Claiming the Billionaire CEO's Genius Baby

and last night's champagne lingered in the air, mingling with the faintest trace of something forbidden. The world outside this

ontrast to the fevered heat of last night. Her mind felt thick, sluggi

't in he

nd the sight before her stol

preparing for war. He was tall, broad-shouldered, his frame exuding raw power even in the simplest of gestures. Tousled dark hair framed a

ir Ken

't a fantasy spun from too much champagne and a rec

ly spared her a glance,

e a palace meant to house a king but never a queen. There were no signs of warmth, no remnants of a life lived only sl

r lips. "A

n her mouth, like a word

s jaw ticked as he slid on his Rolex. "Your clothes are on the ch

was

ones who wielded power with a single glance, who moved through life u

throat. "Is that a

lection in the glass. His eyes a ruthless, piercing blue

anger warring with humili

and measured. "I

ke last night was just another busine

ed against her ribs. "So that's it? You get what you wa

dable. "Like someone who knew ex

herself be drawn into his world, into the dark allure of him. But she never expected this

fury. "I have a meeting in twenty minutes. The

s the e

. No linge

th

shroud. Alistair Kensington wasn't a man who made mistakes. He wasn't a man who sec

with the same precision he did everything. And th

A pause so imperceptib

thout a word

hammering against her ribs. She should have been

fingers unconsciously

g felt d

fied her more

the ghost of tha

air Kensington from her mind. She pretended she didn't feel off, that exhaustion wasn't pressin

me that day, sending her slamming against

her best friend and classmate, eyed her like a mot

ough the edges wobbled.

the courtroom simulation." She grabbed Belle's wrist

in her throat, un

ach twisted

wasn't

suffocated by the hallway, the noi

eaned against the cool porcelain sink, a horrif

austion. The way her

she dug into her bag,

a drugstore, staring at th

at roared i

abbed

ny piece of plastic that held

wrapped around herself, feeling like she

rayer she wasn't s

d herself

ark l

omach

rld co

tick trembled

gna

inst the word, tried

t was

e pressed a hand to her stomach, half-expecting to feel so

was

echoed in her min

of man he was. He

, cutting thro

d it, hear

nown n

tated. A

ice filled the silen

llowed.

of Kensington Enterprises. Effective immediatel

le

st, the finality of

had been ma

s on h

aking glass shat

s of the teacup she had been holding. The television screen flickered in front of her, illuminating the

r Kensington, confirmed his engagement to Evangelin

eath h

his lips down her skin, whispered sins into her ear, made her believe

self, draped in a perfectly tailored black suit. He looked

, Evangeli

aves, a slender figure sculpted by privilege, an effortless air of elegan

ouldn't

ut the words became a blur, lost

ct powe

of the largest

ory fit f

the fabric. Her stomach twisted a cruel, unrelentin

he way his hands gripped her waist, the way

earching for any trace of h

was

ir fingers together. He turned to the cameras, his li

anted t

the dark, kissed her like she was the only

e was n

sting ache that had nothing to do with physica

erself, hands pressing light

't alone

stage, in front of the world, holding another

heir

one ra

ic

s she pressed the device closer to her e

cem

ai

apartment. The room suddenly felt suffocating, the walls pressing

ne con

ed and professional. "K

ddered. "I need to

pa

may I say i

Tell him it's Bell

between them, he

he background, the quiet efficiency of an empire that moved without he

this time colder, sharper. "M

one. "Then leave him a message.

that won't b

w vo

risp. Unf

ch twisted. "

ed smoothly. "Mr. Kensington's personal secreta

sliced t

early buckl

elle continued, unbothered. "D

e click

e silence louder than

r mind struggling to compre

cked h

e was n

night mean

ed deep, a wound t

ripping it so tightly he

rtesy of rejecting her himself. H

s. She stumbled toward the bathroom, falli

ver felt m