All Chapters of Pregnant for My Ex’s Ruthless Boss: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

ARIA'S POVConsciousness returned slowly, in pieces. At first, my hearing sharpened—the low hum of hospital machinery echoing steadily in the room. Then the weight of my own limbs pressed me down heavily on the bed, restricting my movement. There was an ache in my shoulder, a dull, bruised reminder of the concrete.I kept my eyes closed for a long moment, unwilling to face whatever waited on the other side of them.The smell of antiseptic came next, sharp and chemical. I forced my eyelids open, blinking against a stark white ceiling. The fragments of how I’d gotten here rushed back all at once. The pavement. The flashing lenses. Ryan’s face twisted in that sickening, rehearsed grief."The board," I croaked. My throat felt like it was lined with sandpaper. I tried to sit up, but a sharp wave of dizziness pinned me right back against the pillows."Aria, stop. Breathe." Claire’s hand was on my shoulder in an instant, pressing me gently down. She looked exhausted, her makeup slightly smudg

ARIA'S POVGrateful that he didn't stay to witness my quickened pulse, I let out a deep breath to steady myself before Claire could enter.He was right. I was a completely different version of the woman who had thrown herself at him in that club. But he had no idea that woman was merely the volatile product of heartbreak and top-shelf alcohol.I smirked gently, a reckless thought crossing my mind. Maybe he should get me drunk again and see if I wouldn't devour the body he keeps flaunting in my face.I sank further into the pillows, closing my eyes tightly. My hands found my stomach again, flat and protective.“I can finally keep you,” I whispered. My shaky breath echoed in the empty, sterile room.The frantic rush of the last few days swirled through my head. I had almost lost the only family I had left. My eyes stung at the thought, a familiar, heavy ache pressing behind my ribs. I shook my head immediately, forcefully pushing back the memories of my parents and my younger sister, Cec

DOMINIC’S POVThe city slid past the tinted window in a blur of charcoal and wet neon. Jorah kept his hands loose on the steering wheel, threading the heavy SUV through the midday traffic with the unbothered rhythm of a man who had spent the last ten years cleaning up my corporate messes. Including the one from a few moments ago.In the backseat, the leather still smelled faintly of cedarwood and the chemical sting of hospital antiseptic. Her scent. I leaned my head back against the headrest, my thumb tracing the gold edge of my signet ring, the heavy silence inside the cabin pressing down on my chest.I pulled my phone from my pocket, the glass screen cold against my palm. I unlocked it, my thumb dragging down the media feed for the third time since we had left her building.Nothing.The financial indices were updated—Cole Group shares were stabilizing beautifully, the green vertical line solidifying her board exactly the way I had planned. But the entertainment syndicates were dead q

ARIA'S POVThe car was silent except for the low hum of the engine, my hands still trembling faintly in my lap and my heart still racing even long after Ryan's face had disappeared from the rearview mirror.He knew now. There was no walking that back, no controlling the narrative once it left his mouth in the middle of a public sidewalk. Which meant the clock I'd been quietly racing against had just run out.I pressed my palm flat against my stomach, the same instinctive motion I kept trying to stop myself from making, and closed my eyes. Despite how much I desperately wanted a family, wanted to have a companion and a child of my own, this timing was wrong.Tomorrow.I made the decision somewhere between one traffic light and the next, quiet and absolute. Not today; I didn't have the strength left in me today, not after Ryan, not after the fall, not after Marsh's meeting and the nausea and the exhaustion sitting so heavy in my bones I could barely keep my spine straight against the se

ARIA'S POVI hadn't slept. I’d spent most of the night staring at Claire's ceiling, one hand resting over my stomach, my mind running through the same tired arguments I had already settled days ago.By five in the morning, exhaustion had won out over dread, and I'd finally given up pretending sleep was coming. It's like the baby knows what is happening and has been sulking at the expense of my rest."If we're doing this," I told Claire over coffee I wasn't allowed to drink and she wouldn't let me skip anyway, "I want it done before I lose my nerve completely."She'd studied me for a long moment, then simply nodded and grabbed her keys. "Let's call and see if they can take you earlier."They could. Six-thirty instead of eight. Somehow that made it easier, less time to sit with the decision, less time for doubt to creep back in and unravel everything I'd already convinced myself of.Claire called to reschedule while I simply walked with her to the car, sitting quietly inside. The hospit