Updated Mar 22, 2026 • ~3 min read
Chapter 15: Close Call
MAREN
Week twenty-one.
We’re planning to tell our families this weekend.
Saturday dinner.
Both sides.
I’m terrified.
But Jasper is right.
We can’t hide much longer.
My bump is obvious now.
No amount of loose clothing hides it.
And Conrad is watching me.
Suspicious. Calculating.
I need to tell him before he figures it out himself.
***
Friday night.
Industry mixer.
Mandatory attendance.
I almost skip it.
But Conrad insists.
“We need to show strength. After losing Hartley.”
So I go.
Black dress. Empire waist.
Hides the bump.
Mostly.
Jasper is there too.
Across the room.
Celebrating his Hartley win.
Our eyes meet.
Brief. Loaded.
*Tomorrow,* I mouth.
He nods.
Tomorrow we tell them.
Together.
***
I’m at the bar.
Getting sparkling water.
(No alcohol for months now.)
When I feel someone beside me.
Patrick Ross.
Conrad’s cousin.
Also on the Ross Agency board.
Ambitious. Calculating. Always looking for advantage.
“Maren. You look… different.”
“Different how?”
His eyes drop to my stomach.
“Healthy. Glowing.”
He knows.
Or suspects.
“Thanks.”
I try to walk away.
But he follows.
“Who’s the father?”
My blood runs cold.
“Excuse me?”
“The baby. You’re pregnant. Obviously. So who’s the father?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is if it affects the agency. If there’s a scandal—”
“There’s no scandal.”
But his eyes are calculating.
“Does Conrad know?”
“He will. Soon.”
“Interesting timing. Right after losing Hartley.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
“I’m not discussing this with you, Patrick.”
“Fair enough. But you should know—people are talking. About you. About the timing. About who you’ve been seen with.”
Seen with?
No.
No no no.
“I haven’t been seen with anyone.”
“Haven’t you?”
He walks away.
Leaving me panicking.
Who saw us?
Where?
How much do they know?
***
I text Jasper immediately.
*”Emergency. Meet me. Now. Your car.”*
Five minutes later, we’re in the parking garage.
“What happened?”
“Patrick. Conrad’s cousin. He knows I’m pregnant. And he implied people have seen us together.”
Jasper’s jaw clenches.
“Who?”
“I don’t know. But if Patrick knows, Conrad will know soon.”
“Then we tell them tonight. Right now.”
“We can’t. They’re at this event. Surrounded by industry people.”
“Tomorrow might be too late.”
He’s right.
But I’m not ready.
Not like this.
Not rushed.
Not panicked.
“One more day. Tomorrow. We stick to the plan.”
Jasper looks unconvinced.
But nods.
“Okay. Tomorrow. But Maren—if Conrad confronts you before then—”
“I’ll handle it.”
But I’m not sure I can.
Because Patrick is vindictive.
And if he tells Conrad before I can…
This will be a disaster.
END OF CHAPTER 15
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