Semua Bab Pregnant With My Twin Sister’s Fiancé’s Baby: Bab 11 - Bab 20

The pregnancy test sat in my shopping basket like a bomb.It was Sunday morning. The sky was a bruised purple, threatening rain, which felt appropriate for the storm brewing in my stomach. I had driven twenty minutes to a pharmacy in a different neighborhood, terrified that if I went to the one near my apartment, I might run into someone I knew. Or worse—someone who knew Sienna.I pulled the hood of my oversized NYU sweatshirt lower and adjusted my sunglasses, fully aware I looked ridiculous. A celebrity in hiding, or a criminal on the run.In a way, I felt like both.I stood in the family planning aisle, staring at the wall of pink and blue boxes. I felt dizzy. There were so many options. Digital. Traditional. Early detection. Rapid result.Certainty, I thought, my hand trembling as I reached out. I need certainty.I grabbed three different brands. One cheap dye test, one expensive ergonomic one, and the digital one that spelled it out in words because I didn't trust my brain to inte

Noah West didn't waste time. By Tuesday afternoon, I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Thursday, and my entire life was being reorganized around his will.I was sitting at my kitchen island, nursing a cup of ginger tea, when my phone pinged with an email notification.From: Noah West Subject: Appointments & ScheduleI opened it, expecting a work update on Project Aether. Instead, I found a spreadsheet.Thursday, 2:00 PM: Dr. Sarah Martinez, OB/GYN (Upper East Side). Confirmed.Friday, 10:00 AM: Nutritionist Consultation (Virtual).Saturday, 9:00 AM: Prenatal Vitamin Delivery (Direct to your Brooklyn address).Below the schedule was a list of foods to avoid (sushi, unpasteurized cheese, excessive caffeine), a link to a pregnancy meditation app, and a recommendation for safe prenatal yoga stretches.I stared at the screen, my mouth slightly open. It was comprehensive. It was controlling. It was... caring?"He's insane," I whispered to the empty room. "He's actually insane."My f

Noah West's sheets were Egyptian cotton, the thread count probably higher than my monthly paycheck.I woke up to the sensation of warmth and weight. For a split second, in the haze between dreams and reality, I thought I was back in my own bed, hugging a body pillow.Then the "pillow" shifted, and a heavy arm tightened around my waist.My eyes snapped open.Sunlight was streaming through sheer curtains that I didn't own, illuminating a room that was far too large and far too sleek to be my Brooklyn apartment.Mistake number two, my brain supplied helpfully. Except this time, I couldn't run.I lay perfectly still, afraid to breathe. I was on my side, curled into a spoon shape. Noah was behind me, his chest pressed against my back. His arm was draped over me, his large hand resting flat and possessive over my stomach.Over our baby.Even in his sleep, he was guarding us.The heat radiating from him was intoxicating. It smelled like him—clean skin, remnants of sandalwood, and the distinc

[Aria's POV]The bleeding started during a meeting. Time stopped.It was 2:00 PM on a Wednesday. We were in the main conference room—me, Noah, Marcus, Kelly, and the entire lead development team. The room was air-conditioned to a crisp sixty-eight degrees, but sweat was beading at the back of my neck.Kelly was presenting the Q3 marketing strategy, her laser pointer circling a demographic chart. "We need to target the 18-24 bracket more aggressively," she said, her voice a drone I could barely focus on.I shifted in my chair, a dull, cramping ache settling low in my abdomen. I tried to ignore it. Round ligament pain, the pregnancy books said. Your uterus is stretching.Then I felt it. A warm, horrifying gush.My heart slammed against my ribs. No.I froze, staring at the polished obsidian table, my hands gripping the edge so hard my knuckles turned white.Please, no. Not this. Anything but this."Aria?" Noah’s voice cut through the room.I hadn't realized I’d made a sound. I looked up.

Two weeks until the engagement party. Two weeks until our secret exploded.I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in Noah’s walk-in closet, staring at my reflection. The lighting was designed to make billionaires look good in bespoke suits, but it wasn't doing me any favors today.My stomach was showing. Not much—to a stranger, it might look like I’d just had a heavy pasta dinner. But I wasn't a stranger to my own body. The softness was gone, replaced by a firm, distinct curve just above my pelvic bone.I was ten weeks pregnant. The baby was the size of a strawberry. And apparently, that strawberry needed a lot of room."It won't zip," I told Lily, who was sitting on a velvet ottoman, surrounded by a sea of rejected designer gowns."Suck in?" she suggested weakly."I am sucking in. That's the problem." I turned to the side. The emerald silk strained against my midsection. "It’s not fat, Lily. It’s a person."Lily sighed, tossing a hanger onto the pile. "Okay. So the mermaid c