Chapter 186
That evening, Amelia returned home and tried to call Landon again, but still couldn’t get through. She started to worry.
“Why can’t I get through to him?” she muttered.
“It’s probably just a bad signal,” Daniel reassured her. “Don’t worry. Landon’s not an ordinary guy.”
Anyone who could pull off something like Project Azureveil was definitely not an ordinary guy. But Amelia couldn’t shake her worry.
“I checked the flight for you. It landed safely. I also talked to someone at Kingsley Group. Their base in Ausposh is pretty remote, so the signal’s probably just bad,” Daniel said.
“Oh, okay…” Amelia replied.
With Daniel keeping an eye on things, Amelia felt a little more at ease. She brought up her plan to go to Dreicean with Edith, but Daniel immediately objected. “No way! You’re pregnant…”
“Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I have to stay cooped up at home,” Amelia snapped. She wasn’t in any danger, and the thought of spending the next ten months stuck at home made her feel like she’d go crazy.
“Unless… I go with you,” Daniel said thoughtfully.
“Don’t you have that road project in Norava?” Amelia asked.
“It’s not a big deal. I can handle it all online,” Daniel said, waving his hand dismissively.
Amelia couldn’t help but think he just wanted to follow Edith around. Her eyes sparkled as a plan began to take shape in her mind.
“Hey, Daniel, I promised Edith she’d invest in your road project today. How about one hundred thousand dollars for a share? Sound good?” Amelia asked.
Daniel froze for a second, then inside, he was over the moon.
‘I’ve been scratching my head for a way to repay Edith, and now I finally have a legit excuse to give her a share!’ he thought.
“Deal!” he exclaimed.
“Great! Then draw up a contract, and I’ll take it to her tomorrow,” Amelia said.
“Okay.” He immediately had his assistant draft the contract. To make sure Edith wouldn’t push back, he issued the contract under the Kingsley Group’s name. After all, Amelia had the company seal, so she could just stamp whichever one she wanted.
Amelia couldn’t help but smirk. ‘See? Daniel really does care about Edith!’
‘Fate between people is just like that–when it comes, there is no dodging it.
‘If they actually end up together, it’d be something wonderful.”
The next day, Amelia, Edith, and Daniel flew to Dreicean. When Edith saw Daniel was coming along, her face went pale, and she instinctively turned to run.
“Edith,” Daniel said quickly, stepping in front of her. “I’m not here for any other reason. I’m just worried about Amelia.”
Amelia chimed in, “Yeah, I’m pregnant, and Landon’s not around, so Daniel’s just looking out for me.”
It actually made sense. But when Edith thought about having to spend her whole vacation with Daniel, her dream getaway suddenly lost its charm.
“Edith, it’s fine. Just treat him like a friend,” Amelia whispered. “It’s not like you can avoid him for the rest of your life.”
“Amelia, I…” Edith started.
“Don’t tell me you still haven’t moved on from Daniel?” Amelia teased.
“No! I’ve already moved on,” Edith insisted.
Edith totally took the bait. Amelia grinned. “Then let’s just go together!”
Edith glanced at Daniel, who was about six feet away helping with their luggage, and let out a sigh.
“Amelia, you’re just going to Dreicean to see Paloma. Once you’ve met her, you can leave. I’ll enjoy my vacation on my own,” Edith said.
“Alright,” Amelia agreed.
Amelia knew this was Edith’s final boundary, so she accepted it without argument.
‘I’ve done my part setting them up. Whether things work out or not, it’s all up to Daniel now,’ Amelia thought to herself.
As soon as they settled into their seats on the plane, someone else walked into first class. It was Aiden.
“Mr. Kyle?” Edith said, pleasantly surprised. “Are you heading back home too?”
“Landen’s not feeling well, so I need to make an urgent trip back,” Aiden replied, looking worried. He then took the seat right behind Amelia.
Amelia and Daniel both frowned. Amelia felt like Aiden was tailing her, while Daniel suspected Aiden was interested in Edith.
Even though the four of them all knew each other, the vibe was just plain weird.
