All Chapters of Loving my fathers best friend : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

200 Chapters

Chapter 31; Risk in the dark.

Bella It was past 10 p.m. and the office had gone quiet, the kind of silence that only happens when everyone else has finally gone home. Only the low hum of the cleaning crew’s vacuum echoed somewhere far down the hall. Most people had left hours ago, chasing dinners and families and normal lives. But Alex and I were still here, putting the finishing touches on the Thompson campaign presentation that was due first thing tomorrow morning.I sat at my desk with my legs crossed tightly, trying to focus on the last couple of slides. My concentration kept slipping. Every time Alex leaned over to point something out on my screen, his arm brushed mine. Every time he spoke in that low, focused voice, heat bloomed low in my belly.The memory of last night at his house kept flashing through my mind his hands pinning me down, his voice commanding me as he drove into me again and again.We had promised ourselves we’d behave at the office.We were doing a terrible job.Alex pushed his chair back

Chapter 32; Four months later

BellaFour months had slipped by in a blur of stolen moments, whispered phone calls, and careful lies.The secret relationship with Alex had become our private world beautiful, intense, and hidden from everyone. We had perfected the art of pretending in public: polite nods in the office, professional conversations during meetings, careful distance at family gatherings. But behind closed doors, or in the back seat of his car, or during the rare nights when Emily was at her mom’s, we were something else entirely.I wanted more.I wanted to hold his hand in public. I wanted to kiss him goodbye in the morning without looking over my shoulder. I wanted to tell my dad the truth and stop feeling like I was betraying him every single day.Alex didn’t.Tonight we were celebrating the successful close of the Thompson project. The team had pulled it off a huge win for the firm.Dad had taken everyone out for drinks after work, toasting Alex and me as the “dynamic duo” who had made it happen. I

Chapter 33; Two pink lines

BELLAI stared at the little plastic stick on the bathroom counter until my vision blurred.Two pink lines.Clear. Bold. Undeniable.Positive.The word echoed in my head like a siren. My knees buckled. I slid down the cold tile wall until I was sitting on the floor, back pressed against the bathtub, the test still clutched so tightly in my hand that the edges dug into my palm.Pregnant.I was pregnant with Alex’s baby.A sob tore out of me before I could stop it. I clamped a hand over my mouth, eyes wide with terror. Mom was downstairs humming while she made dinner. Dad would be home any minute. If they heard me, they’d come running, and I had no words to explain this. None.“Oh God,” I whispered, rocking forward, forehead pressed to my knees. “What have we done?”Tears came hot and fast. I cried silently at first, shoulders shaking, then the sobs grew louder no matter how hard I tried to hold them in. My mind spun in frantic circles. We had been careful or at least we thought we wer

Chapter 34; The truth

Bella The next day at the office felt like walking through fog. I had barely slept, my eyes puffy and red from crying half the night. Every time I closed my eyes I saw those two pink lines. Every time I breathed I felt the tiny life growing inside me and the weight of it pressed down until I could hardly stand. I avoided him all morning. When he tried to catch my eye across the desks, I looked away. When he suggested we review the latest client notes together, I mumbled something about needing to finish a report for Dad and hid in the conference room. I couldn’t face him. Not yet. Not when I was still raw and terrified and carrying the biggest secret of my life. By late afternoon the guilt of hiding from him was eating me alive. I needed air. I needed to think. I grabbed my bag and slipped out early, telling myself I would text him later and explain everything when I was ready. But Alex had other plans. I had just reached my car in the parking garage when I heard his footsteps b

Chapter 35; Walking away.

BELLAI drove home from the parking garage with tears streaming down my face, the kind that wouldn’t stop no matter how many times I wiped them away. My hands shook on the steering wheel.Every red light felt like it lasted forever, giving my mind too much time to replay Alex’s words on loop.Is it truly mine?I had gone to him with my heart wide open, full of fear but also hope and love. I had pictured us figuring this out together, even if it was messy. Instead, he had looked at me like I might have betrayed him. Like the baby growing inside me could belong to someone else.By the time I pulled into my parents’ driveway, the hurt had hardened into something sharper. I couldn’t stay here anymore. Not under the same roof as my dad, who had no idea what was happening. Not sleeping in the bedroom I had grown up in while carrying a secret this big. I had been saving for months quietly putting aside money from my salary, dreaming about my own place. I had hesitated because I loved being

Chapter 36; Too late.

