The Return
Two years of marriage.
That was the deal to secure his inheritance.
No strings attached.
And yet Emma’s hand trembled as she stared down at the pregnancy test in her hand, the two pink lines glaring up at her as if mocking her. The tiny strip, barely the size of her palm, had just shifted her life in an unimaginable direction. She stood in the cramped bathroom of her apartment, fingers gripping the edge of the sink as she tried to steady herself.
Pregnant.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not in a temporary marriage, and not with Alex.
She could practically hear Alex’s cold, unfeeling voice if he found out, insisting that this was never part of the arrangement. Nothing about a baby.
She forced herself to breathe, to think past the panic and the thousand tangled questions in her head. Her fingers relaxed just slightly, her grip on the sink loosening. This wasn’t the first time she’d managed a crisis, but the stakes had never been this high.
Her mind slipped back to the night that had changed everything, the night that had taken their arrangement from a distant businesslike understanding to something far more complicated.
***
Two months ago, they’d been on a business trip to Shanghai.
The memory of it washed over her with crystal clarity. It had started with a hotel mix-up – the Peninsula’s last available suite during a packed international convention week. Emma remembered standing at the check-in desk, exhausted after a fourteen-hour day of merger negotiations.
“I’m very sorry, Mrs. Barrett,” the manager had said. “We have only the Peninsula Suite available.”
She’d started to protest – they always maintained separate rooms during business trips. It was one of their many unspoken rules. But Alex had surprised her.
“It’s midnight, Emma,” he’d said quietly. “The suite has two bedrooms. We’re both adults.” A pause. “And technically married.”
That last part had been accompanied by the ghost of a smile – a rare crack in his usually stoic demeanor.
She and Alex always booked separate hotel rooms, careful to keep things professional, but a booking error left them sharing a suite with only one king-sized bed. After nearly two years of simmering tension, the mix-up felt like the universe’s cruel little joke.
They’d ended up sharing a late dinner on the suite’s terrace, Shanghai’s lights creating a glittering backdrop. Maybe it was the wine, or perhaps the way Alex had finally relaxed – suit jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened as he spoke about his family’s expectations.
“The board wants Southeast Asian expansion,” he’d said, swirling wine in his glass. “Following my father’s old playbook.”
“But you disagree?”
“The market’s different now.” He’d stared into his wine. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever measure up. The great Richard Barrett, who built an empire from nothing.”
Alex had started talking about his family — his grandfather’s expectations, his brother Jack’s lack of interest in the company, and the weight of Barrett Industries on his shoulders. Emma had never seen this side of him before. Usually, Alex was all cool control and ruthless efficiency. But tonight, he seemed… human.
“Sometimes it feels like they’re just waiting for me to fail,” he’d said, his voice low, as though he were sharing a secret. “They think I’m just like them, cold and calculated. Maybe I am.” He’d laughed, a hollow sound.
“Not entirely,” Emma had replied, her voice soft. She’d meant it, too. She knew what it was like to be painted with the wrong brush, to be misunderstood. “You’re not your father,” she had said softly, surprising herself by reaching for his hand. “You’re better in ways he never was.”
The look he’d given her then had stolen her breath – vulnerable, surprised, and something else she’d been afraid to name. His hand had turned under hers, fingers interlacing.
“Emma…” His voice had been rough. “You see me differently than anyone else does.”
They’d fallen into silence then, the weight of the moment thickening the air between them. When Alex’s hand brushed against hers, she hadn’t pulled away. And when he leaned in, she found herself meeting him halfway, her heartbeat quickening as their lips met.
That night had felt like a blur, a cascade of long-buried feelings and lingering glances finally breaking free. The kiss had started gentle, almost questioning. Then two years of suppressed attraction had exploded. His hands in her hair, her fingers gripping his shirt, stumbling through the suite. The wall was cold against her back, his body burning hot against her front.
The barriers they’d held up so rigidly between them had fallen, and by morning, reality crashed back in. It brought harsh fluorescent lights and starched shirts. Alex had already been dressed, CEO mask firmly in place.
“We should treat this as what it was,” he’d said, adjusting his tie without meeting her eyes. “A mistake. It won’t happen again.”
He’d been distant and terse that day, slipping back into his mask of control as if nothing had happened. “It was a mistake,” he’d said again with the clinical tone she knew too well. She’d agreed, though her chest had tightened at the word.
But now, two months later, that “mistake” had left her with a positive pregnancy test and a knot of dread in her stomach. She had to tell him, of course. But she couldn’t yet. Not when he was still so set on keeping things purely professional.
A wave of nausea pulled Emma back to the present. She barely made it to the toilet in time. As she rinsed her mouth afterward, she stared at her reflection. She had exactly forty minutes to transform herself from Alex Barrett’s secretly pregnant wife into his perfectly professional executive assistant.
Later that day Emma stepped into the Barrett Industries boardroom, her head held high despite the faint nausea rolling through her. She’d managed to shove her panic aside, at least for now. But the weight of the test in her purse served as a constant reminder of the truth she was carrying.
Alex was already in the room, the embodiment of executive confidence in his sharply tailored suit. His eyes flicked to her briefly as she entered, his expression unreadable. They hadn’t discussed Shanghai since it happened, and she knew he intended to keep it that way.
“Emma.” Marcus, the company’s legal counsel and one of her few allies, greeted her with a nod as she took her seat. He leaned in, his voice lowered. “You okay? You look… well, a bit pale.”
Emma forced a tight smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just didn’t sleep much last night,” she replied lightly, hoping he’d drop it. But Marcus was as observant as ever, his brow furrowing slightly as he studied her.
The boardroom door opened again, and in walked someone who made the room fall silent: a tall, striking woman with dark hair and a practiced smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Victoria.
Emma’s stomach twisted as she recognized Alex’s ex-fiancée, the woman he’d once described as “the love of his life” in a rare slip of vulnerability. Victoria’s return could only mean one thing: trouble.
“Alex,” Victoria purred, her voice a practiced blend of sophistication and warmth. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, and Emma felt an icy prick at the back of her neck.
“Victoria,” Alex replied, his voice softening in a way that made Emma’s chest tighten. His usual reserve seemed to melt in her presence, leaving Emma feeling like an outsider watching something private unfold.
The meeting resumed, with Victoria taking a seat at the head of the table beside Alex, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Emma did her best to focus on the numbers in her notes, but she couldn’t ignore the tension radiating between Alex and Victoria. Every small smile, every sideways glance, felt like a reminder of their history, one Emma couldn’t compete with. She was a convenience, a business deal. Victoria, though… she was a memory, a lost piece of Alex’s past.
At the end of the meeting, Emma quickly gathered her things, ready to make her escape before anything else could unsettle her further. But just as she slipped toward the door, she caught a familiar voice. Victoria’s voice, low and soft, carrying through the slightly open doorway.
“I’ve missed you too, Alex,” Victoria murmured, her words striking like a blow. “More than you could imagine.”
