The two months that followed Nick’s moonlight proposal passed in a beautiful, dizzying blur. The office was unaware, but the families were consumed with joyous, high-level planning. Ellie was balancing two momentous events scheduled for the following week: her official elevation to Chief Financial Officer of the VH Group, and her real, everlasting wedding to Nicholas Vance. The plan was to shock the entire company with the truth of their relationship just before their wedding day, a corporate bombshell followed by a fairytale vow.

It was a Tuesday morning, exactly a week before the wedding. Ellie woke up feeling strangely heavy, the usual energy from her blissful weekend with Nick replaced by a deep, bone-weary exhaustion. Nick was still deeply asleep beside her, his arm draped protectively across her waist. She gently untangled herself, needing silence and space.

She stumbled into the kitchen, the mid-morning sun streaming through the panoramic windows. Determined to keep to her routine, she began preparing breakfast. She placed a hot pan on the stove and, with practiced ease, poured the omelet batter onto the sizzling surface. The moment the raw egg hit the heat, the smell—a rich, slightly sulfurous puff of protein—hit her nostrils like a physical blow.

Her stomach immediately rebelled. A wave of intense nausea washed over her, making the elegant kitchen spin. She clapped a hand over her mouth, abandoning the stove instantly. She switched off the burner, dashed to the nearest restroom, and spent several painful minutes being violently ill.

When she finally emerged, pale and trembling, the fatigue was overwhelming. She didn't have the strength to return to the Red Room or face Nick. Instead, she collapsed onto the duvet in the less-used Green Room, drifting into a fitful, shallow sleep.

Nick woke up alone a few minutes later, feeling the strange absence of her warmth. He found the abandoned breakfast—a pan of raw, un-flipped omelet batter—which immediately told him something was wrong. He searched for her and found her curled up in the Green Room.

He rushed to her side, his CEO mask instantly dissolving into worry. “Ellie? Are you alright? Are you having a fever?” He gently touched her forehead; it was slightly warm, and she was clearly trembling from exhaustion.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, opening her eyes sleepily. “Just a little dizzy.”

“No, you are not fine,” Nick stated firmly. He settled her back down. “Rest here. I will make us some fresh breakfast.”

He returned quickly, a simple bowl of bland, warm porridge in hand. “You need to take the day off. I will call the board members; the CFO meeting can be postponed.”

Ellie struggled to sit up. “No, Nick. I have the final board meeting today before I officially take the role. I’m fine now. I just need to get through the presentation.”

Nick relented, seeing the determined glint in her eyes. “Fine. But if you feel even the slightest bit unwell, you call me immediately. I have a client meeting, but I will wrap it up by noon. If you call, I’ll drop everything and take you home myself. Promise me.”

Ellie nodded. “I promise, Sir.”

At the VH Group office, Ellie powered through her presentation, driven purely by adrenaline. After the meeting, she retreated to her desk, leaning heavily against the back of her chair. The relief of the successful presentation quickly gave way to a fresh wave of nausea.

She raced to the nearest restroom and promptly lost her porridge. Joy, who happened to be passing by, witnessed the entire hurried dash and raised a knowing, suspicious eyebrow.

When Ellie exited the restroom, she was ghostly pale and swaying slightly. She tried to make it back to her desk, but her vision tunneled, and she fainted, collapsing silently onto the plush carpet of the executive hallway.

Joy, who had been observing her with intense, curious focus, shrieked and rushed to her side. She immediately called for help. Freya arrived instantly, taking charge, and the office manager called an ambulance. Freya and Joy accompanied the unconscious Ellie to the hospital.

As the ambulance sped away from the VH Group campus, heading toward the city’s nearest emergency room, Nick’s car, returning from his client meeting, entered the gate.

A frantic receptionist immediately flagged him down. “Mr. Vance! Ms. Elara collapsed! She’s been rushed to St. Jude’s Hospital!”

Nick’s heart hammered against his ribs—a chilling echo of the night in the bar. He slammed the car into gear, performing a flawless, illegal U-turn, and sped toward the hospital.

At St. Jude’s, Ellie was wheeled into an exam room, still unconscious. A doctor checked her vital signs, took blood, and sent off a battery of tests. Freya paced anxiously outside the room, while Joy fidgeted, her brain working overtime to connect the dots based on her flawed, Friday night 'evidence.'

“I told you, Freya,” Joy whispered conspiratorially, leaning in. “She’s pregnant. I knew it. The vomiting, the fainting... it’s classic.”

Freya stared at her. “What are you even talking about? Pregnant? Joy, you’re jumping to conclusions.”

“No, I’m not!” Joy insisted, her voice rising in dramatic conviction. “And the father? It must be the married man! I saw them, Freya! In the terrace at the party! They were absolutely making out! The poor girl is carrying a married man’s baby, and our CEO is running around worried sick about his intern! I have to tell him the truth, Freya. For the CEO’s sake! I have to save him from this shame!”

“Joy, if you say one word about a ‘married man,’ I swear I will personally ensure your next promotion is to ‘Ex-Employee,’” Freya hissed, desperately trying to shut her down.

“I know, but—” Joy stopped short, her eyes widening as Nick sprinted down the hallway toward them, his suit jacket rumpled, his face a mask of primal concern.

Oh my God, Joy thought, adjusting her collar dramatically. The CEO is here! For the intern! How much has this girl changed him?!

Nick approached Freya, ignoring Joy completely. “Freya, what happened? How is she?”

“We don’t know, Nick,” Freya said, her voice tight with worry. “Her pulse is steady, but they took some tests. They should be ready soon.”

Just as Joy was about to deliver her critical 'evidence,' Ethan arrived, running just as fast as Nick, his tie askew.

