Serenity spent a total of forty-eight hours on American grounds, finally closing the deal with the Seattle investors on the first day and trying to negotiate with another company for a deal involving agricultural research projects on the second day.

Now, she's heading back to London with contentment present on her features. Her ancestors would be so proud of what she'd done to the company.

Both she and her husband are Philanthropist that's why they are very well-known people in the business industry. Both of them took a liking into helping others, the only difference was their reasons; Serenity was exposed to the humanitarian acts of her father as a young child, and as she matured she took it as a passion making her the total altruist, whereas Andrei on the other hand simply thought that it's smart business. Nevertheless, both of them had helped a lot to uplift the lives of humanity.

Gazing through the window, she could already see the aerial view of the approaching vast European landmass.

The view from the plane window is simply breathtaking. Just that moment, a sudden thought appeared on her mind; She would see Andrei again and she couldn't help but think about his reaction to her sudden disappearance in Florence.

I just hope I won't have to face a much worse side of the devil she thought

"Mrs. Willforth, we are landing" The pilot announced through the intercom beside her table.

Serenity sighed

Up to this day, she's still not used to that reference.

***

Andrei was seated at the head of the table inside the conference room listening intently on the new product presentation.

They are planning to launch a new model of smartphone on the market this year.

Their company had recently set new standards in the design, quality, and engineering of the product ensuring that it will deliver uncompromising performance in any situation.

"Our engineers designed the Mac20 Bionic chip and it's the fastest chip ever in a smartphone, yet more efficient than ever; Fastest CPU, Fastest GPU, Fastest Neural engine, ML controllers and accelerators, and 9 billion transistors" Andrei explained from his seat, earning some smiles of amazement from the board of directors and shareholders.

"New optimized batteries give you 5 extra hours a day and it's water-resistant up to six meters for 30 minutes..." He continued, praising the work of the company's brilliant engineers.

After his short precise explanation, he let the presenter take over to further discuss the external features such as the camera system, composition and the rest of the internal features of the new product.

Time seemed to pass quickly and by that moment, the meeting was adjourned.

***

"How's Theo?" Serenity questioned the woman she felt an immense connection with, ever since she was a child.

The woman smiled at her.

"He's fine. He can now hold his milk bottle"

Suddenly, her face fell to a concerned one. Serenity noticed this.

"Look at this Serie. Your lab results came a month ago"

Dr. Larah De Lucca/Serenity's cousin handed her a printed document. (Dr. Larah was the first character Serenity interacted with in the first chapter; her pregnant cousin who has already given birth to a healthy baby boy 5 months ago).

The document showed a statistical graph of numbers, percentages, and age. The line graph was going downward starting from age 25 that points to 40%, 28 years of age is 37%, 30 is 32%, at 32 is 30% and as the age increases the percentage decreases.

Serenity let her eyes traveled southward of the paper, under the graph she saw the legend that indicates two colors- each color representing each of the two lines on the graph. She read the words:

Black indicates: Likelihood of getting pregnant and

Blue indicates the Likelihood of Infertility.

Serenity for a moment couldn't utter a word. The sensation of worry was refraining her from speaking.

Looking at her cousin, she saw the same emotion she was feeling.

"Cous, your pelvic exam came out fine. There were no traces of disease. The bad news is your infertility rate is reaching its peak at a surprisingly rapid pace."Her cousin is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist. Sighing, she said.

"Your likelihood of conceiving a child is at a minimal now" Her cousin looked genuinely concerned.

Serenity could not believe what she's hearing. She couldn't or maybe she just chooses not to believe it- it's just simply heartbreaking. Her chance of experiencing motherhood is... fading away.

Larah sensed her cousin's silence. She knew she was struggling internally to accept the fact.

"There's still a chance though" for a moment, Serenity's eyes glint with a small amount of hope. She thought the same thing.

"IVR and Insemination?" She asked.

"Exactly. How'd you know about it" her cousin asked back?

"I've read about it before, randomly"

"Okay, but first I suggest before you undergo In vitro fertilization or insemination, you should try out the natural way first" her cousin suggested.

Serenity was horrified at this suggestion. She kept her emotions at a minimum though, besides, even her cousin doesn't know that her marriage was never an act of love.

"I'd be personal here. How often do you and Andrei have sex?" Her cousin raised her brow teasingly.

Serenity swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She couldn't afford to lie to her cousin, but, she has to. Oh for goodness sake.

"Uhm..." She couldn't get the words to continue.

"Be honest Serie, I'm a doctor. When was the last time you did it? I know he just came back from his almost a year business trip but did you have sex when he came back?" Her cousin questioned again.

God help me. Serenity thought.

With no choice, she uttered out a YES. Inwardly, she cringed at the idea.

"How many times have you done it since his arrival?"

Serenity tried earnestly to keep composed and serene but inwardly she's panicking.

"Just one time" she lied

Her cousin looked at her unbelievably.

"Seriously, don't you miss him?"

"Hey, we were busy. Tough life. It's hard to mix pleasure and business when you're on this industry" she reasoned out.

Her cousin nodded contemplating something. Serenity hopes she's not sensing her lie.

"I'd suggest you try the natural way. Try it for six months and if it doesn't work then we'll perform the IVR. I'll prescribe some vitamins for you-"

"What if I choose to have the IVR let's say next month" Serenity interrupted, dreading to even try the natural way.

Her cousin looked at her oddly. "There's no problem with that Serie, but don't you want to take this as the opportunity to have more time with your husband. I mean 10 months was a pretty long time. Take this as a time to reconnect. Besides, when you have a child, some things will change now"

Serenity couldn't push her point further. She knew if she will, her cousin would definitely be suspicious. So she just nodded.

"Great, then I'll prescribe some vitamins such as Folic acid take 1 capsule per day, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) 600 mg daily, Selenium 200 mcg one tablet per day before going to bed, 450 mg of vitamin E per day and a capsule of Ferrous Sulfate once every three days"

The doctor handed her the copy.

"I know you're familiar with it"

"Of course"

"Great, Now I need you to follow this

Anti-inflammatory food protocol that consists of no rice, bread, pasta, added sugars, and processed food. Daily consumption of dairy products like yogurt, milk, and cheese is essential for your uterine health. They are rich in calcium and vitamin D, which keeps your bones healthy, and keeps uterine fibroids away" Larah knew she needed not to explain everything to her cousin, for Serenity already had a background on these chemicals and supplements for she was a chemist, before she took over her family's business.

"Okay" Serenity nodded.

The she doctor pursed her lips as if refraining to let something out. She possesses this glint of playful mirth in her eyes.

Serenity chuckled seeing her cousin's expression.

"Let it out" It couldn't be that bad. she thought.

Just then the nurse entered into the office preventing the Dr. to speak her mind finally.

"Dr. De Lucca your next patient is here for her appointment. Shall I make her wait for a little more, ma'am?" The nurse politely asked.

Serenity knew her cousin's working hours is commencing and so decided to take her leave, besides she came here unannounced earlier when she stepped back on London grounds.

"I should take my leave cous. I must be keeping you away from your patients"

Her cousin chuckled at how considerate Serie is. She knew very well that her cousin is always careful not to cause inconvenience to other people.

"You're also my patient"

"Yes, but I didn't schedule for an appointment and I really need to go to the company"

Both women stood from their seats. Larah accompanied Serenity towards the exit but before Serenity could disappear from the clinic, Larah released the words that she's been meaning to vocalize earlier.

"Have sex with Andrei okay?" Followed by a playful wink at her cousin's ghastly reaction.