Page 17 of Secret Billionaire's Unplanned Baby

Resentment had begun to creep into her voice, and Maya was sure Alain detected it. He seemed to let out a deep sigh. “I’ll still tied up here for at least another two months. But if there’s anything serious that needs…”

“No,” she said quickly. “There’s nothing serious, honestly. You do what you have to do.”

“So, you’ll wait for me?”

The husky heat in his voice was back, and try as she could Maya couldn’t fight the chills of pleasure going up and down her back. She was crazy, wasn’t she? Because she was already making up all kinds of excuses why this was happening and how it couldn’t be any fault of Alain’s. It had to be something beyond his control, and she’d have to respect that.

“It’s not like I have a choice, do I?” she finally joked, while thinking that of course, Alain couldn’t tell what she really meant. What could she do but wait, even when she knew that in two months, she was possibly going to start to show.

Wait, she was keeping the baby?

Maya kept asking herself the same question over and over, long after her call with Alain had ended. And yet, deep down she already knew the answer.

Two months was indeed a long wait. Maya could only keep busy as much as she could. Partly, she acted as if the pregnancy hadn’t happened and life was normal as usual. But during unexpected moments, she’d get bouts of sentimentality when she’d simply burst into tears of disarray and fear. How could she possibly know what decisions to make, when this baby wasn’t hers alone?

Somehow, she made it through the many long weeks of waiting. Being a woman who always had that enterprising spirit, nothing could ever really keep her down for long. She was so sure she’d got herself together, but that was until the moment her phone rang, and it was Alain. He was back.

He asked if they could meet up, and Maya said yes. They made plans, and the moment the call ended Maya felt the panic set in. Did she really want to see him again? This was the weirdest relationship if there ever was one. Even if it was a long distance one, why was he so close-mouthed about himself – why couldn’t they keep in constant contact? Could he possibly be – gasp – married? And was trying to keep Maya as his dirty little secret?

That was all the least of her worries though. The baby inside her was showing more and more signs of its presence each day. She had no obvious symptoms yet, except some infrequent bloating that went after a day or two. Maya wondered, would Alain notice anything different about her physically, when they met up again after three whole months apart?

The fact was, Alain did notice something a whole lot different – in Maya’s demeanor, for one. She still had her usual confidence, just not with the same openness that had made it so easy to get closer to her. Now, she’d put up fences around her emotions and responses, acting more guarded than she’d ever been – but could Alain really blame her?

Normally, he’d meant to stay away three months thanks to an unavoidable work emergency. Yet, he’d done his best to wrap things up in two, so he could make it back to Maya. Now there was this divide that hadn’t been between them before, and he hated it.

He wanted the old Maya back, but how could he ease her mind, wouldn’t having to spill all the secrets he’d so far kept from her? There had to be another way to melt down her reserve, so he started asking about what decision she’d made as to her future, as well as what cars she’d found for him to restore. It was the first time she began to show any kind of animation, as her face brightened while talking about her plans. There was still something about her that had him concerned though.

“Looks like you’ve been busy,” he said. “I’d imagine how exciting and exhausting it must all have been. You did manage to put on a little weight, so that’s a plus.”

Maya let out a slight laugh, even as she raised a self-conscious hand to her cheeks. “For some women, weight gain isn’t actually a good thing.”

“Well, the extra pounds looks great on you. You have this delightful glow, Maya. I can’t tear my eyes from you.”

And yet, you could tear yourself away for three whole months, Maya would have burst out saying, but held herself back just in time. She wasn’t going to attack him for leaving. She just felt so glad he was back – even though she couldn’t show it to the fullest.

Maya wasn’t surprised at Alain’s level of observation – he was always so astute and had noticed her body had changed. But he couldn’t guess it was from pregnancy. Maya, in her own case had been careful with her outfit, choosing a flattering dress in a free-flowing silhouette that hid her baby bump. She was already starting to show and couldn’t keep the baby a secret too much longer – not if Alain was going to be around for a bit. She just couldn’t decide, when would be the best time to break the news.

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