Joy turned to Freya, whispering loudly enough to be heard: “See?! The leadership team! Why are they all running for an intern?! What hypnotic spell did that girl put on them?”

Ethan, now beside Nick, asked urgently, “How is she, Nick?”

Nick massaged his temples. “We don’t know. Just waiting for the results.”

The constant, high-pitched whispering and Joy’s dramatic gasps were too much. Freya, exhausted and terrified, finally lost her patience and exploded.

“Joy, for the love of God, can you please be quiet?!” Freya yelled.

“Why should I be quiet?! I have the truth!” Joy shouted back, defending her right to gossip.

“Oh, you have the truth? The truth is you’re a meddling idiot!” Freya retorted.

Nick and Ethan immediately tried to intervene, physically separating the two shouting women. “Ladies, please! This is a hospital! You’ll wake up Ellie!” Nick begged, trying to maintain some semblance of order.

“SHUT UPP!”

The booming voice cut through the chaos like a lightning strike. Everyone froze. They all turned to see a formidable woman in scrubs, the lady doctor, standing sternly in the doorway, radiating righteous fury.

The doctor marched toward them, hands on her hips. “Do you not know this is a hospital? Are you all trying to induce a cardiac arrest in my other patients? Why are you shouting like this?”

The group fell into a pin-drop silence.

A small, weak voice emerged from the room. “Ugh. Who is shouting like that? My head is pounding.”

Everyone snapped their heads toward Ellie, who was now awake, rubbing her temples. Then, they snapped back to the doctor.

The doctor sighed, the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a scalpel. She finally relaxed her posture, holding up a clipboard.

“Alright, now that we have some silence. Let’s look at the test results.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Elara is pregnant. I need to speak to her husband immediately.”

The announcement hung in the air, a collective gasp from Nick, Ethan, and Freya. Ellie looked completely stunned. Joy, however, was the only one not surprised.

“Oh, then you should talk to the married man,” Joy stated instantly, pointing a triumphant finger at the room.

The doctor raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Excuse me? What married man?”

“Yes, her husband! He is the father of the baby, no?” the doctor pressed, clearly confused.

“No, no, no,” Joy corrected, shaking her head vigorously. “It’s not her husband. It’s the married man I saw her with at the party! He’s the baby’s father!”

The doctor stared at Joy blankly. “Ma’am, I just said I need to talk to her husband. The father is usually the husband.”

“But she’s not married yet!” Joy insisted, completely missing the subtlety of the situation. “She’s just an intern!”

Nick finally stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Ellie's. “I am the baby’s father,” he said simply.

“WHAT?!” Joy shrieked, clutching her chest.

“Then you must be her husband,” the doctor concluded, finding the simplest, most logical connection.

“No, he can’t be!” Joy protested, driven by her fictional narrative. “It has to be the married man! I saw him!”

Freya and Ethan exchanged a weary, exhausted look that screamed, ‘How do we explain this woman to the medical profession?’ Ellie, despite her headache, was having the time of her life watching the bizarre argument.

The doctor, having reached the end of her professional rope, pointed an authoritative finger at Joy. “Lady, I don’t know what ‘married man’ you are hallucinating about, but you keep quiet.” She turned to Nick. “You are Ellie’s husband, correct?”

“Correct,” Nick confirmed, a slight smirk now playing on his lips.

“And you are the baby’s father?”

“Absolutely,” he replied, beaming.

“Okay then. Congratulations, gentlemen. You are discharged with a warning about noise pollution. Come and meet me, both of you—Ellie and her husband—before you leave.” The doctor smiled warmly and left.

Joy stared at Nick, her face crumpling in utter defeat. “You… you married her, Sir? She’s just an intern!”

“Joy,” Freya said, finally stepping forward, her composure steel-like. “You want the truth? Then listen carefully.”

Joy, still reeling, looked at Freya.

“First, my name is not Freya Jackson. It’s Freya Jensen. I’m the daughter of Andrew Jenson, the founder and CIO. And Ethan is my fiancé.”

Joy’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Freya delivered the final, crushing blow with quiet satisfaction. “And her name is not Elara Harper. She is Elara Hayes, the daughter of the founders, Marcus Hayes. Nick and Ellie didn’t just get married; they had been legally married for nearly a year before she even started working here. It was a family scheme to find a spy. Get it? She’s not an intern, Joy. She’s the boss’s wife and the founder’s daughter.”

Joy’s face was the perfect picture of corporate shock and existential dread. Before she could say another word, the doors swung open, and the entire Hayes, Vance, and Jenson families flooded the hallway, all smiles and relief, having been informed by Ethan.

Joy could only watch in mute horror as the founders warmly embraced the ‘intern’ and the CEO.

Joy, thoroughly chastened, slowly approached Nick and Ellie. “Sir, Madam Hayes… I am so sorry. I didn’t know. We all thought…”

“We are sorry to keep you in the dark, Joy,” Nick said kindly, gently placing his hand on Ellie’s now-glowing face. “We had our reasons, as you now know. But our official wedding is next week, and you are invited. In my absence, please take care of the office.”

Joy nodded, her dreams of gossip completely shattered, and retreated to the office.

Nick walked to the bed and planted a soft, loving kiss on Ellie’s forehead. “Looks like we have a little Vance joining the executive team sooner than expected, my love.”

A week later, Nick and Ellie stood before their assembled family and employees, exchanging their sincere, traditional vows. Ellie, radiant in white, wore her two most treasured pieces of jewelry: the moonlight diamond and the simple gold band, her ultimate trophies of commitment.

Nick, having faced corporate espionage, family drama, and the chaos of an emergency room, finally received his life’s ultimate reward.

All well that ends well!!!