Page 49 of The Grumpy Billionaire Baby Daddy

“But I just did.”

“Does she live there? Why did she look so cozy?”

“Uhh…No, she doesn’t. But she does come over often to spend some time with Richard.”

She presses her lips together.

“Jason, I want you to listen to me carefully. You told my dad you were thinking of marrying me. I’d marry you too. But if this is going to work, you’re going to have to show that you want me too. Right now, you’re doing that very badly and I’m not convinced. I just want to feel like I’m special to you. Am I?”

If there’s one person who’s grown to be completely special, it’s Fiona. The thought of her makes my heart flutter.

“Jason.”

I jerk back to reality.

“Am I?

“Of course you are.”

Chapter 17

Fiona

RichardiscacklingasI throw popcorn at him. He hasn’t stopped taunting me about the sounds he heard from Jason’s room weeks ago. At first, he had no idea it was me. He casually told me he felt like Jason was seeing someone because he’d never brought any woman home. Ever. That was a shocker to me. According to him, whoever Jason brought home and into his room must be really special. I played along, pretending I didn’t hear any sounds, which was really stupid because my room was the closest to his. It was a bad move. Of course, Richard didn’t believe me, but I told him pregnancy makes you sleep like you’re dead. At least that part made a little sense. Until I told him I hadn’t gotten much sleep that night. Then he gave me a weird look and asked,

“Fiona, was it you in Jason’s room?”

I’ve never been a great liar, and it was easy to tell when I was lying. I said ‘No’ at first, but Richard burst out laughing. In just a few months, he already knew when I was lying. He asked me to spill the tea and then told me to be careful because Jason was cold-hearted when it came to women. He even asked if I had any feelings for him. I denied that I did.

Now when he wants to annoy me, he makes moaning sounds to remind me of that night. Bertha might have heard it too, but she never spoke about it.

As Richard makes the ridiculous sounds, I throw my popcorn at him, grinning. He runs around my living room, and I chase him, a bowl of popcorn in my hands. Eventually, he surrenders and collapses to the floor.

“You’re going to have to pay for all the popcorn I just lost because of you.”

“You should be grateful,” he says, huffing. “I just helped you get some exercise in. Jackie did say you needed as much physical movement as possible. I guess you preferred another kind ofphysical movement.”

He smirks and picks up his phone. Heat rises to my cheeks.

“Hey!”

I smack his shoulder, but he doesn’t move. His eyes are fixed on his phone, and there’s a frown on his face. I tap him, but he doesn’t respond. His brows are furrowed when he looks up at me.

“I think you should see this.”

Richard's usual lighthearted expression had been replaced by a grave seriousness, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. As he handed me his phone, I could feel the tension in the air, thick and palpable. My fingers trembled slightly as I took the device from him, and as I looked down at the screen, a wave of shock coursed through my body. The headline of the news article before me was enough to make my heart stop beating for a moment. I blinked, hoping it was just a terrible dream, before reading the words again, my eyes scanning the page frantically.

Popular Business Tycoon Jason, Allegedly Expects a Baby With a Woman Named Fiona.

A photo of me is placed beside one of Jason’s —it was the same photo I saw in front of the magazine at the hospital. I recognize this photo of me too. Mom took it —- probably the worst of my photos on Instagram. Richard stares at the floor, wringing his hands. He looks up at me.

“Are you okay?”

How can I be?

In a split second, I’m up on my feet, pacing. This is a gossip magazine, so maybe not many people will see it. I shake my head. Who am I kidding?The Teais a popular magazine across all of America, which means everyone who knows me will see my photo and find out everything I’ve tried to keep secret. Sweat breaks out on my forehead as I go back and forth in the living room. Maybe my parents won’t see it. They’re not the kind of people who follow gossip magazines. But what if someone else shows it to them? A dull ache attacks my chest, and I collapse to the ground with my head in my hands. This is bad. No, this is a disaster. I shouldn’t have ever met Jason. Now I lose not only one year of my life but also everything else.

Including my parents.

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