Page 33 of My Horrible Arranged Marriage (Bancroft Billionaire Brothers #20)

MINA

I was so grateful for my man. He’d been incredible. Ridiculously so. If anyone saw us, they would declare I was the luckiest woman on the planet. I was. I knew that. The man was going out of his way to take care of me.

And because he wasn’t sure he could do it right, he brought in some private nurse from Connecticut with the hands of an angel and the efficiency of a military general.

He’d cooked for me. More like he warmed up whatever freezer meal he had delivered.

He massaged my feet like he was worshipping me.

He made me laugh when the pain meds made my head swim, and he kissed my forehead every time I started to look a little glassy-eyed.

I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to fall apart in front of. Which made keeping the pregnancy secret a whole new level of hell.

Every moment I didn’t tell him was like tightening a belt around my chest. I was being crushed by this secret I couldn’t find a way to say out loud. He was always there, always hovering with the best of intentions, and I felt loved. I felt safe.

And yet I couldn’t find the words. I didn’t know how he would take it—not really.

I knew what he’d said in Vegas, about wanting to be a father someday, but that was theory.

The kind of thing people say when they’re drunk on champagne while soaking in a tub filled with bubble bath.

Which the doctor had assured me didn’t affect the baby.

But no more champagne. Or wine or anything else.

I sat up a little higher on the couch when Isaac walked in with my lunch on a tray. “This looks yummy,” I said.

He set the tray down on the coffee table, his eyes scanning my face like he was checking for any sign of discomfort. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”

“Just a little sore,” I said, forcing a smile. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

He nodded, but I could see the worry still etched in his features. He’d been like this since the hospital. The man was hyper-vigilant, always watching me like I might collapse at any second. It was sweet, but it also made the guilt gnawing at me even worse.

“You don’t have to hover,” I said gently, reaching for his hand. “I’m okay, really.”

He squeezed my fingers, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “I know. I just… I can’t help it. I love you.”

“Don’t be mad at me, but I’m ready to go home,” I said softly.

He frowned. “What? Why? Who will take care of you?”

“I’ve been in your arms, this couch, or your bed for five days,” I reminded him. “I’m okay to walk. In fact, the doctor encouraged it. You have a life. I have wedding planning to handle. I’m going to be fine. We’ll still see each other.”

He went quiet. I felt bad, like I was rejecting him, but the man was burning the candle at both ends.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” I lied. “I just… I miss my own bed. And Tori.”

“And your dad,” he said.

I smiled. “And my dad.”

He sighed. “Fine. Eat your lunch. You need your strength.”

I wanted to reassure him I wasn’t pushing him away, even though that was exactly what it felt like. “Thank you, Isaac.”

“You’re welcome. Although I’m going to miss our nightly baths.”

I giggled and reached for the sandwich. “Me too. But we’re going to get married in a month. There is plenty of time for baths then.”

He looked at me like it was just hitting. “Holy shit. You’re going to be living here in a month.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I was just, I don’t know. I was thinking how much I’ve liked you being here and it never occurred to me you’re going to be here in a month. Me and you living together.”

“Okay, you’re sounding terrified,” I said before taking a bite.

He smiled and sat down beside me, his hand resting on my knee as I picked at the sandwich.

“You’re not scared, are you?” he asked, his voice teasing but with an undercurrent of seriousness.

“Living with me? Because I promise I’m not that bad of a roommate.

I’ll try and remember to put the cap on the toothpaste and pick up my dirty clothes. ”

I laughed softly, though my mind was racing. “No, I’m not scared. I’m excited. It’s going to be a big change, you know? We’ve been moving so fast, and now we’re about to share a space permanently. It’s a lot to process.”

He nodded, his thumb tracing small circles on my leg. “I get it. But we’ll just go with it.”

I wanted to tell him then. The words were right there, pressing against my lips. We’re going to have a baby. But I couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not when he was looking at me like that, so open and trusting and full of love. Instead, I let my mind wander to the future.

I imagined a house, not just an apartment or a penthouse in the city, but a real home with a yard and a porch swing.

A place where our child could run around barefoot in the grass, where we could watch them grow and laugh and play.

I pictured a nursery painted in soft pastels, filled with toys and books and the sound of lullabies.

I could almost see Isaac holding our baby, his strong arms cradling them gently as he whispered sweet nothings into their tiny ear.

But how would he react when I finally told him? Would he be as excited as I was? Or would the reality of it all overwhelm him? We were already planning a wedding in less than a month. Adding a baby to the mix felt like throwing gasoline on an already blazing fire.

“What are you thinking about?” Isaac asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile. “Just how much I love you,” I said softly.

