All Chapters of Pregnant For My Ex-Husband’s Billionaire Best Friend: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Cole’s POV.I pocketed the phone and stared at my reflection in the glass door of the boutique.Forty-eight hours.The silence in the hallway felt heavy, a stark contrast to the roaring in my ears. I loosened my tie, feeling like a noose was tightening around my neck. Sterling didn't make idle threats. He was a shark, and he smelled blood in the water—my blood.I adjusted my cuffs, forcing my face into a mask of calm. I couldn't let her see the panic. If Sabrina sensed even a fraction of the pressure Sterling had just put on me, she would bolt. She would think Patricia was right—that she was just a pawn in a corporate game.I pushed the door open and walked back into the private suite.Sabrina was standing in front of the tri-fold mirror, wearing the emerald dress. She was turning slowly, admiring the way the fabric draped over her bump. She looked radiant. She looked like the lady of the manor she was meant to be."Cole?" she asked, catching my reflection in the mirror. She smiled, b

Leon’s POV.I paced the length of my study, the plush Persian rug doing little to muffle the sound of my agitation.Twenty-four hours.It had been twenty-four hours since I filed the ethics complaint with the Lander Board, and Cole was still the CEO. I checked the stock market app on my phone again. Lander Group: Down 4.2%.The market was bleeding, rumors were swirling, but the kill shot hadn't landed yet."Why is he still there?" I muttered, tossing the phone onto my mahogany desk. "Sterling should have suspended him by now. They should have stripped his title the moment the paperwork hit the table."Zara was sitting in my leather armchair, filing her nails. She looked bored by the delay but delighted by the chaos. "Maybe they're giving him a chance to resign gracefully. You know how these billionaires are. They protect their own.""He doesn't deserve grace," I spat. "He declared war on me, Zara. Me! His best friend of fifteen years. He looked me in the eye and chose her. He chose th

Sabrina’s POV.The woman in the mirror looked like a bride.That was the problem.I smoothed my hands down the front of the ivory midi dress. It wasn't a gown—I had refused a gown—but it was elegant, made of soft silk that skimmed over my small bump without hiding it. My hair was swept up in a loose chignon, secured with pearl pins Tara had magically produced from her bag."You look breathtaking," Tara sighed, standing behind me and adjusting the collar of the cream blazer I was wearing over the dress."I look like a fraud," I whispered, staring at my reflection. "This isn't a wedding, Tara. It’s a merger. It’s a strategic maneuver to save a company.""If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck," Tara teased, pinning a small white flower into my hair."It’s temporary," I reminded her, and myself. "Just until the baby comes. Just until Maxwell and Leon back off. Cole and I agreed. Eight months, maybe Eleven. Then we dissolve it quietly."Tara caught my eye in the mirror. Her expres

Leon’s POV.I hit the refresh button on my laptop for the hundredth time.Loading...My eyes scanned the homepage of TMZ. Then The Shade Room. Then Variety.Nothing.Just headlines about a pop star’s tour and a politician’s scandal. Not a single word about Cole Lander. Not a single whisper about the “Love Child Scandal” I had personally fed them last night.I looked at the digital clock on my desk. 9:15 AM. Sunday."Where is it?" I hissed, slamming my fist against the mahogany. "I sent it twelve hours ago. It should be trending. It should be everywhere."I grabbed my phone and dialed the direct line for the editor at The Los Angeles Times.The number you have dialed is busy or has disconnected you.Blocked.I tried the contact for Variety.Straight to voicemail.A cold, creeping sensation started at the base of my neck. They weren't just ignoring me. They had cut me off."Impossible," I muttered, standing up and pacing the room. "Cole couldn't have gotten to all of them. Not this fast

Sabrina’s POV.The chalet wasn't a house, it was a fortress of glass and timber buried in the snow, glowing amber against the crushing darkness of the mountains.When the car finally stopped after winding through the dark, icy roads of the Alps, I felt like we had driven off the edge of the earth. The air here was thin and sharp, smelling of pine, woodsmoke, and frost. It was a silence so profound it felt heavy, pressing against my eardrums, a stark contrast to the chaotic noise of Los Angeles and the screaming headlines I was running from."Welcome to Le Nid," Cole said, walking around the car to help me out. His breath puffed in white clouds in the frigid air. "The Nest."He led me inside. The interior was warm, instantly thawing the chill on my cheeks. It was lit by a roaring fire in a massive stone hearth that stretched up to the vaulted timber ceiling. The floors were covered in thick, plush rugs that swallowed our footsteps. It was cozy, intimate, and terrifyingly romantic. It w