PREGNANT AFTER ONE NIGHT STAND

This Friday was extraordinary. I had decided to make this Friday the last day of working on Mr. Sarman’s financial report. We would discuss it with Krystal on Monday. I only needed one more folder for cross-checking, and after lunch, I thought I could reread everything to make sure my findings were correct.

Mr. Sarman had been involved in some pretty… immaculate fraud. It was not evident at all, and even my boss, Krystal, was caught off guard. The amounts weren’t significant, but Mr. Sarman had been doing it quite frequently.

“Anna, I’m going to the twenty-second floor first,” I said to the girl, who nodded silently. Her eyes briefly glanced at me before returning to her computer screen. I could tell Krystal had assigned her a lot of tasks. My boss was in the office this morning after being absent for four days. Her face wasn’t as cheerful as usual, even though she had on red lipstick. I could clearly sense the difference. Although I was curious, I felt it would be too intrusive to inquire about her personal matters.

Since the morning, Krystal hadn’t left her office at all. I peered through the transparent glass, not covered by any opaque stickers, and saw her engrossed with her phone. She rarely sat still at her desk, surrounded by piles of work, as she usually did. While I had my suspicions, I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask. It was best to focus on my own work and maybe even lighten Krystal’s burden.

Before I decided to head to Mr. Sarman’s division by myself, I prepared myself to meet Kelvin and Henry. Although Kelvin probably wouldn’t influence me much, considering we didn’t have any personal relationship beyond friendship and professional work. If other staff assumed otherwise, it was their business.

“Hi, Rani,” I greeted, patting the girl’s shoulder softly. I didn’t want to startle her. I had called her earlier to let her know I was coming, so she wouldn’t have to wait too long. The files were usually kept separately and required some time to retrieve. I didn’t want to linger here too long, even though I really wanted to visit Naomi’s desk.

“Hi, Miss Anya.”

“Have you prepared the July and August folders for delivery and promotion to Tokepedua? Along with the original documents, please. Stamped invoices.”

As soon as I entered the room with short partitions, everyone was busy working. At least I didn’t get the timing wrong, right? From Rani’s desk, one of Mr. Sarman’s subordinates, I could see Dona and Naomi sitting there. Kelvin and Henry were at a managerial level, and they wouldn’t be placed among the desks with short partitions.

Just like Rani, the finance department was always bustling.

“Oh, there’s more, Miss. Wait a moment, Anya, I’ll get them first.”

I allowed her to do so. The thing I didn’t prepare for was that Rani’s boss appeared from his office. His eyes stared at me sharply, as if I were his enemy. I wasn’t intimidated, though. It was just usual.

“It’s unusual for Miss Anya to visit,” he said, sounding full of stale pleasantries. I gave a small grin.

“I need some additional data.”

“Wasn’t yesterday’s data sufficient? It was detailed enough.”

I just smiled. I didn’t feel like responding to his intimidating remarks.

“Besides, Miss Anya doesn’t have enough work to do, huh? That she has to audit our reports herself. Internal audits aren’t as complicated as you make it seem, Miss Anya.”

I kept my smile on my lips, even though I was fed up inside. I noticed Rani looked surprised that her boss was talking like this in front of me. She already had three large folders in her arms.

“May I take those files, Rani?” Sarman asked irritably.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

I knew the girl was flustered. Apparently, Mr. Sarman was still the same, making things difficult for me, even though it was evident that this was a direct order from Krystal. It was as if something was being hidden, and this middle-aged man didn’t want it to be exposed so easily. Proof of that was how he immediately snatched the folders Rani had brought. And inside, I could find traces that would support Krystal’s suspicions about the fund embezzlement.

“I asked Rani to get them for me,” I said firmly.

The man chuckled. “I already gave you copies. You can check everything from there. It’s all the same.”

I kept challenging him with my eyes, although his thick-framed glasses were blocking his view.

“All the data that made the copies is from OB, Jack. Call Jack, Rani. Let him be a witness.”

