Chapter 1 - The Boarding Call
Two years and seven months.
The math hit me with the force of a physical blow.
It meant she was pregnant when she left my apartment that night.
It meant every day I spent trying to forget her, she was growing my child.
It meant my father’s lectures about "protecting the family assets" had cost me the birth of my own daughter.
I stared at Valerie, searching her dark eyes for any sign of deception.
There was none.
Only the exhausted, defensive posture of a mother who had fought the world alone.
"Did you know?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
Valerie shook her head slowly.
"Not until two weeks after I left."
"Why didn't you tell me, Val?"
"I tried," she said, her voice cracking for the first time.
"I called you, Carter."
"I left three voicemails."
My blood turned to ice in my veins.
I never got those voicemails.
My mind raced back to those dark weeks, remembering how my father had suddenly taken my phone, claiming it needed a "security upgrade" for the company network.
He knew.
He had intercepted her calls.
Before I could speak, the sharp click of designer heels echoed on the tile floor behind me.
"Carter?"
Chloe’s voice was no longer soft.
It was sharp, laced with the icy authority of her upbringing.
She stepped up beside me, her eyes darting between me, Valerie, and the little girl holding the stuffed rabbit.
Chloe was smart.
She didn't need a DNA test to see the storm-gray eyes staring back at her.
"Who is this?" Chloe asked, though the tension in her jaw told me she already knew exactly who this was.
"This is Valerie," I said, my voice eerily calm despite the hurricane inside me.
"And her daughter, Lucy."
Chloe’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
"I see."
"Well, it's lovely to run into old friends, Carter, but our flight to Cabo is boarding in ten minutes."
"The concierge is waiting to escort us."
Valerie took a step back, pulling Lucy closer to her chest.
"We have to go," Valerie muttered, turning away.
"Our flight to Los Angeles is boarding."
"Wait!" I reached out, my fingers barely brushing the fabric of Valerie's sleeve.
"Please, Val, don't just walk away again."
Valerie looked over her shoulder, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"I’m not running from you, Carter."
"I'm living my life."
"A life you chose not to be a part of."
She walked away, merging into the sea of travelers, taking my heart and my daughter with her.
I stood completely frozen.
"Let her go," Chloe hissed, grabbing my arm.
"Don't you dare make a scene right now."
"The press is literally outside this terminal."
I looked down at Chloe's hand gripping my suit jacket.
I looked at the diamond ring I had placed on her finger less than twenty-four hours ago.
Then, I looked at the departure screens.
Flight 402 to Los Angeles.
Boarding now.
"I can't go to Cabo, Chloe," I said.
Chloe laughed, a harsh, humorless sound.
"Excuse me?"
"I said I can't go."
I pulled my arm out of her grip.
"That's my daughter."
Chloe’s face went pale, then flushed red with fury.
"You are my husband!"
"We were married yesterday!"
"If you walk away from me right now, your father will destroy you."
"He will strip you of everything."
I looked at the boarding gate where Valerie's blue dress had just disappeared.
May you like
"He already did," I replied.
I turned my back on my billionaire bride and ran toward the ticket counter.
