EPISODE TWO
1602 Words
Elena Vance walked out of the penthouse without looking back.
The morning air was cold against her skin.
She pulled her beige coat tighter around herself as she stepped onto the pavement, her black handbag tucked beneath her arm.
For a moment, she stood there staring at the city.
Cars rushed past.
People hurried to work.
Coffee shops opened their doors.
The world had continued moving as though nothing had happened.
As though her heart hadn't been broken the night before.
As though she hadn't spent hours talking to a complete stranger and telling him things she had never been able to tell anyone else.
She touched the note inside her handbag.
You were beautiful. I wish I could stay. —A
Elena stared at the words for a few seconds before folding the note carefully.
She didn't know his full name.
She didn't know where he lived.
She didn't know what he did.
And she didn't want to know.
That was the whole point.
He had been a stranger.
She had been a stranger.
One night.
Nothing more.
She hailed a taxi and climbed inside.
As the car pulled away, Elena rested her forehead against the window.
Her reflection stared back at her.
Her eyes were tired.
Her face was pale.
She looked like someone who had spent the night running from herself.
Her phone remained switched off.
She wasn't ready to hear David's voice.
She wasn't ready to hear Sienna's either.
She didn't know what she would do next.
But she knew one thing.
She wasn't going back.
Not to David.
Not to the wedding.
Not to the life she had imagined.
That chapter was over.
Or so she thought.
Two weeks later, Elena sat in a doctor's office.
Her hands were clasped tightly together in her lap.
She had been feeling strange for several days.
At first, she blamed stress.
Then she blamed the sleepless nights.
Then she stopped making excuses.
The doctor entered carrying a file.
"Ms. Vance?"
Elena looked up.
"Yes?"
The woman sat across from her.
"I have your results."
Something in her expression made Elena's stomach twist.
"Is something wrong?"
The doctor smiled gently.
"No. But you're pregnant."
The room became silent.
Elena stared at her.
"What?"
"You're pregnant."
She couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Pregnant.
The word echoed inside her head.
Her hand instinctively moved toward her stomach.
"No."
It came out as a whisper.
The doctor watched her carefully.
"Have you been under a lot of stress recently?"
Elena gave a small, broken laugh.
"You could say that."
She looked down.
David.
The wedding.
The betrayal.
Then the stranger.
Her heart began racing.
She closed her eyes.
There was only one possibility.
The stranger.
The man whose name she didn't even know.
The man she had met on the worst night of her life.
Elena swallowed hard.
"What am I going to do?"
The doctor's voice softened.
"That's something only you can decide."
Elena sat there for a long time.
She thought about David.
She thought about the wedding invitations still sitting in a drawer at home.
She thought about the man from the penthouse.
Then she placed both hands over her stomach.
Fear filled her.
But underneath the fear was something else.
Something small.
Something she couldn't explain.
A strange sense of protectiveness.
"I'll keep my baby."
The decision came quietly.
But once she said it, Elena knew she meant it.
She would raise this child.
Alone if she had to.
She didn't need David.
And she certainly couldn't go searching for a stranger whose name she didn't know.
She would build a new life.
A better one.
For both of them.
The months that followed weren't easy.
Elena moved into a smaller apartment.
She took whatever work she could find.
She learned how to stretch money.
She learned how to smile when she was exhausted.
She learned that pregnancy came with days when simply getting out of bed felt like a victory.
And she learned that loneliness could be loud.
There were nights when she wondered about the stranger.
Where was he?
What was his name?
Did he ever think about her?
Did he remember that night?
Sometimes she found herself staring at the note he'd left.
—A.
That single letter was all she had.
She kept it hidden in a box.
Not because she was waiting for him.
But because it was the only proof that, for one night, someone had seen her when she felt completely invisible.
Then her baby was born.
A little boy.
Elena held him against her chest and cried.
He had tiny fingers.
Soft dark curls.
Bright brown eyes.
She stared at him as though he were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
"Hello, Milo."
The baby made a tiny sound.
Elena laughed through her tears.
"Milo Vance."
She kissed his forehead.
"It's just you and me, okay?”
It was a promise.
From that day forward, Milo became her reason to keep moving.
Milo would never have to wonder whether he was loved.
Five Years Later...
"Mummy!"
