All Chapters of Divorced With His Heir In My Belly: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The doctor said stress induced like it was simple.Like stress was something you could decide to have less of. Like I hadn't spent the last five months rebuilding a life from nothing, alone, and pregnant, with a man who had almost run me over as my closest ally and a vineyard that had needed everything I had and then asked for more.Stress induced. Right."The baby is fine," he added, which was the only sentence in the room that actually mattered, and I let out a breath so long and so ragged that Rosa reached over from her chair and put her hand over mine without saying anything."You need to significantly reduce your activity."The doctor looked at me over his glasses. "Rest properly. Not the kind where you sit for twenty minutes and then go plug grapes.""I don't do that," I said.Rosa made a sound from the chair in the corner."She does that," Alice confirmed, from the doorway, in the serene tone of a woman presenting evidence."I have a vineyard to run," I said."You have a baby t

"If you sneeze, we’re dead," Norman hissed, his eyes darting to the window. "If you trip over those boots, you blow your cover. Do you understand the stakes, Sarah?""I’m not Sarah today," I snapped back, my voice gravelly and low. I adjusted the itchy beard and patted my five months old pregnancy meant to be a fake beer belly. "I’m Joe. And Joe doesn't take orders from you."Norman’s eyes flashed with something hot—frustration or admiration, I couldn't tell. "Just keep your sharp mouth shut for our sake."The front door of the estate opened, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Julian Vane walked in. He had sat at my dinner table for years. This was the man who had laughed while Tyler called me a "boring house-ornament" at dinner parties. He knew my face, my voice, and my smile. If he caught me now, Tyler would find me in hours.Norman led Julian into the office. I sat in a dark corner, hunched over a desk with a fake clipboard. I felt like a spy in my own home."Julian, thank

[Tyler’s POV]The dining room of my sister Brenda’s mansion was a sea of white linen, and the suffocating scent of lilies. It was supposed to be a family bonding evening. Instead, it felt like a wrestling ring.I adjusted my tie for the tenth time, my skin crawling. I had just come from a warehouse full of rotting inventory, the last thing I wanted was small talk."Tyler, you look pale," Brenda remarked, swirling a glass of white wine. "And Dad called to say he’s exhausted from his flight. He won't be joining us tonight."I clenched my jaw. Exhausted. That was a code for disappointed. Ever since the gender reveal, my father treated this pregnancy like a failed merger."He's missing out," Lucy chimed in, gliding into the room.If Sarah had been six months pregnant, she would have been hiding in an oversized sweater, trying to be invisible. Not Lucy. She wore a white silk maternity gown that was dangerously tight, her heels high enough to make a doctor faint. She looked less like an exp

[Sarah’s POV]"Please," I whispered, my voice trembling as I clutched the heavy wooden box to my chest. "I just... I need to be alone for a moment. "I'm so sorry — I'm not trying to ruin this surprise you worked hard for. ""You're not ruining anything." Rosa was already on her feet, Alice already giving Mae the look that said we're moving. "Take all the time you need, sweetheart."The room was still buzzing with the warmth of the baby shower, but the air felt thin. The workers exchanged a worried look, but they nodded. One by one, the workers began to leave, picking up plates of half-eaten cake and empty juice glasses. They knew when to give me space.Except for Norman.He stood by the fireplace, his boots planted firmly on the stone hearth. He didn't move. He didn't even blink."Norman," I said, a bit more firmly. "I'm fine. Really.""You’re not fine. Your hands are shaking so hard the latch on that box is rattling," Norman countered, his voice fierce. "I’m not going anywhere, Sarah

[Sarah’s POV]"She’s waking up! Norman, look!"The voice was thin and distant, like someone shouting from the other side of a bridge. I fought against the heavy, dark fog pulling at my limbs. My eyelids felt like they had been glued shut, but the sterile, sharp smell of bleach and antiseptic told me exactly where I was.I wasn't back in the estate. I wasn't in the back of a truck. I forced my eyes open, wincing at the aggressive hospital lights."Sarah? Can you hear me?"My vision cleared, and the first thing I saw was Norman. He looked like he had crawled out of a war zone. His eyes were bloodshot, a dark stubble covered his jaw, and his blue shirt was wrinkled and stained with mud and... my blood.Beside him stood Rosa and Alice, their faces etched with relief. But my eyes immediately darted to the small, clear plastic cot next to my bed.A tiny shock of dark hair was visible over the edge of the blanket.I didn't even realize I was crying until the first sob tore through my chest.