All Chapters of The Billionaire's Secret Baby After Divorce: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Bella's POVI had been gaining visible weight and never thought of anything as pregnancy-related. I deemed my baby bump as mere bloating, and whenever Cole said something about it, I threw the words, body shaming to his face, and that would be the end of the conversation. But now that I learnt of the existence of a baby inside me, guilt ate me from the inside whenever Cole spoke of my weight gain.Two months later, I knew I had to think fast and act quickly. So I lied to Cole, and he believed my story so easily. I said to him that I was interested in expanding my company, Belle's Beauty, into the UK. He had smiled, kissed my forehead, and told me he admired my ambition. I hated myself for lying, but what else could I do? I couldn't tell him the truth, not when the truth could shatter everything we had built together.Now here I was, in a little countryside village just outside York. The cool air of the English countryside welcomed me like a secret embrace the moment I stepped off the

Bella's POVLater that evening, the countryside was unnervingly still. It was the kind of silence that presses on your ears until you're sure something is wrong. I sat curled in the armchair near the window, staring out at the fading light in the sky. Rose had finally drifted to sleep hours ago, and Martha was ticked away in her room, catching whatever rest she could. And for once, since today, the cottage was calm.I should have been calm too, but I wasn't. I was replaying Cole's call in my head. He said he was going to call me tonight, and while I waited, I thought of what new excuses and lies I would say to him if he happened to video call me.The shrill sound of my phone shattered the quiet. Cole again. At least that's what I thought at first. My heart leapt in automatic panic as I grabbed the device. But when the name flashed across the screen, I froze. It was Eric.It felt like all the blood drained out of me in a single rush. My hand trembled. He wasn't supposed to have this mu

Bella's POVI stepped out of the bathroom, the steam from my shower still clinging faintly to my skin as I slipped into a soft cream blouse and black trousers. My hair, damp but combed through, brushed against my shoulders as I tied it into a loose knot. Cole went straight to sleep after we finished making love. His chest rising and falling as he looked almost boyish while he slept. I paused at the door, torn between crawling back into bed beside him and leaving for the errand that had been tugging at me since I returned.The salon wasn't far, and I needed this breath of air. Something small and ordinary after the chaos of the last six weeks. With my girl, Rose, settled safely under Martha's watchful eyes back in York, and now under my responsibility to guard her secret here, I felt the weight of everything pressing in. A haircut, a few hours among strangers seemed almost like something I needed at the moment.I picked one of my cars, a Bentley Continental GT convertible, and drove my

Bella's POVMy testing room was filled with scents of rose and crushed vanilla, mingling with the sharper notes of acetone and oils that always clung to the air. Stainless steel counters gleamed under the lights, every surface lined with jars, droppers, palettes, and trays. My team of chemists and testers, mostly women, but with a few men sprinkled in, gathered around the central table.This room was always my favorite in the entire Belle's Beauty headquarters. I leaned forward, fingers brushing over a tray of sample lipsticks arranged neatly in labeled tubes."How's the pigmentation on batch twelve?" I asked, sliding onto a high stool.Clara, my lead chemist, tapped her notes with a pen. "Better. The red stays vibrant longer this time, and the smudge test passed. But the wear time is still falling short by about an hour compared to what we want.""Hmm," I murmured, twisting open a tube. The bullet of lipstick gleamed under the light, deep crimson with a satin finish. I swiped it on t

Bella's POVThe private jet hummed softly as we stepped down onto the tarmac in Texas. Cole's hand was firm in mine as we descended the steps. He wore an unshakable smile. He loved this place, and though I had been here before, it always felt like stepping into another world."Ready?" he asked, tilting his head toward me as a sleek car pulled up to meet us."As I'll ever be," I said softly, trying not to let the nerves in my body show.He gave me a look that said he could hear what I wasn't saying, and with a little squeeze of my hand, he helped me into the car. The drive was shorter than I remembered, maybe because Cole kept me distracted. He pointed out familiar landmarks and places he and his cousins had gotten into trouble when they were kids, the corner store where his mother still insisted on buying her favorite pastries, the winding roads lined with trees."You're quiet again," he said after a while."I'm just taking it all in," I replied honestly, leaning against the seat. "It