LOGINOh wow! What a chapter! What do you guys think will happen next? See you in the next chapter!
Absolutely not.”Sebastian looked up from his laptop. “I haven't even told you what it is yet.”“You have that look,” Elara said, settling onto the couch. “The look that says you're about to show me something ridiculously expensive and completely unnecessary.”“It's not ridiculously expensive…”“Sebastian.”“it's only fifteen thousand dollars.”Elara stared at him. “Fifteen thousand dollars for what, exactly?”He turned his laptop around.On the screen was a crib.Not just any crib.A hand-carved, Italian-imported convertible crib with matching changing table, dresser, and bookshelf. All in white with gold on it.“It's beautiful,” Elara admitted. “But Sebastian, that's insane. It's a crib. She's going to spit up on it and cry in it and eventually graduate to a regular bed. We don't need to spend fifteen thousand dollars.”“But it converts,” Sebastian argued. “From crib to toddler bed to full-size bed. She can use it until she's a teenager.”“Or we could buy a normal crib for five hund
The Car Ride HomeElara sat in the back seat, still clutching the ultrasound photos, staring at the tiny profile of their daughter.Their daughter.The word felt surreal and terrifying.Sebastian's hand found hers, putting their fingers together.“You're quiet,” he said softly.“I'm just thinking.”Elara looked up at him. “We're having a girl.”“We're having a girl,” he repeated, and his voice cracked on the last word.She had never seen him cry like this, not holding back, not trying to control it. Just tears streaming down his face as he stared at the same ultrasound photo.“Are you okay?” Elara asked.“I don't know.” Sebastian's thumb traced the outline of the baby in the photo. “A daughter. I'm going to have a daughter. And I have no idea how to be a father, let alone a father to a little girl.”“I don't know how to be a mother either.” Elara said quietly. “But we'll figure it out. Together.”“Together,” Sebastian echoed. Then his eyes met hers. “She's going to be beautiful. Just l
For the first time in what felt like forever, Elara woke up without anxiety crushing her chest.No buzzing phone. No hateful messages. No fear that today would bring another crisis.Just sunlight streaming through the windows and Sebastian's arm around her waist.She turned carefully to face him.He was already awake, watching her with that soft expression he got sometimes, the one that made her chest ache in the best way.“Morning,” he said quietly.“How long have you been awake?”“A while. You looked peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you.’”“You were watching me sleep again.”“I was admiring how peaceful you look when you're sleeping. There's a difference.” His hand moved to her stomach. “How are you feeling?”“Good. Really good, actually.” Elara pressed her hand over his. “No nausea. No cramping. Just normal.”“Normal is good.” Sebastian kissed her forehead. “Normal is very good.”They lay like that for a long time, just holding each other, enjoying the quiet.“Detective Rodriguez
Monday Morning - Three Days After the Press ConferenceDetective Maria Rodriguez sat across from Sebastian in his office, a thick folder open on the desk between them.“Mr. Vale,” she said, her voice very professional. “We've completed our preliminary investigation into the incidents you reported. The brick through your windows, the threatening messages, the leaked audio. What we found is... extensive.”Sebastian leaned forward. “Tell me.”Elara sat beside him, her hand in his. She had refused to stay home, and insisted on being here for this.Detective Rodriguez pulled out several documents. “The brick was easy to trace. Security cameras from the building across the street caught the person who threw it. A man named Derek Chen.”“The private investigator,” Sebastian said, his jaw tight.“Yes. Mr. Chen has been employed by Cassandra Whitmore for the past four months. When we brought him in for questioning, he... cooperated extensively. In exchange for immunity, he provided us with eve
One hour laterElara sat on her bedroom floor, back against the locked door, listening to Sebastian pace outside.He had been out there for twenty minutes.He hadn't knocked. He hadn't demanded she come out. He just... paced.Like he was trying to figure out what to say.Her phone lay silent beside her, she jad turned it off after the hundredth hateful message.Whore. Gold digger. Kill yourself.The words echoed in her mind.She pressed her hands to her stomach, where their baby was growing.“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I'm so sorry you're going to grow up with this hanging over you.”A soft knock at the door.“Elara.” Sebastian's voice was quiet and controlled. “I need you to listen to me. You don't have to respond. You don't have to come out. Just listen.”She didn't answer.“I've made a lot of mistakes in my life,” he continued through the door. “My father's suicide. The years I spent building walls. The way I approached you that first night. But Elara, loving you is not one of the
The day After the GalaCassandra Whitmore sat in her Park Avenue penthouse, staring at her phone screen.The photo had been posted by Page Six at midnight.Sebastian and Elara on the dance floor. His hands on her waist. Her arms around his neck. Both of them looking at each other like nothing else existed.The caption read: “Sebastian Vale Makes It Official: Billionaire Goes Public with Pregnant Girlfriend at Vale Enterprises Gala”Below it, dozens of other photos from the same night.Sebastian's hand on Elara's back as they walked the red carpet.Sebastian introducing her to board members with pride.Sebastian kissing her in front of everyone.And in every single photo, he looked happy.Devastatingly, infuriatingly happy.Cassandra's hand tightened on her phone until her knuckles went white.She had spent six months with Sebastian Vale. Six months trying to get him to look at her the way he looked at that girl in these photos.Six months of perfect behavior. Perfect appearance. Perfec







