My Boss’s Hidden Heir (Elara and Marcus) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

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13 ST YOUCHAS

Marcus was pacing the house now, back and forth across the living room like a caged animal. His hands were running through his hair, messing up the curls he’d styled so carefully earlier.

“Twins,” he muttered under his breath. “Twins. Twins.”

He kept repeating the word like it was a foreign language he was trying to learn, his footsteps echoing against the hardwood floors.

Elara stood by the couch, watching him with growing concern. She’d expected anger, maybe. Or shock that would gradually fade into acceptance. But this? This frantic pacing and muttering? She didn’t know what to make of it.

Then, all of a sudden, Marcus stopped. He just froze in the middle of the room.

And then he started jumping.

Actually jumping. Up and down like a child who’d just been told they were going to Disneyland. His hands flew up in the air, and a sound escaped his throat that was somewhere between a laugh and a scream.

“Oh my God!” he shouted. “Twins! We’re having twins!”

Elara moved back instinctively, her eyes wide with surprise. What was happening? Who was this man and what had he done with Marcus Thorne?

“Marcus, are you okay?” she asked cautiously.

He was crying now, actual tears streaming down his face as he continued to jump around the living room like he’d lost his mind. His smile was so wide it looked like his face might split in half.

“Marcus!” Elara called out again, louder this time. “Are you alright?”/

He didn’t answer, just kept celebrating like he’d won the lottery.

“Are you sad or happy?” Elara asked, genuinely confused. “I’m confused here. You’re crying and jumping and I don’t know what’s happening.”

Marcus finally stopped jumping and looked at her. His face was wet with tears, his eyes red, but he was grinning like an absolute maniac.

Then he ran toward her.

Elara barely had time to brace herself before he dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands coming to rest gently on her stomach. He pressed his ear against the fabric of her dress, listening.

“I can’t hear anything,” he said after a moment, his voice muffled against her.

Elara laughed, the sound breaking through the tension that had been suffocating her all evening. “I doubt you can. They’re still very small, Marcus. Like the size of blueberries or something.”

He looked up at her from where he was kneeling, his hands still on her stomach, his expression so full of wonder and joy.

14:56 Mon, May 11

Chapter 71

“Two of them,” he whispered. “Two babies. In there.”

“Yes,” Elara said softly, reaching down to run her fingers through his hair. “Two babies.”

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Marcus stood up abruptly and before Elara could process what was happening, he scooped her up into his arms. Literally swept her off her feet like she weighed nothing.

“Marcus!” she shrieked, grabbing onto his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you upstairs,” he said simply, already moving toward the staircase.

He carried her with ease, his arms secure around her back and under her knees. When they reached the hallway, Elara noticed they were walking past her bedroom door.

“Marcus, you’ve passed my room,” she pointed out.

He didn’t slow down. “You won’t be sleeping alone in there again. We’re sharing a room from now on.”

“We are?”

“Yes.”

They reached his bedroom, and Marcus pushed the door open with his shoulder. He walked inside and set her down on the bed with so much care it was like he was handling the most fragile thing in the world. Like she was made of glass and might shatter if he moved too quickly.

Elara sat there on the edge of his massive bed, looking up at him with amusement dancing in her eyes.

“So will I be getting princess treatment now?” she teased.

Marcus laughed, the sound warm and genuine. “All day long. Anything you want, you just tell me.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

He knelt down in front of her again and reached for her feet. Carefully, gently, he unbuckled the strappy gold heels she’d been wearing all evening. He slipped them off one at a time, then started massaging her feet with his thumbs, working out the tension from hours of standing and walking in those beautiful but uncomfortable shoes.

Elara watched him in complete disbelief. This couldn’t be real. This had to be a dream.

“Is this Marcus?” she said out loud, not really expecting an answer. “Marcus Thorne? What a good day to be

alive.”

He smiled up at her, his hands still working magic on her sore feet. “Get used to it. This is your life now.”

“I think I can manage that.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, Marcus massaging her feet while Elara watched him with a mixture of affection and disbelief. Then she remembered something.

“By the way,” she started, “my precious car. I know you were angry earlier, but are we leaving it there?”

14:56 Mon, May 11

Chapter 71

Marcus stopped massaging and looked up. “Oh, that’s true. Shit, I completely forgot about it.”

“Should I go get it?” Elara started to stand, but Marcus gently pushed her back down.

65-voutfits

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