Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's Secret Baby : Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

“Did you really need to chat forthatlong?” said Alex. “We’ve been in there for like, two hours.”“It’s just like you said,” I replied, innocently shrugging. “We want it to look right, right?”I flashed my eyes at him and, not for the first time that week, enjoyed watching Alex seethe. He might be the one with the cash, but I was the one who understood the secret operation we’d embarked upon. In the end, I was the one who knew how to make things convincing.So I led Alex around town, visiting caterers, party planners, the priest, and all of it was just a big lie: a lie designed to present an impression to the world of two people who’d decided to join their hearts and minds for the rest of their lives. But the truth was that Alex and I were increasingly growing apart. It hurt me to have to bring an end to the affair we’d been carrying on. But I knew that things would be too complicated if I didn’t stop now. If my name ended up on the marriage license next to a man I was sleeping with, I

AlexI hindsight,itwasprobably a good thing that the police arrested me. If I hadn’t been then I would probably have dived into the burning building, to try and put out the fire.Luckily, everyone was safe. The only people there had been Gabriel and another cook, who were preparing to serve the wedding banquet, and a couple of servers. They’d gotten out in time.I found myself in another interrogation room in the local precinct, only this time, my wrists really were cuffed to the table. Opposite me, two detectives were sitting. I had at least ten years on both of them, and they were trying to play hardball with me. Only it wasn’t working one bit. They’d been at it since the afternoon and now it must be getting dark outside.“You know where your fusebox is, Alex?”“Of course I do,” I replied. I could smell the smoke in my clothes. “It’s in an alcove on the ground floor.”“Right,” said the detective. “That’s where the fire started. I spoke to the Marshall half an hour ago. He told me th

But I hated him so much right now, I couldn’t bear to respond. I didn’t want to get drawn into an argument. Because I knew that if I lifted the lid on my emotions, I’d find a lot more than hate there. And I didn’t want to know how far down it went, the pit of fear, desire and want that was making me feel empty inside.After a while, we turned off onto a dusty road. It curved up a hill through the trees, past a small lake whose surface was rippling in the moonlight. I couldn’t see a light for miles around us. The world would have been pitch black if it weren’t for the car’s headlights. But eventually, we pulled into a wide driveway under a dark gabled roof.“This is it,” said Alex.I got out sulkily, and followed Alex to the front door with my bag. He opened the door.I was looking into a wide, spacious living room through the corridor at the front. I could see a stone fireplace in the gloom, with long sofas and chairs scattered around. There were lampshades. On the walls, I could see

LolaWhenwegotbackto the lake house, it was still and quiet, a warm afternoon. I’d hoped Alex would take me out on the boat again once we got back, but we’d both been spooked by the appearance of the old man.“You want to talk?” said Alex.“Not really,” I said. There was so much on my mind that I didn’t feel like talking, so I went upstairs and showered. I was so spooked that I jumped at my own reflection in the mirror when I got out.Who could the man have been?A spy? A guy working for Luca? Luca was a flashy guy, who wore expensive suits and shiny watches and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu (even though he rarely paid for it). I couldn’t imagine the sallow, roughly-dressed man staring at us in the diner on Luca’s payroll.While I trusted Alex, or wanted to trust him, all kinds of fears began to swirl around my stomach since I’d seen the stranger. Alex had promised I’d be safe when we went out for the day. But how could he keep that promise? Hadn’t the boat ride, having

LolaMax was gone bythe time I’d gotten back to the lake. I didn’t know where I could find him, or what I’d say when I saw him. I only knew one thing; that Alex was gone.“You’re an idiot,” I said, over and over again to myself. But for once, I wasn’t talking about myself. I was talking about Alex. How could he think that I had anything to do with Max’s appearance? Why couldn’t he see that this was perfect: that with Max’s testimony, we could prove that the certificate was fake?When Alex calmed down, he’d be sorry. He’d realize that he hurt me. But for now, I didn’t know what to think, and I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.I took out my phone, but when I looked at the clock, I saw it was five in the morning. I didn’t want to wake Sara, so I decided to wait for the sun to rise in a few hours and get a hire car back to the city.When I finally set out, carrying my bag with me down the road, it took me an hour. In the stillness of the morning, I was tired and my eyes ached. An