Pregnant and Spoiled by the Billionaire – Episode 31
Matilda pulled the second ribbon from the box, and another wave of blue spilled across her lap. Her delighted cry made Amelia laugh, but Leo kept one arm around his fiancée as if five healthy heartbeats still felt too miraculous to trust. The third envelope announced another boy, followed by the fourth and fifth, until the room disappeared beneath blue paper and stunned applause.
“Five grandsons,” Matilda breathed. She pressed both hands to her cheeks, then crossed the room to embrace Amelia with unusual care. “You have given me more than I ever imagined.” Amelia accepted the affection while reminding her that the babies were not gifts anyone owned. Matilda immediately corrected herself: they were five children the family had been privileged to welcome.
Leo knelt beside Amelia and rested his palm over the curve of her stomach. At five months, the pregnancy had become impossible to conceal, and each movement beneath her skin made the extraordinary diagnosis real. “Five sons,” he murmured. “I was worried one child would inherit my stubbornness. Now we’re completely outnumbered.”
The celebration remained deliberately small. Claire attended from her recovery program with permission from her counselor, Derek managed security, and Amelia’s medical team stayed within reach. No reporters had been invited, and every employee had signed updated privacy agreements after Celeste’s arrest. For once, Amelia believed a family moment might belong only to them.
Outside the estate, a telephoto lens watched through a gap in the garden wall. The photographer captured Matilda holding five blue ribbons, Leo kissing Amelia’s temple, and the labeled envelopes displayed beside the cake. Within minutes, encrypted copies traveled to an anonymous buyer.
Amelia noticed nothing until her phone began vibrating across the table. One alert became dozens. A gossip account had posted the photograph beneath a headline announcing that the billionaire’s pregnant fiancée was carrying five male heirs. The image had been taken less than ten minutes earlier.
The room changed immediately. Derek closed the curtains and ordered security to search the grounds while Leo reached for Amelia’s phone. She held on to it. Their agreement required him to ask rather than remove frightening information from her hands, even when protection felt urgent.
“May I see what they published?” he asked through clenched teeth. Amelia passed him the screen. The article described her medical status, gestational age, and expected delivery window, details no photograph could reveal. Whoever purchased the image had also obtained confidential information.
Leo wanted Amelia moved to an interior room while security swept the property. She agreed because the danger was practical, not because she accepted being hidden. Matilda accompanied her, carrying the five ribbons as if refusing to let fear contaminate the happiness they represented.
In the study, Derek confirmed that the camera transmitted from public land beyond the estate. The photographer had already fled, leaving a rented vehicle behind. Its registration led to a shell company incorporated only three days earlier.
The medical details were more troubling. Only the specialist clinic, household care coordinator, and Amelia herself possessed the complete schedule. The clinic denied any breach, but its director began an audit. Leo ordered Preston Group’s cybersecurity team to assist without taking control of patient records.
Amelia read the comments despite Matilda’s warning. Strangers debated whether she deserved five babies, accused her of securing the Preston fortune through fertility treatment, and calculated the children’s inheritance before they were born. The language reduced her sons to assets in the same way Sam once reduced her to payment.
She closed the screen when one commenter suggested kidnapping a baby would be worth millions. Leo saw her expression and crouched before her. He did not promise that money could erase the internet. He promised to strengthen security while letting her decide what the public would hear from them.
“I don’t want to issue a statement tonight,” Amelia said. “Anything we say while we’re frightened will become another headline.” Leo agreed and instructed his communications staff to confirm only that stolen private material had been published without consent.
Claire blamed herself because she had posted a photograph of the estate’s flowers earlier that afternoon. The image contained no location tag, but guilt made her search for another way she had failed Amelia. Her sister took her hand and refused to let old patterns turn a criminal’s choice into Claire’s fault.
Derek returned with footage from the exterior cameras. A figure in dark clothing had positioned the lens beyond the wall, but one frame captured the side of her face. Amelia recognized the sharp profile before the image was enhanced.
Regina Vale had been expelled after the campus assault. A restraining order prohibited direct contact with Amelia, yet photographing the estate from public land might not qualify as a violation. She had found a way to continue the humiliation while pretending to be a journalist.
Professor Thomas confirmed Regina had recently started publishing on a scandal site that called itself independent media. She claimed her expulsion proved powerful donors silenced inconvenient truth. Her first major story was the photograph now spreading across every platform.
Amelia’s anger steadied her more than fear had. Regina had wrapped revenge in the language of public interest, but private medical data was not accountability. Amelia asked Derek to preserve the article, payment trail, and original image rather than demand an immediate takedown that could destroy evidence.
Then a message appeared on Amelia’s private number. Regina offered to remove the photographs if Leo restored Preston Group’s investment in Wallis Enterprises. Attached was an ultrasound image copied from Amelia’s medical file—and a warning that the next release would show the world exactly where the five babies would be delivered.