Page 16 of Secret Billionaire's Unplanned Baby

Watching her he saw her phases of release, the dilating of her liquid brown eyes, the way her lips parted in a silent scream while her body shuddered in ecstasy. Alain followed suit moments later, having held back just long enough to ensure they both coasted the smoldering waves together.

He looked into her eyes while Maya lay beneath him and in that moment, he sensed all her emotions. Her trust, love and fulfillment. Alain knew that would have been a perfect moment to tell her the truth – and to let her know he felt the same.

I really should have told her I loved her, he would think to himself over and over weeks and months later. It was a lapse he would regret with all the depth of his heart when the time came. Because in the end, even when he hadn’t set out to, he managed to leave her all alone, emotionally and physically. And would hate himself for it for a long, long time to come.

***

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore, not to Maya. Just days ago, she was so sure she understood the way of the world, and just where she stood with a certain man who’d blown into her life at just the right time. And now he was gone.

That rainy night a week ago, Maya and Alain finally had sex. The next morning before Maya was awake, Alain had left with a vague note and his phone number, saying he had to go back to Europe early.

Maya had been in shock the whole time afterwards, and even the fact that there were signs Alain would be back gave her no reassurances. For one thing he’d left the keys to the garage and some money to continue to source parts. But the whole leaving in the middle of the night thing didn’t bode well.

What could she do, but pick up the pieces and forge ahead? She had her menswear shop job, and on top of that was her new past time of networking within the car community. A new determination set in, as Maya began to decide how to move forward. Maybe her new career would be centered round being a classic-car enthusiast.

She certainly needed every kind of distraction to keep her mind off Alain, or any thoughts of calling his number.

That was, until a month later, when she found out she was pregnant.

***

Her best friend Nikki was all for Maya calling Alain up with the news about the pregnancy. All Maya wanted to do, was first just get her head around the fact she was carrying a baby. For a man who’d made love to her one night, then disappeared. And hadn’t called her since.

Finally, Maya found it impossible to keep up her stance not to contact Alain. He’d been the one to leave, whether on an emergency, or to escape any kind of repercussion from their night of passion. A part of her, was beginning to regret her wish for them to become lovers, because it had all but backfired on her if she had to admit.

There was no more time to think. She’d received the full test results that morning, confirming her suspicions.

For so long all she’d wanted was a stable relationship. She had a comfortable life, but nothing was really complete without someone to share it all with. How could she now connect the caring Alain, to the cold one who’d left her high and dry and in the biggest pickle of her life?

Now she was carrying his child, and she suddenly knew she had to tell him before it was too late.

Maya didn’t want to raise a child all alone. She couldn’t imagine putting a child on her parents either, when they had their own kids to raise. If she was going to make any decisions about her pregnancy, she’d at least need Alain’s input. Whether he would deny it, or turn his back on her completely, was what she couldn’t be sure of. When it came to Alain she could never be sure of anything ever again.

Maya called the foreign number with a sense of purpose she hadn’t had, before she found out about the baby. But the person who answered the phone was female who first spoke in rapid French. When Maya interrupted her in English and asked to speak to Alain, there was a sudden silence.

The next moment, Maya could hear the phone exchange hands and then it was Alain speaking. Maya’s breath caught for a moment at the sound of his voice after so many weeks.

“Alain, it’s Maya. We need to talk,” she started after they shared the initial greeting. It ached her deep inside to feel like she was talking to a stranger.

“Is everything OK?” His tone had been surprised when she’d first said who she was, as if he’d never expected to hear from her again. Now he sounded deeply concerned.

Maya had to hide her confusion. She didn’t understand who it was who’d first picked up the phone. It had definitely been a woman, but who was she to Alain?

Somehow, she couldn’t find the words to say what she’d meant to say. “I just wanted to know when you’ll be back. You’ve been gone a month already, and I didn’t want to seem impatient, or entitled in any way or I would have called earlier. Still, I’m curious to know if you really ever plan to return.”

---