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The Secret Pregnancy of the Billionaire's Ex-Wife novel Chapter 11

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The Secret Pregnancy of the Billionaire’s ExWife Chapter 11: Deciding to Tell Him

Angela Pov

The setting sun cast long shadows in the master bedroom, the elegant furnishings as untouchable as a museum exhibit.

1 slipped off my shoes, remembering this morning’s encounter with Sean in the Shaw Group Inbiby

Mrs. Shaw, he’d said. The quarterly projections look promising. Good work.

Just another executive assistant who happened to share his last name. The thought drew a bitter laugh from my throat.

I moved to the window, watching the last rays of sunlight glint off the glass towers of Manhattan. How many evenings had I spent like this, alone in our supposed marital home while Sean attended another essentialbusiness dinner?

The city lights were beginning to flicker to life, each one a reminder of the countless social events I’d never been invited to attend.

Wall St

His friends Evan, William, the whole Wall Street crowd they all chew the truth about our marriage. I’d seen it in their carefsl politeness, the way they excluded me from their intimate gatherings. After all, why include a temporary placeholder in their permanent social circle?

The buzz of my phone made me jump. For a moment, my heart leaped but it was just Emily, confirming tomorrow’s meeting schedule.

set the phone aside, trying to ignore the disappointment that shouldn’t exist. This was what I’d agreed to, after all. A marriage of convenience, nothing more.

I could picture Sean in his office now, suit jacket draped over his chair, sleeves rolled up as he pored over contracts and spreadsheets.

Perhaps Christina was there too, just like that afternoon, kneeling between his legs, doing that disgusting thing.

Mrs. Shaw?

Sarah’s soft voice drew me from my thoughts. Our longtime maid stood in the doorway, holding an elegantly wrapped package.

This just arriv

arrived from Mrs. Elizabeth Shaw,she said, stepping forced. She insisted it be delivered immediately.

The package was heavy, wrapped in cream paper bearing a Madison Avenue boutique’s logo. Inside was a wooden box inlaid with motherofpearl.

Inside, nestled in midnight blue velvet, sat a small bronze statue. The figure of a woman, her belly swollen with child, her face serene and knowing.

A fertility goddess, I realized, my throat suddenly tight. The base bore an inscription in Elizabeth’s elegant hand:

For my

dear Angela, may you bring joy to our family

Would you like me to place it on the mantel?” Sarah asked, her voice carefully neutral.

No,I managed. TILfind a place for it.

Alone again, I cradled the statue in my hands, feeling the weight of Elizabeth’s hopes and my reality pressing down on me. She’d always treated me more like a true granddaughter than an arranged match for Sean. Her genuine warmth made our deception feel

that much heavier.

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11:09 Mon Apr 7.

Chapter 11: Deciding to Tell Him

My mind drifted to yesterday conversation. I’d tiled to test the waters, jokingly telling Sean I might be pregnant. His fore had changed instantly not anger or shock, but something worse, His els had held no joy, no trace of excitement at the possibility.

The memory made my hand drift to sullfat stomach.

Then Sophie’s words from our coffee shop conversation echoed in my mind:

Tell Sean, keep the baby, live happily ever after.

Sophie’s words kept growing in my mind.

I set Elizabeth’s gift carefully on my bedside table, its presence both comforting and accusatory. The goddess’s serene smile seemed to hold secrets, to know things I couldn’t yet see.

The thought spurred me to action. Before I could secondguess myself, I picked up my phone. A text would be better than a faceto- face conversation. More controlled, less chance of revealing the storm of emotions behind the news,

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. How do you compress such lifechanging information into a text message

We need to talkfelt too cliché, too dramatic. I have news was too vague.

In the end, simplicity won out. Three words

I’m pregnant.”

that would change everything:

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