Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire’s Hidden Heir : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

NADIA’S POVThe gate to Ezra’s house rolls open. I look down at Miles, still fast asleep against me, his mouth a little open, his hand still wrapped around the dinosaur’s tail, and for a second I let myself forget about the phone buzzing and the words under my door and just look at my son sleeping, like sleeping is the only thing that matters in the whole world.Ezra carries him inside. He doesn’t ask if he can. He just reaches into the back seat and lifts Miles out so gently I almost don’t believe it’s the same man who was gripping the steering wheel like he wanted to break it ten minutes ago, and Miles doesn’t even stir, just settles his head against Ezra’s shoulder the way he does with me, like his body already trusts this without asking his brain first.I watch that and something in my chest folds in on itself.“There’s a guest room down the hall,” Ezra says quietly, walking slowly so he doesn’t jostle him. “I already had it made up. Bathroom’s attached. There’s a nightlight in th

NADIA’S POV I don’t scream. I want to, but a scream would only frighten Miles worse, so instead I grab Ezra’s arm and hold on so tight my knuckles go white, and we both stand frozen in the middle of the kitchen listening to that second set of footsteps move somewhere in the dark house. “Stay here,” Ezra says, low. “Absolutely not.” “Nadia—” “My son is down that hallway.” I’m already moving before I finish the sentence, and he falls into step beside me instead of arguing, one hand pressed flat against my lower back like he can shield me just by staying close enough. We round the corner into the hall and the footsteps stop. A light flicks on ahead of us, warm and ordinary, and a woman in a gray cardigan steps out of the little room by the laundry,

EZRA’S POVI don’t tell her to stay behind. I know better by now. She’s already moving before I can get the words out, and honestly some part of me is glad, because I don’t think either of us could stand being separated from Miles right now, not after everything tonight has already thrown at us.We round the corner into the hallway together and the footsteps stop.A light flicks on ahead of us, warm and steady, and Rosa steps out of the laundry room in her gray cardigan, blinking at the two of us like we’re the ones who don’t belong there.“Mr. Calloway.” She presses a hand to her chest. “I heard the alarm chime and came to check the panel. I didn’t realize you had company.”The breath leaves my whole body at once.“Rosa lives on the property,” I say, and I can hear how unsteady my own voice sounds. “She checks the house whenever the sensors trip.” I gesture toward Nadia, who’s still gripping my hand tight enough that I can feel her pulse against my palm. “This is Nadia. And that’s he

NADIA’S POVI watch Ezra’s face change before he even turns the phone toward me, and something in my stomach drops before I even know what I’m looking at.“Who’s Cassandra Vane,” I ask, though something in the sound of the name already tells me I don’t want the answer.“She’s…” He stops, exhales, sets the phone face down on the counter like doing that might make the message disappear. “She’s the woman I’ve been seeing. Fourteen months. I should have told you about her the morning I showed up at your door. I didn’t, because I didn’t know how to explain something that felt like it stopped mattering the second I saw Miles on your couch.”Fourteen months. The words land somewhere quiet and cold in my chest, but underneath the shock there’s something else too, something steadier than I expect from myself.“You don’t have to explain her tonight,” I say. “Not with everything else sitting on top of us right now.”“I want to explain her.” He reaches for my hand again, like he needs to hold ont

NADIA’S POVI’m down that hallway before I even feel my feet start moving.Miles is standing at the window in his dinosaur pajamas, one hand pressed flat against the glass, staring out into the dark with an expression I never want to see on his face again as long as I live. I scoop him up before he can say another word, pulling him back from the window, and I feel his heart racing fast against my chest, quick like a bird’s.“I’ve got you,” I whisper into his hair. “I’ve got you, baby.”“There’s a car,” he says again, muffled against my shoulder. “It’s just sitting there. It’s not moving.”Ezra is right behind me, already crossing to the window himself, and I watch his whole body go still as he looks out into the dark.“Stay back from the glass,” he says quietly, and something in his voice makes me obey instantly, pulling Miles further into the room, further from that window and whatever’s parked beyond it.Ezra pulls his phone out and taps it fast, and a moment later the outside flood