CHAPTER TWO
1180 Words
Secrets Behind Closed Doors
Ava's heart pounded so hard she could barely hear herself breathe.
Ethan stood a few feet away, his gaze fixed on her stomach.
The silence stretching between them felt unbearable.
"Is there something you need to tell me?" he repeated.
Ava tightened her grip on her bag.
How did he know?
She had been careful, the pregnancy tests were hidden, the doctor's report was hidden.
She hadn't told anyone, not a single soul.
Yet the look in Ethan's eyes made it clear that somehow, he already knew.
Behind him, the unfamiliar man rose from the couch and quietly excused himself.
The moment the front door closed, the atmosphere inside the house became suffocating.
"What are you talking about?" Ava asked, forcing calm into her voice.
Ethan laughed, there was no humor in the sound.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Pretend."
His jaw tightened.
"I asked you a question."
Ava swallowed hard, ber stepbrother had always been intimidating when he was angry.
Tonight felt different, worse and be looked furious.
No, he looked betrayed.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The lie lasted less than three seconds.
Ethan reached into his pocket and tossed something onto the coffee table.
A white envelope.
Ava's blood froze.
She knew that envelope, the logo of the clinic was printed across the front.
Her clinic, her pregnancy test results and immediately the room spun.
"How..." she whispered.
Ethan's eyes darkened.
"So it's true."
Ava felt every drop of blood drain from her face.
He knew, he actually knew.
"How did you get that?" she demanded.
Ethan ignored the question.
Instead, he took a step closer.
"You're pregnant."
It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.
Ava pressed her lips together and fought to keep her expression neutral.
The last thing she needed was Ethan discovering the truth.
Not just that she was pregnant, but who the father was.
Her mind immediately drifted back to the elevator.
Back to those dark eyes.
Back to the moment she heard employees greeting him.
Mr. Blackwood.
Even now, hours later, the realization refused to feel real.
When she met him months ago, he hadn't looked like a billionaire. He hadn't introduced himself as one either. For one night, he had simply been a stranger who listened when she talked.
A stranger who made her laugh.
A stranger who made her forget how lonely she felt.
The memory tightened something inside her chest.
It had been raining that night.
She remembered that much.
She remembered sitting across from him and talking about her dream of becoming a doctor. Most people never listened for more than a few minutes before changing the subject.
He had listened, really listened as though every word mattered.
The worst part was that she couldn't even bring herself to regret it.
She should.
Any sensible woman would.
Yet when she thought about that night, she didn't remember shame.
She remembered feeling seen for the first time in years.
A sharp pain settled in her chest.
Because none of that changed reality.
He was Adrian Blackwood.
A billionaire, a powerful CEO.
A man from a completely different world.
And she was just Ava.
The unwanted girl living in her stepfamily's house.
The gap between them was impossible.
Which was exactly why Ethan should never have known
Ava instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
The protective gesture didn't escape his notice.
For a brief second, something flashed across Ethan's face.
Anger, disappointment and cear.
Then it vanished.
"Who is he?"
Ava remained silent.
"I asked who got you pregnant."
"I don't have to answer that."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
"You live under my roof."
"It's not your roof."
"It might as well be."
His voice hardened.
"You owe me an explanation."
Ava laughed bitterly.
The sound surprised even her.
"For years I've lived here and nobody cared where I was, what I wanted, or how I felt.
But suddenly everybody wants answers?"
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"Who is he?"
Ava looked away.
She couldn't tell him, not after today, not after discovering who Adrian Blackwood really was.
The very thought made her stomach churn.
Meanwhile, several miles away, Adrian Blackwood stood inside his office staring at a file he shouldn't have requested.
He rarely remembered faces, yet somehow he couldn't stop thinking about the woman from the elevator.
The moment their eyes met, something had felt familiar.
Disturbingly familiar, and after she left the building, curiosity had gotten the better of him.
So he had asked Human Resources for her application.
Now the file sat open on his desk.
AVA HART.
Twenty-two years old, medical school applicant, seeking employment.
Nothing unusual, until he reached the address.
Adrian's expression darkened.
He read it again.
Then a third time.
No.
That couldn't be right.
Of all places and of all addresses in the city.
Why would Ava Hart be living there?
The address belonged to a neighborhood he knew very well.
More specifically, it belonged to one family.
The Reed family.
Ethan Reed's family, his enemy.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
The coincidence was impossible to ignore.
Had Ethan sent her?, was she a spy?
Someone planted to gather information?
The possibility irritated him more than it should have.
Because if that was true, then everything about that night had been a lie.
Adrian grabbed his car keys, thirty minutes later, he found himself parked across the street from the address listed on the file.
The house was exactly where he remembered.
A familiar wave of resentment hit him.
Years of rivalry, years of sabotage, years of hatred and now a woman from that house had appeared in his company.
What were the odds?
His gaze drifted toward the front door.
A light glowed through one of the windows.
Voices echoed faintly from inside.
Adrian wasn't sure why he got out of the car.
Maybe curiosity, maybe suspicion, maybe something else.
Before he knew it, he was standing near the side of the house.
Then he heard shouting.
A woman's voice.
Ava.
His body immediately stilled.
"Stop asking me that!"
Her voice sounded frustrated.
Desperate.
Another voice answered.
Male and it's familiar.
Ethan.
Adrian's eyes narrowed, the argument continued.
"You're pregnant, Ava."
Silence.
For one terrifying second, Adrian thought he had misheard.
Pregnant?
His pulse kicked violently.
Inside the house, Ethan's voice rose again.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Adrian remained motionless.
Every instinct screamed at him to leave.
Instead, he found himself listening.
"Who is the father?" Ethan demanded.
The question hung in the air, seconds passed, then another.
Adrian suddenly realized he was holding his breath.
Inside, Ava's voice finally broke the silence.
Soft, trembling and defeated.
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters."
"No."
"It matters to me."
A painful silence followed.
Then came the answer.
The answer that changed everything.
"It was a mistake," Ava whispered.
Adrian's chest tightened.
"A one-night mistake with a stranger I don't even know."
And for the first time in years, Adrian Blackwood felt something dangerously close to shock.
- Writer
