protective · calm under pressure · secret romance · pregnancy · best friend trope · tall and handsome · decisive · family drama · modern setting · loyal
The air in the dining room grew heavy, charged with unspoken secrets as we sat down to eat. I’d been hiding my pregnancy from everyone, especially from Kellan—my brother Rhys’s best friend and the father. When my sister Maya visited and pushed a glass of wine toward me, I shook my head a little too quickly. Her gaze sharpened; she guessed, she pressed, and finally I admitted it. Maya’s celebratory shout brought Rhys storming in, his questions already forming. But before the first word fully left his mouth, Kellan stepped between us, his voice a low, firm wall. 'Enough.'