Share

Chapter 32 – Strange Familiar

Author: Nuella King
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-07-26 04:51:44

Emma’s POV

The dress Danielle chose for me shimmered under the light like calm water just before a storm.

Midnight blue. Off-shoulder. Cinched at the waist with a thin gold band. Elegant enough for a private family event. Daring enough to keep them wondering what kind of girl Xander Blake had decided to marry.

I looked… composed. Which was the goal.

Because inside?

I was pacing. Clenching. Rehearsing smiles like battle tactics.

This was no ordinary dinner. It was a full-fledged cocktail gathering hosted by Xander’s extended family. Uncles. Aunties. Distant cousins with loud laughs and sharper eyes. The kind of evening where people said “Welcome to the family” while secretly deciding if you were worthy of the name.

The penthouse lounge they’d reserved was stunning—floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of Manhattan, polished marble floors, champagne towers, strings of soft jazz. It smelled like old money and new gossip.

Xander’s hand slid around my waist as we s
Patuloy na basahin ang aklat na ito nang libre
I-scan ang code upang i-download ang App
Locked Chapter

Pinakabagong kabanata

  • Terms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly   Chapter 88: Telling the Family

    Chapter 88: Telling the FamilyXander’s POVEmma didn’t say anything when she curled into me that morning.She didn’t have to.I could feel it — the weight in her silence. The shift in her breathing. The way her fingers gripped my shirt just a little tighter in her sleep. She was still scared, still trying to make sense of everything… but she was here.And that was enough for now.---We had told no one yet.No parents. No friends. Not even Danielle.There was something about keeping it between us that made it feel more real. More sacred.But I knew it couldn’t last forever.Especially not with my mother texting me every few days with a new article about fertility smoothies and moon cycle conception rituals.So after lunch, as Emma sat on the floor sorting through some old books, I crouched beside her.“We should tell them,” I said gently.She didn’t look up immediately. “Them?”“My parents. Yours if you’re ready. Or just mine.”She closed the book in her lap.“What if they start expe

  • Terms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly   Chapter 87: Storm Beneath the Surface

    Emma’s POV I didn’t sleep that night. Not because of the nausea or the dull ache in my lower back — those were easy enough to ignore. It was the silence. The heavy, humming kind of silence that creeps beneath your skin and keeps whispering you’re not ready, even when everything outside tells you otherwise. Pregnant. I was pregnant. And the world hadn’t exploded. The skies hadn’t fallen. The city outside our window was still glowing in the dark like nothing had changed. Except everything had. Xander had fallen asleep with one arm wrapped around me, his face relaxed, peaceful. He’d taken the news like someone who knew how to carry joy and responsibility all in the same breath. Like a man already willing to be a father before the word had even formed properly between us. But me? I was still playing catch-up. Still sitting in a pool of disbelief while everyone else had already jumped ahead to the next page. --- Morning light filtered in slowly. I watched the ceiling turn fro

  • Terms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly   Chapter 86: The Reveal

    Xander’s POV I didn’t sleep. Not really. I stayed in that chair beside her, watching her chest rise and fall like I was counting seconds on a bomb I couldn’t disarm. Every time she shifted in her sleep or murmured something under her breath, I held my own breath. Emma had always been strong. Stubborn. Fierce. Sharp-tongued when necessary. But this—this version of her, fragile and barely able to sit upright—unsettled something deep in me. And I hated how helpless I felt. I stared at my phone until the screen blurred, waiting for the sun to rise so I could call Dr. Harris without waking the entire city. --- By 7:00 a.m., I had her on the line. “I need you to come to the penthouse,” I said, skipping pleasantries. Dr. Harris didn’t ask why. She heard it in my voice. “I’ll be there in thirty.” --- Emma was still curled beneath the duvet when the knock came. Her eyes fluttered open just as I stood. “Where are you going?” she rasped, voice hoarse. “To let the doctor in.” She

  • Terms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly   Chapter 85: A Little Sickness

    Emma’s POV I woke up to the weight of my body fighting me. The sheets felt too heavy. The air too thick. My stomach twisted with nausea, and when I tried to sit up, the room spun like I was trapped on a carousel I never asked to ride. I dropped back onto the bed with a groan, pressing the heel of my palm to my forehead. I wasn’t just tired—I was drained. My skin felt warm. My throat was dry. My limbs… useless. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I knew something was. “Emma?” Xander’s voice broke through the haze. His hand touched my shoulder gently. “Babe, are you awake?” I nodded faintly, unable to open my eyes. “You’re burning up,” he said, worry clear in his voice. The mattress shifted as he moved beside me. I felt the back of his fingers on my neck, then my forehead again. “Why didn’t you wake me?” “Didn’t… want to worry you,” I whispered, but my voice was barely a whisper. My lips felt cracked, my breath too shallow. He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then I felt him le

  • Terms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly   Chapter 84: The Call That Changed Everything

    Emma’s POV It started like any other morning—sunlight brushing gently across the white sheets, the distant hum of Manhattan traffic far below, and the slow rhythm of Xander’s breathing beside me. Peace had become a luxury in our lives. But this morning, it lingered. I was still basking in the warmth of it when my phone buzzed on the nightstand. Xander groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. I smirked, rolling over to check the screen, expecting spam or a promotional email. But it wasn’t. From: Jenna Russo Subject: Let’s Talk Collaboration I blinked. Jenna Russo. As in Jenna Russo, the face behind The Russo Agency, one of the biggest media branding and lifestyle marketing firms in New York. I sat up, heart thudding like a drumroll. “What’s wrong?” Xander mumbled from under the covers. I didn’t answer immediately. I opened the email. > Hi Emma, I’ve been following the interview you did last week and was moved by your grace, candor, and strength. Your story deserves

  • Terms and Temptations: The CEO spoils me silly   Chapter 83: One Room, No Distractions

    Emma’s POV There’s a kind of silence that follows chaos. Not the heavy kind that feels like dread. The other kind. The soft kind. The kind that hums in your bones like a lullaby and tells you—you survived. Again. That’s what our penthouse felt like the night after the family dinner. The chandelier lights were dimmed low, the curtains drawn back just enough for the Manhattan skyline to peek in. And for the first time in what felt like weeks, we weren’t planning. We weren’t fixing. We weren’t fighting off shadows. We were just… here. I padded into the living room barefoot, wrapped in one of Xander’s oversized shirts and my favorite silk shorts. He was standing by the window, two wine glasses in his hands. He turned when he heard me. “I was hoping you’d come out.” “I thought you’d be in your office, pretending not to be annoyed about your mother’s baby hints.” He smirked, holding a glass out to me. “That would require pretending.” I took the glass. “She’s obsessed.” “She’s imp

Higit pang Kabanata
Galugarin at basahin ang magagandang nobela
Libreng basahin ang magagandang nobela sa GoodNovel app. I-download ang mga librong gusto mo at basahin kahit saan at anumang oras.
Libreng basahin ang mga aklat sa app
I-scan ang code para mabasa sa App
DMCA.com Protection Status