Semua Bab After I Left the Billionaire: Bab 51 - Bab 60

(Ivy)I get the samples started processing and head to the office suite adjacent to my lab.I love being able to have a state of the art lab to use. It not only speeds things up but it allows me to keep things completely private if I need to.Nash will be fully invested in Piper’s baby once the results come back. I can only hope it helps him forget his obsession with me.He and I are in the past. It hurts a little, sure, but I made my decision a long time ago. Being pregnant complicates things but it will never change my mind about Nash.I’m human. Of course seeing him looking that way with another woman and another baby makes me feel some kind of way.I’d always imagined us getting that news together for the first time, but certainly not the baby being in another woman’s womb.Sarah pops her head in. “How did it go with Piper Redfern?”“She’s okay. In overnight and I’m doing an early test for gender in my lab. But I don’t know, there has been cramps. I think this may have been to get

(Ivy)I look at Robert’s message again:I’m sorry for leaving like that. Sorry I pushed my own agenda.I don’t want things to be awkward at Mom’s. I’m going to get a hotel for a few days. It will be easier for everyone.I can’t avoid it forever and it’s not fair that he leaves his Mom’s place because I’m there.Then I call him.He answers after two rings. “Ivy? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you this soon.”“Robert, you aren’t getting a hotel.”“I don’t want to make this harder.”“It’s your mother’s house. You don’t need to leave because of me. If anyone goes, it should be me.”“I shouldn’t have said what I said. It wasn’t fair to you. It’s way too soon. Are we still friends?”“Of course we are. I’m sorry too. I’m not making you leave,” I say. “We can coexist for the rest of the week. Then we can talk about what happens after that.”“Okay, that sounds sensible.”“In something totally unrelated,” I say, “I need your help.”“With what?”“The biannual hospital fundraiser is in two days.

(Ivy)I’ve spent the last 2 days getting to know just how accomplished Mary is at her job and stressing about this masquerade ball.Now, here I am in a private suite booked for me to get ready at the city’s biggest hotel. The venue for this charity event.My hands won’t stop sweating and I wish I could put a paper bag over my head so no one knows it’s me. I have had more than enough public exposure lately. I’m still in my loungewear and bare feet. The designer is coming to dress me soon.Robert stands near the window in his tuxedo pants and white shirt, working on his bow tie.“You’re going to wear a hole in that carpet,” he says.“I’m preparing.”“For what?”“To make a fool of myself in front of every important person in this city.”He turns around. “You’re not going to make a fool of yourself.”“I can’t even walk in heels.”“You’ll do fine. Let’s practice.”“Walking in heels?”“No.” He laughs. “Imagine I’m Senator Hargrove,” Robert says. “Ivy, congratulations on your new position.

(Isaac Varga)I leave the champagne fountain before Ivy Calloway looks back.Hiding in a crowd is my super power. Just like the six-man security detail with me.They blend into this room without being noticed. But they aren’t afraid to follow orders when the Varga family needs them to.Our competitors believe our security aren’t strangers to the old Varga tradition of kneecapping when needed...Whether or not it’s true is beside the point. The fear of what made our family Hungarian old money keeps Varga powerful.From here, I see Dr. Ivy Calloway and Robert Thorne near one of the donor tables.For one second, everything else in the room disappears.She is beautiful. Not in the polished, manufactured way the other women here are beautiful.Emeralds and diamonds sparkle at almost every point I’d like to put my mouth.The nape of her pale neck. The inside of her slender wrist. Her inviting plump earlobes. Nibbling along her perfectionist fingers.One could only hope she has a belly-butto

(Robert)I shouldn’t have followed Ivy outside.She asked for a minute alone. I should’ve respected that.Instead, I got her a fresh drink and went looking for her.Then I saw the man in the black mask standing too close behind her.I saw his hand on her back. I saw Ivy turn toward him.She slapped his hand away and the smoothness of his security shocked me.But not as much as her kissing him did.She’d told me she wasn’t ready for intimacy.Not with me. Not with anybody.She’s pregnant with Nash’s baby. She’s overwhelmed. She needs space.She couldn’t imagine being attracted to any other man right now.I believed her.But apparently, she can imagine it just fine with a man in a mask. Imagine it and execute it.The masked stranger is gone by the time she walks back into the ballroom.I’m standing back at the bar with her drink in my hand when she comes back in.Her cheeks are flushed. Her eyes are bright.She looks alive.I hate that I notice the sparkle.“Hey, I’m back,” she says.I