PREGNANT FOR MY RUTHLESS BOSS

CHAPTER 8: THE PRICE OF HIS NAME

The bill was higher than my entire life.

I didn’t blink when I saw it.

I couldn’t.

My eyes stayed fixed on the numbers, my fingers tightening slowly around the paper as if holding it harder would make it smaller.

It didn’t.

Nothing changed.

This wasn’t a bill.

It was a sentence.

I read it again.

Then again.

Hoping I had misunderstood.

Hoping there was a mistake.

There wasn’t.

Every line was clear.

Every cost is final.

My baby’s life had been measured, calculated, and written down like something I could simply pay for.

But I couldn’t.

Not even close.

I lowered the paper slowly, my hands no longer steady.

For a moment, I didn’t think.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t even breathe properly.

Because if I did… I might break.

And breaking was not an option anymore.

Not now.

Not when everything depended on me.

I turned and walked back toward the nursery.

My steps were slower this time.

But heavier.

Each one carrying the weight of what I now knew.

The door slid open quietly.

Machines hummed.

Lights blinked.

And there he was.

My son.

So small.

So fragile.

Fighting in a world that had already made survival too expensive.

I stepped closer, my hand pressing gently against the glass.

“I’m here,” I whispered.

The words felt different now.

Less like comfort.

More like a promise I wasn’t sure how to keep.

His chest rose and fell faintly.

Each breath assisted.

Each second was borrowed.

My throat tightened.

I tried to imagine a future.

I tried to picture him healthy, strong… alive.

But the numbers from the bill pushed back harder.

Louder.

“You should rest.”

The voice came from behind me.

I didn’t turn.

“I can’t,” I replied quietly.

A pause.

Then softer

“You need strength if you want to help him.”

That made me close my eyes.

Because strength wasn’t the problem.

Money was.

I stayed there longer than I should have.

Watching.

Counting each breath like it might be the last.

Memorizing his face like I was afraid time would take it away too soon.

“I won’t let you go,” I whispered.

My voice was low.

But it carried something new.

Something sharper.

Determination.

That night, I didn’t sleep.

I sat on the narrow hospital bed, the bill in my hands again, my thoughts finally catching up to reality.

I had nothing left to try.

Except one.

His face came back to me.

Cold eyes.

Controlled voice.

The man who had looked at me like I didn’t exist.

The man who denied me in front of everyone.

The man who had unknowingly walked away from his own child.

My jaw tightened.

My pride rose instantly.

Refusing.

But it didn’t last.

Because my eyes moved back to the bill.

Then to the memory of my son lying helpless behind glass.

Pride didn’t matter anymore.

Not when his life was on the line.

“I have to,” I whispered.

The words tasted bitter.

But they were true.

“I don’t have a choice.”

The next morning came too fast.

I stood outside the hospital, the early air cold against my skin.

My small bag rested on my shoulder.

Everything I owned inside it.

Everything I had left.

I turned back one last time.

My eyes fixed on the building.

On the place where my son was fighting without me.

My chest tightened painfully.

“Stay alive,” I whispered.

A pause.

My fingers curled slightly.

“I’m coming back.”

The journey felt longer this time.

Not because of the distance.

But because of what waited at the end.

Every mile brought me closer to the past I tried to walk away from.

Closer to him.

Closer to the humiliation I had sworn never to face again.

But this time was different.

I wasn’t going back to the same person.

By the time the city came into view, my expression had changed.

No hesitation.

Just focus.

Sharp.

Unshaken.

The buildings rose around me like reminders of everything I had lost.

Everything I had walked away from.

Everything I now had to face again.

I stepped out, my feet touching familiar ground.

But I didn’t stop.

Didn’t hesitate.

Because if I did, fear might return.

And I couldn’t afford that.

Not now.

The company building stood tall.

Untouchable—just like him.

I stopped in front of it, my eyes lifting slowly.

This was where it started.

This was where it ended.

Or maybe…

This was where everything would change.

The guards at the entrance looked at me immediately.

Judging.

Ready to chase me away like a beggar.

The same way everyone else had.

“I need to see him,” I said.

My voice didn’t shake.

Not this time.

“No appointment, no entry,” one of them replied.

I didn’t move.

“I’m not leaving,” I said calmly.

Something in my tone made them look again.

Minutes passed.

People walked by.

Some glanced.

Some whispered.

But I stood still.

Unmoving.

Because this time…

I had nothing left to lose..

Upstairs

Behind glass walls and closed doors

A man stood by the window.

Watching the city like it belonged to him.

Unaware.

That I was here.

That I had returned.

Carrying a truth that could destroy everything he thought he controlled.

I lifted my chin slightly, my eyes steady as the doors remained closed in front of me.

My heart beats slower now.

Not from fear.

But from certainty.

Because one thing had become clear.

I wasn’t here to ask anymore.

I was here to take what was mine.

And this time…

I wasn’t leaving without being seen.