Page 113 of Baby Surprise for my Brother's Best Friend

“They knew you, Alessio.” Her voice rises, raw. “They knew you. Intimately. They talked about you like you were a fucking joke. They said they had their turn with you. And Nikolai.”

The room tilts as recognition slams into me.Jenna and Cassie.

Sophie laughs, but there’s no humor in it, just something brittle and broken.

"Was that supposed to be part of the package deal? Him and you, sharing?"

I take a step toward her, but she backs away like I’ve just proven everything she’s terrified to believe.

"You told me you were falling for me," she whispers, choking on the words. "Was that just another line? Was any of it real? Or was I just... next?"

Her hands tremble at her sides, and I realize she's not just angry.

She’s breaking.

Breaking because she trusted me.

Breaking because I gave her every reason to believe she could.

Her chin trembles. Her shoulders square, like she’s bracing for impact.

"I thought I was just late." Her voice is low and ragged. "I told myself it was stress. The merger. Life."

I stand frozen, every muscle locked.

She lets out a harsh breath, blinking fast. "But then I remembered… we didn’t use anything. That night."

Her fingers clench around her arms like she’s holding herself together by force alone.

"I tried to believe so hard that it was all the weight on my shoulders that was the cause. But I guess the joke was on me."

The silence between us stretches tight and thin, the air sharp enough to cut.

And then she looks straight at me, no armor, no shields.

"I'm pregnant, Alessio."

The words slam into my chest with the force of a wrecking ball.

I stagger back a step, one hand finding the counter to steady myself.

"Wait. What?"

She nods stiffly, arms tightening around her body.

"I just took a test. It's positive."

The world tilts. Or maybe it’s just me, knocked completely off balance by the weight of everything I don't know how to fix.

I press my palms to my temples, dragging in a breath that feels like it might shatter on the way out.

“Holy shit.”

Sophie just stands there, arms locked across her chest, watching me. Watching every second tick by like it’s proving something.

“That’s it? That’s your response?”

I open my mouth. Close it again. The words are a mess in my throat.

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