Elena turned from the kitchen.
Milo came running toward her.
He was five now.
His dark curls were slightly messy, and his bright brown eyes were full of excitement.
He wore a small blue polo shirt, denim trousers, and white sneakers.
Elena smiled.
"Slow down."
Milo wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I'm hungry."
"You just ate."
"I'm hungry again."
She laughed.
"You have a very demanding stomach."
Milo grinned.
Elena kissed his forehead.
She had changed too.
At twenty-nine, she carried herself differently.
Her long dark-brown hair was neatly tied into a low ponytail. She wore a cream blouse beneath a fitted black blazer, tailored trousers, and simple black heels.
Today was important.
She had a job interview.
After years of struggling to make ends meet, she finally had an opportunity with one of the largest companies in the city.
Blackwell Holdings.
Milo looked up at her.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"To get a job."
"Why?"
"So I can buy you all the toys you keep asking for."
Milo's eyes widened.
"All of them?"
Elena laughed.
"Don't push your luck."
He giggled.
She grabbed her handbag.
"Be good for Auntie Sarah."
"Okay."
She bent down and kissed his cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Mummy."
Elena smiled.
Then she left.
She had no idea she was walking straight toward the man who had unknowingly changed her life.
Blackwell Holdings was enormous.
The company was one of the most powerful corporations in the city.
She had heard of Blackwell Holdings, of course.
Everyone had.
Its CEO was rarely seen outside business circles.
Ashton Black.
Glass walls.
Polished marble.
Money.
Employees moving quickly through the lobby.
Elena stepped inside and immediately felt nervous.
She straightened her blazer.
A receptionist looked up.
"Good morning. How can I help you?"
"I'm here for an interview."
"Name?"
"Elena Vance."
The receptionist checked her computer.
"Mr. Black is expecting you."
Elena nodded.
"Thank you."
The elevator carried her toward the top floor.
She watched the numbers change.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Elena took a deep breath.
This was just an interview.
A job.
A fresh start.
Nothing more.
On the top floor, Ashton Black stood before a wall of windows.
Five years had changed him too.
At thirty-four, he was still striking.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Jet-black hair neatly styled.
Sharp features.
Storm-gray eyes.
Today, he wore a perfectly tailored black suit over a crisp white shirt, with a silver watch resting against his wrist.
He looked every inch the powerful CEO he had become.
His engagement to Vivienne Laurent had survived.
Not because he loved her.
Because neither family had allowed the arrangement to disappear.
The wedding had been delayed repeatedly because of business complications.
But the engagement remained.
Vivienne still wanted the marriage.
Ashton still wasn't sure he wanted any of it.
His assistant entered.
"Mr. Black."
Ashton turned.
"Yes?"
"The candidate for the secretary position has arrived."
"Send her in."
The assistant nodded and left.
Ashton returned his attention to the city.
The office door opened.
"Mr. Black, this is Elena Vance."
Ashton turned.
Elena stepped inside.
Her heels made a soft sound against the marble floor.
She stopped.
Her entire body went still.
The room seemed to disappear around her.
Her eyes widened.
That face.
Those gray eyes.
That voice.
Five years vanished in an instant.
It was him.
The stranger.
The man from that night.
The father of her son.
Ashton studied her calmly.
There was no recognition.
Not even a flicker.
He extended his hand.
"Elena Vance?"
Her heart pounded.
She forced herself to breathe.
"Yes."
"I'm Ashton Black."
Elena stared at his hand.
Then slowly placed hers in it.
His grip was firm.
Professional.
Nothing like the memory she carried.
He released her hand.
"Please, have a seat."
Elena sat down.
Her fingers tightened around her handbag.
She had spent five years believing she would never see him again.
Now she was sitting inside his office.
And he didn't even know who she was.
Ashton opened her résumé.
"You have impressive qualifications."
Elena nodded.
"Thank you."
He looked at her.
"I think you'd be a good fit for the position."
Her heart skipped.
"You mean..."
"You're hired."
Elena stared at him.
Hired.
She should have been happy.
Instead, she felt terrified.
Because she had just accepted a job working for the one man she had spent five years trying to forget.
And Ashton Black still had no idea that the little boy Elena had raised all these years...
Was his son.
Not yet.
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