Chapter 199: Chapter 73

KELLAN'S P.O.V

My fingers loosened by my side, and my body went liquid and tight all at once.

I just stared and stared.

I didn't know how or when I crossed over, but I soon found myself standing in front of a nursery.

A pink nursery

Something in my heart leaped, then shark then exploded.

A girl.

The little crib, the blush pink curtains, and the pink and white walls all began to blur. I swallowed the lump in my throat, willing myself to breathe.

I hadn't expected it to hit me like this. I didn't know my heart would constrict this tight at the sight of a room. No. It wasn't just any room. It was more.

I didn't know how long I stood there at the doorway of Ashley's nursery, but I felt her when she came to my side, felt her soft fingers thread through mine, and squeezed tightly

Then I looked—at her. I looked as if I could already see the daughter she was carrying.

Ashley's eyes were a mirror to mine—glassy too. Her lip quivered a bit and her expression bordered on sadness and something like pain.

My throat burned hotter than any liquor could have. “When are you due?”

Her lips parted and she inhaled through her nose. “Fo...four months.”

I stared back at the room. I'd have to set up one just like this at the penthouse

“I’m really happy, Ash.” The words scraped out from the deepest part of me. I was happy, truly.

Ashley and I had spent years trying for a baby. Maybe I was the problem, maybe it was my fault she couldn't have the babies she yearned for

The thought sliced me clean into two

Her thumb trailed the back of my hand softly, her voice was softer as she said “Let's go home”

Home.

I nodded once. Unable to speak. Unable to properly breathe. I guess seeing the nursery made the reality of Ashley's pregnancy clash with me.

A girl. I've always wanted a girl with her.

My heart stretched in my chest “Let's go home” I echoed

Four months. We had four months till our daughter arrived.

My gaze swept the room again, memorizing the crib, the pink curtains, the white and blush walls

I wasn’t the one who’d given her this gift. I wasn’t the man she’d made this baby with.

But… does that matter? Should it matter?

I love Ashley with the entirety of my heart, body, and soul. And my love for her didn't stop there, it extended to the baby in her womb.

I let the happiness in my heart overshadow the small grief there.

Ashley and I were having a daughter in four months.

That was all that mattered.

\~~~

ASHLEY'S P.O.V

I was haunted.

Yesterday, I lied to Kellan again, and each time I did so it was more heartbreaking than the last.

I told him I was due in four months when the truth was I'd be having our baby in just six weeks.

How, just how can I keep on with this lie?

I chewed on my lips while in the shower and as I dressed up. Kellan and I hadn't talked about our kiss after we got back home yesterday.

My heart fluttered in my chest. I was now referring to the penthouse as ‘home’. Even though we didn't share a room or have a long conversation after yesterday, things felt different somehow.

I felt like I was home.

But no matter how comfortable it was to be with Kellan again, I had to think of something.

I shoved my worries and endless questions aside when my stomach growled in hunger, taking in deep breaths to calm the ache in my lower back as I walked towards the kitchen.

What was the cook making? Hey, to even think of it, I hadn't seen any of the staff around since I got here.

Kellan and I were here alone.

When I reached the kitchen, I was met with a sight I hadn't seen in years. Kellan Langston. Billionaire. The CEO of the famous Lockra, a chronic workaholic, was standing in his own kitchen on a workday, whisking eggs as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

A glance at the clock on the microwave told me it was past nine in the morning, and Kellan was usually at Lockra by seven.

I blinked and my feet came to a halt. “Aren't you supposed to be at work?” My words were loud with shock.

He turned from where he was whisking eggs. His eyes were bright unlike when he'd seen the nursery yesterday. A smile stretched across his face. “Morning Ashley. Have a seat”

I slid into the chair slowly, still staring at him with my lips parted. I can't remember the last time Kellan went late to work.

Had the divorce somehow changed him? Was he really serious all those times he pleaded for me to give him a second chance that he'd change?

My stomach twisted.

Kellan added butter to a pan, poured the whisked eggs, and proceeded to pour me a glass of orange juice.

I silently watched him throughout it, noting the sculptured jawline that I love to touch, his fine brows, and...

“Eat,”

I nearly jerked when he set a plate of eggs and leafy greens in front of me. I picked up my fork, nearly moaning as I took a bite, but my eyes kept darting to him. “Why aren’t you at work?”

Kellan began loading the dishwasher, and my heart fluttered at the sight of him doing something so mundane. “I took some time off,” he answered casually, like we were talking about the weather.

Like he hadn't just admitted he took time off from his company. A company I could have sworn he cherished more than life.

“You… took time off?”

Kellan smirked faintly and set his plate of eggs, then sat down across me, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yes,” I blurted loudly, then instantly softened my tone. “I mean, you never take time off.”

That was true. Kellan never took days off work. Not a day, not even an hour. He worked himself to the bone and hardly had time for me. For us

It's the reason why we're here in the first place.

Shadows of regret flash across his face. “I should’ve started a long time ago,” he murmured, his gaze brushing mine before dropping back to his plate.

My chest tightened and my initial appetite flew out the window.

He was different...changed.

And I...I was the bad guy now. I was the one keeping the truth of his daughter away from him.

My lips parted, but before I could say anything, Kellan's phone rang. He sighed, reached for it, and glanced at the screen. “It’s Gran.”

The blood in my veins turned cold. Had Genevieve done something again?

“Hello, Gran” Kellan's brows dipped as he answered. “Yes… Now?... Is everything alright? Talk to me, Gran”

The food I had chewed down rose to my throat. If Genevieve did something to Kellan's grandmother again, I swear I will kill her myself.

Kellan's posture stiffened then his voice gentled. “Of course. We’ll come right away.”

He hung up and looked at me, his expression confused and worried. “She wants both of us in Dallas. Today”

Us?

Gran wanted to see both of us?

Kellan exhaled when he saw the question on my face. “She…. doesn't know about... everything that happened between us.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Kellan”

“I didn’t have the heart to tell her,” he cut in quickly, his green eyes so imploring that it made my heart whimper. “You know about her health issues. I couldn’t risk upsetting her.”

It was my turn to sigh. “So Gran still thinks we're married”

It wasn't a question, but he nodded. “Ashley. Just… don’t bring it up. Not to her.”

I was quite a long time before I answered “Fine,”

Kellan let out a breath of relief. “We’ll...act like we’re still a couple in front of Gran,” he said quietly, then his eyes dropped to my lips.

The room suddenly turned several degrees hotter.

“Only what you're comfortable with” he added. Like that was supposed to lighten the situation.

“Only what I'm comfortable with” I whispered.

Something flickered in his eyes but it was

gone before I could look closely.

And that was how I found myself packing to go to Dallas. With my ex-husband. Pretending he was still my husband.

How hard could it be?