Although Singapore met Aria with stifling humidity and clean-cut systems—an oddly comforting combination—she stepped out of the air-conditioned cocoon of Changi Airport into a floor-to-ceiling wall of tropical heat, instinctively bringing a hand to rest on her abdomen, still flat under the travel-wrinkled blazer.
Ten weeks pregnant, halfway across the globe from Xavier Knight.
The black beauty sitting at the curb was another valid sign that the orderly world she knew was collapsing within her. Temporary housing arrangements had been made by Marcus and his connections in a luxury serviced apartment until she settled into a permanent residence. One less on her plate of burning concerns. "Marina Bay Residences," she instructed the driver and sank potentially deeper into the cool leather cushions as the immaculate views of the Singapore cityscape rushed by the windows.
To her surprise, enough pressure had been exerted by her new employer to make her feel comfortable disclosing her pregnancy during the final negotiations. The maternity leave and childcare regulations from the Singaporean government worked well in her favor; her own reputation helped a lot; and the competitive advantage in hiring her would benefit Meridian Global over its rivals, especially Knight Enterprises with the burgeoning Asia-Pacific division.
The irony was not lost on her.
An exhaustion was settling into her bones by the time they reached the sleek tower of Marina Bay Residences. Pregnancy has entirely rewritten her body's venerable clockwork: on top of her natural stamina came waves of bone-deep fatigue. She stood tall, unbending, and walked briskly as the elevator took her to her temporary thirty-second-floor apartment.
No sooner did the door shut behind the concierge than Aria swooped for her heels, tossed aside her well-rehearsed corporate composure, and buzzy straight to the bathroom, where a brutal case of morning sickness—an insidious term for what one could get at all hours—was calling for her conscious attention.
Later on, as the dusk bathed Singapore's skyline in watercolours, Aria stood at her temporary apartment's floor-to-ceiling windows, gingerly sipping ginger tea while pondering a transformation that would see her metamorphose from the ambitious executive to a single mother.
Suddenly, an understanding set in, one unlike panic for the most part but an almost eerie pausing moment of lucidity. All things familiar, such as her apartment with its carefully selected artworks, the office with a view of the Bay, the coffee shop where the baristas knew her drink down to the very last detail, malaise rhythm of her days, were gone.
It was replaced by this: foreign land, work to prove herself in, a body that was now taking a turn against her with the alteration, and a future one could not even begin to measure using a spreadsheet.
Aria Chen had built her life and credits on calculated risks and meticulous planning. Now she had probably just committed the most unplanned act of her life, and somehow, it felt undeniably right, standing alone in this sterile apartment thousands of miles away from everything she knew.
Her phone buzzed with a message from Marcus: Safe landing?
She replied: Yes. The apartment suits. First day at Meridian tomorrow.
The instant response was: They have no idea what's about to hit them.
For Aria, this was a smile for the first time in weeks—quite a genuine one, as opposed to her impersonal shield she so often wore.
She placed her empty teacup on the immaculate counter and began to focus on unpacking, while setting her new abode with the same organized and methodical efficiency that characterized all her actions. By midnight, the temporary dwelling had everything: clothes hung neatly in the closet; laptop set up on the table; prenatal vitamins set next to the toothbrush. Only after everything was in place did she let herself sleep, with one hand across her stomach cradling the growing bump.
"The competition posed by Knight Enterprises' expansion in Southeast Asia is probably the most serious for us," said Aria, indicating the market share projection on the wall screen in the conference room. "Acquisition of TechVantage last quarter gives them a foothold in Singapore; intelligence suggests Xavier Knight himself will be overseeing their regional growth strategy."
Two months into her capacity as Regional Director of Meridian Global, Aria had, indeed, lived out her reputation as a strategic visionary and had become a carefully measured force. Surprising at almost five months, pregnancy was barely commented on except, of course, in the HR sphere, where somehow-too-well things like maternity leave policy were discussed.
"We should worry if Knight is personally involved," said David Lim, Meridian's APAC CEO. "His acquisition strategy has been ruthlessly effective."
Aria nodded and went to the next slide. "Which is why I have built a defensive plan to act in a preemptive manner. Knight's pattern is always the same: identify weak companies with strong IPs or weak market share, cut them off from potential allies, and then put forward acquisition as the only option left on the table."
She clicked to show a labyrinthine diagram detailing the regional interconnections of a plethora of technology companies. "My recommendation is to officially partner with these five companies and not acquire them. Knight could outbid us with acquisitions, but has shown little interest in work with us."
The executive team considered this proposal intently. Aria had deliberately constructed both the strategy and her presentation to put forward logic over emotion, data over intuition—despite the fact she understood more than mere conjecture on Xavier Knight. That cold steel-gray glare, honed with laser-like intensity, was burnt on unyielding, calculating penetration, forever searching for advantage.
"Interesting approach," Chief Innovation Officer Vivian Zhao said, "Instead of only competing with Knight, you're suggesting that we change the game altogether."
"Exactly," Aria confirmed. "Xavier Knight is a master at corporate warfare. Let's ask him to join us for a waltz instead."
