Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142

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“Hey princess,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing. “You’ tired, aren’t you? It’s okay. Uncle Roman’s got you. You’re

Laby’s eyes thuttered. She made a soft cooing sound.

“That’s it. Roman continued, still rocking. “Just rest. Everything okay,”

Within seconds, her breathing evened out. Her little body went sack against him, completely relaxed.

I stared. “You’re really good at this.”

T’s just luck, Roman said quietly, still rocking her.

“You don’t believe in luck

She’s my niece. That counts,”

I smiled. “We should lay her down. She’ll sleep better in a proper bed.”

Roman’s expression turned uncertain. “What if she wakes up?”

“I don’t think she will. She’s played, eaten, had her till. According to Elena’s schedule, she’s right on time for her nap.”

“But…”

“You can’t hold her forever. What if she sleeps for hours?”

“Try me.

I laughed softly. “Roman, Come on. She needs proper rest, and we need to eat.”

He looked down at Lily, unsure. Then finally he nodded. “Okay. But if she wakes up and cries…”

“Then we’ll deal with it. Together.”

We moved carefully through the penthouse, Roman cradling Lig like she was made of glass. I opened the door to the guest room and quickly arranged pillows on the bed, creating a barrier so she wouldn’t roll off.

Roman laid her down slowly, inch by inch, holding his breath the entire time.

Lily stirred, made a soft cooing sound, then settled back into sleep.

We both froze.

“See!” I whispered. “She needs rest.

Roman stared at her for a long moment, then straightened. The was pride in his expression.

“What do we do now? Stay and watch her?”

“We check on her from time to time. Maybe leave the door openso we hear if she cries.”

I tucked another pillow beside her, making sure she was secure. Roman watched, then nodded approvingly.

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Chapter 142

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That’s smart.”

“I told you I have experience.

We left the door cracked open and headed back to the kitchen. The food was still warm, and my stomach growled loudly.

Roman smirked as he set two plates on the island.

Well, would you look at that. Breakfast at one in the afternoon. Clearly, we’re nailing this parenting thing.”

I laughed as I sat down. “Hey, babysitting duties took priority. Besides, brunch is a thing.”

Is it still brunch if it’s past noon?”

“It’s whatever we want it to be.”

“Fair enough.

We sat at the kitchen island, plates of bacon, eggs, and toast between us. For a few minutes we just ate in comfortable silence. Then Roman set down his fork and looked at me.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Sure.

Why don’t you think Tom is good enough for Elena?”

He blinked. “I never said I think he’s good enough.”

“Exactly. So why?”

Roman leaned back, crossing his arms.

“My company hired Tom about a year and a half ago to work as Elena’s assistant. Within six months he got her pregnant.”

I raised my eyebrows. That’s fast.”

“Fast and careless. When she told him, he panicked. He didn’t step up at first. It took him weeks to even admit he wanted to be involved.”

Roman’s jaw clenched.

“Elena swears he’s changed, that he’s great now. But I don’t trust him.”

“I can understand that,” I nodded. “But people can change, Roman. Especially when life changing things like a baby come into the picture. Maybe he grew up. Maybe becoming a father made him realize what’s important.”

“People hardly ever change, Roman countered. “When they do, it’s usually because they have a motive.”

“What’s his motive then?”

“Money. Elena’s wealthy. And if she closes with the investors I hooked her up with, her perfume line will scale into a big brand worth millions. I think Tom saw an opportunity and took it.”

I frowned. “You can’t be certain that’s why he’s doing this now.”

“Oh, I am. I know opportunists like him.”

I thought for a moment, then said carefully, “By your logic, if he proposed earlier wouldn’t it still be the same? Or perhaps

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Chapter 142

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worse, they would have been married. But time passing has given Elena a chance to get to know him better, right? Maybe he waited because he wanted to be sure.”

Roman paused, his expression guarded.

“I don’t care for the proposal itself. But Elena does. She’s always reamed of the white dress, the big wedding, all of it. So in the end I’ll support whatever she wants.”

I studied him carefully and saw the pain hiding beneath the cynicism.

“There’s more,” I said quietly. “Isn’t there?”

Roman tensed and looked away. “No.”

But he stood abruptly, grabbing his plate and heading to the sink

I followed with my own plate. “Roman, just tell me the truth.”

He turned around, his voice surprisingly tender.

“Please drop it, Anna.”

I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll stop prying into your emotional fortress. But just so you know, one day you’re going to have to let someone in.”

Roman’s lips twitched. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Roman began washing the dishes, and my eyes couldn’t help following him. Water ran over his forearms as he worked, and there was something unfairly attractive about the way he moved

He was sexy. Annoyingly so.

“So,” I started, trying to distract myself from the way my pulse had quickened, “the CEO washing dishes seems to have become a habit.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Roman said, glancing at me with a hint of amusement in his eyes. “I’m only doing this because I have a choice.”

I watched him rinse another plate.

Still, I could probably get used to my CEO making me breakfast and washing the dishes after.

“You had a choice. You could have left them for me or Eva.”

“And let you hang it over my head, like I can’t clean up my own mess? No thanks.”

I laughed. “Your ego is showing.”

“My ego is perfectly sized, thank you.”

“If you say so.”

We finished cleaning, the easy banter helping dissolve some of e tension from earlier.

But as we dried our hands and put away the last dish, the air between us shifted. It felt charged with anticipation, awareness, and desire.

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Chapter 142

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Roman cleared his throat. “I need to check on Lily.”

“Okay.”

He left quickly, and I stayed in the kitchen, trying to calm my raging heart.

A few minutes later he returned. His whole face had lit up.

“How is she?” I asked.

Sleeping like an angel.” He actually smiled. “She’s curled up with that bunny, completely knocked out.”

I smiled back. “You’d make a great dad, you know.”

The smile disappeared. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? You’re doing amazing with Lily.”

That’s different. This is a one time thing.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be good at it full time.”

“Doing this forever?” Roman shook his head. “I don’t know about that.”

“You don’t want kids?”

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