All Chapters of my Billionaire’s baby : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Sierra's POVThree months after the trial, things were different. Not perfect. But different.The house didn't feel haunted anymore. We changed things. New paint in the bedroom. New curtains that you couldn't see through. We turned the basement into a playroom for Katie, with bright colors and soft rugs. No more dark corners.Louis smiled more. Real smiles, not the tight ones from before. He came home early most days. We ate dinner together like normal people.Katie stopped asking about the bad man. She was too busy with school and friends and her new obsession: horses. She wanted one. Badly."Please, Mommy, please! They're so pretty! I'll take care of it every single day!"I looked at Louis. He looked at me. We both knew who would end up taking care of it."We'll think about it," I said, which is parent code for "probably not."Katie sighed the huge sigh of a deeply disappointed seven-year-old.Spring turned into summer. We went to the beach. We had barbecues. We invited friends ove

Sierra's POVFive years. Five whole years since the trial.Sometimes I couldn't believe it. The time just flew, like sand through your fingers. Katie was fourteen now. A teenager. She had her own phone and her own attitude and her own opinions about everything."Mom, you can't wear that to parent-teacher night," she said one evening, looking at my outfit like I'd lost my mind.I looked down at my nice black pants and blue sweater. "What's wrong with this?""It's so... mom." She wrinkled her nose. "Wear the red dress. The one with the sleeves. You look pretty in that."Louis walked in at exactly that moment. "Did I just hear my daughter giving fashion advice?""Someone has to," Katie said, and swept out of the room like a tiny queen.I looked at Louis. "She's fourteen going on forty.""She gets that from you.""She gets the attitude from YOU."He came over and kissed my cheek. "Wear the red dress. She's right. You look hot in it.""Hot? For parent-teacher night?""Especially for paren

Sierra's POVThe second photo changed everything.We couldn't just wait anymore. We had to do something. Louis spent hours on the phone with lawyers and private investigators. I spent hours staring at the photos, trying to see something we missed.The woman in the pictures. Louis's birth mother. She had my eyes. My dark hair. My smile. It was like looking at a ghost version of myself from thirty years ago."Is it weird?" I asked Louis one night. We were in bed, both too wired to sleep. "That she looks like me?"He was quiet for a minute. Then he said, "Maybe it's not weird. Maybe it's... I don't know. Fate? Something?""Do you believe in fate?""I believe in us." He turned on his side to look at me. "I believe that somehow, through all the mess, we found each other. And we stayed. That's enough for me."I wanted to believe that too. But the photos made everything feel complicated.The next morning, Louis's investigator called with news. They'd traced the postmark on both letters to a

Sierra's POVMeeting the Crofts was one thing. Building a relationship with them was another.After that first coffee, we didn't see them for a few weeks. Life got busy. Katie had school projects. Louis had work. I had foundation meetings. The usual chaos.But they sent cards. Little notes. Margaret had beautiful handwriting, old-fashioned and careful. Edward's was shakier, but you could tell he tried.*Dear Louis, Sierra, and Katie,**I saw the most beautiful flowers today at the garden store. Purple ones, like Katie's sweater. Made me think of her. Hope you're all well.**Love,**Grandma Margaret**P.S. Edward is learning to use email. It's not going well. Send help.*Katie loved the cards. She taped them to her wall. She started writing back, little notes in her messy kid handwriting.*Dear Grandma Margaret,**Thank you for the card. My sweater is still sparkly. Mom washed it and it didn't die. School is boring but art class is fun. I drew a horse. It looked like a dog but that's o

Sierra's POVThe first trimester hit me like a truck. A big, smelly, nausea-filled truck.I forgot how awful this part was. With Katie, I was young. Twenty-seven. I bounced back from everything. This time? Forty-two felt very, very old.The smell thing got worse. Coffee was enemy number one. But then it was also eggs. Then chicken cooking. Then Louis's cologne. Then the cleaning stuff the housekeeper used. Then the garbage can in the kitchen. Then flowers. Flowers!"I can't smell anything," I moaned, lying on the bathroom floor at 3 a.m. "Everything smells like everything."Louis sat beside me, looking helpless. Men always look helpless when their wives are puking. It's kind of funny, if you're not the one puking."Do you want water?" he asked."No.""Tea?""NO.""A cracker?""Louis, if you say one more word, I will divorce you."He shut up. Smart man.---The tiredness was worse than the puking.With Katie, I worked through my pregnancy. I was busy. I had energy.Now? I couldn't kee