Episode 11: Back to Reality
897 Words
The sharp ring of Kael’s phone tore through the silence of the morning like a blade.
Serah stirred beside him, her skin still warm from the night before. But the moment he sat up and checked the caller ID, the air shifted.
It was his father.
“Don’t answer it,” Serah whispered, half-asleep, reaching for him. But Kael’s jaw was tight. “I have to.”
He stepped out of bed, grabbing a hoodie and slipping out onto the balcony. The wind hit his bare chest, grounding him. The city below looked like a painting—but the call wasn’t about art or beauty. It was war.
“Kael,” his father’s voice was firm, almost cold. “We need to talk. Now. Your engagement… has been exposed.”
“What?” Kael’s voice dropped, sharp and disbelieving.
“Someone leaked it to the media. And worse—someone knows about the girl.”
Kael’s stomach dropped. “What girl?”
“Don’t play dumb. The girl you’ve been hiding. The one carrying your child.”
His throat tightened.
“This isn’t just about you anymore. This is about our family. You’ve crossed a line.”
Kael didn’t answer. The line had been crossed long ago—when he chose love over legacy.
Inside, Serah sat on the bed, watching him with tired, worried eyes. “Kael… what’s going on?”
He stared at her, heart pounding. How could he tell her the storm that was coming?
“They know, Serah. Everything.”
Her lips parted. “Who knows?”
“My family. The media. Maybe more. Someone leaked our engagement… and the pregnancy.”
Silence. A kind of silence that throbbed like thunder.
Serah’s hands instinctively moved to her belly. “What does this mean?”
“It means we’re not safe here.”
By noon, headlines were everywhere:
“HEIR TO VALLEZ EMPIRE INVOLVED IN SECRET RELATIONSHIP—WOMAN ALLEGEDLY PREGNANT.”
“ENGAGEMENT SCANDAL EXPLODES: WHO IS THE MYSTERY GIRL?”
Serah’s photo hadn’t been posted yet—but it was only a matter of time. Paparazzi were already circling. She couldn’t even step outside without being followed.
Kael paced the apartment like a caged wolf. “We have to leave. Tonight.”
“To where?”
“My place outside the city. It's quiet. No one will think to look there. You’ll be safe.”
Serah blinked through her fear. “Kael… is this really happening?”
He walked up to her, cupping her face, forehead pressed to hers. “I’ll protect you. I promise.”
But even as he said it, he knew protection wouldn’t be enough. Not against billion-dollar bloodlines. Not against family wars.
Later that night, as they drove through the mountains in a tinted SUV, Serah stared out at the blur of trees, her hand resting over her growing bump. Everything was surreal—too fast, too loud, too real.
“Do you regret it?” she asked quietly.
“Regret what?”
“Us. This… baby. Choosing me over your family.”
Kael didn’t respond immediately.
“I regret that I didn’t fight for you sooner. That I let them control so much of my life… until now.”
Her eyes shimmered.
He reached for her hand, gripping it tight. “But you? Us? Never.”
The safe house was perched on a cliff—modern, minimalist, guarded. But it didn’t feel like home. It felt like a fortress.
The next morning, they were woken by pounding on the front gate.
Kael checked the cameras. Black cars. Men in suits. And—
His mother.
Kael's jaw clenched. “Stay inside,” he told Serah.
He opened the gate.
“Kael.” Her voice was sharp, clipped, perfect. “You’ve gone too far.”
He didn’t flinch. “I’ve done what you never had the courage to do. Choose love.”
She walked right up to him, inches from his face. “Love doesn’t protect legacies. Love doesn’t sign billion-dollar contracts. Love doesn’t hold empires together.”
“But it builds families,” he snapped.
His mother’s gaze flickered. “The girl is a liability.”
“She’s the mother of my child.”
“She’s nothing compared to your duty.”
Kael laughed bitterly. “Then I choose ‘nothing.’ Over you. Over this cursed legacy.”
Behind him, Serah had stepped out. She stood there—barefoot, vulnerable, radiant. A silent declaration.
Kael’s mother stared at her, then turned back to her son.
“You’ve made your choice,” she said coldly.
And just like that, she left.
That night, the silence was heavier. The air was electric with decisions that couldn’t be undone.
Serah stood at the window, watching the stars. “What now?”
Kael came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Now… we build our own world. Even if we have to burn theirs down.”
She turned to him, heart swelling. “Even if they come after us?”
“They already are.”
His lips crashed into hers, not soft, not tender—but desperate. Real. She melted into him, clutching at the only thing she knew was true in a world full of lies.
And when they fell into bed again, it wasn’t to escape.
It was to fight.
Together.
[To be continued in Episode 12]
- Writer
