MasukADRIAN POVI was already dressed before Mum came into my room. She leaned against the door, smiling the way she always did whenever she looked at me."Good morning.""Morning, Mum."She walked over and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You got dressed all by yourself?""I've been doing that for years."She laughed softly before reaching over to straighten my collar. "There.""Mum..." I groaned."What?""I'm not a kid.""You are my kid."I stared at her. She stared back. "...Fine." She grinned triumphantly. "I knew you'd understand." I rolled my eyes dramatically, making her laugh even harder.For a second I simply watched her. She smiled a lot these days.. genuine smiles. But sometimes, when she thought nobody was looking, her eyes became lonely. At school, other kids always talked about their fathers. Mine never came up. Not because I didn't notice. Because I noticed too much. Whatever happened before I was born, it hurt her. So I never asked. She was enough."I love you, Mum."Her ha
ELENA POVMy eyes remained fixed on the monitor.Vanessa. After six years, she looked almost the same. My gaze drifted lower. Her stomac… round, heavy. She was heavily pregnant. A strange ache settled in my chest before I could stop it.So they really made it.A small, bitter smile tugged at my lips. She must be Mrs. Blackwood now. They must be happy. Maybe this was always how it was supposed to end. After all, Grace had been his first love, Vanessa had always been the one he trusted, and I… I was only the woman who happened to carry his child.No.I closed my eyes briefly, forcing the thoughts away. That wasn't my life anymore. Alexander Blackwood belonged to my past, and I had promised myself six years ago that I would never live there again."Mama.""Yes, ma'am?""Tell Mrs. Vanessa I'm unavailable."Mama blinked."And don't schedule any meeting with her.""But, ma..."I slowly lifted my eyes. She immediately fell silent. I rarely lost my temper, but everyone in this company knew on
ELENA MORETTI'S POV Another day. The thought crossed my mind as I drove through the gates of Moretti Fashion House.The sleek glass building stood proudly against the morning sky, its silver logo reflecting the sunlight. Six years ago, if someone had told me this would become my world, I would have laughed.I had dropped Adrian off at school barely thirty minutes ago. After kissing my cheek dramatically and reminding me not to be late because he wanted pasta for dinner, he had marched into school with his little backpack hanging over one shoulder like he owned the place. That boy. A smile tugged at my lips.I parked and stepped out. The moment I entered the building, greetings echoed through the lobby. "Good morning, Ms. Moretti." "Morning, ma'am." "Good morning." I smiled politely as I walked past. "Morning, everyone." The atmosphere here always felt differen.. peaceful, comfortable, home.As I made my way toward the elevator, hushed whispers floated behind me. "She's so beaut
GREG'S POV"Get this shit off my face."Mr. Blackwood's voice exploded across the office. The young woman from the audit department flinched so violently that the stack of files in her hands nearly hit the floor. "I... I'm sorry, sir..." She hurried out with tears already streaming down her face.I pinched the bridge of my nose. Another one. That made three employees reduced to tears before noon.Six years. Six whole years, and the man only seemed to get worse. People used to call Alexander Blackwood cold. They had no idea. Cold men eventually thawed. Mr. Blackwood had frozen solid, ever since Mrs. Blackwood disappeared without leaving a single trace.I adjusted the documents in my hands and knocked once. "Come in." His voice was flat, carrying no emotion whatsoever. I pushed the door open. He didn't look up. His eyes stayed fixed on the contract spread across his desk, sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms, jaw tense, pen moving across the paper with sharp precision.I cleared my
**SIX YEARS LATER**ELENA MORETTI'S POV"The ghost designer does it again! Elena Moretti's latest collection sold out in under five minutes, breaking yet another record across Europe."I barely looked up from my wine glass as the news anchor continued enthusiastically. "Despite dominating the fashion industry for the last two years, Elena Moretti remains one of the most mysterious names in fashion. No interviews. No public appearances. No social media. Just designs that continue to captivate the world."A picture of my latest collection flashed across the screen, followed by clips of reporters swarming Lady Morgana outside one of our recent launch events."Lady Morgana, can you tell us anything about Elena Moretti?"The older woman merely smiled. "Elena values her privacy. That's all I'll say."I snorted softly and took another sip. Some things never changed. Lady Morgana was still impossible.Truthfully, I preferred it this way. No cameras. No headlines. No Selena Blackwood. Ital
SELENA POVTwo days later.I stood in front of the mirror with my fingers resting on my stomach, staring at my reflection.Tonight. By this time tomorrow, I would no longer be in this country. The thought should have terrified me. Instead it only left an ache in my chest.A knock sounded before Miss Margaret stepped in with breakfast. "Good morning, Mrs. Blackwood." "Morning." She placed the tray down before giving me one of her usual suspicious looks. "Alexander said you're not to leave this room today." I couldn't help smiling. That sounded exactly like him. "He specifically said if I let you out of my sight, he'll fire me." That made me laugh softly. "Then I suppose I shouldn't make your life difficult." "Good." She folded her arms. "Because I mean it." "I know." My eyes drifted toward the window. After all.. tonight, I would be leaving.The rest of the morning passed slowly. I spent most of it sitting by the window, watching clouds drift across the sky while pretending my hea
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 rema
SELENA'S POV "Let's go." Kelvin didn't wait for my response before turning away, but I didn't bother replying either. Something inside me had already gone quiet, A quietness that comes after the last thread finally snaps. I knew it was over. Completely. The desperate wife of Mr. Hale was gone. I
SELENA'S POV My eyes slowly opened as the warmth of the morning sun brushed against my face. For a moment, I didn't move. My head was heavy, my body sore in places that made memories of last night rush back like a sudden wave, the club, the drinks, the stranger. My heart skipped. Slowly, I turne
SELENA POV I stood frozen. Tears poured down my cheeks, my body shaking violently. I wanted to go there, to tear them apart with my bare hands, to scream until my lungs gave out, but I couldn’t move. My husband… fucking my best friend. My best friend… I could barely breathe. I turned to leave,







