Semua Bab THE BILLIONAIRE PLUS SIZE SURROGATE : Bab 41 - Bab 50

Chloe pushed open the bakery door with one hand, the other resting protectively on her belly as the familiar bell chimed above her. The smell of warm bread, vanilla, and sugar hit her like a wave, wrapping around her tighter than any hug. For the first time in weeks, something felt almost normal. Almost hers again. The two remaining staff members looked up from behind the counter, their faces lighting up with relief mixed with worry. “Chloe! You’re here. We didn’t think you’d make it in with everything going on.” She managed a tired smile, moving slowly behind the counter. “I needed to see it. To be here. Even if it’s just for a little while.” The display cases were half-empty. Flour dust coated surfaces that should have been spotless. The health inspection stickers still marred the front window. Her heart squeezed at how much had been lost in such a short time. She tied on an apron, the fabric stretching over her belly, and started measuring ingredients for a small batch of cookie

Chloe woke to the sound of Damian moving quietly in the living room, the low murmur of his voice as he spoke on the phone filtering through the cracked bedroom door. She lay still for a moment, one hand on her belly where the twins shifted lazily, the ache from yesterday’s contractions still lingering like a warning. The clock on the nightstand read just after six. The board meeting was hours away, but he was already dressed in a crisp charcoal suit, tie loose around his neck as he paced near the windows. She pushed herself up slowly, ignoring the protest in her back, and padded out to him. “You’re really risking everything?” she asked, voice soft in the quiet penthouse. “The company your father built. The board vote. All of it. For us.” Damian turned, ending the call mid-sentence. His eyes softened the moment they landed on her, but the tension in his shoulders stayed tight. “Yes. I told you last night. I’m done letting that legacy control me. You and the twins are my future. Not s

He dropped the jacket on the nearest chair and crossed the space between them in long strides, pulling her carefully into his arms. “I’m no longer CEO. The board voted me out. Effective immediately.” Chloe went still against him, her fingers tightening in the back of his shirt. She pulled back just enough to look up at him, worry creasing her brow. “Because of me. Because of us. The scandals, the custody fight, everything I brought into your life. You lost the company you spent your whole life building. What are we going to do now? Money, security, the future for the twins… I feel like I ruined everything for you.” The guilt in her voice hit him harder than the board’s decision had. Damian cupped her face with both hands, thumbs brushing across her cheeks. “Stop. You didn’t ruin anything. They did. My mother, Marcus, the whole rotten system I was raised in. I chose you. I chose us. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. The company was never my real legacy. You are. These babies ar

Damian gripped the steering wheel with one hand while the other stayed locked around Chloe’s fingers in the back seat of the armored SUV. She winced beside him, breath hissing through clenched teeth as another wave of pain hit. The safehouse had lasted less than two hours before the contractions returned, sharper this time, pulling her body forward despite the seatbelt.“Stay with me,” he repeated, voice low and steady even as fear clawed up his throat. “Breathe through it. Just like before. In slow. Out slower. I’ve got you.”Chloe nodded tightly, free hand pressed hard against the side of her belly. Sweat beaded on her forehead. “It’s stronger now. Damian… they feel lower. Like they’re really trying to come.”The driver took a sharp turn toward the private medical wing, tires squealing against the pavement. Damian kept his eyes on her face, thumb stroking the back of her hand in the same rhythm he’d used through every scare before. “You’re doing everything right. The twins are fight

Marcus had just gone public in a press conference. The headline flashed across the screen: *Marcus King Takes Full Control of King Enterprises — Files for Emergency Custody of Damian’s Unborn Twins, Citing Instability and Safety Concerns.* The photo showed Marcus standing at a podium, smiling like he had already won. The company was gone. And now he was coming straight for the twins in open court. Damian tightened his hold on Chloe as the reality crashed over them both. The war had just gone fully public, and Marcus was no longer hiding in the shadows. Chloe stared at her phone screen, the news alert glowing harshly in the dim hospital room. Marcus’s press conference played on loop in the video embedded at the top of the article. He stood at a podium, smiling like a man who had already won, announcing his full control of King Enterprises and the emergency custody filing for “the King heirs” due to Damian’s “instability and dangerous associations.” “They won’t stop until they des