Legally Bound: Pregnant with my Rival's Baby

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The smooth leather of my executive chair creaked as I leaned back, eyes scanning the brief for my upcoming meeting. A straightforward corporate dispute that should have been a cakewalk, yet my mind kept drifting to another case entirely - and more specifically, to a certain opposing counsel.

Sophia Chen. Weeks had passed since our... encounter, and still, I couldn't shake her from my thoughts. The way her eyes had flashed with passion - both in and out of the courtroom. The softness of her skin under my fingertips. The breathy way she'd whispered my name in the dark.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the memory. This was ridiculous. I was Derek Hawthorne, for Christ's sake. I didn't get hung up on women, especially not brilliant, infuriating women who were actively trying to thwart me professionally.

A sharp knock at my door interrupted my reverie. "Mr. Hawthorne?" my assistant called. "Ms. Chen is here. She says it's urgent."

I felt my heart rate kick up a notch. Sophia was here? Now? "Send her in," I called, straightening my tie and schooling my features into a mask of professional indifference.

The door opened, and Sophia stepped in. I was immediately struck by how... different she looked. Her usually impeccable appearance was slightly disheveled, her face pale and drawn. She stood just inside the doorway, seemingly frozen in place.

"Sophia," I said, breaking the tense silence. "What brings you here? I have a meeting in twenty minutes."

She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again. Her eyes, usually so sharp and challenging, were wide with what looked like... fear? That couldn't be right. Sophia Chen didn't do fear.

"I..." she started, then stopped. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders in a way I recognized from countless courtroom battles. "Derek, I need to tell you something."

I felt a knot of anxiety form in my stomach. "Okay," I said cautiously. "What is it?"

Sophia took another deep breath, then seemed to lose her nerve. She turned away, facing the window. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. You have a meeting, and I-"

"Sophia," I interrupted, standing up and taking a step closer. "Whatever it is, just tell me. You're starting to freak me out here."

She let out a shaky laugh that sounded nothing like her usual confident chuckle. "Trust me, you have no idea."

I was about to press further when she suddenly turned back to face me, her eyes blazing with a mix of determination and... something else. "I'm pregnant, Derek. And it's yours."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Pregnant. Sophia was pregnant. And she was saying it was mine. But that couldn't be right. We'd only been together once, and surely she must have...

"That's impossible," I heard myself say, my voice sounding distant and strange to my own ears. "It can't be mine. You must have... been with someone else."

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I'd made a terrible mistake. Sophia's eyes widened, hurt and anger flashing across her face in quick succession. Then, just as quickly, her expression shuttered, becoming a mask of cold fury.

"How dare you," she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "You think I would come here, tell you this, if I wasn't absolutely certain?"

I opened my mouth to respond, to apologize, to say something - anything - to fix this. But before I could, Sophia was already moving, striding towards the door with purpose.

"Sophia, wait," I called, my brain finally catching up to the gravity of the situation. "We need to talk about this."

She paused at the door, her hand on the handle. For a moment, I thought she might turn back. But then she spoke, her voice cold and distant. "There's nothing to talk about, Hawthorne. I've said what I came to say. What you choose to do with that information is up to you."

And with that, she was gone, leaving me alone in my office, the echo of the slamming door ringing in my ears.

I sank back into my chair, my mind reeling. Sophia was pregnant. With my child. And I'd just accused her of... God, what had I done?

The intercom buzzed, my assistant's voice cutting through my spiraling thoughts. "Mr. Hawthorne? Your meeting is in five minutes."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I had a meeting to get through. A case to win. I couldn't afford to let this... situation... distract me.

But even as I gathered my papers and headed for the conference room, I couldn't shake the image of Sophia's face - the hurt in her eyes, the anger in her voice. I'd screwed up, badly. And I had no idea how to fix it.

As I sat down at the head of the conference table, forcing a smile for my clients, one thought kept repeating in my mind: I was going to be a father. And I might have just ruined any chance of being a part of my child's life before it had even begun.