All Chapters of THE BOSS'S FORBIDDEN TWINS : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

53 Chapters

Chapter Twenty One

Elena The walk back to Damien's apartment is silent.Not the comfortable silence from earlier. This silence is suffocating. Every step feels heavier than the last, weighed down by the positive pregnancy test burning in my purse and the growing distance I can feel radiating from the man beside me.Sophia left us at the park with a tight hug and whispered encouragement I can't remember now. All I can focus on is Damien's hand in mine—still holding on, but different. Mechanical. Like he's going through motions instead of feeling them.When we reach The Cartwright, Raymond greets us but Damien barely acknowledges him. In the elevator, the silence becomes unbearable."Say something," I finally whisper."What do you want me to say?""Anything. You haven't spoken since I showed you the test.""I'm processing.""For twenty minutes? Damien, talk to me."The elevator doors open. He walks into his apartment, goes straight to the bar, pours scotch with shaking hands."How long have you known?" H

Chapter Twenty Two

Elena"I can't believe this is you talking. The man who fought for me—" My voice breaks."That man was a fool. Blinded by attraction. By the illusion of connection. But I see clearly now. You're just like Jasmine. Just like every other woman who's tried to use me. Except you're more calculating. More patient. More convincing.""I'm nothing like Jasmine!""You're exactly like her. She pretended to love me too. She played the perfect partner too. And then I found out she was sleeping with my business partner, stealing company secrets, planning to destroy me from the inside. So forgive me if I don't take your protestations of love seriously."That has nothing to do with me—""It has everything to do with you! Because it taught me people lie. Manipulate. They'll say and do anything to get what they want. And what you want is access to my money through this convenient pregnancy.""I want you! I want us! I want—" My voice breaks completely."Well, you can't have me. Or us. There is no us.

Chapter Twenty Three

ElenaThe lawyer's office is in a building that's seen better days—three stories, peeling paint, a flickering neon sign that reads "Chen & Associates, Family Law."Another Chen. This city really does employ all of them.Margaret Chen is in her fifties, gray-streaked hair pulled back in a severe bun, eyes that have seen every ugly custody battle imaginable.She reads through the messages Damien sent. The cease and desist letter. My timeline of events. Her expression doesn't change, but her jaw gets progressively tighter."He's a piece of work," she finally says."That's one way to put it.""Elena. I'm going to be blunt. What Damien Blackwood is doing is textbook intimidation. Threatening to destroy your reputation, demanding paternity tests before it's medically safe, pressuring you to stay silent—all of it designed to make you disappear.""I know. That's why I'm leaving the city.""That might be exactly what he wants.""I don't care what he wants. I care about protecting myself and my

Chapter Twenty Four

ElenaThe bus pulls into San Esperanza at 4 AM, depositing me in the small plaza where farmers are already setting up for the morning market.Home.The word feels strange after months in the city. San Esperanza is the opposite—small, quiet, unchanged. The same cobblestone streets I ran on as a child. The same church bells that wake the village at dawn. The same mountain range watching over everything like a guardian.Safe.I hire old Miguel's taxi—the only taxi in the village—to take me to Grandmother Rosa's house on the edge of town."Elena Martinez? Is that you?" Miguel peers at me in the mirror. "Your grandmother didn't say you were coming.""It's a surprise.""At four in the morning?" He chuckles. "City life not agreeing with you?""Something like that."By the time we pull up to the small house with its blue shutters and flower boxes, the sky is starting to lighten."Welcome home, Elena."I use the key I've kept on my keychain for years. The house smells like cinnamon and wood sm

Chapter Twenty Five

Elena "Mommy! Lucas put a frog in my backpack again!"I don't even look up from my laptop. "Lucas, stop putting frogs in your sister's backpack.""But it's educational! Miss Carmen said we should observe nature!"My son's voice carries from the garden where he and his twin sister are supposed to be playing quietly. An impossible task for four-and-a-half-year-old twins who seem to think "quiet" is a suggestion, not a command."Observing nature doesn't mean terrorizing your sister with amphibians.""What's a ambi-ambi—what you said?""Amphibian. It means frog. And you know exactly what it means because you looked it up in the dictionary last week."Luna appears in the doorway of my small home office, hands on hips, looking exactly like me when I'm annoyed. Dark curls escaping her braids, brown eyes flashing, chin tilted up in indignation."Make him stop. The frog peed on my notebook.""Frogs don't pee, they secrete—""LUCAS DAMIEN MARTINEZ!"The use of his full name stops him mid-expla

