<b>Chapter </b>178


    <b>Chapter </b><b>178 </b>


    -CELINE <b>POV </b>


    I sat <b>at </b><b>the </b>dining table with Ceasar, watching him swing his little legs while he chattered about wanting to visit the waterpark.


    <b>“</b><b>Mama</b><b>, </b>when will we go to the waterpark? Tomorrow?” Caesar bounced in his seat, syrup from his toast smeared across his grin.


    “We’ll see, baby,” I said, cutting his toast into small triangles the way he liked them.


    “But I want to go with Papa too! Papa swims really good, right Mama?”


    Before I could answer, I heard footsteps on the hardwood floor. Hunter walked <i>into </i>the kitchen, barefoot and shirtless, wearing only ck


    sweatpants<b>. </b>


    His hair stuck up in three different directions, and the bruise on his cheekbone had turned purple overnight. <fn4730> Newest update provided by F?ndNovel</fn4730>


    “Papa!” Caesar practicallyunched himself from his chair.


    Hunter’s shoulders dropped. The hard line of his mouth rxed as he ruffled Caesar’s curls and ced a gentte kiss on his cheek.


    “Good morning, buddy.”


    I kept my eyes on my te, but I could feel Hunter moving around the kitchen behind me. The refrigerator door opened and closed.


    I heard the sound of him drinking water directly from the bottle.


    Even with my back turned, I knew he was staring at me. The effect of his gaze made my shoulders tense.


    “What’s for breakfast?” he asked quietly.


    “Toast and eggs,” I replied without looking at him.


    “Sounds fancy. Did you burn them on purpose, or is that just my luck today?”


    It was the kind of teasingment that would have made me roll my eyes and throw a dish towel at him yesterday. Today, I just ignored it


    Caesar giggled. “Mama doesn’t burn food, Papa! You’re silly!”


    “Your mama does a lot of things better than I.” Hunter’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Don’t I, Celine?”


    I still didn’t look at him.


    Caesar kept chattering, trying to pull Hunter into the conversation about the waterpark, about his toys, about everything and nothing.


    Hunter answered him patiently, but I could feel those blue eyes finding me every few seconds.


    When Hunter finally sat down across from me, breakfast became even more awkward. He kept staring at me while he ate, and every time <b>I </b>looked up, our eyes would meet.


    I would frown<b>, </b>feel my cheeks get hot, then look away again. This went on for ten minutes before I finally snapped.


    “How long are you nning to stare at me?”


    <b>Chapter </b><b>178 </b>


    “<b>Until </b><b>you </b>talk to me,” <b>he </b>said simply.


    I set my fork down harder than necessary. “You want to talk? Fine, Let’s talk.” Hunter straightened in his chair<b>, </b>suddenly <b>alert</b>.


    “Caroline came by earlier,” I said.


    “Fuck<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    “Language,” I warned automatically, ncing at Caesar.


    Hunter winced. “Sorry. How mad was she?”


    “Furious. You ruined her engagement party, Hunter. Her special night.” He ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the ends<b>. </b>


    “I know. I’ll call her. I’ll make it right.”


    “Will you?” I pulled my phone out and set it on the table between us. “Have you seen the tabloids this morning?”


    The color drained from his face. “No.”


    “Congrattions. You’re more famous than ever.”


    Hunter grabbed his phone from the counter and started scrolling. I watched his expression change from confusion to horror as he read the headlines.


    “BILLIONAIRE BRAWL: Hunter Reid Loses Control at Elite Party”


    “Who Is the Mystery Woman? Reid’s Pregnant Girlfriend Caught in Scandal”


    “From Riches to Rags: The Fall of Hunter Reid” But those weren’t the worst ones. Thements were brutal, especially about me.


    “Gold digger finally showing her true colors”


    “Pregnant and trashy – perfect match for a man who fights like a thu


    “Someone should take that kid away from both of them”


    Hunter kept scrolling, his jaw clenching tighter with each headline. Finally, he started muttering curses under his breath.


    “Language,” I said again, nodding toward Caesar.


    “Sorry,” he said immediately. “God, Celine, I’m so sorry. I’ll get this sorted out. I’ll have my PR team….”


    “No.” I shook my head. “You don’t get it, do you? You couldn’t just keep it together. You had to drag me down with you. And now I’m scared to show my face out there.”


    The words came out harsher than I meant them to, but I couldn’t stop.


    “Who knows what kind of threats are out there now? For me, for Caesar, for our baby?” I put my hand on my still–t stomach. “All because you couldn’t handle seeing meugh with a friend.”


    Hunter’s mouth opened slightly. His eyes went wide, then dropped to the table.


    <b>“</b>Celine….”


    I stood up from the table, suddenly needing space. Needing air.


    <b>2/3 </b>


    <b>40 </b>Wea


    Chapter <b>178 </b>


    <b>“</b>Come on, Caesar,” I called. “Time for your bath.”


    <b>“</b>Yay!” Caesar jumped up from his chair and started running toward the bathroom,pletely ignorant of the tension in the room.


    As I started to follow him, Hunter caught my wrist gently.


    “I’ll sort this out,” he said, his voice desperate. “I promise you, I’ll make this right.”


    I looked down at his hand on my arm, then up at his face. The bruise, the desperate blue eyes, the way he was holding me like he <b>was </b><b>afraid </b>would disappear.


    Eleanor’s words from weeks ago echoed in my head: “You’re not good for him, dear. Look what you’re doing to him. Look what he’s <b>bing </b>because of you.”


    The tabloids were proving her right. The whole world was watching Hunter fall apart<b>, </b>and they were ming me for it.


    Maybe they weren’t wrong.


    “Just…” I pulled my arm free gently. “Just leave us alone for a while, okay? I need to think.”


    Hunter’s hand dropped to his side. His shoulders sagged forward like someone had cut his strings.


    “Celine, please don’t…..”


    “I’m not going anywhere,” I said quickly, seeing the panic flicker across his features. “I just need some space to figure out whates next.


    I walked away before he could say anything else, following Caesar’s excited chatter toward the bathroom.


    Behind me, I heard Hunter sink back into his chair with a heavy sigh.


    The morning sun streamed through the penthouse windows, bright and warm andpletely at odds with the cold fear settling in <b>my </b>chest.


    How many more mornings like this could we survive before everything fell apartpletely?