Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Secret Baby: Bab 1 - Bab 9

**Celeste POV**The test lay on the bathroom sink like it was mocking me. Two faint pink lines, not one.I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and checked again. As if the result might magically change if I looked long enough. But it didn’t. Two lines, sharp as blades, cutting my life into a before and after.Pregnant.My throat closed. The word clawed through my mind, heavy and suffocating. Pregnant. How? Well, I knew how. One reckless night, one man whose name I didn’t even know. A stranger with blue eyes and a smile that had stripped away all my defenses. I had been so stupid.I slid down onto the cold tile floor, pressing my back against the wall. My legs wouldn’t stop trembling. My hands shook as I covered my mouth, muffling a sob before it broke free. This couldn’t be real. Not me. Not now. I was barely twenty. I had no job, no savings, no family to run to. My life was already a fragile mess, and this, this was the final blow.Tears burned down my cheeks, hot and merciless. I hated myself

“Well, who do we have here?”She glared at me, her voice icy and sharp. Mrs. Backwood. Lucian’s mom. The one who owned this whole place without lifting a finger.Maya tensed up next to me, but before she could speak, Mrs. Backwood waved her away like a fly.My throat tightened. “I… I need to see Lucian.”She raised her eyebrows. “You want to see my son? And who are you?”“I… I can't talk about it out here,” I stammered. “But please, it's really important.”The younger woman smirked. “Everyone wants him. It's so annoying.”Mrs Blackwood ignored her. She checked me out, then noticed my hand on my stomach. Her face changed.“You. Stay there.” She stared at me, her eyes boring into me. “You. Come with me.”I hesitated.“Now,” she snapped.Maya squeezed my arm like a warning, but I had to follow. My knees shook, but I tried not to show it.She led me down the hall, away from everyone. The office was huge. Mrs Blackwood sat in one of the black leather chairs. I felt so out of place.“So?” s

**Celeste POV**The California sun peeked through my beat-up blinds, splashing gold across my faded apartment walls. I woke up to the patter of little feet across the floor. My son Ethan giggled, a sound so pure it made me grin before I even opened my eyes.“Mama,” his voice came, bright and totally unaware of the weight on my chest.I turned on my side and watched my seven-year-old climb onto my bed, his hair all messed up. His T-shirt was crooked, his shorts wrinkled from sleep, but his eyes…those deep hazel eyes, sparkled with pure joy.“Morning, baby,” I whispered, running my fingers through his hair.“Are we having pancakes today?” he asked, hopeful.I laughed softly, the sound a little rough. “Maybe tomorrow. Today’s important for Mama. Remember the interview?”He frowned. “Another one?”I swallowed hard, forcing cheer into my voice. “Yes. But this one’s different. I feel it.”What I didn’t say was that this was my last chance. Seven applications, seven polite rejections that ha

**Lucian’s POV**Faces don’t matter. That’s what I told myself as I leaned back in my chair, poring over the numbers on the quarterly report. But the face of the new secretary wouldn’t leave my head. Celeste Monroe. The way she had looked at me earlier that morning… Wide-eyed, uncertain, as though she recognised me or knew me. That line of her jaw, the slight tremor in her voice as she spoke. It felt familiar. But it doesn’t matter, I don’t concern myself with faces. Even if I’ve seen her before, who cares? Maybe she was at one of my mother’s lavish soirées. Maybe she’s a client’s daughter who visited some event. Just another transient form in the ceaseless blur of the world. I turned a page, forcing my eyes back to the profit margins, the projected expansion. Those were the only things that mattered. A soft knock, then two more sharp raps before the door swung open without my consent."Lucian."Leona of course. She glided into the room as if she owned it, her expensive perfume c

**Mrs Backwood’s POV**I couldn't believe I was seeing my son in that position. As I opened the door to his study, my breath was held in place-not because of surprise but pure annoyance. There lay my perfectly poised son, lying by himself with a half-undressed girl relaxed over his chest like she belong there.One of his arms was around her waist, as though he caught her just as she stumbled.The sight stopped me dead in my tracks. My son, Lucian Backwood. The boy who abhorred any form of disarray. And here I was with...this.The file on his desk was open, documents splayed across the floor.Both stayed still for a moment, and the girl’s hair caressed his collar as her mouth parted slightly in horror. She then moved backwards, murmuring something under her breath as if that would make the scene disappear.Lucian snapped up the second he noticed me, his face devoid of any expression."Mother," he finally said in an even tone, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. "Lucian," I sa