Chapter 4: The Revelation
1235 Words
Zhou Chen's pen clattered to the floor.
"You skipped breakfast again, didn't you?"
Ziya blinked slowly at her screen. Her fingers hovered uselessly above the keyboard.
"I'm fine," she muttered, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her.
"No, you're not. You're pale. You look like you're about to faint for the second time this week. What the hell is going on, Ziya?"
She flinched. The office was too quiet for this conversation. She cast a desperate glance around, hoping no one was paying attention.
"Lower your voice-"
"No, I won't!" he snapped, clearly distressed. "You look like death warmed over and you keep brushing it off. You faint, you nearly fall again, and the boss just happens to be around to catch you? What is this, a drama?"
Ziya winced, then squeezed her eyes shut.
Right on cue, the voice that made her stomach twist spoke up behind them:
"If she's with me, that makes it my business."
Zhou Chen stiffened. "Mr... Xiao?"
Ziya's eyes flew open.
Xiao Nai stood there - hands in pockets, expression unreadable, but his gaze was fixed on her.
"She's coming with me," he said simply.
Zhou Chen spluttered. "Wait-what?!"
Ziya was too exhausted to argue.
His office was silent except for the low hum of the air conditioning.
Ziya sat on the guest chair, face pale, hands clenched tightly.
Xiao Nai stood by his desk, arms crossed.
"I told you to rest," he said.
She said nothing.
"I told you to eat."
Still nothing.
His jaw ticked. "Are you punishing yourself?"
Her head jerked up, startled.
"You look like you're carrying the weight of the world. Are you hoping to collapse again, just to remind me how helpless I was that night?"
Her hands clenched harder.
"You don't get to lecture me," she whispered. "You don't even remember what happened that night."
He stilled.
"I remember enough," he said darkly. "Enough to know something changed between us."
She stood. "Don't make this harder than it is-"
But suddenly her vision swam, her stomach churned, and-
"Ziya?"
She barely made it to the sink before she retched violently, her body folding as she emptied her stomach into the basin.
Everything - her lunch, the shame, the guilt - came pouring out.
She collapsed to the floor, trembling, dizzy, lips ashen.
Xiao Nai rushed to her.
Kneeling beside her, he placed a hand to her forehead. Burning hot.
"I've seen this before," he murmured under his breath. "you..."
His face changed.
"Ziya," he said, more gently this time, "we're going to the clinic."
She tried to protest, but he was already lifting her into his arms - bridal style - as if she weighed nothing at all.
The silence in the private clinic room was deafening.
Ziya sat on the bed, IV drip attached to her wrist. Xiao Nai stood nearby, still as stone.
The doctor's voice echoed in the background.
"She's approximately 12 weeks pregnant."
Xiao Nai blinked.
Ziya stared at the ceiling, lips pale and pressed into a thin line.
The doctor continued explaining about prenatal vitamins, hydration, and stress. But Xiao Nai barely heard him.
Twelve weeks.
That meant...
That night.
His chest tightened painfully.
After the doctor left, Xiao Nai walked over to her bedside.
Ziya wouldn't look at him.
He knelt beside her again, his voice low and trembling.
"Are you trying to keep this pregnancy a secret?"
Her throat bobbed. She didn't answer.
"Why?" he demanded. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"
Her lips parted. "Because that night was a mistake... and this-this is just another consequence."
He flinched like she'd slapped him.
"I don't want you to feel obligated," she continued, her voice cracking. "I won't tie you down. This wasn't your fault. I'll take full responsibility."
He stared at her for a long time.
Then stood.
"You're wrong," he said, coldly now. "It was my fault."
Her eyes widened.
"But I won't let you go through this alone. Starting tonight, you're moving in with me."
"What?"
"I'll have my staff pack your things."
"You can't just-"
"I can," he said. "And I will."
He turned, but paused before leaving.
"You're not just the woman from that night anymore, Ziya."
She looked up at him, dazed.
"You're the mother of my child."
And then he was gone.
Leaving her stunned, heart racing, and more afraid than ever.
Because something was changing.
And she wasn't sure she was ready.
---
The news travelled faster than it should've.
Zhou Chen stormed into the office the next morning with a mission: get answers.
"Morning," he said, plopping into the chair beside Ziya's desk and spinning it toward her like a detective in a sitcom. "So. You fainted. In the boss's office. And he-let me get this right-carried you like a newlywed out of the building?"
Ziya flinched, her hands pausing over the keyboard. "You don't have to say it like that."
"No, I absolutely do. I need visuals." He raised an eyebrow dramatically. "Did angels sing? Was there background music? Were petals falling from the ceiling?"
"Chen!"
"I'm just saying! That man hasn't touched a woman since his wife died, and suddenly he's playing knight in shining armor? Girl. Tell me what's happening."
Ziya looked away. Her eyes were puffy, her voice small. "It's nothing. I just... fainted."
"Okay, fine." Zhou Chen crossed his arms. "Let's pretend I believe that. But he carried you. Carried you. Like this." He mimed bridal-style lifting with a grunt. "In front of everyone. Half the company went silent like they saw the resurrection of Jiali."
Ziya winced.
She opened her mouth, trying to find a lie that wouldn't sound like a lie.
She didn't get the chance.
A new voice entered the conversation-low, confident, and absolutely not amused.
"Is there a problem?"
They both turned.
Xiao Nai stood behind Zhou Chen, a tablet in one hand, cold expression masking something unreadable.
Zhou Chen cleared his throat. "Uh. No. Just checking on my friend."
"She's fine," Xiao Nai said evenly, his gaze moving to Ziya. "She's with me. So nothing unusual about a boyfriend carrying his girlfriend, is there?"
The sentence landed like a grenade.
Zhou Chen blinked. Once. Twice.
"I-" he stammered. "You're-wait. What?"
Even Ziya's head snapped toward Xiao Nai. Her lips parted, speechless.
Xiao Nai didn't flinch. "She'll be moving in with me today. If you're worried about her well-being, don't be. She's under my care."
"Under your care?" Zhou Chen echoed, still trying to process the word boyfriend. "You-you've been in mourning for two years and now you're saying-"
"I said what I said." Xiao Nai turned, walking away with measured calm. "Please send her work to my office. She'll be working from there starting this afternoon."
Zhou Chen turned back to Ziya, mouth still open. "Okay. Either I've been hit by lightning or this is a simulation."
Ziya buried her face in her hands.
"You're dating the boss?" he hissed. "Ziya-are you okay? Is he forcing you? Blink twice if you're in danger."
"No," she mumbled into her palms. "It's... complicated."
Zhou Chen stared at her for a long moment before muttering, "This ain't just 'complicated.' This is telenovela level."
Then he softened. "But whatever this is, if he ever hurts you, I swear I'll take a stapler to his throat."
Ziya let out a weak laugh. And that was the first time she'd smiled in days.
- Writer
