She Was Never Just the Billionaire’s Wife (Natasha and Chase) novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46 The Exit Plan

(Sonia)

The dress is perfect.

A deep emerald wrap style, soft enough to drape naturally over the prosthetic without pulling, structured enough. to look intentional rather than concealing.

I practiced the angle of my walk in front of the mirror until the slight forward tilt of my hips looked effortless.

I enter the foyer of the Warren estate with my chin up and one hand resting lightly at the curve of my stomach.

The bump is subtle. The kind of barely-there roundness that makes people look twice and then feel certain.

The triumph lasts approximately ninety seconds.

The sitting room is in the grip of something entirely unrelated to me.

My step-father is radiating the particular cold fury of a patriarch who has been disappointed and is deciding how to punish the guilty.

Nathanial is across the room with a glass in his hand and the hollow expression of a man who has said something irrevocable and isn’t sure whether he regrets it.

Eleanor glides toward me with genuine warmth and both hands outstretched, her eyes dropping immediately to my stomach.

“Sonia, darling. Let me look at you.”

My skin crawls.

I love Eleanor’s support in theory.

In practice, the idea of her hands anywhere near the silicone makes my entire body seize with panic.

The material is excellent but it’s not magic.

Eleanor knows what a pregnant stomach feels like under her palms. She carried Chase after all.

I catch her hands before they reach me and squeeze them warmly, leaning in to kiss her cheek instead.

“You look wonderful,” I tell her, keeping the physical contact on my terms.

“The room looks so festive, Eleanor. You’ve outdone yourself.”

I survey the room over her shoulder.

Chase is standing near the far window, phone pressed to his ear, his attention somewhere else entirely.

He glances up when I walk in and offers a brief, distracted nod before turning back to his call.

That’s it.

No reaction to the bump. No moving toward me. Nothing.

I have spent ages practicing for this entrance and my most important audience member is checking his watch.

Julian materializes at my elbow with his customary impeccable timing and a glass of champagne that he extends

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toward me with a pointed look at my stomach.

ops! No bubbly for you,” he says pleasantly, switching the glass for a sparkling water from a passing tray.

“You’re expecting, remember ”

“I’m aware,” I say through a fixed smile.

He steers me gently but firmly away from the center of the room, toward the quieter end near the hallway.

“The bump is a lovely touch,” Julian says, his voice dropping.

His eyes conduct a brief, clinical assessment.

“But it doesn’t pass scrutiny. The issue isn’t the shape. It’s the stillness. Real pregnancies shift when the mother moves. You’re holding yourself too carefully. You look like you’re carrying a serving platter under your dress.”

Heat rises in my face.

“It’s my first time.”

“Obviously.”

He isn’t cruel about it.

Julian is rarely cruel when he’s being practical.

Cruelty is for entertainment, this is logistics.

“I need to tell you something and I need you to listen without making a scene.”

“When do I ever make scenes?”

He looks at me.

“Fine,” I say. “Talk.”

“I know who Natasha is.”

He keeps his voice very low.

“Not just Chase’s wife. Nathanial’s beloved sister. Your greatest annoyance.”

I go very still.

Julian watches my face with that sharp attention he reserves for genuinely interesting problems.

“The resemblance is too uncanny to ignore. I don’t have proof yet, but I will.”

My throat tightens. “Julian-”

“Don’t worry. I’m not telling Piper,” he continues.

“Piper will go straight to Gloria, and Gloria will go straight to Nathanial, and that particular grenade needs to stay in its pin for now.”

He tilts his head.

“Which means you keep your plans away from Piper entirely. Don’t tell her anything. Don’t ask her for anything. Can you manage that?”

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“I thought you were going to help me,” I say, keeping the panic out of my voice with considerable effort.

am helping you. I’m telling you to stop fighting on too many fronts.”

He glances across the room.

“And I’m telling you the bump is a liability. Someötie with sharper eyes than Eleanor is going to get close enough. to matter.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

Julian is quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful.

“Stage an exit,” he says.

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