Page 81 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

I hesitate. I’ve never even met her mother. "Did you do that?"

His expression shifts, his gaze turning distant. "I did with your mother, yes. And though my relationship with Quinn’s father was… complicated, to say the least, I also let him know my intentions as soon as I made up my mind."

"I can’t imagine he was happy?" My father and Quinn’s relationship had its share of challenges, given their age gap and history.

"Not when he first found out, no. But when he realized we were both serious about this and that a baby was coming, he gave us his blessing.”

"I’m glad it worked out for you."

"I was lucky. I worried about how you kids would take it. But you were all so supportive and helpful. If it weren’t for you, I might have woken up too late for what I was giving up."

"We were old enough to understand. We weren’t going to stand in the way of your happiness. We love you, and we could all see that you weren’t living after Quinn left. It was like when you lost Mom all over again. We couldn’t have that."

He nods, looking relieved. "If you were younger, it would have been a different story. You never know how a new marriage can impact a child."

His words hit me harder than I expect.

Vincent.

The way he looks at me, the way he trusts me, the way he’s already started letting me into his little world.

It makes my stomach turn.

He’s a kid. A good one. And he deserves more than to be caught in the middle of whatever game I’m playing.

If I go through with this marriage, what happens to him?

I don’t want to be another man who walks into his life only to walk away again. I don’t want him to get used to having me around, only to one day wonder why I left.

I hadn’t fully considered his feelings in all of this. If I go through with the proposal, if we get married and then things fall apart, what happens to him? He doesn’t deserve to be caught up in this.

"But you don’t have to worry about that," my father adds, oblivious to my spiraling thoughts. "I’m excited to hear the engagement news."

I nod absently.

I exhale, pressing a hand to the bridge of my nose, exhaustion settling deep in my bones.

Sleep has been a stranger lately, chased away by the endless meetings, the constant pressure, andher. Eva.

The woman is relentless, a storm that refuses to pass. Every time I think I’ve handled her, she finds another angle, another loophole, another way to challenge my authority. She doesn’t just want to make things difficult, she wants to dismantle everything I’m building.

I’ve been playing defense, but it’s starting to feel like a losing battle.

"I spoke to Eva again." I drag my thoughts back to the conversation with my father.

His expression sharpens. "And?"

"She’s not backing down."

My father sighs, rubbing his temples. "Consider her a challenge. You’ll encounter plenty like her as CEO."

"I’m handling it," I assure him.

“Good. This will be a good obstacle for you. Problems like this won’t disappear once you take over, the higher you go, the more you’ll have to deal with people like her."

He makes it sound easy. But it’s not.

I think about the endless emails, the late nights spent poring over documents trying to find a way to shut down her influence. The quiet dread that settles over me every time I walk into a meeting, knowing she’ll be there, ready to undermine me.

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