Chapter 241
-HUNTER POV-
I told Vincent not to do anything. Repeatedly.
I even made him promise, face–to–face, with that death stare Celine always says could “melt steel if it had feelings.” But Vincent was Vincent…..the human embodiment of chaos with too much charm and too little self–control.
So when I walked into the private hall that evening, after what I thought was a casual dinner, and the lights flared on with a collective “Surprise!“, I just stood there, hands in my pockets, staring at him across the room.
Vincent grinned from behind a mountain of balloons, champagne in one hand and guilt in his eyes. “You can kill me later. For now, pretend to smile.”
Frederick clapped me on the back, nearly knocking the air out of me. “Happy birthday, brother! You look like you’re about to commit murder, but hey–you’re aging well.”
“I said no parties,” I muttered, though I could feel the corner of my mouth twitching.
Vincent leaned in, whispering, “Technically, this isn’t a party. It’s a ‘small gathering of very loud people who adore you.” noveldrama
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warm amber I breathed out slowly, scanning the room. The place looked like a spread out of a magazine lighting, jazz music playing softly, friends and colleagues mingling, glasses clinking. Caroline stood near the bar, her hand resting lightly over her already showing baby bumps stomach as she laughed at something Blake said.
Frederick’s wife had brought an entire cake shaped like a briefcase….. “Because you’re married to your work,” she said proudly. Caesar had drawn a crooked picture of me, him, and Celine, complete with stick arms and a dog that looked suspiciously like a mutant giraffe.
The only person missing was the one who mattered most.
Celine had sent a message earlier, something sweet and simple about missing me and promising to call after class. I told myself that was enough……but standing there, surrounded by everyone I knew, I’d never felt her absence more sharply.
“Come on, lighten up,” Vincent said, pressing a glass of whiskey into my hand. “You’re twenty–eight, not eighty–two.”
“Feels like eighty–two,” I muttered, but I clinked glasses anyway.
For the next hour, I played along. I laughed, even danced…though Frederick called it “a slow malfunction of joints.” I took pictures with Caesar, who insisted I wear the ridiculous crown Vincent had bought.
But every so often, I’d catch myself glancing at the door. Hoping.
Then it happened.
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The music softened, the lights shifted, and the room suddenly quieted…..the kind of quietness that falls just before something changes everything.
I turned, and there she was.
Celine,
Standing in the doorway like she’d stepped straight out of a dream I didn’t know I was still having.
She wore a soft champagne–colored dress that shimmered as she moved, her hair cut in that sleek bob I loved, framing her face like art. For a heartbeat, the world stopped moving, and every noise, every face, every breath just faded out..
I didn’t even realize I was walking toward her until she smiled……that smile that had ruined and rebuilt me in a similar action.
“Hey, birthday boy,” she said softly, her voice trembling just a little.
“Celine,” I breathed. “What…how….when did you…….?”
Vincent’s voice cut through from somewhere behind me, proud and smug. “Told you I had one more surprise.”
I didn’t care. I was already pulling her into my arms, burying my face in her neck. She smelled like home. Like Paris and paint and everything I missed.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I murmured against her skin. “You’re supposed to be in class.”
“I am,” she said, smiling up at me. “I’m just… taking a short break.”
I kissed her before she could finish the sentence…..slow, unhurried, the kind of kiss that tasted like relief and disbelief all at once. The room broke out in applause, but I didn’t hear a single thing.
****
CELINE POV
***
Paris felt like a world away the moment I saw him.
For weeks, I’d dreamed of this……the look on Hunter’s face when he’d see me walk through that door. But no dream had ever gotten it right. No dream had captured how his eyes softened, how every line of tension melted into quiet joy, or how his hand found mine like it had been waiting there all this time.
“Happy birthday,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
He stared at me like I was something fragile, something he didn’t quite believe was real. “You flew all this way just to make me lose my mind?”
“Maybe,” I teased, brushing my thumb over his jaw. “You deserve a little chaos on your birthday.”
He laughed…..really laughed…..and for a moment, it was just us again, no distance, no late–night calls, no
timezone between our hearts.
The night unfolded in warmth. Friends greeted me, Vincent bragged about orchestrating the “perfect emotional reunion,” and Caesar refused to let go of me, his arms wrapped around my waist as if afraid Id disappear again.
But as the candles burned low and the laughter softened, I knew it was time.
I took Hunter’s hand and led him out onto the balcony away from the crowd, the music, the curious glances. The city lights stretched out below, the skyline a blur of gold and silver.
He stood behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re here,” he murmured.
“I couldn’t miss your birthday,” I said softly. “Not when I had something important to tell you.”
He froze slightly. “Important?”
I turned to face him, my heart pounding. “Yes.”
There was no perfect way to say it. No dramatic speech, no clever reveal. So I just took his hand, pressed it gently against my stomach, and whispered,
“I’m pregnant.”
For a second, nothing. His eyes widened……confusion, realization, disbelief….all twisted in one breath. Then, slowly, his fingers curled against me, protective, reverent.
“Celine…” His voice broke, low and raw.
“I found out a few weeks ago,” I said, my throat tightening. “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. I needed to see your face.”
He said nothing, just pulled me against him….one arm around my back, the other still resting over the small secret between us. His breath trembled against my neck.
When he finally spoke, it was a vow.
“This time,” he whispered, “I’ll protect both of you. No matter what it takes.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I smiled through them. “I know you will.”
Behind us, the door creaked open…… Vincent’s voice broke the quiet. “I swear, if you two are making out on the balcony…..” ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ find⦿novel.net
Hunter turned just enough to glare over his shoulder. “Vincent.”
Vincent froze, hands raised. “I’ll… go check on the cake.” He disappeared instantly.
I laughed into Hunter’s chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart against mine. “You think he’ll ever stop meddling?”
“Not in this lifetime,” Hunter murmured, pressing a kiss into my hair. “But I’m too happy to care right now We stayed like that for a long time…the city glowing around us, the soft hum of celebration fading into the background.
For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t thinking about Paris, or distance, or the questionable future.
I was thinking about this. About us. About the life quietly beginning beneath my heart and the man who held us like we were the only thing that mattered.
And when Hunter whispered, “Happy birthday to me,” I smiled…..because I couldn’t have given him anything better.
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