The Billionaire’s Fight For Redemption (Noah and Sierra) novel Chapter 313

“W-what?” Aunt Ava stammers. “What did you say?”

I stand there rooted to the floor, my brain suddenly blank.

My heart is pounding so loudly it feels like it’s echoing in my ears, each violent thud drowning out every other sound in the room.

Sweat gathers under my arms as panic crawls up my spine, slow and suffocating.

Oh god. Oh god.

My eyes flicker to the shattered glass at Aunt Ava’s feet, the lemonade spreading across the floor like evidence of a crime scene, and the horrifying realization slams into me.

She heard, and she’s not the only one, because right next to her is Uncle Rowan and everyone else except the children.

Every muscle in my body goes rigid.

My mouth goes dry, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth as I try to form words that refuse to come out. My fingers twitch uselessly at my sides, the urge to run warring with the fact that my legs feel like they’ve been nailed to the floor.

How much did she hear? Just the last sentence? Or everything?

My gaze darts to Noah for a split second before snapping back to Aunt Ava, but that only makes things worse. The shock on her face is unmistakable, her eyes wide, her chest rising and falling like she’s forgotten how to breathe.

This can’t be happening. This was never supposed to come out like this.

Not here. Not now. Not in the middle of a damn celebratory gathering.

My stomach twists violently, the baby shifting inside me like he can feel the chaos pulsing through my body. The movement only makes the panic worse, tightening around my lungs until breathing feels like trying to inhale through a straw.

Think, Sierra… Say something… Fix this… But my mind is empty, wiped clean by the terror of what this moment could unleash.

My pulse roars in my ears as Aunt Ava’s stunned gaze locks onto mine, and the room suddenly feels far too small, the air thick and suffocating.

For a moment, no one moves. No one breathes.

Aunt Ava’s gaze shifts from me to Noah and back again, her eyes wide with shock as if she’s trying to piece together something she never imagined hearing.

“The baby…” she whispers slowly, like the words themselves frighten her. “The baby is Noah’s?”

My throat tightens. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out and beside me, Noah stiffens.

"Mom," he starts, but she cuts him off immediately.

“Answer me!” she says sharply, her voice tinged with anger and frustration.

Her eyes return to me, searching my face like she’s hoping I’ll tell her she misunderstood.

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