VINCENT

Ashley sat up on the bed still thinking about Aria's words.

"Was she really pregnant?" she thought.

She was pulled out of her thought by Janet's arrival in the room. She was dressed in her black and white maid attire but still looked really different to her. She looked more beautiful, well-rested, and also well-taken care of.

"Janet! You're back so early?" Ashley said a bit surprised knowing that Janet had already planned to take an extra week off and told her to cover her up.

Janet's reply made her really worried; she just nodded and gave a really faint smile. She looked worried more like depressed which was one feature that definitely wasn't Janet's.

"What's wrong? you look worried" she asked with great concern. "You don't look too happy today"

Janet gave a smile that was obviously faked. Ashley noticed it as she had her eyes scanning and investigating her facial emotions.

"It's actually nothing," she replied.

This was the reply Ashley was expecting; a pure lie. She decided to stop bothering her as she didn't want to force her to open up.

"Okay then, just remember I'm always here for you"

Janet answered with a nod. She couldn't let her know how foolish she was to fall for a cheater like Tegan. That scene kept ringing in her head making her feeling of regret, anger, and disgust increase with every minute.

There was an awkward silence in the room as the two women were lost in their own personal thoughts with Janet wishing she could rewind time and Ashley trying to choose between believing Aria or believing herself.

"Umm…Janet?" She finally said, breaking the long silence.

"Huh?" Janet replied also snapping out of her thoughts.

"Did anything happen between Cole and Aria?" She asked.

"Master and Miss Aria?" Janet questioned wondering why she asked such a question.

She kept staring at Janet in anticipation of her next reply was capable of clearing her confusion.

"Well… Master once spent the night with Miss Aria in his drunken and depressed state." She replied.

"Oh!" Ashley replied in disappointment which Janet noticed at once.

"But that was a pure unintentional mistake, I feel like Miss Aria must have seduced him. But nevertheless, it didn't cause any serious issue" Janet quickly added to avoid giving her the wrong mindset. She didn't want that to change her perspective of him.

Janet still watched Ashley filled with thought. This made her know she had made a big mistake.

*********

Cole was in his study, somewhere he had accustomed himself to in the last few days. He had been busy trying to understand the relationship between Ayla and Ashley.

Suddenly there was a gentle knock on the door which was followed by the door creaking as slowly and as elegantly as it could.

He turned to see Ashley at the door with a gentle smile on her face, that smile that reminded him about his dead lover- Ayla. He couldn't help but return a smile; something that he wouldn't usually do.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

She nodded then brightened up her face with a reassuring smile. She slowly walked up to him and then stopped right before his desk.

"I need to discuss something with you," she said.

He furrowed his eyebrow confused at what she wanted to say but for some reason, he was hoping she could just claim to be Ayla. Though this sounded impossible, he still hoped.

"It's about Aria," she said.

His brightened-up face suddenly darkened up in disappointment. He really didn't like hearing about her.

"What about Aria?" he said returning back to the business on his desk.

"She..she's pregnant" She managed to say but was surprised at his nonchalant response.

"And how does that have anything to do with me, it's her life." He replied.

"How does it concern you?" She replied in shock and a bit of anger.

"It's your baby!" she exclaimed.

Her outburst made him freeze; this was the last news he wanted to hear about.

"Well. I still don't care, the least I could do is to send her monthly allowances and give the child my name, apart from that, there's no other relationship" he said still not caring.

"Can you hear yourself right now?" Ashley exclaimed. "How could you care less about your own child. Forget about the fact that it's from Aria, It's still yours"

Cole flashed her a death glare but for some reason, it didn't move her a bit. She returned him a warning stare; all she could care for at that point was the innocent child.

"If that child suffers injustice trust me, it's going to be your fault." She said before storming out of the study.

********

Aria went through the diary as if it was an encyclopedia, with every page making her emotions go haywire as she flipped it.

Suddenly her phone rang directing her attention to it. On the screen was the name "Vincent". That name alone was her nightmare. Just when things seemed to be working out, he called. She rejected the call but it seemed like Vincent wasn't ready to give up.

She finally accepted the call with so much anger and hatred.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me?" she screamed into anything she thought was the microphone.

"I know you did but I couldn't just stop myself." He replied over the phone. "I really love you and that night we spent together; I don't want to part ways"

Aria really didn't want this to happen, this single guy could destroy her whole plot.

"Just tell me what you want" she started. "Money? Wealth? Name it, and it would be all yours."

"If that's the case, I want only two things, You or Our baby"