The Billionaire's Secret Twins

Chapter 6: Heartbeats

"Mr. Knight, if you could hold the gown up just like that... yes, perfect."

The ultrasound technician smiled at Ethan, who looked like he would rather be in a board meeting negotiating a hostile takeover than in this dimly lit doctor's office holding up my hospital gown so she could put cold gel on my stomach.

I wanted to laugh at his face. He was pale. Ethan Knight, who never showed emotion, looked terrified.

"You okay, Mr. Billionaire?" I whispered. "Scared of a little gel?"

"I'm not scared," he muttered, but his hand that was holding my gown was shaking slightly. "I just... I've never done this before."

Neither had I. This was my first real prenatal appointment. Yesterday I had gone alone to a cheap clinic. Today, Eleanor had insisted we go to the best private doctor in Manhattan, and Ethan had insisted on coming.

"Protecting my investment," he had said in the car. But he had spent the whole ride reading articles about twin pregnancies on his phone.

Now, the doctor - Dr. Patel, a kind Indian woman with warm eyes - put the probe on my still-flat stomach.

"Okay, Emma, this might be cold. And Mr. Knight, come closer. You need to see this."

Ethan reluctantly leaned in. He was standing so close I could feel the heat from his body. His other hand, the one not holding my gown, was clenched into a fist at his side.

Dr. Patel moved the probe. Static filled the screen. Then...

"There!"

Two tiny blobs appeared on the black screen. They looked like peanuts. But inside each peanut, a tiny flicker. Fast, fast, fast.

"There's Baby A... and there's Baby B," Dr. Patel said, smiling. "And those flickers? Those are their heartbeats. Strong heartbeats. 165 beats per minute each. Perfect for 8 weeks with twins."

The sound filled the room.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh. Fast like hummingbirds. Two different rhythms, slightly out of sync.

Twins. My twins.

Tears filled my eyes. I didn't even try to stop them.

"They have heartbeats," I whispered.

Beside me, Ethan made a strange sound. I looked up at him.

His face... I will never forget his face in that moment.

All the coldness was gone. His mouth was open, his gray eyes wide, staring at the screen where two tiny heartbeats flickered. His hand that was holding my gown had dropped, and without thinking, he placed his large hand gently over my stomach, right where the gel was.

Warm. His hand was so warm.

"They're... they're real," he said, his voice hoarse, like he had been punched in the stomach.

"Very real," Dr. Patel chuckled. "Congratulations, Dad. You're having twins."

Dad.

Ethan flinched at the word. His hand jerked slightly on my stomach, but he didn't pull away.

I placed my hand over his, without thinking. Our hands together, covered in cold gel, over our babies.

His eyes snapped down to mine. For a second, we just stared at each other, the sound of our