All Chapters of Until The Baby Is Born: CEO's Temporary Fiancee : Chapter 71 - Chapter 78

The meeting room was wrapped in a heavy, anticipatory silence, the kind that pressed against the ears and made every breath sound louder than it should have been. The long glass table reflected the faces seated around it, executives from both sides sitting stiffly, papers neatly aligned, coffee long forgotten. Ivy sat beside Christopher, her hands folded in her lap, her posture composed even though her pulse refused to settle. Across the table, Asher leaned back in his chair, one arm resting casually against the armrest, his expression unreadable, his presence dominating the space without effort.The client cleared his throat, glancing down at the tablet in his hands before lifting his gaze to the room.“We have carefully reviewed both presentations,” he began, his tone measured and professional. “And we must say, this has not been an easy decision.”Ivy’s fingers curled slightly into her palm. Christopher shifted beside her, his knee brushing hers as if grounding himself.“The Cole

COLE MANSIONThe Cole mansion felt unnervingly quiet when Riley stepped inside, the kind of silence that was not peaceful but watchful, heavy, pressing against her ears and settling deep in her chest. Even before she fully crossed the threshold, she felt it. That subtle tightening in her lungs. That instinctive sense that something was already wrong.Her heels slowed against the polished marble floor as her eyes adjusted to the dim, elegant lighting of the formal living room.Then she saw them.Her parents.They sat side by side on the cream-colored sofa, their posture stiff, their expressions far too serious for a casual visit. Her mother’s hands were clasped together so tightly in her lap that her knuckles had gone pale. Her father sat straight-backed, shoulders squared, his jaw set in a way Riley recognized all too well. That was his thinking face. His bracing-for-impact face.Riley stopped walking altogether.“Mom? Dad?” Her voice came out softer than she intended, threaded with c

The darkness was the first thing she registered.Not complete, not suffocating, but thick enough to disorient her. Ivy stirred slowly, a dull ache blooming behind her temples, like the aftermath of a storm that had not fully passed. Her lashes fluttered, eyes opening to shadows and faint light. “Where am I?” She asked herself.A narrow stream of moonlight slipped in through a window somewhere to her side, pale and distant. Farther away, a lamp glowed near a table, its soft halo barely cutting through the room.Her breath hitched.She shifted, instinctively trying to orient herself, and felt the unmistakable softness beneath her. A bed. Large. Plush. Too comfortable for a place she did not recognize.For a brief, treacherous second, relief crept in.Then she tried to move her arms.Cold bit into her wrists.Her eyes flew open as panic slammed into her chest, sharp and immediate. Her hands were restrained on both sides of the bed, secured tightly enough to hold her but not enough to nu

Asher stood rigidly behind the doctor, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the office couch where Ivy lay unconscious.An hour had passed.An entire hour of silence that felt heavier than any argument, heavier than her screams, heavier than the weight of everything he had buried for three years.The room still looked exactly like it had frozen in the moment she collapsed. Pillows on the floor. Bedsheets are messy. A lamp knocked sideways. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic, fear, and something unbearably familiar.Guilt.Downstairs, Adrian had been pacing like a caged animal when Asher had stormed down moments after Ivy lost consciousness. His voice had been sharp, clipped, unyielding.“Call the doctor,” Asher had ordered, eyes dark, hands fisted at his sides. “Now. The one on retainer for the Cole Group. Tell him it’s urgent.”Adrian had not argued. One look at Asher’s face had been enough. He had already been dialing before Asher finished speaking, his worry barely concea