Taming The Billionaire Playboy

Ariana's POV "Congratulations, Ms. Hayes." The words caught me completely off guard. I blinked at Dr. Reynolds from across his desk, certain I had misheard him. "I'm sorry... what?" His smile widened as he adjusted his glasses and glanced at the file in front of him. "Congratulations. You're pregnant." For a moment, the world stopped. The sounds of the hospital disappeared. The chatter outside the office faded into silence. All I could hear was the pounding of my own heartbeat. Pregnant. The word echoed through my mind again and again. "There must be a mistake." Dr. Reynolds shook his head gently. "There isn't. We've repeated the tests twice. You're approximately six weeks pregnant." My fingers tightened around the armrest of the chair. Six weeks. A baby. I was carrying a baby. My baby. Ethan's baby. A thousand emotions crashed into me at once. Shock. Fear. Confusion. And beneath it all... Happiness. A tiny, fragile happiness I was almost afraid to feel. I had never planned for this. Neither Ethan nor I had talked about children. At least not seriously. But surely he would be happy. Wouldn't he? For two years, Ethan Monroe had been my entire world. The man I loved. The man I trusted. The man I believed I would spend the rest of my life with. "Are you okay?" Dr. Reynolds asked. I quickly nodded. "Yes. Just surprised." "That's understandable." He handed me a folder containing the test results. I accepted it with trembling fingers. "Take care of yourself, Ariana. Stress isn't good for either you or the baby." The baby. Even hearing those words felt unreal. I forced a smile. "Thank you, Doctor." A few minutes later, I walked out of the office. The hospital corridor seemed brighter than before. My hand instinctively rested against my stomach. A small smile touched my lips. A baby. Maybe Ethan would be surprised. Maybe he'd panic at first. But eventually he would be happy. He had to be. We loved each other. Didn't we? The thought made my chest warm. I was already imagining how I would tell him. Maybe over dinner. Maybe tonight. I could still picture his smile. The way his eyes crinkled when he laughed. The way he always said everything would work out. Lost in thought, I stepped into the main lobby. Then I saw him. My smile vanished instantly. Ethan stood near the entrance. For one brief moment, happiness surged through me. What a coincidence. Maybe I could tell him right now. But then I noticed he wasn't alone. A beautiful woman stood beside him. Tall. Elegant. Perfectly dressed. At first, I assumed she was a colleague. Someone from work. Then Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist. My feet froze. No. The woman laughed softly. Ethan leaned down and kissed her forehead. The gesture was so familiar. So intimate. So devastating. My heart dropped into my stomach. I quickly stepped behind a pillar before they noticed me. From my hiding place, I watched them. Watched him. Watched the man I loved smile at another woman the way he used to smile at me. "Sorry I'm late, sweetheart." His voice carried across the lobby. Sweetheart. The same nickname he called me. The same tone. The same affection. My stomach twisted painfully. The woman giggled. "It's okay." Ethan reached behind his back and pulled out a bouquet of white roses. My breath caught. White roses. My favorite flowers. The flowers he had given me on our first anniversary. The flowers he always claimed reminded him of me. The woman gasped happily. "They're beautiful." "I know you'll love them." Love. The word shattered something inside me. Then I noticed the ring. A massive diamond sparkled on her finger. The sight made my knees weak. I knew that ring. I knew every detail of it. Because Ethan had bought it for me. Two weeks ago, after a terrible argument, I had thrown the ring back at him. He promised he would wait until I was ready. Promised he would put it back on my finger himself. Instead... He had given it to someone else. My vision blurred. Around me, people smiled at the couple. "They look amazing together." "I heard they're engaged." "Such a perfect match." Every comment felt like another knife. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't understand what I was seeing. Was this real? Had everything between us been a lie? Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward. "Ethan." My voice cracked. Both of them turned. The moment Ethan saw me, the warmth vanished from his face. His expression hardened instantly. As if my presence annoyed him. As if I were an inconvenience. "What are you doing here?" he asked. I stared at him. The question felt absurd. What was I doing here? I almost laughed. "Do I need permission now?" The woman frowned. Her perfectly manicured hand tightened around Ethan's arm. She looked at me with obvious irritation. "Ethan, who is she?" Who is she? The question nearly broke me. I waited. Waited for him to answer. Waited for him to tell her the truth. His girlfriend. The woman he claimed to love. The woman carrying his child. Instead, Ethan sighed heavily. As though he were exhausted. As though I were causing a scene. "Ariana," he said. "Not here." My eyes filled with tears. "Then where?" He remained silent. The silence hurt more than any insult. "What is this?" I demanded. My voice shook. "What is going on?" The woman looked confused. "Ethan?" He rubbed the back of his neck. Then he did something that shattered my heart completely. He pulled the woman closer. "Ariana and I are over." The words hit like a punch. My entire body went numb. "What?" His expression remained cold. Emotionless. "We've been over for a while." "No." I shook my head repeatedly. "No, that's not true." "It is." My throat tightened painfully. "Ethan..." "I don't love you." The words landed like bullets. Each one tearing through me. I stared at him in disbelief. This couldn't be happening. Two years. Two years together. Two years of memories. Two years of promises. And now he was standing here acting like none of it mattered. The woman smiled slightly. A victorious smile. As though she had won something. Maybe she had. "My heart belongs to Sophia," Ethan said. The woman beamed. Sophia. So she had a name. I hated how beautiful it sounded. How easily it came from his lips. How much affection filled his voice when he said it. More affection than he had shown me in months. Suddenly, everything made sense. The late-night meetings. The canceled dates. The unanswered calls. The growing distance. I had ignored all the signs. Because I loved him. Because I trusted him. Because I was stupid enough to believe we were forever. A tear rolled down my cheek. "Ethan, please." For the first time, his eyes softened slightly. Hope flickered inside me. Then he destroyed it. "You should leave." The softness vanished. Gone as quickly as it appeared. My hands clenched into fists. "You used me." "No." The answer came too quickly. Too rehearsed. "I simply moved on." Moved on. As if I were a temporary inconvenience. As if two years meant nothing. As if my heart wasn't breaking right in front of him. I wanted to tell him. Wanted to scream that I was pregnant. Wanted to throw the test results in his face. But something stopped me. Maybe pride. Maybe survival. Maybe the realization that the man standing before me wasn't the Ethan I loved. Perhaps he never had been. Sophia leaned against him. "We're going to be late." Ethan nodded. Then he looked at me one final time. No apology. No guilt. No regret. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The emptiness in his eyes terrified me. How could someone stop caring so completely? How could someone pretend two years never happened? Without another word, he turned away. Sophia followed him. Together they walked toward the exit. Toward the luxury car waiting outside. Toward the future they had chosen. Leaving me behind. Alone. Broken. Forgotten. The hospital lobby continued moving around me. People walked past. Conversations continued. Life carried on. But mine had just ended. My legs gave out. I sank onto a nearby chair. The folder containing my pregnancy results slipped from my hands and scattered across the floor. I stared at the papers. At the words that had changed my life only an hour ago. Pregnant. I should have been happy. Instead, tears streamed down my face. Because the father of my child had just chosen another woman. And deep down, I knew this was only the beginning of my nightmare.