The Faceless Billionaire Celebrity Wife-Chapter 324 - 72 Hrs (9) Breaking News.

He finished unfolding the paper at the same time his lips parted to speak,

"I wanted to ask..."

"Just say it!" Shikera demanded. Her heart tightened in anticipation while her ears strained to hear, like she was scared he would speak once and she wouldn’t be able to hear.

Ethan’s eyes scanned the paper, stopping at a particular line of words at the bottom of the page.

’Multiple heartbeats spotted...,’ were the key words he was able to wrap his head around at that moment, and he understood them perfectly.

He wasn’t expecting a baby; he was expecting babies. A joyful news on one hand but also with a tinge of sorrow on the other hand when he thought of the effect it would have on Shikera’s body.

If Shikera’s insistence hadn’t made him want to answer, this news did. Folding the piece of paper back to the way he had met it, he cleared his throat and asked, "Marry me...again, Princess. I didn’t ask the first time, and I’m asking in a crappy way the second time but then...just marry me. And I’ll take care of the rest after that."

As soon as he stopped talking, a deafening silence accompanied his words with a certain kind of emotion charging in the atmosphere. He knew Shikera had heard him and that she was still listening. He could still hear her breathing, after all.

But contrary to his words from earlier when he had asked her not to answer him, he was actually waiting for one.

"Are you there, Princess?" he asked, when a whole of 3 minutes passed without a sound from her side.

"Ethan," she called in a short response, her voice calm. Too calm for Ethan’s comfort.

"Yes?" he replied instantly. "Is anything wro—?"

"Stop your car! You are driving straight into..." a loud scream tore through the phone’s speaker.

Ethan’s heart stopped.

It was Shikera who had screamed and there was not supposed to be a reason for that.

He jerked his head up immediately, not only because of the fear he had felt in the scream but also because of the loud crashing sound that resounded just then. The sound didn’t come from the phone—not exactly—and as he stopped the car following Shikera’s order, he saw the source of the crash sound, and the cacophony of screams that followed immediately after.

His phone slipped out of his grip one second and in the very next, he found himself out of the car, a particular sentence echoing in his head over and over again.

’None of us is leaving...at least not now.’

"You said it yourself, Princess," he breathed. "None of us..."

★★★

PRESTON TV.

Cyprian rushed through the opened doors of the entertainment department news room after Team leader Zuresh, smoothening her dress as she walked.

"You called for me, Ma’am."

"I did," Team leader Zuresh confirmed, gesturing towards the announcer’s chair and desk at one end of the room. "Vicky was out for lunch with Henry and they caught a scoop. You will have to deliver the news as ’Breaking News’."

"Me?!" Cyprian echoed. Her eyes swept around the news room in a futile search for the announcer on afternoon shift. Team leader Zuresh must be joking about wanting to give her such an important and at the same time, risky task.

"Do you see anyone else in front of me, Leigh? The announcer on ground is running late and this is breaking news! You know what that means!"

Cyprian nodded slightly. Breaking news meant coverage of a sudden incident countless press stations would be struggling to get. Since Vicky and Josh had gotten this out of luck, she could understand why Team leader Zuresh was in a hurry for her to deliver the news.

But still...

She didn’t believe she could do this. What if her face looked paler or redder on camera? What if she was criticized for smiling too much?

She tried to stall, "Team leader, Kera is on her way now. Why don’t we borrow her and—" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Leigh!" Team leader Zuresh cut her off mid-sentence. "Will you wait until another station beats us to announcing the news first?"

Cyprian shook her head and replied with a low murmur, "No."

"Then get on that seat and put on a smile for the camera," Team leader Zuresh ordered.

Lifting her hand to place on Cyprian’s shoulder, she pushed her to the waiting chair and helped her settle in it.

"It will be nothing more than a five minute long broadcast excluding Vicky’s live report so don’t fret. You can do this, Leigh."

"I can do this," Cyprian repeated.

Within a minute, everything was set and a file was placed on the desk in front of her.

"There was no spare time so I couldn’t read it," Team leader Zuresh informed with a whisper. "Even if it’s the death of your favorite star, try not to show personal reactions."

"I understand," Cyprian nodded.

Inhaling deeply, she flipped the file open and waited for the sharp click of the camera as her lips curved into a wide smile.

"Evening everyone! Cyprian Leigh relaying the shocking news which came in just five minutes ago...An accident occured at the third way intersection..." she read on, relaxing as the seconds passed by. "Reporting live from the scene is Victoria Reyn..."

The camera was averted from her face and switched to a live footage of Vicky, standing in the middle of a road with the background of an accident scene. A truck had crashed straight into a transport bus and crushed it against the culvert in the middle of the road.

From where she was sitting, Cyprian could see how shaken Vicky was, owing to the way the recorder in her hand shook vigorously.

"According to our source," her voice filtered out of the footage, anxiety evident in them.

Cyprian frowned at that. It wasn’t the first time Vicky was reporting live from an accident scene, even one which looked more fatal and gruesome than this.

So why did she seem so shaken?