“Let’s keep it simple, Mr. Sarman. If the data is the same, why shouldn’t I be allowed to see the original? It shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?”

I heard Mr. Sarman grumbling under his breath.

“If you don’t want to lend the originals, I don’t mind. Luckily, Ms. Krystal has them at her desk. I could just mention that you’re making things difficult.”

Without hesitation, he pushed the three folders toward me, and I ended up bumping into the edge of the table. It didn’t hurt, but I was startled. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my stomach. The folders had slightly pressed against the lower part of my chest. But I wouldn’t show any signs of pain here. No way!

I was a hundred percent sure that Mr. Sarman was preparing a way to escape. I needed to finish this and give the folders to Krystal. I wasn’t even sure if these folders hadn’t been tampered with, but I needed to check them directly. If anything had been made to disappear or suddenly appeared, I believed Krystal would already suspect this.

My boss had only asked for a thorough check.

***

I didn’t intend to work overtime since the financial report was already completed and sent to Krystal’s email. I had checked everything, and indeed, there were some discrepancies. However, I couldn’t prove it; I only had the data, but there were no invoices or payment orders to support the anomalies in the report.

When I reported to Krystal, she just gave me a small smile and managed to ask about my condition. I took the opportunity to ask about hers.

“My mother fell ill, Anya.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Krystal wasn’t a sentimental person, but when she shared the news, there was a tremor in her voice. It sounded like she was holding back tears and feeling sad.

“How is she now, Miss Krystal?”

“Thankfully, the critical phase has passed yesterday, Anya. I’m relieved, but… I’m still concerned.”

Now I understood why she had been absent for a few days. If my mother were still by my side, fighting for my life and showering me with the continuous love that I should have received, I would definitely feel worried and sad just like Krystal. Which child wouldn’t be touched if their mother fell ill?

“Stay strong, Miss,” I said, trying to comfort her.

“Thank you. And how about you? Are you still experiencing nausea?”

I blinked slowly. Even in this situation, she was still thinking about me? “I’m doing much better, Krystal. I’ve started to adapt.”

She smiled widely. “I’m glad to hear that. Take good care of yourself, Anya. I’m looking forward to you giving birth. I want to hold the baby.”

I just returned the smile. I was a bit confused about how to respond to my boss’s words. After I felt there was nothing else to discuss, I excused myself. I finished the remaining tasks I had and occasionally checked Anna’s report, especially Krystal’s schedule for the next week.

I didn’t realize that the shock from earlier was starting to affect me towards the end of my workday. My stomach felt a bit painful and stiff. Maybe I should take a taxi again? Anna had left two minutes ago, and so had Krystal. There was no reason for me to linger here too long, right?

“Ugh!” I groaned while rubbing my stomach gently. “Baby, what’s wrong? Mama worked too long, huh?” I remembered that throughout the day, I hadn’t had any snacks. Usually, no matter how busy I was, I always munched on biscuits. Oh no! Why did I forget to eat snacks? Besides my work being too absorbing, my stock of various snacks had run out. My drawer was empty. Usually, it was Cedric who diligently filled it. Ah, talking about him made me irritated and angry.

For five days, I had been ignored without any news. It was as if everything I did was so wrong in his eyes. Really? Couldn’t he even pick up the phone or reply to my short messages? I started having negative thoughts that kept escalating. How could I not? We might not have an official relationship yet, but if he was responsible, shouldn’t he act differently?

I didn’t even flirt with Henry anymore. What was the point? I knew my limits. Even if I made a mistake and went out, it didn’t mean he could ignore me, right? Was my fate really that bad this time? I had already started believing in the meaning of love, which was constantly given to me, only to be abandoned suddenly? Was that it?

“Anya, are you okay?” My reverie was interrupted, and I didn’t realize that Henry was standing in front of me. My thoughts had drifted somewhere, but I knew what I had to do. I had already called a ride because I didn’t feel strong enough to drive on my own. I entered the elevator to go down to the lobby, and…

I didn’t notice that Henry was inside.

“You’re not looking well, Anya. Are you sick?”