Chapter 8 — Tears in the Frost

The expanded board meeting took place on a Thursday morning, bringing together all key members of Việt Thịnh, including Lăng Chính Nghĩa — Bách Việt's uncle, honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors — and Phùng Nhược My, the group's third largest shareholder. The main content of the meeting revolved around the investment cooperation proposal from Hằng Phát Fund in the Eastern commercial center project, a sensitive topic that made the meeting room atmosphere tense from the first minutes.

Thư Nhã sat in the position of secretary taking minutes, a little behind Bách Việt, holding a pen to take notes but her mind was reeling from an unusual dizziness that started early in the morning. She had skipped breakfast because the nausea was more intense than usual, and now, under the cold white fluorescent light of the conference room, the dizziness was growing more intense, accompanied by a cold sweat pouring down the back of her neck.

She tried to suppress her discomfort, telling herself that if she just held out for another hour, the meeting would end. Over the past few weeks, she had gotten used to enduring severe morning sickness right in the middle of work, but today things seemed to be much worse, perhaps because she was too stressed with thoughts of Tống Khả Di and her unfinished plan to leave, causing her already tired body to become even more exhausted.

"We need to carefully consider this proposal," Mr. Lăng Chính Nghĩa said, his voice thoughtful. "In terms of finance, Hằng Phát offers quite attractive interest rates, but I still have some concerns about the real motive behind it."

"I agree with you," Bách Việt replied, his voice tough. "We cannot let an outside investment fund have the opportunity to deeply interfere in the management structure of this key project."

"But in terms of short-term benefits for shareholders, this is an opportunity that should not be missed," Phùng Nhược My spoke out in protest, her eyes sparkled with a hint of calculation that no one in the meeting room paid close attention to at that time. "We should consider carefully before refusing outright."

Thư Nhã tried to concentrate on taking notes, but the words in front of her eyes began to blur, the sound in the meeting room became distant as if echoing from a long tunnel. She bit her lip, trying to breathe deeply to stay awake, but the dizziness only became more and more intense.

"Miss Secretary, please give me the expected investment cost data for the East project." A board member spoke up, towards Thư Nhã.

She stood up to grab the documents on the side table, but as soon as she stood up straight, the whole room suddenly shook violently before her eyes. The voices of everyone in the meeting room disappeared, replaced by a quick darkness.

"Thư Nhã!"

She heard a loud call - Bách Việt's voice, more panicked than any time she had ever heard - right before her whole body collapsed to the floor, the documents in her hand scattered everywhere.

*

When Thư Nhã woke up, she was lying on a bed in the company's medical room, the white light was softer than the conference room, and the smell of antiseptic alcohol was faintly in the air. She blinked a few times, trying to refocus everything around her, then was shocked to realize Bách Việt was sitting next to the bed, his face pale, his hand squeezing hers so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"You're awake." He breathed a sigh of relief, but his voice was still shaking with worry. "The doctor said you..."

He stopped mid-sentence, and Thư Nhã, through his eyes, immediately understood what was happening. Her secret has been discovered.

The door to the medical room opened, the company doctor walked in with Mr. Lăng Chính Nghĩa, both of their faces had an indescribably serious look. Thư Nhã tried to sit up, but the dizziness still made her stumble.

"You lie down and rest, don't try too hard." The company doctor said, his voice calm and professional. "I did a preliminary check, your health is okay, nothing to worry about, but your pregnancy is currently at a stage that needs to be monitored more carefully, especially rest and nutrition."

The word "pregnancy" rang out clearly in the small room, and Thư Nhã closed her eyes, clearly feeling her whole world collapsing piece by piece. She didn't dare look directly into Bách Việt's eyes, afraid of facing what she would see in those eyes - shock, anger, or worst of all, a coldness she couldn't stand.

"Pregnant?" Mr. Lăng Chính Nghĩa repeated, his voice full of surprise, his eyes quickly glanced between Bách Việt and Thư Nhã, as if trying to piece together something unbelievable, pieces of the relationship between the two that he had never dared to think about during the past three years. "Bách Việt, you..."

"I know what you're thinking," Bách Việt interrupted, his voice tense, but he did not avoid his uncle's eyes. "This is a personal matter. I will explain later, when everything is clearer."

*

The news spread within the leadership so quickly that it was impossible to control, like a wind blowing through each floor of the tower in just a split second. Within just half an hour, almost all the members attending this morning's meeting learned that the General Director's personal secretary was pregnant right at the office, along with countless wild speculations about who the father of the child was.

Phùng Nhược My, standing in the hallway with several other board members, could not hide her curious eyes mixed with a bit of calculation when discussing the incident. "The CEO's personal secretary got pregnant right at the company. What a shocking story. I wonder who the father is?"

"Who knows..." Another person whispered, his eyes glanced meaningfully at the medical room, not daring to finish his sentence, but everyone implicitly understood the meaning.

In the medical room, Thư Nhã lay still, her hands clutching the blanket tightly, clearly feeling the tension that was covering the air outside the door. She knew, in just a few moments, the entire company would know of the child's existence, and the biggest question that everyone was whispering about out there — who was the father — would soon be placed on Bách Việt's own desk, forcing him to give an answer that she didn't know if he was willing to admit or not.

"I'm sorry," Bách Việt suddenly spoke, his voice low, when Mr. Lăng Chính Nghĩa and the doctor left the room, leaving only the two of them remaining. "I didn't know about this. If I had known sooner, I wouldn't have let you suffer alone like that."

Thư Nhã turned her head to look at him, tears suddenly flowing out of her eyes, uncontrollable. "I'm sorry for keeping it from you. I just... I didn't know how to tell you."

Bách Việt was silent for a long time, his eyes were so complicated that Thư Nhã couldn't read what he was thinking - whether it was anger because it was kept hidden, or a fear of the responsibility that suddenly came, or there was some other deeper emotion that he hadn't yet had time to name.

"Child..." He started, his voice hoarse. "Whose child is it?"

That question was like a knife cutting straight into Thư Nhã's heart. She looked at him, unable to believe what she had just heard. After all, after that drunken night, after three years of living together, could he still ask her such a question?

"Who do you think it belongs to?" She asked back, her voice shaking with hurt, "Do you think I'm the type of person who would betray our marriage contract?"

Bách Việt was stunned, immediately realizing the disastrous clumsiness of his question. "No, I didn't mean that. I just..." He stopped, running his hands through his head, clearly struggling with too many emotions rushing at once. "I'm just trying to believe that this is true. The child was ours, that night..."

"That's right," Thư Nhã replied, her voice choked. "It's the child of that third anniversary night."

Bách Việt sat down on the edge of the bed, holding his head with both hands, trying to sort out all the confused thoughts in his head. He felt a strange, strange but genuine happiness when thinking about becoming a father, while also carrying a vague fear in his heart about having to protect this child from the dangers looming out there, especially when Tống Khả Di had just returned with a purpose that he still could not fully predict.

The room fell into a heavy silence, with only the gentle sound of the heart rate monitor ringing steadily, and outside the door, a whole Việt Thịnh tower was whispering about the secret that had just been exposed, neither of them knew that this was just the beginning of a much bigger series of events about to happen.