Kayla's POV
The evening air wrapped around me like a fragile promise of freedom as I sat by the taxi window, staring at the blur of city lights. Every flash of neon reminded me of chains I had broken, yet the weight in my chest felt heavier than ever.
For hours, I had wandered aimlessly with my suitcase, unsure where to go. Hotels crossed my mind, but I didn't want to be alone in a strange room with nothing but my thoughts and my grief. Finally, my steps led me to the only place I felt remotely safe-Damien's.
He opened the door almost instantly, as though he had been waiting. His sharp eyes softened the moment he saw me, his lips parting like he wanted to say something but didn't. Instead, he simply took my suitcase from my trembling hand and set it aside.
"Kayla... what happened?" His voice was a balm against the storm raging inside me.
I couldn't answer. Not yet. My throat was clogged with unspoken truths. About Liam. About the baby. About everything.
"Come in. Please."
I obeyed, my legs weak beneath me as I stepped inside his neat apartment. The scent of fresh linen and faint antiseptic hung in the air, familiar and oddly comforting.
For the first time all day, I allowed myself to collapse onto his couch, my palms pressed against my face. Tears poured again, hot and relentless. Damien sat quietly beside me, his hand hovering as if afraid to touch me without permission. Finally, he placed it gently on mine, firm and steady.
"You're safe here," he whispered.
Those three words nearly shattered me. Safe. Something I hadn't felt in years.
But safety was an illusion. I knew it the moment Damien's phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at the screen, and his brows furrowed.
"What is it?" I croaked.
He hesitated, then turned the phone toward me. My heart stopped.
It was Liam.
A single message glowed across the screen: Where is she?
Liam's POV
Rage thundered in my veins as I paced the length of my office. The divorce papers were still crushed in my fist, their edges cutting into my palm. Kayla thought she could just walk out. She thought she could toss me aside like I was nothing?
My jaw tightened, teeth grinding. Something about the sight of her suitcase... the fire in her eyes... it unsettled me in a way I couldn't explain. For years, she had taken every insult, every betrayal in silence. Why now? Why today?
And then it struck me.
Her hand.
When she stood in my office, her fingers had brushed against her stomach-not once, but twice. At first, I ignored it. But now, the image burned into my mind, refusing to leave.
My chest tightened. Could it be...?
No. Impossible. She'd never gotten pregnant all these years. But then again...
My hands shook as I loosened my tie, a bead of sweat rolling down my temple. If Kayla was pregnant-if she was carrying my child-
A cold dread slammed into me. She wouldn't dare leave me with my heir inside her. Would she?
Grabbing my phone, I sent a message to the one person I knew she trusted: Damien.
And now, all I had to do was wait.
Kayla's POV
I stared at Liam's message glowing on Damien's screen, my heart pounding so loud I thought Damien could hear it.
"He knows," I whispered, panic crawling up my throat.
"Knows what?" Damien asked carefully, his eyes narrowing.
My lips trembled, but the words tumbled out before I could stop them. "I'm pregnant, Damien."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Damien's eyes widened, shock etched across his features. Then something else flickered there-pain. Raw, unguarded pain that cut deeper than Liam's betrayal ever had.
For a moment, he said nothing. His hand dropped from mine, curling into a fist on his knee. Finally, he inhaled sharply. "Does he know?"
"No." My voice cracked. "And he can't. He'll never let me go if he finds out."
Damien's jaw clenched, his gaze hardening with a resolve I'd never seen in him before. "Then we make sure he doesn't."
A shiver ran down my spine. His tone was fierce, protective, almost dangerous.
Before I could respond, a sharp knock rattled against the door.
My blood ran cold.
"Kayla!"
It was Liam's voice.
I froze, terror coursing through me. How had he found me so fast?
Damien stood, his body instantly tense. "Stay here," he ordered in a low voice, moving toward the door.
My heart pounded so violently I thought I might faint.
The knock grew louder. More aggressive.
"Kayla! Open the damn door before I break it down!"
I pressed my hand to my stomach, my whole body trembling.
This was it. The secret I carried-the fragile life inside me-was about to shatter everything.
And I wasn't sure if I'd survive the storm that was coming.