Chapter 543
Chapter 542:
A soft, content smile rested on her face. Her left hand moved instinctively, dropping from the mug to rest flat against her stomach. It was still perfectly flat, but she could feel the profound shift inside her body.
Her phone vibrated on the glass coffee table. The screen flashed with Bella’s name. Jocelyn picked it up and swiped to answer.
“Tell me you have good news today,” Jocelyn said, her voice light and easy.
A heavy, exhausted sigh came through the speaker.
“I wish I did, Jo,” Bella said. Her voice sounded tight, stripped of its usual vibrant energy. “The family signed the final betrothal contracts this morning. It is done. There is no backing out now. It is officially Senator Hayes p>
Jocelyn froze. She slowly lowered the mug to the table.
“Senator Hayes?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “The man who is always on CNN? The one who looks like he was carved out of cold marble p>
“That is the one,” Bella replied with a bitter, hollow laugh. “He is a political machine, Jo. We had coffee yesterday, and it felt like I was being deposed in a Senate hearing. There is zero romance. It is a transaction p>
Jocelyn felt a sharp pang of sympathy in her chest. She remembered exactly what it felt like to be a pawn in a family’s power game.
“Maybe he will surprise you,” she offered gently. “Sometimes people are different behind closed doors p>
Bella cut her off immediately.
J𝘰𝗂𝗇 о𝗎𝗋 𝗰𝗈mm𝘶ո𝗂𝘵y oո.с𝗈𝘮
“No,” she said, her voice turning hard and resolute. “I am treating this exactly for what it is. A business deal. I am not giving that man a single piece of my actual heart p>
Jocelyn ended the call a few minutes later. The phone felt heavy in her hand.
She leaned back against the sofa cushions, her chest aching for her friend. Bella was being forced into a cold, calculated cage, while Jocelyn had somehow found her way out of one. She thought of Gaston — of the terrifying, consuming fire of his love — and felt a wave of profound gratitude wash over her.
The heavy door of the home office clicked open.
Gaston walked into the living room wearing dark slacks and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His sharp, dark eyes immediately locked onto Jocelyn. He crossed the room in long, predatory strides and sat down beside her on the sofa, his large, warm hand moving at once to cover hers against her stomach.
“What is wrong?” he asked, his voice a low rumble. He could read the slight shift in her breathing from across the room.
Jocelyn leaned her head against his solid shoulder and breathed in the scent of his cologne. “It is Bella,” she murmured. “Her family is forcing her to marry Senator Hayes. It is just another political transaction. I hate seeing her go through this p>
Gaston let out a dark, humorless scoff. “The Douglas family is bleeding cash and influence,” he stated coldly. “They are desperate. They would sell their own blood for a life raft. It is pathetic p>
He paused. His hand stilled on her stomach.