"I didn't want to buy the shares and box you into a corner. Instead, I backed the buyers," Robert explained again when the topic resurfaced one morning a month or two after his revelation.

As we lounged on the garden swing, savoring our steaming cups of coffee, the brilliant sun enveloped us in a radiant, golden glow. After taking the last sip, I reclined on the swing, using Robert's chest as a soft cushion for my head. His words flowed into my ear as I simultaneously relished the gentle vibrations of his heartbeat and the soothing rhythm of his breathing. The serene environment and his comforting presence created a moment of pure bliss that I never wanted to end.

"You need to let me decide that sort of thing, or at least let us decide it together," I insisted, propping myself up to look in his eyes. "I may not understand everything -" I continued.

"It's a willful misunderstanding. You certainly could understand it," Robert interrupted, and I shushed him.

"Regardless, we are discussing you communicating with me and not deciding what is good for me without my input. I don't need any noble idiocy in my life."

"What is noble idiocy?"

"It's when you sacrifice yourself under the assumption that you are bringing happiness to me when in fact, it pisses me off and makes me more unhappy," I explained.

Robert chuckled, his chest rising and falling, making my hand hit my face, so I sat up more. He put his arm around me and pulled me in so my head could rest on his shoulder instead. "I've never heard of that, but I guess that is what I was doing. Though, it didn't feel like a sacrifice at the time."

"It almost made me break up with you, so that would have been a sacrifice. Or at least I think so." I turned my head up to catch his eyes.

"Yes, that would have been exactly the opposite of what I intended. I see your point. I'll work on telling you more. Along that vein," Robert repositioned enough to meet my eyes fully. "Tim is flying to Taipei tomorrow. They will hold the wedding there and return to the States for a reception later."

"Are you going to Taipei?"

"I was hoping we both would. Do you have a passport?"

"Yes, I do, I've never been to Taiwan." I couldn't bear the thought of attending Tim's wedding. It was difficult to watch him living the life he always wanted - marrying into a wealthy family and working his way up the corporate ladder with the support of his father-in-law. All the things he had ruthlessly pursued, even if it meant killing me in the process. Yet that had been a different Tim; this Tim had never attempted anything against me since his aborted attempt to abscond with me at the auction.

Even though I strongly suspected his involvement in Robert's car troubles, there wasn't enough evidence to prove it since his driver was involved. Similarly, there was no concrete proof that Tim or Lisa had made an attempt on my life. It was all just speculation, which made me feel even more frustrated.

"It's a beautiful country," Robert coaxed. "I would love to see it with you."

"Do you think it's okay that Victoria is marrying him? I'm sure he is only marrying her for her money. That can't be good for either of them." I changed the subject, worrying about transferring my fate to Victoria. Although I hadn't spoken to her since we met, I believed that every woman deserved a better destiny than to perish at the hands of her spouse.

"Victoria knows what she is getting with Tim. She will be fine and happy to have someone to share the load with. She would have had to give up a lot to marry me; I couldn't move to Taipei with her. This works better for her in many ways."

"Yes, but Tim..." I didn't know how to say anything more about him. I should barely know him, having only met him a few times.

"It's her life, Nicole, and she is entering the relationship with eyes wide open," Robert assured. "So, can I have my assistant book us tickets?"

"Sure," I answered, the pull of seeing a new country and the final ending to my relationship with Tim both tipping the scale above the disgust I felt at his happy ending.

As we sat in silence, lost in our thoughts, Robert's phone suddenly rang, jolting us back to reality. Despite the interruption, he flashed a warm smile before answering the call. My heart sank when I noticed that it was Joe calling, as I knew it meant our intimate moment was coming to an end.

"I have to go into the office," confirmed Robert as he put his phone back into his pocket. We stood up together and gathered the dishes scattered on the table. Since it was the middle of the week, I had expected him to go in at some point, but I was grateful for the time we had spent together.

"I guess I should go in as well," I groaned. My team was finishing our latest web page changes, and soon, we would have to present the concepts to the rest of the department. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but it helped us identify any weak points before going live with it.

Robert and I had several discussions about our plans, including the possibility of taking our relationship to the next level and getting married, even though we had not yet taken that step. During these conversations, we delved into my career prospects and aspirations.

Although I enjoyed my job, it didn't ignite any passion. Robert suggested that I could follow in my aunt's footsteps and have a stake in the company without being involved in its day-to-day operations. This idea intrigued me. I had always dreamed of starting my art studio and school. Robert loved the idea and encouraged me to pursue my passions and interests. The thought of spending my days painting and sharing my knowledge with others was almost too tempting to resist.

I shook myself out of my musings and headed back to my room. Though, as I spent more time in Robert's suite, my room functionally became more of a closet and art studio than a bedroom.

Beth called me while I was getting ready for work. She confirmed that I would be going to the office and offered to pick me up. Since we hadn't spent much time together recently, I suspected she probably wanted to catch up a bit, so I agreed.

As I was waiting for Beth to arrive in the lobby, I suddenly felt a wave of nausea. Initially, I didn't think much of it and assumed it was probably due to drinking too much coffee that morning. However, after Beth picked me up, the feeling intensified; I had to ask her to pull over so I could throw up. It was then that I realized that something was definitely wrong.

