Legacy 159_The Billionaire’s Secret Heirs

Chapter 159 

 MY PLAYLIST SUGGESTIONS: “That way” by Tate McRae

 -CELINE POV-

 J

 I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, my cheeks still flushed from Hunter’s touch. The silk nightgown he had bought me clung to my changing body, and for the first time in three years, I felt beautiful.

 Really, truly beautiful.

 My skin had that pregnancy glow everyone talked about–luminous and warm.

 My hair fell in glossy waves past my shoulders, fuller and shinier than it had ever been.

 My face looked softer somehow, more womanly. And my breasts… I cupped them gently, admiring at how full and round they had be.

 I turned sideways, running my hand over the barely visible bump. Still small, still our secret, but there was a life growing inside me.

 Hunter’s child. Our child.

 The memory hit me like a physical blow.

 Three years ago. Two months pregnant with Caesar.

 Standing in front of a cracked mirror in a dingy bathroom above Mrs. Chen’s burger joint, my reflection a shadow of what I saw now.

 I had been working two jobs…the burger ce during the day, cleaning office buildings at night.

 My feet were constantly swollen, my back ached from bending over greasy fryers, and I spent every night crying into a pillow that smelled like cheap detergent and other people’s despair.

 “Girl, you gonna mess up my floor with all that water!”

 The memory of that day crashed over me in vivid detail.

 Tommy O’Brien, a truck driver who came in every Tuesday for the grease special. Old enough to be my father, with yellowed teeth and hands that wandered where they shouldn’t.

 I had been refilling his coffee when his calloused fingers slid up my thigh, higher than any stranger had a right to touch.

 The pregnancy had made me sensitive to everything–smells, sounds, unwanted touches that made my skin crawl.

 “Don’t be shy now, honey. I got money for a pretty little thing like you.”

 The words had made my stomach turn.

 I had grabbed the water pitcher and dumped it over his head without thinking, ice cubes scattering across the linoleum floor.

 The p came so fast I didn’t see iting.

 My cheek exploded in pain, the force of it sending me stumbling backward into the counter.

 The entire diner went silent except for the drip–drip–drip of water falling from Tommy’s soaked hair.

 “You crazy bitch! I was just being friendly!”

 “What the hell is wrong with you?” My manager, Gary, came rushing from the kitchen, his face red with anger. Not at Tommy. At me.

 “Apologize to Mr. O’Brien right now!”

 I stood there, water dripping from my uniform, my cheek burning where he had hit me. Neen years old and two months pregnant, with nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to.

 The whispers started immediately.

 “That’s what happens when you sleep around…”

 “Poor girl probably doesn’t even know who the daddy is…” <fn439e> Th?s chapter is updated by find?novel</fn439e>

 “Whore got what she deserved…”

 A few of the older women looked at me with pity, but no one said anything. No one stood up for me.

 I was just the pregnant girl who worked too many hours for too little money, and pregnant girls like me didn’t matter.

 “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. I bit down on my already split lip, tasting blood and shame. “I’m sorry, Mr. O’Brien.”

 Tommy smirked, adjusting his belt. “That’s better. Maybe next time you’ll be more grateful for the attention.”

 I called Caroline from the bathroom, sobbing so hard I could barely speak. She showed up twenty minutester like an avenging angel in designer jeans and fury.

 “You’re all animals!” she had screamed at the dining room full of shocked faces. “You watched a man hit a pregnant woman and did nothing! What is wrong with you people?”

 “Maybe she shouldn’t sleep around if she can’t handle the consequences,” some faceless voice called out.

 Caroline’s response was to grab the nearest ketchup bottle and hurl it at the wall. Then the salt shakers.

 Then whatever else she could reach.

 The police came eventually, but Caroline’s family name carried weight. She paid for the damages and walked me out of that ce like I was

 made of ss.

 “Why do you let them treat you like that?” she had askedter, as Iy in her guest room, my back turned to her so she couldn’t see me

 crying.

 “Because they’re not entirely wrong,” I had whispered into the pillow.

 “Don’t you dare say that.”

 But I had copsed then, all the fear and shame and exhaustion pouring out of me in broken sobs.

 Caroline held me while I shattered, whispering that it would be okay, that things would get better.

 She had offered to help–money, a job with her family’spany, anything I needed.

 But I couldn’t ept it.

 My own family had thrown me out when they discovered I was pregnant. I couldn’t bear to be a burden to Caroline’s family too, the people 

 13:00 FII, 8 Aug 

 who had already given me so much kindness.

 I wanted to provide for my baby, even if it was so little. I wanted it toe from me, from my own hard work and determination.

 I wiped the tears from my cheeks, bringing myself back to the present. Look how

 far I hade.

 From that broken girl in a greasy diner to this–standing in Hunter’s bathroom, wearing silk he had chosen for me, carrying his child. 

