All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE’S BABY MAKER : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

I froze, my palms tightening against the hem of my dress. The girl’s eyes cut through me like blades, her glare sharp and unyielding. She was beautiful—striking, even—but her anger made her look dangerous.“I… I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice trembling.She did not answer. She just stood there, arms folded, gaze sweeping over me as though I were some stain she wanted gone. My stomach twisted. Why was she looking at me like that? I had never seen her before—or at least, I thought I hadn’t. But something about her features tugged at the back of my memory, like a face I had only glimpsed in passing.Did she know me? Or… did she know Lorenzo?My heart skipped, panic rushing to my throat. What if she was someone important to him—someone he cared about? My chest grew tight, guilt pressing down harder than ever. I wanted to step back, to slip away before Mrs. Illustre saw this, but my feet wouldn’t move.The girl leaned closer, her voice low, firm, dripping with disdain.“You.”That was all

The restaurant’s lights were warm, golden, reflecting softly on the polished table between us. My mother had been talking nonstop since we sat down, her energy almost too much for me after the heaviness of the office earlier. I thought she had exhausted every topic already, but then she leaned forward, her tone casual but her words far from it.“You know what I’ve been thinking?” she began, eyes flicking between Luciana and me. “You two should attend a parenting class. You know, the ones where expecting mothers and their partners go together. They teach you about pregnancy care, what to expect during labor, and even how to take care of the baby once it’s born.”I froze, the fork halfway to my mouth. For a second, I wasn’t sure if I heard her correctly. A parenting class?My gaze snapped to Luciana. She looked just as startled, her lips parted slightly, eyes wide, like she didn’t know whether to laugh or to nod. She lowered her eyes quickly, fidgeting with the edge of her napkin, clear

I could not stop the smile tugging at my lips as I sat there, replaying his words in my mind. "To be the kind of father my child can depend on." The way Lorenzo said it—steady, commanding, almost protective—made something inside me soften. For a moment, I allowed myself to imagine it was real. That we truly were like the other couples in this room. That he meant every word. But the warmth didn't last. The smile slipped from my face as reality sank in like a weight in my chest. None of this was real. Everything he said—everything—was for show. Just another layer of the act we had to keep up so no one would suspect the truth. I lowered my gaze to my hands, fingers twisting together in my lap. The instructor's eyes lingered on us longer than on the other couples, and I knew why. Because we weren't just another pair in the room—we were the ones she was told to "watch over," the ones she would report about later. LoWe were the main focus here, and that made it even harder to

⸻The car slowed to a stop in front of Grandma’s small gate, the same one I’d walked through hundreds of times before. My chest warmed instantly at the sight of the little house—weathered but full of love.I turned to Gino, smiling. “Do you want to come inside? Grandma always makes tea.”He chuckled, shaking his head. “As tempting as that sounds, I should get back to the company. Your Lorenzo will have my head if I linger too long.”I rolled my eyes but laughed softly. “Alright… but still, thank you for driving me here.”He smiled back, lighter than usual. “Of course. But listen—when you’re ready to go back to the penthouse, don’t commute. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”I blinked, surprised. “That’s not necessary, Gino. I can handle it. I always—”“Luciana.” His voice held a firmer note this time. “It’s not me—it’s Lorenzo. He doesn’t want you traveling alone, especially back to the penthouse. Think of it more like… a bodyguard than a chauffeur.”A bodyguard? The word sat too heav

[LORENZO’ POINT OF VIEW]I stopped at the doorway, the sight already too familiar. Sophia—sitting in my chair again, like she owned the place. Her legs crossed, her fingers idly tracing the edge of the desk that was mine.The first time she showed up here, I’d been blindsided. Not anymore. Now I knew exactly who she was—and what she wanted.Her lips curved when our eyes met. “You’re late,” she said smoothly, like she belonged here.I shut the door behind me, jaw tightening. “I didn’t give you permission to come in.”“And yet,” she rose from my chair, deliberate, confident, “here I am. Twice in the same week, Lorenzo. Don’t tell me that doesn’t mean anything.”I moved past her, settling behind my desk, needing the barrier. “Say what you came to say.”Her gaze flicked to the Singapore expansion files on my desk. “I already did. You want your company in Singapore, and I can make it happen. Faster. Stronger. Bigger than you dreamed.” She leaned forward slightly, voice lowering. “But my co