Page 55 of Her Billionaire's Baby Secret

Chapter 15

Kane went back to New York a few days later. His parents had arrived in Maple Creek to help his grandma move. His sister was recovering well and had her husband around to help her with the baby. A day after he arrived in New York, he went to visit his sister and held her new baby. A wave of emotions washed over him. Before long he would have his own baby to hold. He just hoped Orchid didn’t make the custody situation miserable.

The merger was right on track to go through successfully. He’d been able to keep the news of the baby away from the media, and as far as he knew, the other company hadn’t heard any word of his baby coming. If they had, they hadn’t seemed to have a problem with it.

He came home from work on a Tuesday evening. His chef had prepared chicken with quinoa and vegetables for him. He ate dinner and then settled on the couch to catch up on his favorite tv show. It had been a while since he’d just sat and vegged out. He’d been so busy with the negotiating of the merger. When he wasn’t doing that, he was researching what it would take to open his rehab center.

He hadn’t heard from Sariah in a few days. He grabbed his phone while his show loaded on his tv and sent her a quick text.

Kane: Hey just checking in with you. I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days.

She responded, and they texted back and forth for a few minutes. They’d been staying in touch, but the relationship was still strained.

He heard his doorbell, and he got up from the couch. He answered the door and saw Orchid standing there.

“Gary let me up,” she said, referring to the doorman.

“Come on in.”

“I need to talk to you about something.” Orchid didn’t look happy.

“What’s going on?”

Orchid sat on his couch, and he sat across from her in an armchair. “Turner wants me to get an abortion.”

“What?” He wanted to punch the loser for suggesting that someone kill his daughter. “He doesn’t get to choose that.”

“He doesn’t want to raise someone else’s kid.”

“He should have thought about that before he decided to hook up with you.”

“How could he have known you were going to get me pregnant?”

Kane had to change the subject before he flew into a rage. But he couldn’t. This needed to be talked about.

A sob broke from deep within Orchid. “I don’t want my baby to die.”

That was good at least. “Then don’t. You don’t have to kill her. Turner is out of his mind to ask you to do this.”

“I begged him to change his mind, but he won’t listen to anything I say. It’s like his heart is made of stone.”

“Have you considered leaving him?” That would solve a lot of issues. Kane didn’t want to deal with the loser anymore. The guy was always trying to leech money off of him. Not that he wanted Orchid back. Even if she were free, he would never consider rekindling anything with her. That ship had sailed. And now he was in love with Sariah again.

“What if you took custody of her?” It was like she hadn’t even heard his suggestion that she leave Turner.

“You would give up custody of your daughter to make some jerk happy?”

“He’s my everything. I can’t imagine life without him.”

Kane was ready to gag. The guy was just using her to funnel money from Kane. How could she not see that? Turner didn’t care about her. But Orchid wasn’t his problem anymore. She was an adult woman and could learn from her own mistakes. There was nothing he could do to save her. And he wasn’t willing to try if he could. She’d given up the right to his emotional support when she’d chosen Turner.

“I’m happy to take custody of the baby. I’d do anything for her. But are you sure this is what you want?” he asked in a soft voice. He didn’t know why he was trying to talk her out of it. Either way, he didn’t want her changing her mind and fighting to get custody back from him. His daughter deserved a safe, stable home. He was starting to think that Orchid’s home wasn’t the right place for her anymore. She’d told him was just diagnosed with bipolar disorder a week ago. It explained a lot about her behavior and all the trouble she’d put Kane through over the years.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past few weeks. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a mom. Turner and I are planning our wedding, and a baby would be a big responsibility when I’m starting a new life.”

“That’s fair. If you don’t feel like you can do it, I’ll be there for her.”

“Maybe, I can get him to change his mind. Turner’s just going to have to put up with me being pregnant for the next several months. I can’t bring myself to have an abortion.”

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