Bonus Chapter: Surprise
Ivy sat on the bathroom floor, barefoot, staring at a pregnancy test.
Two lines.
She didn't move. Didn't breathe. For once, her brain went blank.
Not because she was scared. But because, somehow, she wasn't.
Ten minutes later, she walked into Alexander's office. He looked up from his screen, reading her in half a second like he always did.
"What is it?" he asked.
She walked straight to him and placed the test on his desk. No words. No drama.
He stared at it.
Then looked at her.
"Is this real?"
"Very."
He stood slowly. Walked to her. Took her face in his hands.
"Then we build something else now," he said. "Together."
She exhaled against his chest. For once, everything felt still.
This wasn't in the contract.
It wasn't part of any plan.
But it was the start of something better.
---
Bonus Chapter 2: The Storm
News traveled fast. Too fast.
Within a week, a tabloid leaked the headline: "CEO Power Couple Expecting?" complete with a grainy zoomed-in photo of Ivy leaving a doctor's office.
Ivy didn't care much for rumors. But this wasn't just about her anymore.
The board was on fire. Investors panicked. Alexander didn't blink.
"We're not hiding," he said in the next press conference. "Not our company. Not our child."
The room froze. Journalists looked stunned.
Ivy, standing off-stage, felt her chest tighten.
He'd just done something rare: let the world in.
---
Bonus Chapter 3: Foundations
The townhouse was older. Quiet. Ivy picked it.
"Why not stay at the penthouse?" he asked.
"Because I want our baby to hear something other than traffic and stock tickers."
He didn't argue. He signed the deed in her name.
Nursery colors were debated. She wanted soft yellow. He coded an app to simulate the light at different times of day.
"You're ridiculous," she laughed.
"You married ridiculous," he said.
Not technically true. Yet.
But the ring was already in his desk.