Chapter Twenty Six

ElenaAfter lunch, while the twins “help” with baking — which really means eating chocolate chips and coating the kitchen in flour — a knock sounds at the door.Dr. Andre Castellano stands on the porch. Medical bag in hand. Warm, genuine smile.“Elena. I was in the neighborhood, thought I’d check on Rosa.”“She’s resting. Had a busy morning with the twins.”“May I?” He gestures inside.I step aside to let him in. Andre has been Grandmother Rosa’s doctor for three years, ever since old Dr. Menendez retired. He’s good at his job — thorough, patient, kind.He’s also been subtly courting me for the past year.And the twins adore him. He brings them books, helps Lucas with science projects, teaches Luna the names of every herb in our garden.He’s perfect.Stable. Present. Safe.Everything Damien isn’t.And yet…I feel nothing.“Uncle Andre!” Lucas barrels into him, grinning and covered in flour.“Lucas! You’re a mess—is that chocolate?”“We’re making cookies! Want to help?”“I’d love to, bu

Chapter Twenty Seven

ElenaThe thing about raising brilliant children is… they eventually start asking the questions you’ve spent years praying they’ll never think of."Mommy, what's DNA?"I nearly drop the basket of laundry I'm folding. My heartbeat jumps to my throat."DNA?" I repeat, pretending confusion. "Where did you hear that?""Mrs. Kay said everyone has it," Luna says. "Like a secret code inside our blood.""And she said families have matching ones," Lucas adds, eyes narrowing in that sharp, curious way he always has.I force a smile. "Your teacher is very smart."They sit in front of me on the rug, knees touching, watching my face like it holds answers to the universe. They always expect the truth from me. And most days… I can give them pieces of it.But not this part.Not today."Mommy," Luna asks quietly, "do we have Daddy's DNA too?"My chest squeezes. My hands go cold.I kneel, brushing their identical curls back gently. My voice shakes even though I try to steady it."Yes," I whisper. "Half

Chapter Twenty Eight

ELENAThat afternoon, I'm working in my office when I hear whispering outside."—if we can find out his name, we can Google him—""Mommy doesn't let us use the computer without supervision.""Then we'll ask Abuela to help us research. She doesn't know what we're researching.""That's sneaky.""That's strategic."I open the door. Two guilty faces look up at me."Office. Both of you. Now."They file in, sitting in the chairs across from my desk like tiny executives being called to account."We need to talk about this daddy investigation you're conducting.""We're not investigating," Lucas says. "We're just curious.""Luna's notebook says otherwise. 'Operation Find Daddy.' That's not curiosity. That's a plan."Luna glares at her brother. "I told you we should use code names!""Focus, please." I take a breath. "I understand you want to know your father. That's normal. Natural. But there are things about the situation you're too young to understand.""Try us," Lucas challenges.So I do. As

Chapter Twenty nine

Elena The Saturday market in San Esperanza's town plaza is my favorite chaos.Vendors shouting prices, children weaving between stalls, the smell of fresh bread and roasting corn mixing with mountain air. I have a booth here twice a month—selling Grandmother Rosa's preserves and herbal remedies while I work on my laptop between customers.Today, Luna is helping me arrange jars while Lucas has disappeared with Miguel's grandson to "investigate" the livestock section."Three for the price of two!" Luna calls out in her best vendor voice. She's wearing my old apron, rolled up five times, looking ridiculously serious. "Best jam in all of San Esperanza! My Abuela's secret recipe!"An elderly woman stops, charmed. "And what's the secret, pequeña?""Love. And cinnamon. But mostly love." Luna beams. "That's what Abuela Rosa says. Love makes everything taste better."The woman buys four jars."You're a natural saleswoman," I tell Luna as she carefully counts the money."I like talking to peop

Chapter Thirty

Elena "I've loved you since you came back from the city, broken and pregnant and determined to build a life anyway. I've loved watching you raise those incredible children. I've loved your strength, your intelligence, your refusal to let circumstances defeat you.""Andre, I care about you, but—""But you don't love me. I know. You're still in love with him. With Damien. Even after everything." He smiles sadly. "I've known for a while. The way you get quiet when the twins ask about their father. The way you never talk about the city. The way you've built this entire life around avoiding any situation that might lead to seeing him again.""That's not love. That's self-preservation.""Is it? Because from where I stand, it looks like a woman who's still so affected by a man that five years and hundreds of miles can't create enough distance."I can't argue. Won't argue.Because he's right."I don't want to love him," I whisper. "I want to hate him. To be over it. To move on.""But you can

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