Escaping The CEO

The morning sun sliced through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Beaumont Clinic's VIP suite, warm and golden on Camila Conner's face. She stirred, a contented smile spreading across her lips before she even opened her eyes.

She was comfortable, cocooned in a cloud of high-thread-count sheets and plush pillows, a state she'd grown accustomed to over these last few months.

A gentle, rolling flutter started deep within her belly.

Camila's eyes opened, and her smile widened. She placed both hands on the magnificent swell of her stomach, a perfect, taut globe that housed four tiny, active lives.

"Good morning, my little team," she whispered, her voice soft with a love so profound it felt like a physical weight in her chest.

They kicked and tumbled in response, a chaotic symphony only she could feel. Her heart swelled with a fierce, protective joy.

She remembered the day the doctor had told her it wasn't one heartbeat, but four. She had dissolved into a puddle of fear and shock, but Carlisle Reyes had held her tightly, and she had believed—truly believed—that he was just as overjoyed as she was. It was a memory she would later revisit with a very different understanding.

Her gaze drifted to the bedside table, to the silver frame holding a photo of her and Carlisle. It was taken in Paris, just after he'd proposed. The Eiffel Tower glittered behind them, but it couldn't compete with the brilliance of their smiles. They looked disgustingly, incandescently happy.

She picked up the frame, her thumb tracing the sharp line of Carlisle's jaw. He was impossibly handsome, with eyes the color of a stormy sea and a smile that could disarm world leaders. But it was the gentleness in that smile, the look reserved only for her, that made her breath catch.

She remembered the night he'd knelt on one knee, his voice, usually so confident and commanding in boardrooms, trembling slightly as he asked her to be his wife. She had once believed she could read every emotion in those stormy eyes.

The memory sent a pleasant warmth through her veins, a feeling as comforting as the sunlight on her skin.

It all still felt like a fairytale. Three years ago, she was just an art history student, interning at a gallery in SoHo, trying to make her scholarship money stretch. He was Carlisle Reyes, the titan of Wall Street, a name whispered with awe and fear. Their worlds collided when she, clumsy and flustered, had spilled a latte all over his thousand-dollar suit.

She had been prepared for a storm of fury, for the cold dismissal of a man whose time was worth more than her entire tuition.

Instead, he had just laughed. A low, warm sound that seemed to chase the panic from her chest. He'd apologized to her for startling her.

From that moment, the king of the concrete jungle had pursued her with the patient, deliberate focus he usually reserved for hostile takeovers.

He built a world for her, a fortress of love and security. He would end a sixteen-hour day of international negotiations and then drive across the city in the dead of night, just to bring her a slice of cheesecake from her favorite Brooklyn bakery because she'd mentioned a craving.

He would sit for hours, listening to her talk about the brushstrokes of Renaissance painters, his brow furrowed in concentration, even though she knew he couldn't tell a Monet from a Manet. He didn't care about the art; he cared about the light in her eyes when she spoke of it.

When her period cramps were bad, he would press his large, warm hand to her lower abdomen and awkwardly try to brew the ginger tea her mother used to make, his frustration with the simple task endearing. She had never questioned why he paid such close attention to her body's every signal.

And when the doctor had confirmed it wasn't one heartbeat, but four, and she had dissolved into a puddle of fear and shock, he had held her tightly. He'd looked her in the eye and promised, with an unnerving calm, that he would protect all five of them. Always.

He had kept his word. He bought out the entire top floor of New York's most exclusive private clinic for her, ensuring a team of the best doctors was on call 24/7. Nothing was too good for her, for their children.

Camila's smile deepened as she placed the photo back on the table. She was the luckiest woman in the world. She was marrying the love of her life, and soon, she would hold their four beautiful babies in her arms.

The door swished open, and a nurse bustled in for the morning check-up. Her name tag read: Claire Sullivan. Her face was pleasant, but Camila noticed a flicker of something—tension?—in the way she held her shoulders.

"Good morning, future Mrs. Reyes," the nurse said, her tone a mix of respect and what seemed like forced brightness. "How are our little soccer players today?"