Page 151 of The Billionaire's Baby
"What?" I stare. "What do you mean?"
"You pull a fast one on him… Even the playing field."
"Right," I say slowly. "What do you suggest I should do?"
"What would hurt him as much as he hurt you?"
"I don’t want to hurt him."
She frowns.
"I mean, I do…but only in a way that ensures that he apologizes to me." I drag my fingers through my hair. "I just want him to say he’s sorry for what he did, you know? Is that too much to ask?"
"No, of course not." Isla presses a finger to her cheek. "He colluded with your family; you should do the same."
"What do you mean?"
"Collude with the rest of the women to put a plan in place. Then spring a surprise on him which he doesn’t see coming."
"But," I stare, "why would the others help me? I mean, they are married to men who are part of the Seven, and the Seven are friends with Arpad, so wouldn’t they technically want to side with him?"
"Unless they see it as helping him. Why don’t you ask them?"
I open my mouth, when the doorbell rings.
"Yay, the troops are here." Isla jumps up and races to open the door. A second later, Summer flounces in, followed by Victoria, now sporting a baby bump, Julia, and Amelie.
"Heyyy!" Summer throws her arms around me. "How are you, Karina? I am so excited to help you in operation Alphaprank."
"Alphaprank?" I blink rapidly. "What’s that?"
"It’s the plan you’re going to come up with to bring Arpad to his knees." Victoria beams at me, then rubs her belly, in the way many pregnant women do when they’re adjusting to the new life they are carrying in their body.
I walk up to her. "May I?" I ask.
"Of course." She takes my hand and places it on her belly.
"Oh," I gulp, "it’s harder than I thought it would be."
"I know, right?" Her smile widens further. "I’m still getting used to it myself."
I keep my palm pressed to her stomach. "Has he or she started moving yet?"
She shakes her head. "Because it’s my first, the doctor says it may be twenty weeks before I feel the little thing move, but I am hoping it will be much sooner."
A soft sensation invades my chest. My throat closes and a pressure builds behind my eyes. Shit, what’s wrong with me? I haven’t even gone back to taking the hormone shots for anything since I found out I wasn’t pregnant. So why is this…affecting me so much?
"You okay?" Victoria peers into my face.
I nod. "Yes," I clear my throat, "I’m so happy for you." I blink back the moisture that threatens to leak from my eyes. I will not let myself cry. Really, in the bigger scheme of things, it doesn’t mean anything that I couldn’t get pregnant on the first try, right?
So many women have been through so much more when they tried to conceive. I have barely started my journey, so why the hell does my chest feel so heavy?
Victoria releases my hand and I lower my arm to my side. "Come on, you should sit down."
She laughs, but allows me to guide her to the sofa. I place a cushion at her back and she smiles her thanks. "It’s a nice place." She beams, "You’re going to miss it when you move in with Arpad."
"Or maybe he could move in with me?"
