The Billionaire’s Secret Heirs (Celine and Hunter) novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Chapter 226

-CELINE POV-

(ONE MONTH LATER)

It has been one month.

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One month since that night. One month since the hospital, since the ache that nearly swallowed me whole. One month of clawing forward.

Life hadn’t magically healed, but somehow, in the quiet corners of our days, Hunter and I found ways to breathe again. To laugh again. To live.

I sat on our bed that morning, sunlight pouring through the balcony doors like gold dust. I closed my eyes, letting it soak into my skin, imagining it seeping into the cracks of me that were still tender.

When I finally pulled myself up, I slipped into my robe and padded downstairs. The house had been calmer lately, almost… content.

The new staff Hunter hired were professional and efficient.

Sally had retired at last, after decades of holding this house together, her wrinkled face glowing with joy when she told me her granddaughter had given birth.

Hunter had been reluctant to let her go, but he’d sent her off with a hefty retirement package and a grand farewell gift that made me tear up.

Now, Sally’s door would always be open, and mine would always be open to her.

The house smelled of… something. Something burnt. Something suspicious. I raised an eyebrow as I turned into the kitchen and froze.

Hunter stood at the counter, bare chest flexing as he flipped something on the pan, sweatpants hanging low on his hips. A sight sinful enough to be illegal.

Meanwhile, Caesar…..my sweet boy….was standing on a stool, trying to whisk batter with a frown of deep concentration. The counter was covered in flour, eggshells, and what looked like a crime scene involving strawberries.

“Oh my God,” I muttered. “What are you two doing?”

“Making breakfast,” Hunter said flatly, without looking up, as if this disaster was completely intentional.

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“Helping Papa,” Caesar added proudly.

“Destroying my kitchen, more like.”

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Hunter finally looked over his shoulder at me, lips quirking. “Destroying? Woman, you wound

me.”

Before I could retort, Caesar hopped down carefully, his little hands immediately wrapping around mine. “Come, Mommy! Sit! We made breakfast for you!”

His excitement was impossible to resist. He pulled me into the dining room where he’d set the table, forks on the wrong sides, napkins folded like crumpled socks…..and stood in front of me with his chest puffed out.

“Welcome, Madame,” he declared, struggling with the word, “to the Reids… Re–Re–sidence Res…taurant.”

I bit back a laugh, pressing my hand to my lips. “Wow. I’m honored.” He giggled when I bent to kiss his cheek, his little body wriggling under the attention.

“Hey!” Hunter’s voice rang from the kitchen. “No kissing the waiter.”

Caesar laughed louder, leaning closer. “One more, Mommy.”

I kissed him again just to spite Hunter.

“Cheating!” Hunter appeared, balancing a tray, shaking his head in mock offense. “First thing in the morning and I’m already being cheated on in my own house.”

Caesar clapped as Hunter set the plates down…pancakes, slightly lopsided, with strawberries piled on top. My stomach clenched nervously at the sight, but I forced a smile.

“Is it edible?” I teased.

Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Try it and see.”

I cut into one pancake, took a bite… and blinked. It was actually good. Not spectacular, but good enough to be edible. I grinned. “Wow. You’ve improved.”

He took a fork and bit into his own plate, shrugging like it was nothing. “Vincent told me Blake makes hers this way.”

I nearly choked. “Wait–hold on. You’re taking cooking advice from Vincent?…. Vincent?”

Hunter glared at me, chewing slowly. “Don’t start.”

I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

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We ate together, Caesar talking nonstop about cartoons and boats, while I kept sneaking glances at Hunter. For once, his jaw wasn’t clenched from stress. For once, his shoulders weren’t heavy with the world. He looked… happy.

“Don’t you have work?” I asked cautiously.

He leaned back in his chair, one arm resting on it casually. “I took the day off.”

“You’ve been taking a lot of days off.”

“I own the damn companies, Celine. If I decide to take a year off, every single employee under my name will smile and say yes, sir, or they can quit. Or get their salaries cut.”

I rolled my eyes, spoon–feeding him a bite of strawberry just to shut him up. “Ruthless Mr. Reid.” His lips curved, and before I could pull away, he captured my wrist and kissed me….slow, hot, leaving me breathless.