"Are you okay? Should we go to the hospital?" Beth asked with concern, saying that the vomiting had dampened our conversation about her love life.

"I don't know," I answered before I threw up again into the bushes by the side of the road.

Beth took charge and said, "We are taking you to see a doctor." She immediately called our concierge line, and they instructed us to walk in. When we arrived, my doctor was waiting for me. After a thorough examination, she asked her nurse to draw some blood, which was processed while we waited. Meanwhile, Beth typed away on her laptop, and I called my team to inform them of my delay. The nurse had given me a shot to relieve my nausea, so I was feeling much better when Dr. Kumar's nurse called us back in.

Dr. Kumar asked, "When was your last period?" as she read the lab results on her tablet. Her long white coat and the tablet in her hand reminded me of the woman in the blank room who had sent me back to live my life again. I couldn't help but wonder if it had all been a dream or if I had never lived a life before.

"Um, I don't remember." Since I had reawoken, I hadn't worried much about my menstrual cycle. During my life with Tim, our doctor had said I was infertile, and despite going through various treatments, I could never get pregnant. So, in this life, I hadn't thought about contraception.

"You don't remember?" Beth piped up incredulously. "Was it more than a month ago?"

"Maybe?" Since I met Robert, so much has happened in my life that tracking my period hardly seemed necessary.

"Well," Dr. Kumar said as she put the tablet down and looked at me directly. "You are pregnant. We should get you set up with an OB to discuss your options. We have one in our practice who will follow you to delivery if you choose to have the baby."

"Choose to have..." I looked at Beth with confusion, and her frown deepened. As usual, she took charge and booked an appointment with Dr. Levin for the following week. She was available sooner, but Beth wanted to give me time to think about things.

"Are you okay with going to work today? If not, I can drop you off before I head over," Beth asked as we walked to her car.

"I can go to work. The medication is helping, and I think I need distraction." As my hand unconsciously touched my belly, I struggled to accept the reality of carrying a life within me. How was it possible that I was pregnant? Did this mean that I was never infertile? Why didn't any of the previous attempts to conceive work? Was it possible that Tim had purposely taken steps to prevent pregnancy?

"Are you going to tell Robert?" Beth interrupted my panicked thoughts.

"I don't know." Confusion and anxiety wracked my brain. What if he didn't want the baby? What if he did?

"It's a pretty big decision to leave him out of," Beth prodded.

"But it's my body," I retaliated without heat. It was his baby, too. "I'll talk to him, but it might not even keep. I didn't think I could have kids."

"Why did you think that?" Beth asked while she parked the car in our office garage.

"I..." As I thought about my past, I felt a wave of heartache flood over me, and I couldn't help but feel angry towards Tim again. However, my thoughts were interrupted when I remembered the vitamins Lisa had given me. Could it have been her who prevented me from having a baby? Did Tim even know about it? A child would have made his control over me even more potent. But now, I couldn't say for sure. "I can't say, I must have misunderstood my doctor before."

"Nicole, are you happy? Even if Robert doesn't want it, do you?" Beth asked when the other people got off the elevator, and we were alone, heading up to the executive floor. Even if I wasn't an executive, my office was on that floor, so my mom could keep an eye on me.

"I-" I paused, then rubbed my belly again. "I do want it. It's not perfect timing, but I have always wanted to be a mother."

"Well, then you have my support, and your parents will be thrilled either way," Beth assured me as the elevator opened and she walked me to my office. I nodded in response, and she rushed away to make it to a meeting she was already late for.

How would I tell my parents? At least I had time to figure it out. They were out of town at an anniversary retreat. I would hopefully have things figured out by the time they came back, but I wasn't sure how I would tell Robert.

Fate intervened, and Robert had to leave for a business trip to New York before I got home from work that day. I told him we needed to talk when he returned, and he promised to make time for it. When my parents called me to inform me that they were driving back. I didn't mention anything because I had to tell Robert first. So, everything was in limbo for a while.

A phone call woke me up later that night. I looked at the screen and saw Uncle George's name light up, and panic squeezed my heart.

"Uncle, what's up?" I answered, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice.

"Your parents have been in an accident. It would be best if you came to the hospital," George explained without any preamble. "I'll send you the address."

I jumped out of bed and looked at the address on the screen. It was about an hour away at that time of night. "I'll be there as quick as I can. How are they?"

"They are stable, but you need to get here," George emphasized.

"Okay, I promise I'm on my way." I hung up the phone and hastily put on the nearest pants and shirt. Instead of calling Beth and Robert, I texted them.

I punched the address into my phone's GPS and grabbed my car from the garage. I hadn't driven myself in a while, so I was surprised when it was fully gassed. Robert's driver had probably maintained it while it sat idle in the garage.

The dark streets were deserted as I drove through them, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white. Memories of my past life flooded my mind. I remembered the last time I had been in such a panic, riding to the hospital with Tim. He seemed genuinely worried and supportive, driving faster than usual to get us there. But It had been too late when we arrived at the hospital, and my parents had passed away before I had a chance to see them. I drove almost recklessly fast, desperate to reach my destination in time. I had to get there quickly to at least have the chance to say goodbye.

My mind dwelled on my parents and the inevitability of fate. Would they leave me in this life, too?

In my distracted state, I failed to notice the dark car silently matching my speed behind me.

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