Beneath His Cold Gaze

Chapter Five - Pregnant

Sophia's POV

"Hello? Who is this?" I press my phone to my ear while carefully folding Lucas’s clothes and placing them in his wardrobe.

"Julian Gray," the familiar deep voice replies. His tone sends a shiver down my spine, causing the clothes in my hands to drop to the floor. I swallow hard, my heart racing faster by the second. The memories of the charity gala flood my mind—the night I had s*x with Julian.

I mutter a cuss under my breath as the memories flood back—how one kiss with him had led to s*x, and worse, waking up in his bed the next morning. I had managed to sneak out of his mansion, thinking I had escaped without a trace, convinced I had gotten rid of him for good.

"Sophia, are you still there?" Something about the way he calls my name flutters my heart. I hastily snap out of my thoughts and respond in a cold tone. "How did you get my number?" I snap at him.

I hear him laugh over the phone. "I have my ways, but that doesn't really matter, does it?" I can almost picture him raising his perfect brows at me. My goodness, what have I done to myself? How did I let myself fall for a stranger's charm? For starters, I don’t even know who he is or why everyone was so afraid of him. I know he's influential, but who exactly is he, and why was he even at the charity gala?

"I am hanging up," I say hastily.

"No, no, no. Wait, Sophia, aren't you at least going to hear what I have to say?" Julian asks. I can't help but feel a spark of curiosity. Why did he call me?

"What do you have to say?" I ask. I hear him clear his throat and reply. "Can we meet? I mean, talk over dinner? I know this famous restaurant, they make the best fries. You and I can meet up and talk." He says.

Let me guess, he thinks I’m just some woman who sleeps around. Well, can I really blame him? I practically threw myself onto his bed like some kind of slut. Honestly, I can’t fault him for not respecting me.

"Look here, Mr. Julian Gray, I don’t care what kind of public figure you are, but let me make one thing clear: what happened between us that night was a mistake. We were both drunk, and we got carried away. We had s*x, which I deeply regret. I’m a married woman, and I don’t just sleep around. Please forget about it and don’t call me again." I say.

"Who said anything about us having s*x?" He retorts. "I just want to talk to you about something important."

My cheeks flush red in embarrassment, and I mutter a cuss under my breath for being too ahead of myself. Seriously though, what is wrong with me?

"I can’t meet with you. Lucas has become overly protective of me. He doesn’t let me leave the house, and he could be back from work at any moment." I say.

"Don’t worry about Lucas. I’m his boss, after all. He has a lot of work today, so you probably won’t see him until tomorrow."

Wait, what? Julian Gray is Lucas' boss? So wait a second, Julian is the new CEO of Anderson Enterprise? Damn it! I am in serious trouble. How did I manage to have s*x with Lucas' boss? I hope Lucas never has to find out.

"Fine, I will only spare you some minutes of my time. Text me the address, and I will be there." I reply.

In less than a minute, Julian texts me the address, which isn’t far from the house. I meet him at the famous restaurant, and he was right, their fries do taste really good.

"Thank you for meeting me, Sophia. You look absolutely stunning this evening." Julian's gaze lingers on me. I suddenly feel uneasy at his compliment. After all, I’m just wearing a basic dress. What makes me so pretty?

"I guess you are not used to getting compliments from your husband." Julian points out. It is almost as if he can read my mind or see right through me.

I clear my throat. "Let us get straight to the point. I told you I only have some minutes to spare. What important thing do you have to tell me?" I ask.

Julian clears his throat and straightens up in his chair. "I want you to divorce your husband," he says, his voice full of confidence. My face goes blank. What does he mean by that? Why is he asking me to do this? A heavy silence hangs between us as I try to find the right words to respond.

"Look, I don’t know what’s wrong with you or why you’d ask me to do that, but you need to stay in your lane. Don’t interfere with my marriage. I’m begging you—stay away from me and mind your own business." I rise to my feet and grab my purse from the table. To my surprise, Julian doesn’t stop me. Instead, he watches me with a poker face, his expression unreadable.

"Thanks for the food. Do not call me again." I storm out of the restaurant.

Just like that, Julian and I never cross paths again. Days turn into weeks, and Julian doesn’t reach out. For some reason, I start to wonder if I might have been too harsh. Meanwhile, Lucas has been in an increasingly bad mood, and he’s even stepped up the security at the house—almost as if he’s afraid to let me out at all.

Today, I received an email from the hospital with my test results. Last week, I went in for a check-up due to some strange symptoms I’d been experiencing. I even took the bold step of doing a pregnancy test.

As I rip the brown envelope open, I stare at the white stick in my hand. Two pink lines glare at me, confirming my worst fears.

I’m pregnant, and the father isn’t Lucas.