Semua Bab Pregnant For My Brother's Best Friend: Bab 71 - Bab 80

CRYSTAL. The doctor said Jason was expected to wake up soon.I was excited. Truly. Even if I was not bouncing around like a child who had just been promised candy, the happiness was real and it settled deep in my chest. I sincerely was happy and I couldn't wait for us to finally be fine and happy again. But amidst that happiness, was a pile of worry. My brother called me and sounded really mad.He warned me to stay away from Jaden. While I wasn't supposed to feel sad about that, a part of my heart was aching so bad at the thought of it.I didn't want to believe it was because I was falling for him again. Hell no. I couldn't even let that happen. But I think it's the part of me that was grateful to him for being here for us at this point of our lives. Yes. That had to be it. “All these are so beautiful, Sunshine,” Noah said from beside me, breaking into my thoughts. “Your mother really does have an eye for luxury.”I took a slow sip of my coffee, barely tasting it.I'd been absent

JADEN. My heart was still racing as I wrapped up the meeting, my attention split in too many directions to pretend I was fully present. I had tried calling Crystal earlier, but her line was unreachable. I could try again. I knew I could. But I did not.I did not trust myself to hear her voice and still do what I promised my son today. I did not trust myself not to turn the car around the second doubt crept in.Jeremy came first for once.The little boy had been through more emotional damage than any four-year-old should ever have to process, and the realization of how much of that I had missed made my stomach twist. I felt like a failure in ways no business loss or public scandal had ever managed to make me feel.The highlight of my worry for the day had to be Valerie. I had slept with my wife.The words still did not sit right in my head. She was my wife, yes, but she had not been my woman for years. I never touched her after that drunk night five years ago. A night I still regret

CRYSTAL.It was Sunday evening, and I still hadn’t heard from Jaden."My boss has made arrangements for his private jet to come pick us up by morning," Noah said to me as I stared absentmindedly at the kitchen counter, my fingers wrapped loosely around a glass of water I had forgotten to drink.“What?” I turned toward him slowly, disbelief slipping into my tone before I could stop it. “Your boss?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand. You just got this job.”Noah smiled. I knew he was brilliant. I always had. But brilliance had never made things easy for him in Ithaca. Jobs were scarce there without connections, and that was how a man like Noah ended up delivering packages instead of sitting behind a desk that matched his mind. New York was entirely different and should be more difficult. But how the hell did he manage to get two jobs in one month? And suddenly, private jets and sudden favors were flocking all around him just like that?“I found favor with my boss,” he said easily.

JADEN.“Now is not the time, Kel. The meeting is over. You may leave.”I stormed into my office, yanking my tie loose as I crossed the room and dropped into my chair.Kellan, of course, followed behind. He doesn't know when to give it a rest. The silence lasted for exactly half a second before he shot back.“You almost screwed it up!” he snapped, dumping his briefcase onto the chair opposite my desk. “All for what? Her?” He paced once, then turned back to me. “You’re losing your damn mind over this girl.”I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to hold on to the last thread of restraint I had left.“Don’t forget the promise you made to your father,” he continued, his voice rising. “You want the legacy your grandfather built from nothing to go down the drain because of one woman?” He threw his hands up. “You’re married. And she’s getting married too.”"Enough!" I slammed my hand down on the desk and stood up so fast the chair scraped hard against the floor.Kellan

CRYSTAL. As usual, Tessa led the meeting. Every decision circled back to her. Every opinion was hers. It was all about her, after all. I was just a tagalong. I shouldn't feel bad anyway, because this wasn't even a real wedding. But it stung a little, the way she made sure I knew my place in all of this. "Are you okay with the color, ma'am?" The wedding planner, Jojo, asked me with a polite smile. But before I'd reply, Tessa laughed. “Oh, she’s fine with it,” she said lightly, waving her hand as if dismissing something trivial. The diamond on her finger caught the light when she moved, “Don’t mind her. She has terrible taste when it comes to colors.”Jojo smiled professionally and went back to her notes. I swallowed whatever response had risen to my throat and leaned back in my chair, folding my hands in my lap.Jojo flipped a page in her folder and glanced up again.“Now, for the ceremony structure,” she said carefully. “Since this is a joint wedding, we’ll need to fina