REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 139

He reached out, his fingers gently catching my chin and tilting my head up so I was looking right into his eyes. His gaze was soft, but there was an unmistakable intensity behind it, that fierce, protective instinct that had been growing stronger every single day since I showed him the test.

"Good," he murmured, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss to my lips. "Because your dad and I just finished setting up the schedule for the next few months." he said.

I pulled back slightly, narrowing my eyes at him. "What schedule?" I asked.

He gave me a slow, possessive smirk, his hand sliding down from my chin to rest flat against my neck, his thumb resting gently against my pulse point.

"The schedule where you don't step foot outside this estate unless Jax and I are personally driving the car," Dario said. "Your father wanted to lock you in the master suite until the baby arrives. I convinced him to let you have the whole house and grounds instead. You're welcome." he said.

I stared at him, half-amused and half-annoyed. "You two are completely out of your minds. You know that, right?" I said.

"Maybe," he admitted, unbothered as he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "But you and this baby are everything to me, Nyxara. I'm not taking a single risk. Not now. Not ever."

I looked at his calm, handsome face, feeling the steady thrum of his pulse and the absolute certainty in his words. In my past life, being surrounded by powerful men meant being controlled, trapped, and used as a pawn. But looking at him, I knew the difference now. He wasn't trapping me, he was building a fortress around me because he loved me more than life itself.

"Fine," I muttered, taking another bite of my apple. "But if you try to stop me from going to the garden when I want fresh air, I'm letting my Grandmother handle your morning security audits."

He let out a low, rich laugh, pulling me up out of my chair and wrapping his strong arms around my waist, tucking me close against his chest.

"Deal, kitten," he whispered into my hair. "Deal."

We stood there together in the quiet room, bathed in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows. The city outside was vast, chaotic, and full of old ghosts, but inside these walls, surrounded by my family, my father, and the man who owned my heart.

The transition into my fifth month of pregnancy happened almost overnight. One day I was wearing my usual loose cardigans, and the next, there was no hiding the distinct, round bump stretching against my clothes. My body was changing, slowing me down in ways I wasn't used to, but for the first time in my life, I didn't feel vulnerable. I just felt heavily guarded.

That morning, I woke up early, pulled on a pair of soft leggings and a oversized black sweater, and walked down to my office room in the west wing. I opened my laptop, intending to run a routine diagnostic check on Cipher Core’s main firewalls and clear a queue of system updates Eli had flagged the night before.

I barely had my fingers on the keyboard for two minutes before the office door opened. Dario walked in first, dressed in a sharp black suit with no tie, looking like he was ready to step into a high-level meeting. Right behind him was my dad, holding a mug of black coffee, looking equally stern and unyielding.

I looked up from my screen, eyebrow raised. "Did I miss a morning briefing, or are you two just hovering for fun today?"

Dario walked over to my desk, reached out, and quietly folded the laptop screen down until it clicked shut.

I blinked at him. "Dario. What are you doing?"

"You're done working from the office, Nyxara," Dario said, his voice quiet, calm, and completely immovable. He leaned his hands on the edge of the desk, looking down at me with those intense dark eyes. "You're five months pregnant. Starting today, you stay home. No more staring at work files for six hours a day, no more stress, no more system overhauls."

"Excuse me?" I sat up straight, crossing my arms over my chest. "I run Cipher Core. Sitting at a desk typing on a computer isn't manual labor, Dario. I'm completely fine."

"You're not sitting at a desk all day anymore, princess," Dad cut in, stepping forward and setting his coffee mug down on the edge of a bookshelf. His sharp gaze locked onto me with total paternal authority. "Dario and I discussed it last night. Eli and Chloe can handle the daily remote operations. If there's an actual emergency, they bring it to Jax, Jax brings it to us, and we decide if it's worth bothering you with. Otherwise, your job right now is resting." Dad said.

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