Page 41 of A Linton Scandal

“Married,” Noah shouted. “You didn’t tell me you were getting married.” His expression turned hurt as he looked at Sophie. “You didn’t tell me she was getting married.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s because the minute I came home you pissed me off.”

He scoffed, turning his attention back to me. “So, who’s this guy you’re marrying? Does he know about the baby?”

I laughed. “He’s sort of the baby’s daddy.”

“Wait, should we be having this conversation in front of the kid?” Noah asked.

I leaned to the side, so that I could look at Nelu and he could look at me. His eyes were calm. “Hey kid, what do you think about your dad having another kid?”

He blinked slowly, as his lips pursed together when he finally tilted his head to the side.

Realizing my question had been too hard to answer, I added. “Blink once if you don’t want a younger sibling, or twice if you do.”

For a long time he didn’t do anything, to the point I wasn’t sure if he’d understood the question. As I was about to repeat it, he blinked twice before he looked away from me. I spotted that the tips of his ears had turned red.

“Okay, you’re marrying the baby’s father, but why did you have to move?” Sophie cut in, drawing my attention. “Did something happen?”

“A few things,” I said as I braced myself for the dramatics that would come. “I’m already married.”

“What?” they shouted.

“And his father wanted me to move in for my safety.”

I didn’t go into detail, something told me that would result in them going into hysterics.

Both Noah and Sophie shared a look. Noah inhaled deeply before his expression turned serious. “Juliette, I know you. You’re not the type to rush into anything, and at first, I wasn’t going to get too involved. But nothing you’ve said has made me worry less.”

I tightened my hold of Nelu and sighed. “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you guys right away. Plus, I was a bit overwhelmed and missed my chance to explain everything.”

“Well, why don’t you start with who you’ve married. That seems like a good place to start,” Sophie offered as she pulled out a drawer and took out a lollipop handing it to Nelu.

Nelu took it with a little bow of his head.

I pursed my lips thinking over where I should start. “The man I married, the kid’s dad is Mihai Linton of Linton, Inc.”

The two of them didn’t say anything. Both of their eyes widened, when suddenly Noah turned around and dug through the stacks of papers on the desk and jerked out a magazine and shook it in my face. “This man?”

I leaned back and nodded. Noah’s face paled and he stared at me, while Sophie stared at him in confusion. “Noah, what’s wrong? Do you know him?”

Noah didn’t say anything, instead he tossed the magazine to the floor and dramatically bowed. “Your majesty, this person isn’t worthy.”

There was a short silence before I asked, “Are you an idiot?”

He shook his head at my question as he straightened up. “No, I’ve seen the light, Your Majesty.”

How he’d managed to maintain a straight face while saying what he did, I’d never know.

“Jul, tell me what’s going on with this idiot before I kick him in the head,” a disgruntled Sophie interrupted.

Noah picked up the magazine and handed it to her before I could say anything. Clearly irritated, she snatched the magazine out of his hand and looked at the front.

I internally hoped she’d maintain her composure, but I should have known my friends weren’t to be trusted as Sophie performed a deep curtsy. “Your majesty,” she said playfully.

“Both of you are beyond saving,” I said both annoyed and amused by their immature behavior. Eventually the two of them regained their composure.

“Well, now we can stop worrying about your future. The King of the Business world will take care of you,” Noah said with a confidence I didn’t feel.

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