Divorced Heiress
Chapter 122

After the most exhausting days, in which I worked tirelessly in both companies, I was able to find some time for my parents to see L&J and the progress we have made since the launch of the first collection, which, to this day, continues to be a success. My parents admired the facilities of the company that was dedicated to them; I didn't miss the opportunity to introduce them to the small work team with which we started, but with great effort, we have achieved excellent results in a short time. Words were not necessary to know that they were proud of what I had accomplished since they disappeared, despite the stormy moments and the days of anguish due to their absence, but I understood that if it weren't for them, if they hadn't made the decision to disappear to search for all the witnesses and accomplices of the Dubois on their own, perhaps the sentence would have been lesser, although I was not satisfied with the final verdict.

"Sorry for the interruption. Sarah, I need to talk to you." Abby appeared in the middle of the conversation with Zafiro, who was showing my parents the designs she was working on for the next L&J collection.

I gave Abby a warning look because it was not a good time to interrupt. I wanted to spend time with my parents and at the same time, I was interested in taking a look at the designs before the board meeting.

"Abby, this is not a good time. I will let you know when I have some free time. I have a lot to show my parents." I replied with a forced smile and apologized to my parents with a single glance. They looked at my friend with curiosity and amusement as she seemed desperate to tell me something.

Surely my parents missed her; anyone would.

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Doinel, Zafiro, your work is excellent, you're fantastic, but this can't wait, Sarah." Abby insisted, with no intention of waiting another second to talk to me. However, at this moment, I didn't want to miss my parents' reactions to every detail of L&J.

I opened my mouth to make my friend understand that I wouldn't leave my parents alone, but my mother spoke, making me swallow my words.

"Honey, don't worry about us. We'll spend some time with Zafiro. She's truly a fascinating designer. You can attend to Abby. And Abby, darling, you look beautiful and radiant." My mother's genuine smile made it clear that she wouldn't mind if I left them alone for a moment. However, my plan for the day was to spend as much time as possible with them.

"Mrs. Joelle, thank you very much. Although I haven't been feeling good lately, I think I'm going to get sick. You look younger every time I see you. You need to give me the secret to eternal youth." Abby replied to my mother's compliment, who burst into laughter at my friend's antics and approached her as if they were going to spend the entire afternoon catching up on all the news. Wasn't this supposed to be urgent?

"At some point, I'll give you my secret, but dear, you should see a doctor to rule out any illness."

I rolled my eyes and looked at my father and Zafiro, who were amused by the sudden conversation between the two women. "Well, I guess you'll have plenty of time to catch up on all the beauty secrets. Abby, didn't you have something to tell me?"

My friend's eyes widened as if she had remembered important information, and she nodded her head.

"Mrs. Joelle, later I'll invite you for a coffee so you can give me your secrets. With your permission, I need to talk to Sari." And as if she hadn't just entered a conversation, she pulled my arm to quickly and carelessly drag me towards the exit of Zafiro's workshop, causing my head to spin to the point of feeling like vomiting at the door. I had to resist to loosen her grip that was hurting my arm and to slow down the pace at which she was taking me.

"Abby, please, be more careful. I'm not feeling well."

Abby abruptly stopped when we were in the hallway that led to the offices and looked at me with concern in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself. Are you ok? What's wrong? A moment ago, you were fine."

I took a moment to recover from the sudden dizziness Abby caused and looked at her with an unfriendly face.

"Did you not see the way you pulled me out of the workshop?"

Luckily I didn't stumble in the middle of the road.

"You're an incurable crazy person. I'm fine now, just tell me what's so urgent that you have to say." I spoke when the urge to vomit subsided and I fanned my face with my hand in an attempt to make the dizziness disappear completely.

"This is not the right place, the walls have ears, we'll go to your office." She replied before resuming the walk, this time without laying a hand on me, and I preferred it that way, I didn't want her to carry me again as if I were fleeing from the devil himself.

I let out a sigh and without further ado, I followed her at my own pace, not wanting to experience that discomfort again.

I barely set foot in the office and Abby was already closing the door before making sure there was no one in the hallway who could hear our conversation.

"Please, can you tell me what's going on?" I asked as I sat in my desk chair to finish recovering, and Abby pulled a brochure out of her purse that I recognized all too well.

It was the cruise I had my eye on to surprise Alexander, but I hadn't been able to make a reservation because of our busy schedules managing the companies.

What was Abby doing with that brochure?

"I have everything prepared, tomorrow you will go on the cruise with Alexander, Tristan will stay with your parents and with me, of course, the companies will be in Vincent's hands. Where can you find a better friend like me?"

I opened my mouth in surprise at the audacity Abby had just said and took the brochure she left on the desk in my hands, smiling from ear to ear as if I were very proud.

Couldn't she have consulted me before doing such a thing?

Tomorrow I had three meetings with Doinel executives and my presence is mandatory.

How was I supposed to finish solving the problems of the company my father left me while he was still alive?

She has witnessed the amount of work I have had lately and what I still have left to be able to plan well in advance the cruise where I would take an important step.

"Sometimes I wonder how many screws are missing in that head of yours. It is impossible for me to attend the cruise, I have a lot to do these days and I cannot be replaced by Vincent when it's me who must make decisions and sign documents that cannot wait for me to go on vacation while Doinel is still struggling with the problems it faced. I appreciate your kind gesture, but..." I left the word in the air feeling a sharp pain in my head that made me close my eyes tightly and a heat that quickly rose through my whole body. I heard Abby's voice as if she were on the other side of the door, I couldn't even understand what she was saying, I could only hear the rapid beats of my heart and the last thing I saw was her panicked face approaching me, before everything turned dark. "Sarah! Please, don't do this to me, wake up."

