FIRST CALL

ColetteMy mother left on Sunday, and our goodbye was very formal. A hug at the door that lasted longer than her usual embraces, her hand pressing into my back the way it had at the airport. A promise to call more often, both of us meaning it in the moment and both of us uncertain whether the meaning would hold once she was gone again, once the distance started accumulating between us like it always did.I watched her bond with Lea and Elijah over the weekend, watched her settle into being a grandmother in a way she'd never quite managed being a mother, her face softening in ways I'd only seen flashes of before. And I watched Oliver around her, polite and somewhat stoic, not quite himself the way he was when we were alone. He surely wasn't used to having someone like that around, someone who represented an entirely different version of my life, someone whose presence seemed to make him more careful, more measured.Tuesday afternoon, I was at the hotel going through invoices when P

Last Updated : 2026-10-13

WHAT HE WOULD HAVE SAID

OliverEven though she wasn't angry anymore, I still wanted to make it to her. That was how it worked with me. I couldn't just accept forgiveness; I had to demonstrate that I understood why forgiveness had been necessary in the first place.I booked a flower bouquet and chocolates to be delivered to the hotel in the afternoon. Not extravagant, not performative. Just something that said I was thinking about her, that I was trying.Then I went to the office and actually fixed the problem.I called Patrick into my office immediately, closed the door, and was clear: anything involving Colette – events, appearances, anything that put her name on a list – he was to tell me first. I would handle her invitations directly. There were no exceptions to this unless she specifically told him otherwise, but she wouldn't, because I was going to make sure she never had to."If it involves her schedule, her time, her presence," I told him, "you tell me first. She gets the courtesy of being asked, not

Last Updated : 2026-10-13

TWO LINES

ColetteI felt wrong on Wednesday afternoon at the hotel. Not sick exactly. Just off. The kind of wrong that sits under your skin and makes everything feel heavier than it should.I told myself it was the lunch I'd eaten at my desk. Something about the sandwich didn't sit right, and by three o'clock I was tired in a way that didn't make sense. I'd slept fine last night. Oliver had brought me tea this morning without asking, just left it on the nightstand, and I'd fallen back asleep for another hour.But by Wednesday afternoon, I was exhausted. The kind of tired where your bones feel heavy.I got through the day anyway. I always do. I managed the afternoon meetings, signed off on some vendor contracts, answered emails. By the time I left, I just wanted to be home.Oliver didn't ask questions when I came in and headed straight for the bathroom. He just appeared with tea, set it on the sink, and sat on the edge of the tub for a moment."Long day?" he said."Something like that."He kiss

Last Updated : 2026-10-13

NOT A BAD THING

ColetteI stood in that restroom stall for longer than I should have. The test was in my hand and the two lines were not faint. They were very clear. My body had already known before the test confirmed it. That's why the nausea had felt the way it did. That's why the tiredness was different.I did the counting again. I'd already done it twice, but I did it again because the math felt important. The numbers didn't change. I was pregnant. Oliver was on the other side of the door. I had maybe thirty seconds before he either came in or sent Priya back to check on me, and I needed to decide in those thirty seconds what my face was going to do.I put the test in my bag and flushed the toilet I'd never used.When I came out, Oliver was standing right outside the restroom door. He looked exactly like I expected him to look. Angry and worried at the same time, his jaw tight, his eyes moving over me like he was checking to make sure I was actually okay. He had flowers in his hands. A bouquet o

Last Updated : 2026-10-13

All Chapters of Five Years On The Run: The Billionaire's Secret Baby: Chapter 151 - Chapter 154

FIRST CALL

WHAT HE WOULD HAVE SAID

TWO LINES

NOT A BAD THING