LOGINShare
Chapter 172: New Normal
publish date:
2026-05-01 02:12:52
Latest chapter
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 172: New Normal
Bella POVWeeks later, I found a rhythm. Caleb had told James to clear his schedule for weeks the day we brought Grace home. James had complied without a single question, which said everything about how well he read the room. Caleb then proceeded to become the most committed primary caregiver I had ever witnessed—and I had seen Maya with Tom, which had previously held the record.He was up at five with Grace. He had the morning feed, the diaper, the swaddle, and the settling sorted before I was even fully awake. He handled it simply like a man who had decided this was his job and was doing it thoroughly.It was a strange, quiet domesticity. The man who could command boardrooms was now obsessing over the perfect swaddle tension and the precise temperature of a bottle, moving through the house with a sleeping infant against his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.Watching him with her—and watching Tom shadow his every move, helping with the diaper bag or explainin
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 171: Coming Home
Bella POVThe nurse handed her to me by the car and said, "You're ready." She was talking about Grace—the signed paperwork, the weight gain, the perfect oxygen levels—but I felt it differently. Like she was saying it to me.You're ready.I buckled her in. My hands were entirely steady, which surprised me. Every other milestone of the last month had hit me sideways, but this arrived solid and clear. Grace looked up with the unfocused gaze of a newborn, and the weeks of waiting finally settled into something finished. We were going home.Caleb stood beside me. He didn’t try to take over the buckle, which was progress."You're not going to say anything?" I asked, straightening up."About what?""The buckle, the angle. Whether the straps are tight enough."He looked at me with a perfectly calm expression. "The straps are fine.""You checked.""I checked before," he said. "While you were signing the last form. I just didn't say anything about it."I looked at him for a moment. "That's very
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 170: NICU Days
Caleb POVShe weighed four pounds, two ounces. I asked three times, as if the number might change if I heard it enough. It didn’t. Four pounds, two ounces. My daughter—smaller than anything I had ever been responsible for, tucked into an incubator with wires monitoring the things her body was still learning to do.The NICU nurses were extraordinary. I saw it immediately—the steady competence of people who care for the most fragile humans without panic. They called her Grace, not Baby Black. They talked to her while checking monitors, assuming she was listening.I started doing the same. I felt foolish at first, then stopped caring."You're doing well," I told her on the first day, repeating the nurse's words. "The numbers are good. I’ve been watching the monitors; I’ve learned what they all mean because I have a lot of time and I retain information under pressure."The monitors beeped in time with her breathing."Your brother wants to meet you," I said. "He’s been—well, 'patient' isn'
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 169: Emergency Delivery
Bella POVOnce the decision was made, things moved with a terrifying speed. The room was filled with people who possessed the calm efficiency of a team that had done this a thousand times.I hadn’t done this—not like this. My first birth had been different, but this felt like being caught in a current moving faster than I could process. Through the pre-op, the cold theater, and the surgical drape, Caleb never let go of my hand. His grip wasn't a performance; it was just warm, steady, and there."Look at me," he said when I started to shake."Talk to me," I said, low enough that only he could hear it over the sounds of the room."What do you want me to say?""Anything, just keep talking."He was quiet for a beat, and then he said, "Tom asked me this morning if the baby would like dinosaurs."I exhaled — something between a laugh and a sob. "What did you tell him?""I told him she'd probably like whatever he taught her to like." He kept his eyes on mine. "He said he was going to start w
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 168: Hospital Stay
Caleb POVThe chair next to her bed wasn't meant for sleeping; by the second night, my back was certain of it but I refused to leave anyway.Around midnight, the first nurse offered a proper couch in the family room."I'm fine here," I said."Mr. Black, you really should get some proper rest," she replied gently. "You can't support her if you're running on empty.""I appreciate that. I’m fine here."She didn't push, just checked the monitors and left.The next morning, a younger nurse tried a more direct approach. "The chair isn't good for your back," he noted."My back is managing," I told him.Bella watched the exchange from over the top of her book, with the expression of someone who found it mildly entertaining."He won't move," she told the nurse. "I've tried.""You haven't tried," I countered."I told you the chair looked uncomfortable.""That's not the same as trying."The nurse made a quick note on his clipboard and gave up. From then on, they stopped asking, and I respected t
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 167: Complications
Bella POVDr. Okafor delivered the news with a calm, steady hand—not cold, just direct. I appreciated that, even as the weight of the words started to sink in."The placenta is sitting low," she said, turning the scan image toward me. "Not critically, not yet, but combined with your blood pressure readings and the spotting last week, I want to classify this as high risk and manage it accordingly."I looked at the image. Then at her. "What does that mean practically?""It means reduced activity significantly. I'd like you working from home, minimal stress, no long travel. If the placenta doesn't move as the pregnancy progresses" She paused, choosing her words. "We'll cross that when we get there. Right now we manage carefully and we monitor closely.”Caleb sat frozen beside me, hiding his reaction while I kept my focus on Dr. Okafor. "Could I lose the baby?" I asked.She didn't flinch at the directness. "There are risks. That's why we're having this conversation now rather than later.
The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 26: Playing the Game
Bella POVThe morning after my breakdown, I woke up with swollen eyes and a pounding headache. Maya was already in the kitchen making coffee when I emerged, and she took one look at my face before sliding a mug across the counter."You look like hell," she said bluntly."I feel worse." I wrapped my
Last Updated : 2026-03-20The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 27:Composing Herself
walked away before she could respond, my composure intact but my heart racing. Victoria Lane and Caleb. Of course. A beautiful socialite with connections and no moral compass, exactly his type. Not that I cared. I absolutely did not care."Bella." Ethan appeared at my elbow, his timing impeccable a
Last Updated : 2026-03-20The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 29: The Lies That Destroyed Everything
Caleb POVI watched Bella walk away from me on that dance floor, her spine straight and her head high, and felt like I was drowning, years of searching, years of guilt and regret, and when I finally found her, she looked at me like I was poison.I deserved that look, infact i deserved worse. But Go
Last Updated : 2026-03-20The Billionaire’s Discarded Bride Chapter 24: Maya Advice
Bella pov I tucked Tom into bed and sat beside him, smoothing his dark hair back from his forehead. "I love you, Tom. More than anything in the whole world.""Love you too, Mommy." His eyes opened slightly, that grey gaze so like his father's that it hurt. "Mommy? Why do I look different from you?
Last Updated : 2026-03-19
You may also like
On My Professor's Bed
Xee write805.9K viewsMr. Ford Is Jealous
Boat of Peaches773.0K viewsYou're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
Cora Smith687.3K viewsChasing My Pregnant Wife
Night Revelations861.5K viewsONE NIGHT, ONE ROOM, AND A BOSS
Rachi96 viewsCaught In Desire
Amyoga170 viewsJust One Night to Own Me, Daddies
sonnyiswriting123 viewsRebirth: The Sweetest Ruin
Clare Cathy 126 views
