Zaria was still asleep when the first call came in.
Downstairs in the mansion's home office, Darius answered his buzzing phone with a grim expression. His assistant's voice crackled with urgency.
"Sir, you need to see the blogs. It's everywhere. Photos. Comments. Tweets. It broke around 5 a.m. Someone tipped off the press."
Darius stood slowly. "What photos?"
"Of her. Zaria. And you. And… the bump."
There was a pause.
Then Darius said only two words: "Shut it down."
But it was too late.
By the time Zaria woke up and checked her phone, it was already flooded.
Dozens of missed calls from Amaka.
Three from an unknown number.
And a message with a screenshot that made her stomach twist.
> GistLounge.ng:
"Billionaire Oil Mogul Darius Okechukwu Expecting Secret Baby with Unknown Woman – Sources Say She's Already Living in His Mansion"
There was a blurry photo of her standing at the balcony two days ago. A clear one of Darius at a conference. The article painted her as a mystery woman, "possibly a desperate social climber from the mainland" who'd "seduced the billionaire at an elite gala."
Zaria couldn't breathe.
She dropped the phone on the bed like it had burned her fingers.
Her head spun.
Who took that picture?
How did they even find out?
She was still staring at the screen when the door opened and Darius walked in.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Zaria looked up, eyes wide. "Did you know this would happen?"
"No."
"Are you sure?" Her voice cracked. "Because the way this story is written… it sounds like they know everything."
Darius ran a hand over his jaw. "I've handled bigger leaks before. But this—this is personal. Stephanie must've sold it. Or someone in her circle."
Zaria folded her arms over her chest, trying to hide the tremble in her fingers. "So now what? I become some trending topic? A joke? A side note in your scandal?"
He crossed the room in two strides and sat beside her on the edge of the bed. "Zaria, listen to me. I will fix this."
She stared at him. "How? Are you going to erase the internet?"
"I can push the media back. Release a statement. Control the damage."
She gave a bitter laugh. "And say what? 'She's not a gold-digger, I swear'? Will that change how people look at me when I walk into a room? Will it protect my child from whispers?"
Darius looked away.
He had no answer.
Because in their world, perception was power—and hers had already been twisted.
"I can leave," she said quietly.
His head snapped toward her. "No."
"I can go back to the mainland. I'll stay with Amaka. I'll disappear. They'll forget me."
"You're not going anywhere."
She stood, arms wrapped around herself. "This wasn't what I signed up for, Darius. I came here to carry this baby safely. Not to be torn apart in public."
He stood too, his voice firm but low. "If you leave now, they'll destroy you. Out there, you'll be vulnerable. Here, I can protect you."
"You don't own me."
"I know that," he said. Then softer, "But I'm asking you to trust me. Just a little longer."
Zaria met his eyes.
And for the first time, she saw something unguarded there.
Not dominance.
Not calculation.
But genuine fear—fear that she might walk out of his life, and take something precious with her.
She exhaled shakily. "Then I want a say in how we handle this."
"Of course."
"I want to write my own statement. In my own words. No PR filters."
Darius nodded.
"And I want you to stand beside me when it's released."
"I will."
She watched him a moment longer.
And then, against every instinct that told her to run, she whispered, "Okay."
Later that evening, Zaria sat at the kitchen counter with Madam Yejide watching her carefully from the stove.
"I always knew," the older woman said softly. "That this house would need a woman with your kind of fire."
Zaria smiled faintly. "Fire gets burned too."
"Yes," Madam Yejide said, placing a warm hand over hers. "But it also lights the path."
The next morning, the world read Zaria Bello's words on every screen:
> "I am not a secret. I am not a mistake.
I didn't ask to carry this child, but I've chosen to do it with strength and dignity.
I'm not here to chase titles. I'm here to protect a life growing inside me.
And I will not apologize for that."
The response was explosive. Divided. Heated.
But one thing became clear.
Zaria wasn't just the billionaire's baby mama anymore.
She was a woman with her own voice.
And the world had just heard it.