His Secret Baby: Six Months After Divorce (Mia and Ethan) novel Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Claim 50 Coins By Check in

Mer

Chapter 48

The heavy doors clicked shut. The chaotic noise of the hallway was instantly severed, leaving Mia and Ethan entirely alone in the suffocating silence of the office.

Ethan slowly turned his attention back to Mia. Without a word, he reached out, his large, warm hand brushing against hers as he snatched the termination agreement from her grip.

Slowly, deliberately, Ethan ripped the thick document in half. Then into quarters. The tearing sound echoed sharply in the quiet room before he tossed the shredded remains directly into the trash can.

“Mr. Hale,” Mia stepped back, her heart hammering violently against her ribs. Panic began to claw at her throat. You can’t do that. I signed it. I want to leave.”

‘Leave?” Ethan repeated the word as if it tasted foul on his tongue. He closed the distance between them in a

heartbeat.

He didn’t walk back to sit behind his massive desk like a cold, calculating CEO. Instead, he advanced on her, his towering frame forcing Mia to step backward until her spine hit the cold, hard surface of the wall.

He planted both hands flat against the wall beside her head, trapping her securely inside the cage of his arms. The intoxicating, familiar scent of cedarwood and mint-mixed with the pure, raw heat of his

masculinity-suffocated her senses.

You want to walk away so badly, Mia?” He leaned down, his chiseled face mere inches from hers. His hot breath brushed against her sensitive earlobe, sending a treacherous, involuntary shiver down her spine. “Fine. Buy out your contract. Two million dollars.”

Mia’s breath hitched. “You’re insane!” she gasped, looking up into his amber eyes.

They weren’t their usual cold, detached amber. They were completely pitch-black now, swirling with a dark, obsessive storm he was barely keeping under control.

You know I grew up in an orphanage,” Mia continued, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and sheer lesperation. “I don’t have that kind of money! You’re trapping me here on purpose!”

Then you stay.” Ethan’s rough thumb reached out, brushing surprisingly gently against her trembling lower lip. His voice dropped to a gravelly, possessive whisper that vibrated deep in his chest. “You signed a contract. You belong to Bayview. You belong to me, Mia. And I am not letting you walk out that door. You have three days to Find the money, or you get back to your

desk,”

Mia pushed against his rock-hard chest, her breathing ragged. His muscles didn’t even budge.

A wave of sheer terror washed over her. If she stayed at Bayview, her pregnancy would start showing in just a few weeks. The morning sickness was already getting harder to hide. If a man this possessive, this controlling, found out she was carrying his child, he wouldn’t just demand two million dollars. He would lock her in a gilded cage and take the baby away from her forever,

Ducking under his arm with a sudden burst of adrenaline, Mia bolted out of the office, ignoring Ethan’s dark gaze burning a hole into her retreating back.

She practically ran back to her desk, her mind spinning in absolute panic. Two million dollars. He was forcing her

1390

7791

< Chapter 4

Claim 50 Coins By Check in

into a corner she couldn’t escape.

The hours dragged on in a blur of anxiety. By noon, the official HR email was sent out: Zoe Parker was fired.

But that wasn’t the news that sent the office rumor mill into overdrive. By late afternoon, the media dropped massive bombshell. Ethan and Chloe’s high-profile engagement, which was set to happen in just ten days, had been abruptly canceled.

The entire executive floor was buzzing. Everyone was connecting the dots, whispering that Ethan and Chloe were

hrough, and Mia was the reason. The judgmental stares were suffocating.

Unable to take the toxic atmosphere for another second, Mia grabbed her phone and ducked into the secluded emergency stairwell.

She dialed Nina’s number with trembling fingers.

“Two million dollars?!” Nina screamed through the speaker the second Mia explained the ultimatum. “He’s an absolute lunatic! Mia, we don’t have that kind of money between the two of us! And even if we did, how the hell are we supposed to afford the baby after that?”

Mia closed her eyes, leaning her head against the cool concrete wall. A dull ache throbbed in her temples.

“You should’ve just taken Jaxon Rivers’ offer when he tried to headhunt you,” Nina pressed, her voice sharp with worry. “Riverside is still in Northbrook, sure, but it’s a hell of a lot better than being stuck with Ethan. In a few months, you’re going to be showing. If he catches on then, you’re done. You won’t even be able to run.”

Mia bit her lip, her heart sinking. She knew Nina was right. Her options were running out fast.

“I’ll figure something else out,” Mia sighed softly, staring blankly at the dimly lit steps below. “We’ll talk tonight.”

She hung up the phone, her mind heavy with dread, completely unaware of the shadow lurking just behind her.

As the heavy stairwell door slowly clicked shut, cutting off the last sliver of light from the hallway, Chloe Bennett stepped out from the dim corner of the landing.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed into a vicious, calculating squint. She had heard enough. Jaxon Rivers was trying to poach Mia? And he was willing to pay her buyout fee? A wicked, cruel idea lit up her face.