated her answer while holding their mics before her. The more questions they asked her, the more puzzled she was getting as if she was frozen on the spot.

Sienna lost her mother at a young age, since then her father raised her all by himself and he never even got remarried because of her. For him, his daughter was his everything.

As she sat there all silent, with the cameras fixed on her the reporters continued questioning her, "Mr. Bronze is your husband, everyone knows that it was a business marriage. Did your father plan it all since the beginning? Did you also play a part in this? Mrs. Bronze, don't you love your husband? Why did you help your father when you know that it could harm your husband's company? As a wife, how did you come up with the plan of destroying your husband?"

"W-what are you talking about? What embezzlement? I can't understand anything." It took her a little while to compose herself, since she was married to one of the most famous businessmen in the country she had been in the spotlight before but this was her first time getting questioned like a criminal.

Upon hearing her, the reporters looked at each other and then one of them asked, "Mrs. Bronze, are you now playing innocent so you won't get caught in the mess? Are you planning to keep yourself away from this case? Your father got caught red-handed already so it won't be easy for you to escape. Are you going to help your father or take your husband's side?"

'It must be another prank or made up scandal, the reporters always do something like this. Lovell told me before that I should avoid the reporters as much as possible if he is not with me. Yeah, it will be best to...'

"Mrs. Bronze, please reply. How do you think Mr. Waters is going to save himself from the police? Do you think that he can escape it if he tries to..."

"I don't understand what you are talking about. My father never did anything like you are saying, so please don't make any false accusations..."

"Looks like you don't want to tell the truth. So Mrs. Bronze, does it mean that you are also involved in this? Did you two have a fight over this matter? Perhaps Mr. Bronze got to know about your plan beforehand and that's why he started avoiding you? What would you say about this?"

Getting real annoyed, Sienna was about to say something when suddenly Olive ran there with a boy. 

"Excuse me." Grabbing her hand, she dragged Sienna with her while the boy tried his best to stop the reporters from catching them.

Running for a while, Olive let go of her hand and taking a few deep breaths, she peeked in a certain direction. 

"What exactly has happened? What were those reporters talking about?"

"Uhmm, it's... It's actually..." Biting her lips, Olive looked around hesitantly. 

"Ollie, something has happened that I don't know about. Am I correct?"

Holding her hands together as she kept her head down, Sienna touched her arms firmly. "You told me to stay here till you pick me up, the reporters were asking me weird questions. This all cannot be just a coincidence. Please, Ollie. Tell me what happened, do not keep me in the dark anymore." 

Olive looked at her face and took a deep breath, putting her hands on her shoulder gently she added, "Sia, I will tell you what has happened but you must promise me that you will stay strong. Ok?"

'I was right, something big has happened or else Ollie wouldn't be this anxious. I'm having a bad feeling about this.'

"...Fine, now tell me."

"The news said that uncle embezzled money from Mr. Bronze's company, he... he also was involved in misusing his power in the company. It was stated that... The police are suspecting that he worked as a spy for some people. Serious actions have been taken against him, he..."

"What nonsense! My dad will never do something like this. It's fake, it's a lie..."

"I know, but it was all over the news. And..."

"And what?" Her voice slightly trembled as she questioned, Sienna could barely keep calm.

"Uncle t... Uncle tried to run away from the police and now he... He is in the hospital."

Hearing the news, her legs buckled and her vision began to blur. "What?" 

"Sia? Sia?"