At the hospital, several hours later

" 'I am sorry, I shouldn't have come. I am sorry.' 

'Then leave already!' "

The woman's voice resounded in Zane's ears, as though it had the ability to physically scratch it. This was how Zane's impression of it was, and it was not because he could hear it more clearly since he was using earphones. No, it was because of Aria's flinch and paleness hearing the said voice.

He paused the video he was currently watching on his phone, then rewound it from the beginning, before playing it once more. It must have been the tenth time he had watched it, but he couldn't stop. He wanted to etch her suffering and scared face inside his heart, carving this lesson in his mind in the process. How else would he assure he would never allow such a situation happen again? Other than remembering the consequences of it.

The incoming call stopped the phone from playing the video, as Ryan's name appeared on the screen. 

Zane answered the call immediately, and waited for the assistant to speak without saying a word himself in greeting.

'I have contacted the finance department, Davis's shares make up 5% of Mars's  total capital. And with it's current value that would be about 30 million dollars.' Ryan of course  wasn't expecting Zane to tell him something before, as he detailed the information Zane wanted to know about concisely.

'Call him and give him 35 million dollars for them. I want the hand over contract signed today. If he refuses, tell him the offer will decrease with five millions for each day that he can't make up his mind. And for the handover contract, transfer the amount from my personal account, but put Aria as the beneficiary.' Zane calmly stated using a hushed voice.

Aria was still sleeping on the nearby bed, and he did not want to wake her up.

'Understood sir.' Ryan immediately replied, knowing for certain that Davis would sign today no matter what. He had no choice but to sell if he was planning to still have a profit from his shares.

The Mars company's profit was tightly related to the other companies of the consortium. Were Zane to redirect the specific business Mars dealt with to a company outside the consortium, then its profits would become lower. In about a month or so, the company naturally would be in the red, and in another month it would plummet to the ground, declaring its bankruptcy. At that time, Davis's shares would amount to dust. The assistant was planning on letting him know thoroughly, what his reluctance to comply could bring about.

Still, to say Zane's offer of five millions above the shares' value was fair, well it was not in anyway. All the shares of the companies of the consortium, their owners, and the change of their ownership was tightly controlled by the Black family, who was the  major shareholder of all their companies. And could under normal circumstances actually buy all of them out, and become the single shareholder for all of the firms in a heartbeat. 

They did not do so in the past, and allowed other people to hold on to their shares only because each of the other shareholders, although unrelated to their bloodline, had a special connection to their family.

Davis's grandfather had been a close friend of Zane's grandfather, and as a sign of gratitude for helping him with a favor in the past, the man had gifted the shares to his family. So to lose the shares of Mars, it was certain that Davis would never be allowed to have shares of it again, or own shares from the other companies of the group as well.

And as for the matter to why this would be a problem, well the dividends of the company were much more than the value of the shares, for one thing. And the connection to the Black family and their influence in the business world, was the other thing. No one would collaborate with Davis in creating a new company in the future, as they could become a target for Zane as well.

To establish a connection with the Blacks and profit from that said connection was in itself almost impossible, but to lose that connection nefariously and hope to still survive in the business world... it was  unfathomable.

The amount of 35 million dollars would become the last money the Davis family would obtain from investments. As such, if they could not hold on to this money, restricting their spending... then to supplement their wealth, they could only work normal jobs.

But to spend all your life with a certain level of living, and without the necessity of thinking of how to make the money you had been used to spending freely... then for this lifestyle to disappear, it would be unimaginable. The only hope was for the members of the family to have not considered the dividends as their main source of income. 

But Ryan knew the current generation liked to spare no expenses for their lifestyle. The son was spending his days in clubs without a care in the world. The wife had never worked a day in her life. The father had other investments, but all of them were courtesy of the connection with the Blacks, and would certainly disappear, as the news of his lost shareholder position would break out. And the daughter, well liking the attention she would get as a celebrity, she had become an actress. So she could have been the only one who could have still sustained her wealth, considering she was not part of the business world, but well...

'That woman... buy her managing company, then sever all her ongoing contracts. The cost of the company does not matter, no matter what buy it. If the owner still doesn't consent, offer him shares from one of our companies as payment.' Zane continued with his orders, as he glanced towards Aria's pale face again. The small woman seemed more frail than usual, her appearance breaking his heart.

'Understood sir. I have also sent to you the list of the employees that Madame had encountered on her way up. Have you checked it out?' Ryan also did not consider this particular order from Zane difficult to accomplish. This was why he had already moved passed the subject without asking more.

The owner of Faye's company had always wanted to profit from a connection with the Blacks, this was why he had promoted Faye as an actress so heavily, giving her the best opportunities to grow and get to her current level. He had wanted to build up a bridge to Zane using Davis. So if Zane would offer a connection himself, it was only natural for that man to jump at the opportunity.

To become a shareholder to one of the companies of the consortium, then open another celebrities managing company, well the opportunities for his other actresses and actors would increase tenfold.

