Billionaire's Pregnant Ex-wife

Chapter 34

“And you believe her?” Celine gasped incredulously. Ironically, her reaction mirrored my husband's expression when I told him about Natalia's pregnancy.

“I have reasons to,” I mumbled under my breath. It was obvious Celine didn’t trust Natalia one bit. “After all, Natalia confessed to me, and I can’t think of any reason why she would lie to me.”

“Have you confronted Grey about it?” Celine looked troubled as she asked.

“I did, Cel.”

“What did he say?”

“He lied and denied the affair,” I told her.

“Maybe Grey was telling the truth, Lily?” Celine responded, and I was surprised she was bluntly expressing which side she was on.

“Are you siding with him?” I gasped disbelievingly.

“Isn't it obvious, Lily? I have known Grey for years, and I have witnessed how he looks at you when you're not looking at him. On the other hand, Natalia is a total stranger to both of us, and I get bad vibes every time I look at her. Without a scintilla of doubt in my mind, I know she's a woman who's hiding a skeleton in her closet. She would lie her way just to get what she wanted.”

Celine's words painfully rang in my ears. I found myself swept in confusion. A dozen questions raced through my thoughts, but before I could answer one of them, the door flung open and Grey strode into the room.

My heart suddenly flipped inside my rib cage. Had he heard about our conversation? I asked myself, searching for a clue, but his expression remained unreadable. If he heard our conversation, he was not letting it show.

Celine secretly nudged my arm with her elbow. “Think about what I told you, Lily. Don't let a vile woman poison your mind with lies.” With that, Celine got to her feet, leaving me alone to figure out the truth on my own.

---

Could it be that Celine was right and Natalia had been lying to me all along? The puzzling question occupied my thoughts for hours after we finished eating. As I flipped through an old magazine I discovered underneath the glass table, I stopped in my tracks.

I considered the possibility that Natalia was lying and asked myself the million-dollar question: Why would Natalia lie about getting pregnant when she had nothing to gain from it? She had Grey for herself, so why lie?

Unable to find the answer, frustration nagged at me. The question sounded so easy, but I had a hard time figuring out the answer.

My thoughts shifted to Grey, and I wondered if he was the one lying about his affair with Natalia in order to protect her. That was a huge possibility. A smitten man would protect the woman he loved at all costs. He would lie for her sake.

Grey denied his secret affair with Natalia, but I refused to believe him. I knew he was still in love with her. The proof of that was the old love letters he still kept in a box in his office desk at home.

Why would he keep those love letters if they meant nothing to him?

I knew they were love letters because I had read some of them. In fact, I had read enough to realize they were addressed to a woman he called his "Mi Amor." Certainly, the letters were not meant for me because they were dated way back when he was still twenty. We hadn't crossed paths then, and he was already Natalia's lover at that time. It was easy for me to figure out he wrote those letters for her.

“A penny for your thoughts,” Grey murmured close to my ear. I flinched in surprise as he leaned closer to investigate what was in the magazine that had frozen me in my tracks.

“I didn't know you were into heavily muscled men in briefs,” he murmured in an amused tone.

Puzzled at his remark, I followed his gaze. I choked back a sudden gasp of surprise as my eyes landed on the magazine and found myself staring at various polaroid shots of bodybuilders in only their briefs. Abruptly, I closed the magazine.

My cheeks turned crimson. “I'm not,” I snapped. I spoke louder than intended. Worriedly, my gaze shifted to Celine, who was seated in the chair beside Mom's bed, and found her still asleep.

Thank God my voice didn't wake her up, I thought to myself as relief flooded through me.

“What are you looking at then?” he asked with a cheeky grin that made him appear a few years younger.

The grin simply stole my breath away. It took me seconds to collect my scattered wits.

“Just random things,” I told him. Done with the magazine, I returned it to where it had been placed a while ago.

Grey shrugged his shoulders. “It's late. You could sleep now. I will watch over Mom while you sleep,” he said, noticing how I struggled to keep my eyes open.

I was about to argue that I wasn't sleepy when a yawn escaped my lips.

“Sure,” I murmured sleepily.

Grey resumed reading the paperwork he brought with him while I curled up on the sofa. My heavy eyelids fluttered closed. Perhaps I was so tired and mentally exhausted that minutes after my back hit the soft cushion, I immediately fell into a deep sleep.

—

Two weeks passed swiftly, and yet Mom was still in the hospital. She was still unstable, so the doctor couldn't discharge her yet. I spent the days with her, giving her the time and attention she needed. As Grey had advised, I took an indefinite leave, allowing me to return to work at La Paraiso Hotel once Mom's condition improved.

During the past two weeks, Grey regularly visited Mom at the hospital. Sometimes he stayed in the evening, and if he couldn't, he would slip in the morning and bring Mom a bouquet of fresh lilies or roses. He would also bring her favorite food and stay for an hour or two to chat with her. After that, he would leave.

We hadn't had a single fight—not even an argument—in two weeks. The truce we silently agreed upon gave me temporary peace of mind. I knew he was doing it for Mom's condition. Speaking of Mom, today was her birthday. However, Grey wasn’t present on this most important day of her life. He left for a business trip a day ago and would return this evening. Grey promised Mom he would be here to celebrate with her, and I believed he would. He never breaks a promise he makes to her.

It was early in the morning, and Mom was still asleep in her bed when I got up and laid a soft kiss on her temple before telling Celine I was going home.

“I'll look after her,” Celine told me before I left Mom’s room.

I hopped in my car and left the hospital.

The golden rays of the sun peeked through the horizon, promising a beautiful day ahead. The cold wind brushed against my skin, slowly blowing my stress away as I drove down the highway, where only a few cars were currently on the road.