Kayla’s POV
For several seconds, Sarah just stared at me.
Then she let out a shocked laugh.
“You’re serious?”
”I am.” I said.
“You actually saw him again?” she asked again.
“Yes.” I replied.
“You were inside his penthouse?” she asked.
“Yes.” I said.
Sarah covered her mouth.
“Oh my God…”
She started pacing around the living room.
“No way.”
She turned back to me.
“Wait.”
Her eyes suddenly grew even wider.
“Did you tell him?”
I lowered my head.
Silence answered her question.
Sarah frowned.
“Kayla…”
I couldn’t look at her.
“I didn’t.”
”What?” she asked surprisingly”I didn’t tell him.”I said again
For a second, Sarah looked completely speechless.
Then she exploded.
“You WHAT?”
Her voice echoed through the apartment.
“You were standing right in front of the father of your baby, and you said nothing?”
I flinched.
“He didn’t remember me.”
”So what?”
”He looked at me like I was a complete stranger.”
Sarah stared at me in disbelief.
“Kayla, that doesn’t matter!”
”It does to me!”
”No, it doesn’t!” she yelled
She pointed at my stomach.
“That baby is his child!”
”I know!” I said looking down”So why didn’t you tell him?” she asked
Tears filled my eyes.
“Because I was scared.”
Sarah fell silent.
“I looked into his eyes,” I whispered.
“They were so cold.”
”He didn’t seem like the kind of man who would listen.”
”I kept thinking… what if he doesn’t believe me?”
”What if he takes my baby away?”
”What if I lose everything?”
My voice broke.
“I couldn’t do it.”
Sarah rubbed her forehead.
She looked frustrated, but she also looked worried.
“Kayla…”
”Do you know what people say about Lucien Throne?” she asked more quietly.
I shook my head.
“They say he always gets what he wants.” She said
My heart sank.
Sarah let out a long sigh and dropped onto the chair across from me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The apartment was so quiet that I could hear the heater humming in the corner.
Finally, Sarah looked at me again.
“Kayla,” she said, trying to stay calm.
“Do you even realize what just happened?”
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand.
“I know.”
”No, you don’t.”
She leaned forward.
“You were standing in front of the father of your baby. A billionaire. A man who has enough money to solve every problem you’re dealing with.”
She shook her head slowly.
“And you walked away without telling him.”
”I was scared.” I said”I know you were scared,” Sarah replied.
“But fear isn’t going to feed you. It isn’t going to pay your hospital bills or buy diapers when the baby comes.”
I lowered my head.
Every word she said hurt because it was true.
“You’ve lost your job,” she continued.
“Your mother threw you out. You’re hiding your pregnancy from almost everyone. You’re barely eating enough for yourself, and now you’re trying to raise a baby alone.”
Her voice cracked with frustration.
“How much more are you planning to carry by yourself?”
”I don’t know.”
”Then let him help!” She said
I looked up at her.
“What if he doesn’t believe me?”
”Then you prove it.”
”What if he thinks I’m after his money?”
Sarah sighed.
“People like him probably think that every day. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s the father.”
I hugged my stomach tightly.
“I don’t want him taking my baby.”
Sarah’s expression softened a little.
“He can’t just take your child because he’s rich.”
”But he has power.” I said”So do you.” She said”No I don’t.” I said shaking my head”You do,” she insisted.
“You’re the baby’s mother.”
Tears rolled down my face again.
“I’ve never been this scared before.”
Sarah’s shoulders dropped.
She came over and sat beside me on the couch.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I shouldn’t have shouted.”
She gently held my hand.
“I was just terrified something had happened to you.”
I squeezed her hand back.
“I know.”
”When your phone stayed off all night…” She swallowed hard.
“I thought I had lost my best friend.”
That broke me.
I wrapped my arms around her and burst into tears.
She hugged me tightly.
For several minutes, neither of us said anything.
We simply sat there, crying together.
When I finally pulled away, Sarah handed me a tissue.
“So…” she asked quietly. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“What are you going to do now?”
I stared out the window.
Snow was still falling.
“I don’t know.”
”I need another job.”
”I need somewhere to live.”
”And I need to protect this baby.”
Sarah nodded slowly.
“Then we’ll figure it out.”
”We?” I asked
She smiled.
“When have I ever let you face anything alone?”
A small smile appeared on my face for the first time that day.
“Thank you.”
”Don’t thank me yet,” she teased gently.
“You still owe me several years of stress after disappearing like that.”
A weak laugh escaped me.
It didn’t last long.
The image of Lucien’s face slipped back into my mind.
His cold eyes.
His calm voice.
The way he had looked at me without even a hint of recognition.
It hurt more than I wanted to admit.
Maybe it was foolish to expect anything else.
To him, that night had meant nothing.
To me…
It had changed my entire life.
Sarah watched my expression.
“You’re thinking about him again.”
I nodded.
“I keep wondering if I made the wrong choice.”
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked at my stomach.
“Maybe you did.”
Those four words hit me harder than I expected.
“But,” she continued, “it’s done now and you can’t change what happened this morning . But The only thing you can decide is what happens next.”
I slowly placed my hand over my belly.
My baby gave no sign, still too small to move.
But somehow, I felt less alone.
“I’ll protect you,” I whispered.
“No matter what.”
Outside, the snow continued to fall, covering the streets in white.
Neither of us knew that somewhere across the city, Lucien Throne couldn’t stop thinking about the woman he had rescued.
There was something about her face that refused to leave his mind.
And sooner or later…
The truth would find its way back to him.