Zane only needed for Faye to be tied up to her contract without actually profiting from it at all. As time passed, without the actress being able to hold another job as it would conflict with her ongoing contract, and to also not be able to rescind her contract with the company without paying heavy penalties because of this... she could only fade in the background. 

Ryan, as a capable assistant, had already inquired about her contract. There were still five years left from it, otherwise he would have informed that using this mean to deal with her would be for nothing. A small bird had also told him that the penalties for breaking her contract would be about the same amount her father was getting for his shares... so if Zane was lucky he would actually not lose anything at all because of this problem. Moreover even if she wouldn't break her contract, and simply waited for the time to pass... after five years, her fame would diminish, decreasing her opportunities. 

'Yes, I saw the list. Fire the manager of internal affairs, I don't want to see her anywhere I might go to in the future. Also spread the references of our company regarding her work performance. Fire the temporary secretary as well, in her case don't do anything else. And increase the salary of the receptionist, or offer her a better position if she wishes it.' Zane concluded, and closed his phone as Ryan acknowledged the orders.

Putting his phone in his pocket, he approached Aria's side, leaning himself on her bed, careful to not disturb her rest.

His heart felt like it had stopped beating some hours ago when he caught the petite woman in his arms, and it felt like it remained frozen up until he reached the hospital  and the doctors looked at her.

A scald on her shoulder blade that would take a week to heal, a severe anemia, and the twins were also a bit disturbed in her belly, coupled with a panic attack, all of this facts had rendered Aria unconscious... these had been the doctors' diagnosis.

A pregnant woman was frail. Aria was also a person without memories, making her more prone to panic attacks as she was not able to confront other people, closing herself off at the slightest of problems. This was the explanation the psychologist had given him, as the doctor had also asked for his opinion.

In fact, Aria had her memories, those of her previous life, but those memories wouldn't help much either. An orphan  girl accustomed between living in the hospital and the orphanage throughout all her life... a girl who had also not interacted much with other people, as she had avoided speaking altogether unless it was necessary to do so in the later part of her life, had little immunity against people. And she absolutely lacked it in dealing with aggressive persons.

Bending his body to look at her more closely, Zane raised his hand and gently caressed her cheek. Fortunately she was regaining a bit of her rosy appearance, though the paleness was still there. 

She was obviously continuing to be in a poor condition, as her eyebrows kept themselves scrunched up together in a frown. With the frown only lessening a bit when he moved his hand and tenderly smothered the wrinkled skin between her eyebrows.

It seemed he had still been too kind towards that woman. He was in no mood to call Ryan again, but later he would call him to order his assistant to use those news, those that woman previously tried to use against him, to boost her popularity. A small rumor of the man at the hotel being a married man she had brazenly pursued, should settle his grudge a bit more. It was only a matter of finding a lookalike anyways.

She was the one who had told the reporters covertly she had met him at the hotel, though he was only there for a business dinner with other shareholders. Using her weapon against her should only be natural. And it was not a lie, Zane really was a married man, though he wouldn't use himself... as it would help her rather than cut her roots.

There was also the option of still keeping her in the entertainment industry, but signing only "the best" of contracts for her, making sure her image was even more wonderful than after the rumors were released.

Feeling a small stir under his palm, Zane put other thoughts away momentarily, as he wanted to have his full undivided attention towards Aria.

'How are you feeling, Aria?' He gingerly asked, maintaining his hushed voice, although as she had already woken up, there was no need for him to use it still.

The small woman did not reply at first, but Zane did not rush her, giving her some time to clear her hazy mind. Seeing her awake, was already a good evidence she was feeling a bit better.

Some moments passed before Aria finally opened her mouth, but the reply to his question did not exit her mouth, as small droplets of water appeared in the corner of her already red ringed eyes.

 'The children...' Aria voiced slowly with a cracked voice, a consequence of her dry sore throat.

'They are alright, don't worry. The peanuts are well.' He assured her with a small smile, trying to make his words more believable.

'I am sorry!' Once she found out about the children, she remembered her foolish actions.

'There is no need to be sorry. Why are you apologizing?' He was feeling that he was still too lenient towards the actress, perhaps he should just close Mars altogether and leave those people without a dime. Why should his small wife keep apologizing because of others?

'I am sorry, I did not mean to intrude in your office. I think I offended someone there. I am sorry!' She apologized again, with the tears already streaming down her small face.

'Aria, hey look at me. You did not do anything wrong. You coming to the office...' made me happy Zane wanted to add, but Aria was not listening to his words at all.

'I am sorry, the lady... I did not mean to offend her. I just thought to bring you a healthy lunch because of your ulcer, but I shouldn't have come.' She continued with a stuttering voice.

'Aria, I was happy you came to the office. You had every right to come.' He continued, but did not raise his voice to get his point across, although he felt upset because that woman caused her to feel regret for the first gesture she had initiated towards him of her own accord. 

