Signed Sealed and Divorced. The CEO’s biggest regret のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 151 - チャプター 158

The jet lifted continued into the afternoon sky, and Layla leaned back in her seat, feeling the gentle vibration of the engines through the leather beneath her. She pressed her fingertips lightly against the armrest, grounding herself, letting the quiet hum of the cabin soothe the knot of nerves in her chest. Today was different, she reminded herself. Today was not about conniving mothers of boyfriends or trying to prove that she could be a good girlfriend and eventually wife to Voss, it was about making a meaningful and lasting business relationship with Elara. This was an opportunity of a lifetime and she was not going to mess it up. Elara sat across from her, cup of tea balanced delicately in her hands, eyes calm and focused on the view outside the window. For a moment, Layla thought about how someone like Elara could command so much influence, so much attention, and still seem… human. Real. Not performative. She caught herself staring, realizing she’d done it silently, like i

The corridor swallowed Voss whole.One moment he was there, solid, tall, controlled despite the tension vibrating off him and the next, the automatic doors slid shut behind his back with a soft hiss that felt louder than it should have. Layla stood where he left her, fingers curled around the strap of her bag like it was the only thing anchoring her to the floor.The air felt different immediately.He always did that. Took space with him when he moved. Left a quiet behind that made everything else feel louder, heavier. The beeping machines. The low murmur of voices. The squeak of rubber soles against polished hospital floors.Layla exhaled slowly, realizing she’d been holding her breath.Waiting had never been her strength.She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked around, unsure what to do with her hands, her thoughts, her fear. This part of the hospital was too white, too clean. The kind of place where life and death brushed shoulders quietly while the rest of the

The word didn’t echo. It didn’t need to. Pregnant. It sat heavy in the room, pressing down on Layla’s chest until breathing felt like work. She stared at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, following a faint crack in the paint like it might explain how everything had tilted so fast. Pregnant? That didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit anywhere in the careful structure of her life. She was on birth control. She never missed a day. She’d checked. Double-checked. She had spreadsheets for less important things. Her heart started racing again, not the dangerous kind this time, but the loud, spiraling kind. What about Elara?The job she was given just four days to think about. The job needed her to travel how exactly was she going to do that if she was pregnant?? How did this even happen. Her parents. God. Her parents. Would they be disappointed? Shocked? Quiet in that way that hurt worse than yelling?She knew they were not totally liberal or conservative either. They were traditional Jews

A few days later, Layla woke to quiet.Not the fragile, Not the kind of quiet that scared her or made her uncertain, not the kind that felt like it might shatter if you breathed wrong, but the ordinary kind. Morning quiet. The kind with distant traffic hum and the soft whir of the refrigerator down the hall.The last few days have been a whirlwind of emotions for her. From getting a call that a gallery was bought and paid in full in her name to Voss hiring a Hispanic young maid who could take care of her while he was away from work, to experiencing morning sickness, something she could not find herself getting used to. It was a whole lot of confusing but in a good way. She was content. She lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, letting that sink in.Her body still felt… different. Slower. Like it had learned something about itself and hadn’t quite gone back to the way it used to move. She shifted carefully, one hand instinctively finding her stomach, palm warm against herse