The metaphor hit home and entailed chuckles of endorsement from the team. While the meeting carried on with the matter of implementation, Aria felt an exciting activity in her belly - maybe the babe had responded to her voice or, probably, just the adrenaline that came with professional validation.
Such moments indeed still surprised her involvement with her unborn child. In many ways, pregnancy was still a clinical condition — doctor's appointments neatly calendared, prenatal vitamins taken as surely as her morning coffee had once been, nursery furniture chosen with safety ratings rather than sentimentality.
These movements that become increasingly stronger by weeks, however, prompt moments of visceral awareness that cannot be contained within her neat compartments. At long last, after unanimous approval of her strategy by the team post-meeting, she went back to her office only to find a delivery awaiting her—a small, ideally wrapped present bearing an attached note.
For my future niece or nephew. Start the financial education early. —Marcus Inside was a children's book titled "One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All About Money." Aria traced the colorful cover, imagining for a moment reading it aloud to her child.
Her child. Not Xavier's. Just hers. The doctor had offered the option of determining whether this baby was a boy or girl in yesterday's ultrasound, but Aria had declined. The less concrete detail about this baby, the easier it was to maintain emotional distance.
Already physical connections were becoming harder to ignore as her body stretched and changed to accommodate this new life. Her assistant tapped on the open door. "Dr. Lin's office called to confirm your appointment tomorrow morning. Also, the real estate agent sent over new listings for three-bedroom condos near the international schools."
"Thank you very much, Wei Ling." Aria slid the book inside her drawer. "Please let the car service know to come by fifteen minutes earlier tomorrow. I'd like to stop at the banking district on my way to the appointment."
After her assistant left, Aria opened her desk drawer again and drew out a small black velvet pouch. From it, she pulled a plain gold wedding band.
It had been a practical purchase, made during her second week in Singapore. Western single mothers tended to raise little eyebrows in progressive circles, but Singapore's more traditional business culture made it known to Aria that she had subtle problems with the conception of unmarried pregnancy-unexpressed questions into her judgment, stability, and commitment.
This fictional spouse she'd built up solved all these problems neatly: a British financial consultant she'd married in a private ceremony, currently on extended assignment in Dubai, planning to join her after the baby was born. The wedding ring gave this fabrication credibility, as did the careful selection of a few tasteful framed photographs for her office-stock images purchased from a photography service, featuring a dark-haired man whose face was never quite in focus.
Aria slipped the ring onto her finger, where it would remain until her doctor's appointment tomorrow. It was an unethical deception, but her conscience was clear; it was just one more maneuver in an ever-growing repertoire of how to protect herself and her child.
As she gathered her belongings for the next meeting, her phone pinged with an alert:
Knight Enterprises CEO Xavier Knight Personal Oversight of Asia Pacific Expansion; Singapore Will Be Regional Headquarters
Aria froze, and suddenly her heart raced. In the accompanying picture, Xavier looked to be at a press conference, appearing every bit as commanding and severe as she recalled. The article was dated for today.
Xavier Knight was coming to Singapore.
Just then, the baby delivered a kick with unusual intensity, as though sensing her sudden agitation. Aria placed her hand over the spot and inhaled deeply in an attempt to slow her own heart rate.
The probability of their encountering each other in a city of nearly six million residents was slim, she reasoned. Singapore was a global financial hub where thousands of multinational companies operated. Even with Knight Enterprises opening offices here, it would have been reasonable to assume that Xavier's interface would have been limited to occasional visits.
Still, she'd need to be careful. More careful than she had been so far.
Aria closed the news alert and proceeded to open her email to type a message to her assistant:
Please reschedule all external meetings for the next two weeks. We will conduct these virtually or at our offices. Also, collect detailed background on Knight Enterprises' Asia-Pacific leadership team, especially any executives likely to relocate to Singapore.
She would need to know exactly who she needed to avoid in this suddenly constricted world.
With the press of the send button, Aria was suddenly conscious that her hand lay on her rounded abdomen, where their baby continued to be busy with rather deliberate movements. She allowed herself the briefest of moments to picture his reaction if he ever knew—shock overtaking that controlled expression on his face, swiftly followed by a calculating stare as he began to measure the implications.
"He won't know," she whispered to the child in her womb. "I promise you that."
It was a promise she intended to keep, however many other alterations would be needed in the life she had so carefully constructed. Yes, Xavier Knight was coming to Singapore, but he would never learn about the consequence of their one night together, now protesting with a visible kick against her concealed palm.
Aria straightened her back, adjusted her maternity blazer, and walked to the next meeting. She had gone through stronger maneuvering than simply trying to keep Xavier Knight from finding his way into the same city. This was just one more factor she would calculate into her evolving strategy.
By the time her child was to be born, she was going to be secure in Meridian Global, in a permanent place in a family-friendly neighborhood, with a ready-made story that had no room for Xavier Knight to come into their lives.
Having such a man nowhere near altering the fresh life she had been busy es- tablishing was totally out of the question.