His Secret Baby: Six Months After Divorce (Mia and Ethan) novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mia needed a foolproof plan.

If she stayed out of his sight, left Northbrook, and had the baby in secret, he would never know.

It was the end of the year. Under the guise of delivering the branch office’s annual reports, she drove to Bayview Headquarters. Tucked inside her folder was one extra document: her resignation letter.

The year–end meeting was set for 9:10 AM. It was 9:30 now, and Ethan still hadn’t shown his face.

“I saw Chloe Bennett on my way in,” a branch manager whispered next to her. “She’s in Mr. Hale’s office.”

‘No wonder he’s late. The boss is busy.”

Ethan was a notorious workaholic. He was never late. But Chloe was his eternal exception. She was the one who broke all his rules.

A bitter knot twisted in Mia’s chest. She stood up, walked over to the glass partition, and slightly parted the blinds looking toward the CEO’s office.

Through the half–shut blinds of that cold, dark–gray room, she saw a flash of vibrant purple.

Chloe was perched intimately on the edge of Ethan’s leather chair. They were sitting so close they were practically sharing the same breath.

Ethan’s sharp features had softened. Behind his gold–rimmed glasses, those eyes–usually so cold and terrifying–were staring up at her with pure, raw affection.

Seeing him look at another woman like that felt like a thousand glass shards twisting in her heart.

For two years of marriage, he had never looked at her with anything more than duty or lust. She was just a convenience. A placeholder.

Mia let the blinds snap shut and forced a tight smile, blinking back the sting of tears.

It’s over, Mia. Let him go.

“Everyone, we’re starting the briefing without Mr. Hale. He’ll review the recording later,” Leo announced, stepping into the conference room.

The meeting moved fast without Ethan’s terrifying presence interrogating them. A three–hour session wrapped up in two.

“You’re all free to head down to the cocktail party. Mr. Hale will join shortly,” Leo said, gathering the reports.

When he reached Mia, she pulled the white envelope from her folder.

“Leo, could you give this to Mr. Hale for me?”

Leo glanced at the envelope, then toward the CEO’s suite. “Just knock and go in, Mia. It’s work–related, right?”

‘I don’t want to interrupt,” she said smoothly, grabbing her coat. “Just make sure he gets it. I’m skipping the party tonight.”

Why go? To watch Ethan and Chloe play the happy couple while she carried his secret baby? No thanks. She needed to prep her handover files so she could vanish from his world forever.

Leo sighed and placed her envelope on top of the stack.

Ten minutes later, Leo dropped the reports on Ethan’s massive desk.

‘Mr Hale, meeting minutes are attached. Also… this is from Ms. Carter.”

Ethan adjusted his glasses, his eyes instantly locking onto the plain white envelope at the top. Only her name was written on it.

He frowned, a sudden tension gripping his jaw. “Where is she?”

‘She left, sir.”

Ethan reached out, his long fingers grabbing the envelope. He was just about to tear it open when Chloe suddenly stood up.

‘Ethan, wait for me. I’m just going to the powder room!” she chirped, practically running out of the office

But the moment Chloe cleared the doorway, her sweet smile vanished.

She had heard the rumors. She knew Mia was the mysterious ex–wife who had warmed Ethan’s bed while she was gone.

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