MY LIFE

The voice of Richard Whitmore filled the whole penthouse like thunder. "Ava! You will marry Ethan Cole, whether you like it or not!" Ava Whitmore stood in the middle of the giant Manhattan living room, her silk dress shaking with her hands. At 24, she had everything money could buy cars, designers, holidays but she had never felt so poor. "Dad, please!" she cried. "You can't just hand me over like one of your business deals. I don't love Ethan!" Her father slammed his fist on the table. "Love? Love doesn't pay bills, Ava! Love doesn't keep this family at the top! You were born into billions, so you don't know what struggle is. I want you to marry Ethan so you will finally Kno what life is, what responsibility is, what it means to build something!" "So you want to use my life to teach me a lesson?" Ava's voice broke. Ethan Cole was a 27-year-old young billionaire — handsome, rich, proud. Everyone in New York called him the golden boy. But to Ava, he was cold, arrogant, and he looked at her like she was just another property to add to his empire. Her mother sat quietly in the corner, dabbing her eyes. She dared not argue with her husband. "I have already fixed the engagement date," Richard announced. "In three weeks. Be ready." Three weeks. Ava didn't answer. She turned, grabbed her bag, and walked out barefoot onto the cold marble floor. Her driver ran after her, but she waved him away. She drove herself to the one place she knew her father would never find her — a dark, noisy bar in Brooklyn. That night, she just wanted to disappear. She ordered drink after drink. Her head spun. Her heart ached. And then a stranger sat beside her. A stranger with kind eyes and a quiet voice. She didn't ask his name. He didn't ask hers. For one night, she forgot she was Ava Whitmore, the billionaire's daughter who was about to be sold out to Ethan. She woke up the next morning in a strange hotel room, alone, with a headache and a single earring lying on the pillow — not hers. A month later, she held the pregnancy test in her shaking hands. Two pink lines. She was pregnant. And she had no idea who the father was.