Kayla’s POV
My heart began hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird, beating so violently I could hear the sound roaring in my ears.
No.
No, no, no.
This can’t be real.
I was standing in his building.
I had just accepted a job at his company.
“Miss? Excuse me, miss, are you alright?”
A stern voice snapped me out of my spiraling terror.
I blinked rapidly, turning to see a tall corporate security guard standing beside me, looking at me with genuine concern.
I was clutching my chest, trembling so hard the papers in my hands were rustling loud enough to hear.
I forced my pale lips into a tight, frantic smile, praying my voice wouldn’t betray the shock rushing up inside me.
“I’m… I’m completely fine!” I stammered, backing away slowly.
“Just… a sudden dizzy spell. I’m fine, thank you!”
Without waiting for him to reply, I turned on my heel and practically fled out the rotating glass doors into the city air.
My mind was a complete storm.
The shock was so physical, so terrifying, that my chest felt painfully tight.
I couldn’t breathe properly.
Panic rising at my throat—What if the stress hurts the baby?
What if my blood pressure is spiking?
Driven by sheer panic for my unborn child, I stopped a taxi and rushed straight to the health clinic.
Forty minutes later, I was sitting on the exam table, watching the doctor remove the blood pressure cuff from my arm.
Dr. Evans chuckled softly, looking down at his clipboard before glancing up at me with a warm, amused expression.
“Well, your heart is certainly racing, Kayla, but your blood pressure is well within the safe zone. Your baby is completely fine. Little peanuts are surprisingly resilient.”
I let out a massive breath of relief, sinking back against the wall.
“My baby is really okay?”
“Just try to avoid whatever gave you such a massive fright, alright? Deep breaths.”
By the time I arrived back at the apartment that evening, my legs felt like stone.
Sarah was already in the kitchen stirring a pot of pasta.
The second she saw me walk through the door, she dropped her wooden spoon.
“Kayla! How did it go?!” she cheered, rushing over to grab my hands.
“Did you get it?!”
I collapsed onto the couch, pulling my knees to my chest as I stared blankly at the coffee table.
“I got the job.”
”Oh my god, YES!” Sarah squealed, jumping up and down.
“I knew it!
We’re celebrating tonight!
Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?!”
”Because I did,” I said, my voice barely a whisper as I looked up at her, my eyes wide with lingering horror.
“Sarah… Lucien Thorne owns the company.”
Sarah stopped jumping.
Her mouth fell open.
“Wait… what?”
”The man who saved my life at the road.
The billionaire,” I stammered, my chest heaving.
“His portrait is hanging in the middle of the lobby! I almost had a heart attack on the spot, Sarah! I had to go straight to the hospital to check my blood pressure!”
Sarah stared at me for three long seconds before a massive, blinding grin spread across her face.
“Are you kidding me?!” Sarah burst out, slapping her hands together.
“Kayla, this is insane!
This is literally fate!
You lost your trashy job, and the universe hands you a high paying position right in the kingdom of the insanely hot billionaire who saved you?!”
”Fate?!” I almost screamed, throwing my hands in the air in pure anger.
It’s not fate, it’s a nightmare!
He doesn’t remember me, I’m carrying a baby whose father I don’t even know, and if he recognizes me, he’s going to think I stalked him to get a job at his company!
I am terrified!”
”He won’t even notice you in a company with thousands of employees, Kayla,” Sarah argued gently, sitting beside me and rubbing my back.
“Take a deep breath. You need this money. You earned this job on your own merit. Just lay low, do your work, get your paycheck, and ignore the billionaire.”
I buried my face in my hands, groaning softly.
Sarah was right about the money.
I couldn’t afford to quit before I even started.
But as I closed my eyes, the image of Lucien Thorne’s cold, striking face burned in my mind, sending a fresh shiver of fear straight down my spine.
The next day at work
The smooth Heavy doors of the main executive elevator slid open, and I stepped out onto the top floor of Throne Corporation.
My heart was already pounding a frantic, uneven rhythm against my ribs, but I forced my expression into a mask of polite, calm composure.
Just keep your head down, I repeated in my mind.
You are an invisible trainee.
You collect your paycheck, you buy baby clothes, and you stay out of sight.
I smoothed down the front of my light red Jacket..a loose, structured fit that easily disguised the slight softness of my lower stomach.
Walking toward the marble front desk, I greeted the head receptionist, a sharp woman in her late thirties named Clara.
“Good morning, Clara,” I said, offering a warm smile as I set my belongings down.
“Ready to show me the tips for day two?”
”Morning, Kayla,” Clara replied, barely looking up from her double monitors as her fingers typed across her mechanical keyboard.
“Glad you’re early. The morning routine on the executive floor is brutal, so—”
Suddenly, every desk phone in the surrounding open plan office seemed to ring in unison.
The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted.
The quiet, professional chatter died down to a suffocating silence.
Behind me, three senior administrative assistants practically scrambled out of their glass cubicles, frantically straightening their pencil skirts, adjusting their ties, and smoothing down hair that was already perfect.
“What’s happening?” I whispered to Clara, my pulse rising as a sudden wave of tension swept through the entire floor.