“Consider it a compliment, Mrs. Reid,” he murmured.

“Ewwwwww.” Caesar scrunched his face, covering his eyes.

I burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay,” I said, pulling back from Hunter, though his smirk told me he would have gone further if Caesar wasn’t sitting right there. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

Caesar’s eyes lit up as if he’d been waiting for this moment. He jumped up from his chair. “We’re going sailing!”

I blinked. “We’re what?”

He bounced on his toes, his curls flying. “Papa said we’re going sailing today!”

I turned to Hunter slowly, one eyebrow raised. “Are you

serious?”

Hunter stood, making his way towards the kitchen to get syrup before walking toward me, and cupped my face with his hand.

His thumb brushed my cheek, and his eyes sparkled with that dangerous mix of confidence and mischief that had once undone me completely.

“Yes,” he said simply. “We’re sailing.”

My mouth parted. “Since when do you have a yacht?” His smirk widened, leaning closer until his lips brushed the corner of mine.

“Since always, sweetheart.”

13:16 Mon, Sep 22

Chapter 226

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The first thing I noticed when we pulled up to the harbor wasn’t the sunlight bouncing off the water like melted gold. It was the size of the yacht waiting for us….white, sleek, towering like something out of a dream.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I murmured, clutching Caesar’s small hand as he bounced beside me.

Hunter, of course, looked smug. His shirt was rolled up to the elbows, his sunglasses catching the light, his whole presence screaming ‘I–own–the–sea–too‘.

He slipped the keys into his pocket, leaned closer, and whispered like he’d been waiting for this moment all morning.

“You never asked,” he said.

“I didn’t think to,” I shot back. “It’s not exactly normal to casually ask someone if they happen to own a yacht.”

Caesar tugged at my arm, practically dragging me forward. “Mommy, look! It’s like a hotel on the water. Can we live here? Please?”

Hunter smirked. “Careful, buddy. If you ask her sweetly enough, she might say yes.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my lips. The truth was….it was breathtaking. And for the first time in weeks, my chest didn’t ache quite so much.

The crew greeted us, but Hunter waved them off quickly. “We’ll manage.”

‘Of course we will,’ I thought. The man could take over empires; surely, he could handle a yacht.

Once on deck, Caesar darted around like an explorer, his giggles carried by the wind. I followed, my blazer brushing against my legs, until the sea stretched out before me, endless, shimmering, alive.

Hunter came up behind me, close enough that I felt his warmth even with the salty air brushing over my skin. His hand slipped against my lower back, grounding me.

“Well?” he asked, voice low. “Do I get to keep my bragging rights, or are you unimpressed?”

I glanced at him over my shoulder, arching a brow. “I’ll admit… It’s a little better than your pancakes.”

His lips curved, wicked. “I can think of other ways to impress you.”

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“Hunter,” I warned, but the corner of my mouth betrayed me, twitching into a smile.

We spent the next hour watching Caesar discover every corner of the yacht. Hunter let him “steer” with the captain, his little hands on the wheel, his voice bubbling with excitement.

I watched them from a distance, my heart folding over itself at the sight–Hunter, powerful and untouchable in boardrooms, looking so undone by a boy with his same blue eyes.

Eventually, Caesar ran off with one of the crew to look for dolphins, leaving Hunter and me alone on the deck. The silence felt different then.

It was heavy, but not hard to bear. The sea had a way of making people share their truths.

I leaned against the railing, eyes on the horizon. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“Guilty,” he said, coming to stand beside me. His arm brushed mine. “I thought… maybe you needed something else to hold onto. Not just the house. Not the therapy rooms. Something that feels alive.”

I swallowed, the sea blurring in front of me. “Hunter…”

“Don’t.” His voice was gentle, almost a plea. “Don’t tell me thank you. Just… breathe with me.

For once.”

I took a deep breath of the salty air and listened to the waves. For a moment, I felt calm and relaxed. I didn’t feel like I was falling apart anymore.

***

When I finally turned to him, I found his gaze already locked on me. Not hungry. Not demanding. Just watching, like he was memorizing the way the wind tangled in my hair.

“You’re scaring me,” I whispered, half–teasing, half–not.

His jaw tightened. “I’m scaring myself.”

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

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