 I had never believed I would meet a man like Hunter. Never believed Caesar’s father would turn out to be someone who looked at me like

 hung the moon.

 But the guilt was still there, sharp and stubborn. Eleanor’s words echoed in my mind, her threats and maniptions.

 Hunter deserved to know about the meeting, but how could I tell him? How could I be the reason he fought with his mother?

 “Celine?”

 Hunter’s voice called from the living room, warm and patient.

 “Coming!”

 I stepped out of the bathroom to find him standing by the windows, dressed in ck sweatpants and a fitted t–shirt that brought out every line of his muscled torso.

 His hair was wet from the shower, and he looked like something out of a magazine–all sharp angles and masculine beauty.

 “Caesar?” I asked.

 “Finally asleep. It took three bedtime stories and a promise that we’d build a rocket ship tomorrow.” His smile was soft, paternal.

 “You might want to have a talk with him about negotiating tactics. He’s getting too good at it.”

 Iughed despite my emotional restlessness. “Don’t spoil him. You need to scold him sometimes too.”

 “I’ll work on it.”

 We stood there infortable awkwardness, the effect of five days apart settling between us. There was so much I wanted to say, so much I was afraid to say.

 “Celine.” 

 “Hm?”

 He spread his arms wide, an invitation and amand all at once. “Come here.”

 Hooked at his face…open, patient, beautiful…and started moving. When I reached him, I pressed my cheek to his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

 His scent enveloped me, clean and masculine and uniquely Hunter.

 “You smell nice,” I murmured against his shirt. 

 His arms tightened around me. “Just nice?”

 “Mmm… you smell like home.”

 I felt his sharp intake of breath, the way his body tensed slightly at my words.

 “Keep going.” he said, his voice teasing but with an underlying heat that made my stomach flutter.

 I closed my eyes, breathing him in. “You smell like… safety. Like everything’s going to be okay.”

 “And?” 

 “And you smell expensive. Like those fancy hotels where they put little choctes on the pillows.”

 His chest rumbled withughter. “Expensive? That’s what you’re going with?”

 “It’s a good expensive. The kind that makes me want to bury my face in your neck and never leave.”

 “Christ, Celine.” His voice was rougher now, his hands sliding down to rest at the small of my back. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

 I tilted my head back to look at him, and the intensity in his dark eyes made my breath catch. “Tell me about London,” I said, suddenly needing to break the tension before it consumed us both.

 “London?” He looked amused. “That’s what you want to talk about right now?”

 “Tell me something interesting. Something I don’t know.”

 Hunter was quiet for a moment, his thumbs tracing small circles on my lower back. “Did you know that London has morenguages spoken in it than any other city in the world? Over three hundred.”

 “Really?”

 “Mmm. And the London Underground has abandoned stations that are now used for everything from film sets to mushroom farms.”

 “Mushroom farms?”

 “In the tunnels. Perfect temperature and humidity for growing exotic mushrooms.” His eyes sparkled with mischief.

 “There are also rumors of abandoned military bunkers and secret government facilities, but those are probably just stories.”

 “Probably?”

 “Well, I may have identally wandered into a restricted area during my morning run. Security was very polite about escorting me out.”

 “What can I say? I have a talent for finding trouble.”

 The easy conversation felt likeing home, like slipping into a warm bath after a long day. This was what I had missed most while he was gone–not just his physical presence, but this.

 The way he made me feel like I was enough, like I was worth talking to and listening to.

 But underneath the warmth, the guilt still chewed at me. Eleanor’s face shed in my mind, her cold smile and calcted threats,

 “Celine.”

 Something in his tone made me look up sharply. The yfulness was gone from his expression, reced by something gentler but more 

 serious.

 13:06 Fri, 8 Aug? 

 “I know about my mother meeting you.”

 My heart stopped.

 The words hung between us like a sharp de. I wanted to step back and create some space, but he held me tighter in his arms.

 “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I should have told you. I just…”

 “Hey” His voice was impossibly gentle, no anger in it at all. “It’s okay.”

 “No, it’s not. I promised no more secrets, and then I….”

 “Celine. Look at me.”

 I forced myself to meet his eyes, expecting to see disappointment or hurt.

 Instead, I found understanding and something that looked like protective fury–not directed at me, but for me.

 “Just don’t keep secrets from me anymore, okay? We’re in this together.” His hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing away a tear I didn’t realize had fallen.

 “Whatever she said, whatever she threatened, we’ll face it together.”

 The gentleness in his voice broke something inside me. After years of facing everything alone, the promise of partnership felt like a gift I didn’t deserve.

 “I love you, Celine Brown.”

 The words hit me like a physical force, stealing my breath and making my knees weak. He had said it before, but tonight it felt different.

 Deeper. Like a vow.

 Like a promise that this time, I wouldn’t have to face the world alone.

 ?

17kNovel

Legacy 159