Chapter 390:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

I wasn’t showing yet, but I could feel the changes, my body heavier, the sleepless nights, the wave of nausea that hit every time I brushed my teeth. I’d suspected it and taken a test alone, waiting, staring at the two pink lines like they were a doorway into a future I couldn’t wait to live.

I was pregnant again. But I hadn’t told Alex. Not yet. It wasn’t the right moment.

I couldn’t wait to tell him.

We were already at the event with the kids, and I couldn’t help noticing how often he’d been watching me tonight, wondering if he already sensed the secret I was holding. He always had a way of reading me like a familiar book, one he never tired of, no matter how many times he’d turned its pages.

The event was going smoothly, and I’d been introduced to more people than I could keep track of, barely catching half their names. The night passed in a blur, and despite my excitement, nerves kept creeping in.

𝘉𝘦 р𝘢𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 оur 𝗰𝘰m𝘮𝗎𝗇і𝘁y оn ga𝗅𝗻𝗼v𝗲𝗅ѕ.c𝗼𝗺

Soon it was time for the announcement, and my anxiety spiked.

“Ready?” Dom asked, pulling me from my racing thoughts, calm and steady as ever. He looked composed in his suit, confident in the way only Dominic Graham could pull off. Behind us, the crowd murmured, waiting for the announcement.

I nodded, a small smile tugging at my lips. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Nervous?”

“Terrified.”

He chuckled, stepping closer to straighten my shoulders. “Don’t be, Raina,” he said. “You earned this. Don’t forget it.”

My smile widened, gratitude swelling in my chest. “Thank you, Dom. For everything.”

“Anytime,” he said with a nod before turning away.

He stepped onto the stage ahead of me, the lights dimming before flooding the space in white as he spoke into the microphone, smooth, commanding.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here today,” he began. “As many of you know, Graham Corporation has gone through years of evolution, and today marks the beginning of a new chapter. One that’s deeply personal, and deeply emotional, for our family.”

He paused, and I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself.

“Five years ago,” he continued, his voice unexpectedly shaky, something I’d never heard from him before, “I discovered something that changed not only my life, but my family’s. For the past few years, she’s worked alongside me, preparing for this exact moment, and now she’s ready. Today, I’m officially stepping down as CEO, and the position will go to the only person I trust to carry our family’s legacy forward. Raina Graham.”

The room erupted in murmurs before breaking into thunderous applause. Some looked stunned, others displeased, most delighted once my name landed.

The moment I stepped onto the stage, cameras exploded into flashes. My heart pounded hard enough to hurt, but I kept a smile fixed in place.

My hands trembled slightly as I took the mic from Dominic, but I held my shoulders high, my voice steady.

“Thank you,” I said, clear and soft. “I never imagined this life. I never thought I’d stand here, not just as a wife or mother, but as someone given a second chance to embrace her identity, her strength, and her purpose. I’m honored to lead the Graham legacy forward.”

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