Carrying His Secret Baby; My Stepbrother's Forbidden Claim のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

Wren’s POVFor one terrible second, I could not tell what Dante had seen. His eyes had moved toward the collection corridor, but that did not mean he had watched me leave the office.I tightened my grip on my bag, painfully aware of the strands of Nora’s hair hidden inside it. If he asked the wrong question, I had no safe answer ready.“I was looking for someone,” I answered. “I found who I needed, and now I need to get back to Nora.”I stepped to the side, hoping the simple answer would be enough. Dante moved with me.“And Adrian?” he asked.I stared at him. Of all the questions I had expected, that was not one of them. Then I remembered my office two days ago, the file in his hand, Adrian’s arm around my shoulders, and Dante demanding to know whether our relationship was something I actually wanted.“What about Adrian?” I asked. My nerves were already stretched thin, and the last thing I needed was an argument about my supposed fiancé while Nora’s real hair sat inside my bag.Dante’

Wren’s POVBy the time the luncheon began, I had pushed everything that happened at the hospital into the part of my mind I could not afford to touch.Sinclair’s main reception hall was filled with clients, investors, and executives, and I needed them focused on the company, not on me.Adrian stayed beside me as we moved through the room, but he let me lead every introduction. When we reached the regional client whose account had nearly been lost, he greeted Adrian first before turning to me with the same cautious expression I had seen at the branch review.“I wasn’t expecting to see you again this quickly,” he said.“I wanted you to hear the update from me.” I kept my attention on him. “I visited the branch, reviewed the workload with the staff, and approved the recovery plan.”“Experienced staff are being redirected temporarily, and I will personally review the next completed stage before anything else is promised.”The client glanced toward Adrian, but Adrian said nothing. This was

Seraphina’s POVThe first photograph from Sinclair’s luncheon made me smile. Adrian Vale stood beside Ivy with one hand at her waist while guests crowded around them, and the caption beneath the image confirmed what I had already heard.They had publicly announced their engagement.I leaned back against the sofa and read the short report again. Finally. If Ivy was preparing to marry someone else, perhaps she would stop finding reasons to remain in the middle of Dante’s life.Better yet, perhaps Dante would finally understand that whatever fascination he had developed with her led nowhere.I moved through the photographs slowly. Ivy smiling beside Adrian. Adrian speaking to several investors. Another picture of them facing the cameras together.They looked convincing enough that the knot I had carried since the hospital began to loosen.Then I reached the fourth photograph.My finger stopped against the screen. Behind the small crowd surrounding Ivy and Adrian stood Dante.He was far e

Wren’s POVThe following afternoon, I saw Dante standing outside Nora’s room and stopped so quickly that the nurse beside me nearly walked into my shoulder. My first thought was that he had come to continue the argument from Sinclair. After what he admitted in the conference room, I had spent the night trying not to think about him at all.Dante noticed me and straightened, but he did not reach for the door. “Can I see Nora?” The question caught me off guard. Usually, Dante behaved as though wanting an answer was enough reason to demand one. Today he stood several feet from Nora’s room and waited for permission.I studied him for a moment. “You’re asking?” Something unreadable crossed his face. “Yes.” I almost asked what had changed. Instead, I opened the door. “You can see her.”Nora looked up from the coloring book on her lap and immediately brightened. “Cute Uncle!” She dropped the crayon and stretched both arms toward him. “You’ve been busy forever.”Dante’s expression softened be

Wren’s POVI held Adrian’s gaze across the desk, but the words I needed were not the ones he wanted to hear. “I can’t promise you that I’ll feel the same way.”His expression shifted slightly, though he tried to hide it. I continued before guilt could make me soften the truth. “And I need you to understand something else. Our engagement may be public, but it cannot become a private debt I’m expected to repay because you helped me.”Adrian sat quietly for a moment. “I’m not asking you to repay anything.”“Maybe not intentionally. But I need the line to stay clear.” I folded my hands on the desk. “You agreed that the announcement would not decide what happens between us. I’m holding you to that.”Disappointment was visible in his eyes, but he nodded. “Then hold me to it. I meant what I said, Wren. You don’t owe me an answer tonight.”My phone rang before I could respond. The hospital number appeared on the screen, and every thought about Adrian disappeared. I answered immediately. “Hell