But as she was already frightened from before, if he spoke a bit louder instead of making her listen to him, it could trigger her panic attack again. The doctor had said to use a soft calm voice to sooth her worries.

'Can I move back to the mansion? Even if they are still renovating, I can just move with the servants. I can stay in the same room as Anne. Really, I can stay with her, she wouldn't mind it.' She hurried with her explanation, still not listening to his words, as she put her small hand on the larger hand that had moved to caress her cheek. 

He was trying to comfort her, but her hand on top of his only felt she was pleading more. As though she was reluctant to even be near him again. The slight tremble on his skin enforcing this belief.

'Aria, you can't move to the mansion now. The dust, the disorder... all of it would affect you and the children. Please be a bit patient, in a week will both move back home, alright?'

'Zane, I do not know what I am allowed to do and what not, so perhaps I will upset you without meaning to. It will be better if I moved, I do not want to intrude in your life and ruin it.' Aria was slowly beginning to listen to his words, so had understood she couldn't live at the mansion for the time being, but she still tried to convince him it was better to live without her. If the mansion was not alright, she could move to a hotel, right?

'Aria, you are not intruding in my life. You are not ruining it at all. That woman was a delusional person who was let inside my office by a temporary worker. Don't take her words to heart. Don't keep overthinking your actions. You would never upset me, or intrude in my life.' Zane sighed as he best tried to make her understand his thoughts. 

But he founded a bit difficult, he was not sure she would comprehend him well, even if she was not in a panicked state like she was right now. He was a cold person, a man of few words. This was actually the first time that he spend so much time explaining and coaxing a person.

'But you, you are allergic to dogs, and I made you buy me a dog. How could you say I did not intrude... what if I caused you health problems because of Pudding? I shouldn't have been so willful.' Aria was accustomed from the orphanage to keep her wishes and dreams to herself, but she had become too spoiled since she woke up in her second life, she had forgotten her origin.

'I bought the dog because I wanted to. And I already checked with the doctor for the allergy, there's no problem keeping Pudding. Don't worry about this.' Zane answered honestly, thinking it would calm her heart, but as Aria remembered how she had even brought the pet to his office, she once again lost her attention and did not appear to listen to his words.

'Could you tell me what are my limits, could you tell me what I should do?' 

'What limits? What do you mean?' Zane frowned not understanding her words, as she kept speaking hurriedly.

'Set rules for me. Tell me what I am allowed to do or not do. I will obey them, if you tell them to me. I do not know, perhaps like this in the future I will upset you again. But please believe me this time I did not mean to, this time I did not know...' Aria cried even more, remembering her time at the orphanage.

Whenever the children misbehaved, the stern headmistress would punish them each time. They would not be allowed to leave their rooms if they broke a rule and would have to be alone for the whole day. As Aria was weak and she yearned for the days when she felt slightly better to walk outside in the garden, she always obeyed the rules. Because those days were too few in number to still spend her time punished.

But here with Zane, he had not set rules for her, so without meaning to she stepped out of line. But in the future, in the future she would be sure to listen to his words. Zane was not the headmistress, he would not punish her, but if she disturbed his life he might consider divorcing her. At this rate she might not be allowed to still be the children's mother.

Realizing Aria's mind was refusing to hear his words again, not believing him in the slightest, and hearing her mentioning rules... Zane felt angered for the first time because of her. He felt irritated at the fact she felt she needed to be bound to rules because of him, when from the moment she woke up from the coma, from the moment he first saw her, she was the only exception to any rules.

Aria's crying stopped unexpectedly, even a small whimper did not leave her mouth again. She was unable to utter a single sound of a cry, as a different shock overtook her mind, as a single touch captured all her attention, drowning any other thoughts she had.

How could she keep on crying, when her pale cold lips had been covered by his soft warm touch. With her eyes widened she wondered why his hand had covered her mouth. But as her eyes cleared up a bit and her tears had finally stopped, she saw his face just inches away from hers, almost as if it was about to touch it.

For his face to be that close, he was not keeping her mouth closed with his hand. Not to mention a hand wouldn't be as soft as the touch she currently felt.

It seemed that Zane's idea of taking it a bit slower to accommodate Aria, to assure she felt something for him had gone up in smoke, as he could only feel the smooth and delicate lips of the small woman. It made his heart shiver in pleasure as the small woman had not backed away at all, but seemed to actually move her lips a little bit in accordance to his own. It made him bolder, it made him lose the bit of sanity he had tried to maintain, as he deepened the kiss.

'Little one, even if I ever have rules for everyone else, you would never be a part of them. For me you will always be the only exception to the rules.' Zane spoke catching his breath, as he finally removed his lips from the red faced woman, who to his satisfaction was no longer in any mood to cry.

The doctor had said to be careful with her, to talk to her slowly and figure out the cause of her panic attack, but it seemed to him his method was much more effective.