He grinned, leaning in to kiss me gently on the forehead. “I love you too,” he murmured against my skin.

I couldn’t shake the weight of the secret I was carrying. It felt like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. And when it did, I had no idea what would happen next.

I finished my sandwich while Isaac packed up some of my things.

An hour later, he was escorting me down to the lobby.

His car was waiting right out front. I gingerly climbed into the front seat and buckled myself in, wincing slightly as the seatbelt pressed against my still-tender abdomen.

Isaac hovered for a moment, his hand lingering on the doorframe like he was debating whether to let me go at all.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I’m sure,” I said, forcing a smile.

He took me home, driving like a grandma afraid to spill her tea.

But it was sweet so I said nothing. When we got back to my estate, Isaac insisted he was carrying me up to bed.

I felt ridiculous but honestly I wasn’t sure I could do the stairs.

Maybe but after lying around for a week, I didn’t think I had the strength.

“I don’t know if I like this,” Isaac said.

“Isaac, I’m fine.”

“I’ll be right here,” Tori said from the doorway. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“I’ll check in tonight,” I promised softly.

“Yeah. Okay. Just text me if anything feels weird. If you need anything. I mean it, Mina.”

“I will.” I touched his wrist. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

His throat bobbed. He leaned in and kissed my forehead one more time, lingered, and then finally left.

I waited until I heard the door close before I collapsed back against the pillows and let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

I loved him. That much I knew.

But the truth was burning in my throat.

“Guess who brought cheese and gossip?” Tori asked.

I tried to smile. Tried to match her energy. But I was on a hair trigger, and the second she sat on the edge of the bed, I couldn’t hold back another second.

“I’m pregnant.”

Tori blinked at me. Her tray wobbled, and she set it on the nightstand like she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.

“What?”

“I’m pregnant.” My voice broke this time, and the tears followed fast. “I didn’t know, Tori. I didn’t know. They told me at the hospital right before I went in for surgery and I just… I didn’t tell Isaac. I haven’t told anyone. ”

She stared for a beat longer, lips parting.

And then she grinned.

“Oh my God , Mina! You’re going to be a mom!”

That shouldn’t have made me cry harder. But it did.

I started sobbing, which made my stitches throb, which made me wince and let out a half-laugh that sounded halfway to a breakdown. Tori scrambled onto the bed, careful not to jostle me too much, and wrapped her arms around me.

“Okay, okay, deep breaths,” she said, smoothing my hair back.

I buried my face in her shoulder and cried for another solid minute before I could speak again. “I’m so scared.”

“I know. That’s natural.”

“It’s too soon.”

“Maybe. But it’s happening. And it’s you, so you’re going to crush it.”

“I don’t even know if he’s going to be happy ,” I said, voice hoarse. “What if he freaks out? What if he thinks I did this on purpose, or that I’m trapping him or—God—I don’t even know. What if he panics and bolts?”

“Mina.” Tori sat back and cupped my face in her hands. “That man cooked for you. With like, actual pans. He hand-fed you soup. He paid a nurse, Mina. You don’t do all that because you’re lukewarm about someone.”

“But a baby? That’s not soup. That’s life. ”

“I know. And yeah, it’s going to be a big shift. But I think he’s already in this more than either of you realize.”

I closed my eyes. I wanted to believe that. I desperately wanted to believe that.

But fear was a tricky bastard, and it was whispering every terrible possibility into my ear.

“Do you think this is how it’s supposed to start?” I asked softly. “I think I got pregnant the first night we had sex. We used a condom. Is this what fate looks like or is this a sign we’ve lost our minds completely?”

Tori snorted. “Have you met your life? This is exactly how it was supposed to happen.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“No one does. That’s the big secret.”

I laughed weakly. “I feel like I’m drowning in it, though.”

“You’re not drowning. You’re floating. Suspended in a very weird, very beautiful, slightly terrifying moment. But you’re not alone. You have Isaac. You have me. And now… you are going to have a baby.”

The word still stunned me.

A baby.

My hand drifted to my abdomen, still tender and sore, but suddenly more sacred than it had ever felt before.

“I think I want this,” I whispered.

Tori’s smile softened. “Then that’s the only thing that matters right now.”

We talked for another hour, and for once I didn’t censor myself.

I didn’t downplay or dramatize or try to spin it into something easier to digest. I told her everything—how I felt when the doctor said the word “pregnant,” the way my world tilted with the knowledge, the fear, the hope, the guilt over not telling Isaac yet.

Tori listened. She didn’t judge. She never had.

“I guess it’s a good thing you’re getting married in a month,” she joked.

I laughed. “Yeah. My dad is going to blow a gasket if I walk down the aisle big as a house.”