Chapter 356 Business Trip, or Something Else?
But it turned out I wasn’t reading into it at all.
That was exactly what he meant, as he made perfectly clear with his next words: ‘Do it more often.’
I wanted to roll my eyes again.
Could I say no?
Before I could even form a reply, Ashton shifted me off his lap and back onto my feet, his expression utterly matter-of-fact. ‘I know you’re eager, but whatever you have in mind will have to wait until we get home. Doing that sort of thing in the office looks unprofessional. Let’s eat first.’
His words made me burn with a mix of embarrassment and anger. ‘What do you mean, eager? What exactly am I being eager for?’
‘What do you think?’ Ashton raised an eyebrow, his expression loaded with meaning. ‘Last night, a certain someone complained I was too demanding. And yet, after less than three hours apart, here you are, chasing me to the office, dressed like that.’
My face burned hotter. I shot a furious look at the unbearably smug man. ‘What is wrong with you? This is a perfectly normal dress, there’s nothing “like that” about it.’
His large hand stroked the fabric of my skirt, the heat of his palm seeping through the thin material and onto my skin. It stirred up the restless hormones that pregnancy had set raging inside me.
‘Let’s just have lunch and get to the hospital,’ I said, quickly changing the subject. I couldn’t get off his lap fast enough.
Ashton shook his head with a sigh, but he stood up too. We had lunch together in the lounge, then Dominic prepared the car for the hospital.
Even with Ashton pulling strings to bypass the queues, the check-up took forever. With a full physical and a battery of tests on various machines, the whole process took over an hour.
Finally, the head of gynaecology smiled at us. ‘Mr and Mrs Laurent, everything is fine. The baby is doing well, and so is Mrs Laurent. There’s no need to worry.’
I felt a wave of relief. I’d been quietly terrified that the drugs Rhys used on me had harmed the baby.
After the hospital, Ashton had the driver take me home while he went back to the office.
I spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around the house until evening.
Dinnertime came and went.
I waited for Ashton on the living room sofa, expecting him back for our meal. I kept waiting and waiting, until I saw the clock pushing ten. Not only was he still not home, but his phone was switched off.
A panicked feeling began to churn in my chest, a sense that something was wrong. But the moment the thought surfaced, my rational mind pushed it down.
Ashton was just swamped with work, that was all. Probably another client dinner.
He was surrounded by bodyguards; how could anything possibly happen to him? I was just overthinking it.
‘Mrs Laurent, perhaps you should eat something,’ Geoffrey suggested. ‘Mr Laurent must have been held up by something.’
I shook my head. ‘I’m not hungry.’
Ashton had promised he’d be back to have dinner with me. I knew him; he wasn’t the type to break a promise without a good reason. Even if something had come up, he would’ve called.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I jolted up from the sofa, snatched it up, and saw Ashton’s name. I answered immediately. ‘Hello?’
‘It’s me.’ His voice was flat, and raspy.
Hearing the strange tone, I grew anxious. ‘What’s wrong? You sound different.’
‘I’m in a tunnel. The signal’s probably not great.’
‘A tunnel? I thought you were at the office?’ I was completely confused. What was going on?
‘Yeah, an unexpected business trip. There’s an issue at the regional office. I’m on my way to the airport. I won’t be back for a few days. Make sure you eat and get some rest.’ He sounded like he was reciting lines.
A stronger sense of unease washed over me, though I couldn’t pinpoint why. I frowned. ‘What kind of issue?’
‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.’ He clearly didn’t want to discuss it, and changed the subject. ‘Have you had dinner?’
‘No.’ Was there really a problem at the regional office, or was someone causing trouble for him again?
‘Remember to eat. And don’t kick the covers off at night. I’ll be checking with Geoffrey every day.’ His voice was intensely bossy.
‘I know. I’ll eat properly, and you should too.’
‘Hmm. I’ll call you tomorrow. Now, go and eat.’
The exhaustion in his voice was evident.
I hung up. Even though Ashton said he was on a business trip, something just didn’t feel right. When we’d parted that afternoon, he’d been so confident about coming home for dinner. How could some urgent crisis have popped up in just a few hours?
My heart ached for him a little. Being the CEO of a major corporation clearly wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
I’d lost my appetite, but I forced myself to eat something. For the baby.
***
The house was silent in the middle of the night when I swam up from a deep sleep.
Ashton was standing by the bed.
I shot upright, my heart hammering. ‘You’re back? I thought the trip would take days. Is everything handled?’
‘It is,’ he said, but his face was hidden in the shadows.
He just stood there, not moving.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked, my voice still thick with sleep. ‘Come on, it’s the middle of the night. Go wash up, then come to bed.’
When he still didn’t move, I sighed and pushed the duvet back. The carpet was soft under my bare feet as I went to him, taking his hand to guide him towards the bathroom.
It was only when my skin touched his that I felt it—something cold and slick.
‘What’s on your hand?’ I let go, frowning, and looked down at my own palm.
In the sliver of moonlight from the window, I saw it. A dark, wet smear across my skin.
Blood.