บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire's Secret Baby: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

The first morning in the penthouse felt like stepping into someone else’s life. Elena woke to the soft hum of the air conditioning and the faint scent of Alexander’s cologne on the pillow beside her. Sunlight poured through the sheer curtains, painting the room in warm gold. Theo was already up—she could hear his small feet padding across the living room floor and the occasional crash of toy cars. She smiled despite the lingering tightness in her chest.She slipped out of bed, pulled on Alexander’s discarded shirt from the night before—still carrying his warmth—and walked barefoot down the hallway. Theo was on the rug, lining up his cars in a perfect row. Shadow the wolf sat beside him like a sentinel.“Morning, baby,” she said, crouching beside him.Theo looked up, grinned wide. “Mommy! Alex said we can have pancakes again!”Elena laughed softly. “Did he now?”Alexander appeared in the doorway, hair damp from a shower, wearing only gray sweatpants that hung low on his hips. He leaned

Elena stood on the balcony of the small beach house Alexander had rented for the weekend, bare feet against the cool wooden planks, salt air tangling her hair. The ocean stretched out in front of her, dark and restless under a sky still bruised from yesterday’s rain. Waves rolled in steady, rhythmic crashes, pulling at something deep inside her chest—something that had been knotted tight for months and was finally starting to loosen.Theo was asleep inside, sprawled across the wide bed in the guest room, wolf tucked under his chin, small chest rising and falling. The house was quiet except for the ocean and the occasional creak of the old wooden frame settling in the wind.Alexander stepped out behind her. Barefoot. Shirt unbuttoned. Hair still damp from the shower. He didn’t speak at first. Just came up beside her, leaned his forearms on the railing, stared at the water the same way she did.After a long minute he asked, “You okay?”She nodded slowly. “I think so.”He turned his head

The garden behind the beach house smelled of jasmine and salt air. Late-afternoon sun slanted through palm leaves, turning the white chairs gold. Theo sat on the front row, legs swinging, wolf in his lap, grinning like he was the one getting married. A small crowd—fewer than thirty people—filled the rows: Alexander’s sister and her family from Lagos, two cousins, Elena’s old college friend who flew in from Abuja, a handful of trusted colleagues from Voss Enterprises, and the security team who had become almost friends over the last months. No press. No cameras except the one Elena’s friend held discreetly.Elena stood barefoot on the grass just inside the trellis arch, hidden from view by climbing bougainvillea. Her dress was simple ivory silk—sleeveless, flowing to her ankles, gathered under the breasts with a thin ribbon that let the fabric skim the gentle curve of her six-month belly. No veil. Just her hair loose, a single white gardenia tucked behind one ear. She held a small bouq

The beach house still smelled of salt and sunscreen even after they returned to Port Harcourt. Elena noticed it on Alexander’s skin when she kissed his neck that first night back in the penthouse. Theo had fallen asleep in the car on the drive home, wolf clutched tight, cheeks flushed from sun and laughter. Alexander carried him inside, laid him in his race-car bed, kissed his forehead, and whispered something Elena couldn’t hear but felt in her chest anyway.She waited in the hallway, leaning against the wall, bare feet on cool marble. When Alexander stepped out and closed the door softly behind him, he looked at her like she was the only thing in the world.“No more running,” he said quietly.“No more running.”He crossed the space between them in two steps. Took her face in both hands. Kissed her like it was the first time and the thousandth time at once. Slow. Deep. Full of everything they had almost lost and everything they had gained. She tasted salt on his lips—ocean, tears, sw

The rain had eased into a fine mist by the time Elena stepped out of the cab in front of their old Brooklyn building. The street looked the same—cracked sidewalk, flickering streetlamp, the faint smell of wet asphalt and distant food carts. But everything felt different. Smaller. Quieter. Like a place she used to live in another life.Theo was asleep in Alexander’s arms, head on his father’s shoulder, wolf dangling from one small hand. Alexander paid the driver, then looked at Elena. His face was calm, but she saw the question in his eyes.“You sure about this?” he asked.She nodded. “I need to see it. One last time. Before we close the door.”He didn’t argue. Just shifted Theo higher and followed her up the steps.The hallway smelled of old paint and someone’s dinner cooking. Elena’s key still worked. The lock clicked softly. She pushed the door open.The apartment was exactly as they’d left it weeks ago. Dishes in the sink. Theo’s toys scattered on the rug. A half-read book on the c