ALEX I pulled into the driveway just after 7 p.m., the house was dark and quiet. Emily was still at her friend’s sleepover, so the only sound when I stepped inside was the soft click of the door closing behind me. Normally I loved these rare quiet evenings a chance to breathe, to think, to sit on the couch without anyone needing anything from me. Tonight the silence felt suffocating. I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter and stood there for a long moment, staring at nothing. The conversation with Bella in the parking garage kept replaying in my head on an endless loop. The look on her face when I asked if the baby was truly mine. The way her eyes had filled with tears. The hurt that flashed across her features before she shut down completely. I had fucked up. Badly. I knew it the second the words left my mouth. The panic had taken over the fear of how a baby would blow up everything: my friendship with Robert, my custody arrangement with Lauren, Emily’s already fragile sense

Chapter 37; Emily’s questions

Alex I woke up on the couch with a pounding headache and the sour taste of regret in my mouth. The empty whiskey bottle lay on its side on the coffee table, the last few drops pooled at the bottom like an accusation. Sunlight streamed through the living room windows, too bright, too harsh. My head throbbed in time with my heartbeat. I sat up slowly, rubbing my face with both hands, and the memories from last night crashed back in. Bella’s text. We’re over. I can’t do this anymore. At the office, please don’t speak to me unless it’s about work. I’m going to raise this baby on my own. I love you, but I can’t keep hurting like this. I had read it at least twenty times before I started drinking. Each time the words cut deeper. I had hurt her. The look on her face the shock, pain, betrayal haunted me now in the cold light of morning. What the hell had I been thinking? Of course it was mine. There had never been anyone else for her. I knew that in my bones. But fear had taken over.

Chapter 38; A mothers sharp eyes.

Lauren's heels clicked sharply against the pavement as she approached the familiar front door of the house she had once shared with Alex. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the lawn, but the warmth did nothing to soften the cold knot in her stomach. She had come to pick up Emily for their scheduled weekend, but the moment she stepped out of the car, her instincts flared.Something was wrong.She could feel it in the air a heavy, unsettled tension that clung to the house like smoke. Lauren had always been good at reading a room, reading a person. Especially when it came to Alex. She had known him long enough to spot the cracks.She knocked once, firmly.Alex opened the door. He looked terrible eyes shadowed, jaw tight, the kind of exhausted that went deeper than one bad night. He stepped aside without a smile.“Emily’s finishing her bag,” he said, voice flat.Lauren’s lips curved into a thin, knowing smile. “You look like you’ve been through a war. Rough night?”Alex did

Chapter 39; The heartbeat.

BELLA A few weeks had slipped by in a haze of quiet isolation.I hadn’t been back to the office since the day in the parking lot. I told Dad I needed time to rest and finish settling into my new apartment. He had been understanding, even a little proud that I was taking the step toward independence. “Take all the time you need, sweetheart,” he had said over the phone. “The firm can survive without you for a bit. Just don’t become a stranger.”I hated lying to him, but the truth was far worse.My new apartment was small but bright a one bedroom on the third floor of a quiet building a few miles from my parents’ house. I had spent the first week unpacking boxes, arranging furniture, and trying to make the space feel like home. It helped keep my hands busy, but it did nothing to quiet my mind.Every night I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, hand resting gently on my still-flat stomach, feeling the weight of the secret growing inside me.Today was my first prenatal appointment.I drove

Chapter 40; The text

BELLAI woke up from the nap feeling like I had been hit by a truck.The apartment was quiet, afternoon light slanting through the half-drawn blinds. My body felt heavy, my eyes swollen from crying earlier. The ultrasound picture was still clutched in my hand, slightly crumpled from where I had fallen asleep holding it against my chest. I stared at the tiny blob on the printout for a long moment, my thumb gently tracing the image.This was real.I was going to be a mother.The thought still sent a wave of terror and fierce love through me all at once.I sat up slowly, rubbing my face. The apartment felt too empty, too quiet. No Alex. No familiar warmth of his arms around me. Just me and the tiny life growing inside that I was now solely responsible for.My phone buzzed on the nightstand.I picked it up with trembling fingers.It was a text from Alex.My heart clenched the moment I saw his name.Bella, please. I’m so sorry. I was scared and I said something unforgivable. Can we talk?

1 2 3 4 5 6

...

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP