CHAPTER FIVE: MR BLACKWOOD

SELENA'S POV

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

For one terrifying second, I thought I had been caught, that he had remembered, that he would suddenly recognize the woman who had shared a night with him and disappeared without a word.

I forced my face to remain calm and shook my head immediately.

"No."

My voice came out surprisingly steady, even though my heart was racing like a runaway train inside my chest.

His dark eyes narrowed slightly, studying me like I was some strange creature he couldn't quite figure out.

"Then why the fuck are you not apologizing?" he said coldly.

Typical. Rich, arrogant, insufferable. The type of man who believed the world owed him courtesy simply because he existed in it.

I looked away and muttered under my breath. "Crazy man."

Thank God he didn't recognize me. The last thing I needed today was explaining why I had left money beside his bed like he was some paid escort. The memory flashed through my mind and heat rushed straight to my face. I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself.

Before the tension could stretch any further, a man suddenly came sprinting toward us holding another cup of coffee, completely out of breath like he had run across the entire street.

"I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry!" He bowed repeatedly, like his life depended on it, which, judging from the ice in the arrogant man's expression, it probably did.

The cold man glanced at me again with visible irritation. "Is she mute or something?" Then, with open disgust, he added, "Ahh… I hate beggars."

My jaw tightened. Bastard. My nails pressed into my palm, but I stayed silent. Fighting him here would achieve nothing, and someone with an expensive suit and an aura like that was definitely the kind of man who could ruin a stranger's life without blinking.

He turned away as if I didn't exist, like I was nothing more than an annoying inconvenience in his path.

The other man glanced at me apologetically and bowed slightly. I bowed back out of pity. It must have been exhausting working for someone like that.

The arrogant man stepped into a sleek black car waiting by the curb, and my eyes widened slightly. Even someone like me, who knew nothing about luxury cars, recognized it. I had seen pictures of it online once, a limited edition machine that only a handful of people in the world owned. The kind that didn't just scream money. It screamed old money. Dangerous money.

I folded my arms and scoffed quietly. "He's fine… too bad his character doesn't match his face."

Then realization hit me all at once.

I blinked slowly. "I can't believe I dropped money for that fucking rich man."

I slapped my forehead lightly and laughed at myself, a short, bitter sound. Out of all the stupid things I had done in my life, that one ranked pretty high on the list. My entire coffee mood was ruined.

With a tired sigh, I booked a cab and headed back to the hotel.

*********************

The room was small and cheap, the paint on the walls slightly chipped, the air conditioner humming a low, uneven buzz every few seconds. I had left my ATM card at Kelvin's place on purpose. I didn't want anything of his, not his money, not his things. I was going to pick my life back up on my own terms.

I dropped my bag beside the bed and collapsed onto the mattress.

The moment I picked up my phone, it buzzed relentlessly. Calls, messages, notifications everyone was suddenly interested in my life. My parents. Adriana. Even unknown numbers. My thumb hovered over the screen as they kept flooding in, and then one name made my lip curl immediately.

Calista.

Wow. The queen of audacity. She even had the nerve to call me after everything she had done.

I rolled my eyes and switched my phone off completely. The screen went dark and silence settled over the room like a blanket.

Good. I needed rest. Because tomorrow, Safety Mil Hospital was going to meet the version of Selena Suarez I had buried for years.

****************

Morning came faster than expected, and surprisingly, I had slept well. Maybe the thought of revenge had that effect. Or maybe I had simply been too exhausted to stay angry through the night.

I stood in front of the small mirror and assessed myself. Ripped jeans, a black crop top, heels. Light makeup, thin eyeliner, glossy lips, sharp enough to highlight my features without trying too hard. If people were expecting a broken, pitiful woman walking through those doors, they were going to be deeply disappointed. I wasn't going to war looking like a victim.

I arrived at the hospital within twenty minutes of booking a cab. The building looked exactly the same as I remembered..cold, sterile, with that particular brand of false calm that hospitals always wore. I paid the driver, stepped out, and the moment I walked through the lobby doors, people turned to look. Maybe it was the heels. Maybe the ripped jeans. Maybe the expression on my face that made it clear I hadn't come here to be reasonable.

I ignored all of them. My focus was already locked on one person.

She sat behind the reception desk exactly where I remembered, flipping through files lazily, hair tied neatly, wearing that same polite, practiced smile. The moment she looked up and saw me, recognition flashed across her face and the smile froze completely.

"Hi, Mrs. Hale—"

SLAP.

My palm landed across her face before she could finish the sentence. Gasps exploded through the room instantly. Before anyone could react, I grabbed a fistful of her hair. She screamed. I slammed her face against the desk and papers scattered in every direction.

"Security!" someone shouted.

I didn't care. I climbed onto the counter and dragged her toward me, my grip iron-tight.

"Whose child am I carrying?!" I screamed.

Security guards rushed forward trying to pull me back, but I held on. My nails dug into her scalp as her whole body shook in my grip.

"Whose sperm did you inject into me?!"

She burst into tears, her voice cracking into hysterical sobs. "I..I can't! He will kill me!" Her body trembled violently. "It wasn't supposed to be his! I mistook the sample, it was supposed to be someone else's!"

The entire lobby went silent. Even the security guards paused.

My grip tightened. "Oh, you want to see how crazy I am?" My voice dropped dangerously low. "I don't mind killing you."

I grabbed a surgical scissors from the tray beside the desk and pressed it against her neck. Her eyes went wide with pure terror.

"Please! Please!"

"Say the name," I hissed.

She sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. "Mr… Mr. Blackwood! You're carrying Mr. Blackwood's child!"

The words landed like a stone dropped into still water. My mind went completely blank.

Blackwood? Who is that?

"What did you just say?"

A furious male voice thundered from somewhere behind me.

"You injected my sperm into someone?"

My body froze.

Slowly, very slowly… I turned around.

And my heart stopped.

Standing there, fury burning in his dark eyes, was him.

Fate, it seemed, had a very twisted sense of humor.