Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Billionaire Boss's Secret Heir: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Sophia's POV"Pregnant?"Ethan's voice cut through the corridor, sharp with disbelief, his eyes narrowing slightly as they moved from me to the doctor and back again.I froze.My entire body went rigid, every nerve lit up at once, my mind scrambling for something — anything — to say that might undo the word already hanging in the air between us. I had said it. I had actually said it, out loud, in front of him, and now there was no pulling it back, no folding it quietly into a lie and slipping it into my pocket for later.I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.It was the doctor who spoke first."Pregnant with worry, is what I meant to say," he said smoothly, stepping forward with the easy confidence of a man who had clearly navigated far more delicate situations than this one. "Forgive me, Mr. Blackwell — it's a bad habit of mine, running two sentences together when I'm tired. What I meant was that your wife has been dealing with a rather nasty bout of malaria."I stared at him.Etha

Sophia's POVThe car barely rolled to a stop before the flashes started.White light exploded against the tinted windows, one burst after another, so fast and so bright that for a second I couldn't see anything past the glass at all."Ready?" Ethan asked, not really asking."No.""Good answer."He was already opening his door.The moment mine opened too, the noise hit me like a wall — shouting, camera shutters, a dozen voices tangled over each other, all aimed straight at me."Miss, over here!""Who is she, Ethan?""Is she one of the new Aveline models?""Sophia, look this way!"I froze halfway out of the car, one heel on the pavement, blinded by the lights.Ethan's hand found mine instantly."She's my girl," he said, loud enough to cut through the noise, steering me forward before I could stumble. "That's all you're getting tonight.""Is that a confirmation, Mr. Blackwell?""It's a goodnight," he said, and pulled me straight past them.We were through the doors before I remembered to

Sophia's POVI slipped away the moment the crowd started to disperse, murmuring something about needing to fix my lipstick, and didn't stop walking until the restroom door clicked shut behind me.My hands were shaking.I gripped the edge of the marble sink and stared at my reflection — flushed cheeks, lips still faintly kiss-swollen, eyes too bright.It's just a contract.I said it out loud, quiet, fierce, like the words might actually stick if I forced them through my teeth."It's just a contract," I repeated. "I can't fall in love with him."The door opened behind me."Talking to yourself?"Penelope's reflection appeared in the mirror, arms crossed, heels clicking sharply against the tile as she crossed the room.I straightened. "Just tired.""I'm sure." She stopped beside me, studying my face with open contempt. "How much did he pay you?""Excuse me?""Don't play stupid, girl." Her voice dropped, low and venomous. "A man like Ethan doesn't fall for someone like you. There's a numbe

Sophia's POVEthan didn't take his hand off my waist for the rest of the performance.I felt it the entire time — steady, deliberate, his fingers pressed just slightly too firm against the silk of my dress — while onstage, the foundation's choir moved through some slow, swelling number I couldn't focus on at all. My mind was still caught on the way his voice had changed when he talked about Damian. The way something old and cold had settled over his face and refused to leave, even after the subject had been dropped."You're quiet," I said, leaning close enough that only he could hear."I'm thinking.""About Damian?""About getting out of here."I blinked. "The show just started.""I've seen it before." His eyes hadn't left the stage, but there was nothing relaxed about the way he held himself — shoulders set, jaw tight, that same coiled tension he'd carried since the funeral memory had crossed his face. "I have somewhere I want to take you.""Now?""Now."He didn't wait for me to argu

Sophia's POV"Yes."The word left me before I'd even finished deciding to say it, quiet at first, then again, louder, steadier, like my own voice needed to hear it twice to believe it."Yes."Ethan's face broke into something I'd never seen on him before — not the careful, practiced smile he wore for cameras, not the smirk he used when he was teasing me, but something open and unguarded and almost boyish, like the weight of asking had been heavier than he'd let on.He slid the ring onto my finger with hands that weren't quite steady, and the ballroom erupted around us — applause rolling through the crowd in a wave, someone whistling sharp and loud near the bar, Camille's voice rising above the noise with a delighted shriek that made Dante laugh out loud beside her.Ethan rose to his feet and kissed me before I could say another word, and this one felt nothing like the terrace — no calculation in it, no audience to perform for, just his hand cradling my jaw and his mouth soft and certa