Only Edith naively believed him, even asking a bunch of questions about how Landen was doing. Aiden answered every question without giving anything away. Amelia kept thinking this was way too much of a coincidence to buy it.
In the end, Aiden went so far as to invite them over. “My place is right in the capital of Dreicean. You guys should totally come over and hang out.”
“Sounds great!” Edith lit up and said.
Daniel’s face fell. ‘Seriously? She’s so naive!’ he grumbled to himself.
Amelia couldn’t exactly tell Edith everything, so she could only text Daniel, letting him know about the DNA report and what she suspected.
Daniel’s heart skipped a beat as he read her message.
‘No wonder Landon never liked Aiden. Turns out Aiden really is up to something!’ Daniel thought.
He found Aiden even more annoying then.
[Amelia, don’t let Edith know about this. She’s too trusting.] Daniel texted.
Amelia was at a loss for words.
[The Kyle family is very secretive and very traditional about their rules. They wouldn’t just invite anyone over. So, we can’t go.] Daniel added.
Amelia thought for a moment, then told Edith, “I’m not going to their place. Just try to arrange to meet Paloma somewhere outside instead.”
“Why not just go to their place?” Edith asked, looking puzzled.
“Uh, just to keep things proper. My husband doesn’t want me hanging around Mr. Kyle too much,” Amelia replied.
Edith instantly understood and covered her mouth, snickering. “So, Mr. Landon actually gets jealous?”
Amelia cleared her throat lightly.
“Alright, I get it,” Edith said.
Edith was giggling, while the other three sat in silence, and everyone had something on their mind.
After takeoff, the plane hit some turbulence, and it wasn’t long before Amelia’s morning sickness kicked in.
“Amelia, are you okay?” Edith and Daniel both asked, worried.
Amelia’s face turned pale as she replied weakly, “I’m fine, just a bit of morning sickness… feels like motion sickness. That’s all.”
“It’s a long flight ahead. Do you think you can make it?” Daniel asked with concern.
“Yeah, I can manage,” Amelia replied.
Feeling drained, Amelia closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.
‘Just like when I was a kid and got carsick–if I fell asleep, the ride would be over by the time I woke up,’ she thought.
“Try this,” Aiden said, handing over a small, delicate incense box from behind.
Daniel quickly snatched it away before Amelia could touch it, eyeing Aiden warily. “What is this?”
“It’s a custom incense blend by a master perfumer. It helps with morning sickness. My sister used it when she was pregnant with Landen,” Aiden explained.
“Landen’s already five. Isn’t this stuff expired by now?” Daniel said skeptically.
Aiden just smiled. “It’s a fresh batch.”
“Mr. Kyle, why are you carrying something like this around?” Edith asked, genuinely surprised.
“One of my sister’s friends is pregnant too, and she asked me to bring one back for her. So I had the master perfumer make two extra. Figured I’d give one to Mrs. Kingsley while I’m at it,” Aiden explained.
“Does it really work?” Daniel asked, narrowing his eyes, still skeptical.
Aiden just shrugged, looking at ease. “I promise, there are absolutely no side effects!”
Amelia’s stomach was churning like crazy, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t throw up. The feeling was absolutely miserable.
Daniel held the incense box under her nose for her to smell, and Amelia opened her eyes. “It smells really nice! I actually feel a bit better now."
“Just use it for now. We’ve still got another seven or eight hours before we land. Once we get there, I’ll make sure you have a comfy hotel to rest in," Daniel reassured her.
“Okay,” Amelia replied simply.
Daniel couldn’t help but feel sorry for Amelia, so he swapped seats with Edith and took care of Amelia for the rest of the flight.
Amelia rested her head on Daniel’s shoulder and gradually fell asleep.
Only then did Daniel finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘Man, pregnancy is pure torture for women. If I ever get married, I’m totally going child–free!’ Daniel thought to himself.
‘As for Amelia, one baby is more than enough–no way I’m letting her go through this again.’
‘And if Landon even thinks about saying no, I’ll just beat him until he gives in!’ Daniel grumbled to himself.