PREGNANT BY A STRANGER,CLAIMED BY A BILLIONAIRE

The nausea hit before I even fully opened my eyes.

I threw the sheets off and made it to the bathroom on instinct more than coordination, my knees hitting the cold tile just in time. I stayed there for a while, one hand gripping the bowl, the other pressed flat against the floor, pushing it all out.

When I finally got it all out, I sat back on my heels and breathed.

"Mrs. Green?"

Stacy's voice came from the doorway, soft and worried the way it always was in the mornings now.

"Almost done," I managed to say.

I flushed, pulled myself up at the sink, rinsed my mouth, washed my hands. By the time I turned around the worst of it had passed and my stomach had settled into that uneasy stillness I was slowly learning to work around. Stacy was waiting by the door.

"Your tea is ready, ma'am. It'll help."

"Thank you, Stacy." I took the warm cup she offered and held it in both hands. "Has my husband come home? Did he sleep here last night?"

She hesitated slightly but I saw it.

"I believe he's in his room, ma'am."

"His room?"

"Yes ma'am."

That was new. Ryan and I had separate rooms the way most people in houses this size did, but we never used them. Everything we owned was in our bedroom. The other room was just a room.

"Do you know if he came into our room at any point last night?"

"No ma'am, I don't think so." She kept her eyes down. "Shall I start breakfast?"

"Yes, please. Go ahead."

I watched her leave and stood there holding my tea, trying to figure out what to make of it. He was probably just exhausted and needed space. Since the incident, he has frequented there more. But in the last month, he was trying. Maybe he came in late and didn't want to wake me. There were a hundred reasonable explanations and I told myself to pick one and leave it alone.

I drank the tea slowly, waited for my stomach to settle and then had a bath and got dressed. Ryan had still not come to check on me and that was weird so I decided to go to him.

His room was down the hall on the left. I was almost there when I heard low sounds and movement. I thought I had a feminine laugh but it ended abruptly like someone had covered a mouth. Even though I could still hear shuffling sounds.

I stopped in my tracks and my heart beat quickened. “It's just in your head.” I whispered to myself.

When I knocked, everything fell silent and so I knocked again.

"Ryan."

The door opened slightly and Ryan stood in the gap with his body filling it deliberately, one hand on the frame.

"Hey." His voice was flat.

"Who are you in there with?" I frowned, trying to see past him. "I heard voices."

"That was just the TV."

"Ryan… I know what I heard."

"Just tell her the truth, baby." A woman's voice came from inside the room. She sounded too relaxed, liike she had been waiting for this moment and found it less exciting than she expected.

The word baby landed somewhere it had no business landing. I pushed the door with the tiny strength I had. He let me, stepping aside, and I walked in and saw her.

She was sitting up in the bed with the sheet pulled loosely around her, her hair a dark curtain around her shoulders, her eyes were bright and watchful and completely unbothered. She had the kind of face and air of a person that knew exactly what it was doing to a room and she looked at me the way you look at something mildly inconvenient.

"Hello, Sera." Her accent was faint and infuriating. She smiled slowly. "I'm Naomi."

Without saying a word, I turned to Ryan in shock. He was standing near the door in nothing but his undershorts, arms folded, watching me with an expression I had never seen on his face before. Or maybe I had and had chosen not to ignore it.

"Is she…" I looked between them. My voice came out smaller than I wanted. "Is she naked under there?"

Neither of them answered. They looked at each other instead and something passed between them that made my stomach turn.

Then Ryan smiled widely, but it was not at me.

"Why are you smiling?" The words came out before I could stop them. "What is funny right now? What is happening in this room?"

"You." He said it simply. "Standing there asking questions like you can't see what's right in front of you."

“Is she the person you're always on the phone with?”

“Isn't that obvious enough?”

"But you told me she was nobody."

"I know what I told you."

"You said there was no one else. You said…"

"I lied, Sera. I lied! God you're so slow." It was so casual and the irritation in his voice broke me even more. It was almost like my pain cost him nothing.

"There has always been someone else. You've just been to blind to see."