I heard Abby's distant and desperate voice speaking near me, while she shook me by the shoulder. "I swear I won't make reservations without consulting you again, but open your eyes, I beg you, Sari. Julian, don't just stand there, help me, I don't know what to do!" "But, what happened to her?" Julian sounded worried and no matter how much I tried to open my eyes to let them know I was fine, it was almost impossible, my eyelids felt heavy as well as my body, I couldn't move a single muscle no matter how much I wanted to. "She was very sleepy and fell asleep at her desk. Please, Julian! Can't you see she fainted?" Abby was so upset that she couldn't moderate her voice tone, which suddenly started to overwhelm me.

It took me longer than it should have to open my eyes, finding Abby's tear-soaked face and a Julian who approached with a bottle of alcohol in his hand, which I suppose he must have taken from the first aid kit hanging on the office wall.

"Yes, Sarah, it's me, your best friend. Do you remember me?" Abby brought her face close to mine to talk to me as if I couldn't hear her, and I furrowed my brow as I touched my head, which hadn't stopped hurting, but at least the pain wasn't as intense as it was before everything turned dark.

"She's waking up, Julian. Give me the alcohol to smell."

Before Julian even handed the jar to Abby, I slowly lifted my head from the desk and rubbed my forehead with closed eyes, as if that way I could make the pain disappear. "Sarah, are you feeling okay?"

Julian's question made me open my eyes and look at the concern that didn't fade from their faces, even though I had already regained my composure.

Apart from the headache, I felt fine, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you seriously asking that? Of course she's not feeling well, in fact, we should take her to the clinic. Get your car ready, we're leaving right away." Abby replied without giving me time to even open my mouth to let them know that it was just a simple pain that they didn't need to worry about.

Julian, on the other hand, didn't know whether to listen to Abby or come closer to me, but with a warning look from me, he stayed still in his place.

"Abby!" I shouted her name to shut her up once and for all, and I succeeded, her head remained motionless as her eyes looked at me wider than usual. I definitely didn't expect at all to address her in that way, but there was no other way for her to stop worrying about something insignificant.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Abby looked at me as if she didn't believe a single word and crossed her arms with a mix of disgust and concern on her face.

"Sarah, what happened to you? Do you need something? Do you feel better?"

Julian approached me concernedly after a few seconds in which he decided to ignore my friend, passing by Abby's side, he offered me a water bottle, which I drank until leaving it half full.

I cleared my throat once I felt hydrated enough and thanked him for the nice gesture with a slight smile before speaking, anticipating another interruption from Abby.

"I'm fine, I just got dizzy, maybe my blood pressure dropped, it was just a fainting spell..." I left the word hanging in the air when I realized that I had already experienced that before. I looked at Abby unable to hide my impression for the slight suspicion that crossed my mind and she looked at me in the same way as if she had thought the same thing as me, as if we were connected.

"Well, if you say you're fine, I believe you." Julian spoke without realizing the mental mess that my friend and I were having, I was so absorbed in my thoughts while holding Abby's surprised gaze that I didn't even make the slightest movement when he took the brochure that was on my desk.

"A cruise for two, interesting. A girls' trip is what you need to clear your mind from so much stress."

Abby was the first to break eye contact and shook her head as if she were coming to her senses, her gaze stopped at Julian's hand that still held the brochure and she approached him to give him a tap on the back of his hand, only with the sound of the impact was I able to react realizing the seriousness of the matter, I couldn't stay with that uncertainty all day.

"Don't touch, it's not a girls' trip, it's a trip for Sarah and Alexander, but I'm afraid it will have to be postponed, right Sari?"

Abby took the brochure out of his hand and left it where it was, before giving me a complicit look, she knew exactly what she was referring to and it wasn't exactly the request I made before losing consciousness. Julian, upon hearing my friend's explanation, looked at me with slightly open lips in surprise, as if he was waiting for me to say something about it, but I had nothing to say, nor did I feel capable of uttering a word.

"Sarah, dear friend, I still insist that we should visit the clinic, do you agree?" Abby spoke to me in a soft voice and I knew she used that tone of voice to make me understand that we weren't going to the clinic exactly because of the fainting spell. Unable to fully process what was happening, I slowly stood up from my chair while nodding my head in response, unable to speak, because apparently, all the words had gotten stuck in my throat.

"I'll start my car, I'll take you there." Julian offered after clearing his throat and erasing the surprised expression from his face with a serious demeanor, as he turned around to leave the office.

"No!" Exclaimed Abby and I simultaneously, causing Julian to stop in his tracks and look at us with a puzzled frown. Clearly, he was confused.

Of course, I wasn't going to let him accompany us.

"Julian, you don't have to worry. Look, Sarah is in perfect condition, we're just going for a check-up. I'll take her in my car, it's not necessary for you to come. You can stay." Abby made her best effort to sound nonchalant, and it seemed to work, although Julian appeared even more confused by Abby's sudden change of opinion. Just moments ago, she was desperate, asking him to prepare the car, and now she was telling him not to worry. "Julian, my parents are at the workshop with Zafiro, could you take care of them while I'm gone? I promise we won't be gone for long."

I had no choice but to intervene so that Julian would stop looking at Abby strangely, and only then did he agree without further insisting or getting involved in the matter that was starting to scare me.

"Alright, if you need any help, don't hesitate to call me. Be careful." I nodded with a forced friendly smile and approached him, placing my hand on his shoulder as a gesture of gratitude for his understanding. Then I continued on my way to the exit, holding onto Abby's arm.

When I left the office, my heart began to beat fast as I became aware of what I was about to do. I looked at Abby, nerves bubbling in my system, as we entered the elevator. She let out a sigh before uttering the words that I couldn't even begin to imagine. "That pregnancy test will help us put our doubts to rest."