Kavan’s reaction was immediate, unfiltered, and entirely genuine.

He laughed, a loud, booming sound that cut through the noise of the flashing cameras, but it was the exact kind of laugh people make when pure delight and sudden shock hit their brain at the exact same time.

His eyes widened, his gaze dropping to Erin’s stomach and then snapping back to Ben in disbelief.

Beside him, Lori turned sharply toward Erin’s belly.

The practiced, media-ready smile vanished from her face, instantly replaced by something incredibly intimate and real.

She looked back to Ben, and her face lit up with the unmistakable, brilliant joy of someone realizing she had just witnessed a real, unscripted reveal instead of another polished, pre-approved premiere soundbite.

Erin smiled.

But her smile had that tiny, microscopic half-second delay that changed absolutely everything.

It was affectionate, because she adored the man standing next to her.

It was slightly embarrassed, a faint blush creeping up her neck, because they were standing in front of dozens of high-definition lenses.

But it was also the very clear, slightly panicked smile of a woman realizing her husband had just publicly said significantly more than anyone on their PR team had planned.

Ben, meanwhile, looked absolutely thrilled with himself.

He didn’t look awkward.

He didn’t look apologetic for going off-script.

Thrilled.

He wore the massive, irrepressible grin of a man showing off the absolute happiest thing in his entire life, acting as though he physically couldn’t resist letting the world see just how close they were to finally meeting their first child.

There was something almost triumphant in the way he stood there, his chest puffed out just a fraction.

It wasn’t just a throwaway joke about a big baby bump.

It was a celebration.

A proud, booming announcement.

A public declaration that the long months of waiting, of preparing, of keeping things quiet, were nearly over.

That was the exact moment the energy on the carpet fundamentally changed.

Because now, the wall of photographers weren’t just capturing images of a cast promoting a television show.

They were photographing a countdown.

The fans pressed against the barricades who had overheard the comment started reacting instantly, a ripple of excited shrieks and applause rolling down the boulevard.

Reporters leaning over the velvet ropes suddenly shoved their digital recorders closer.

People farther down the line, celebrity correspondents and producers who were mid-interview with other actors, started turning their heads, trying to see what had caused the sudden explosion of laughter and the undeniable spike in buzz.