Julian's POV

Maria De la Fonte.

It was unmistakably her.

My sweet Maria.

It had been six years. Six years of her absence. She left with no explanation. 

Six years ago, she had vanished, pregnant. 

And now, I meet her as a scrub maid in a restaurant.

I tapped my feet anxiously, waiting for her, hoping I had not made a mistake letting her go yesterday.

What if she was running away from me?

I stared at the clock, watching as the minute hand rested on 12. It was 11 o clock.

Where was she?

I couldn't wait any longer. I had made a mistake letting her slip away yesterday. I was done making mistakes. Standing up, I grabbed the suit resting over my chair and swung it over my large frame. 

My personal limo was waiting outside when I stepped out. 

“Take me to Rizo restaurant,” I told my driver as I slid in.

I kept thinking about our last encounter. Our fight. She had been angry that I was cheating. A fake rumor. And she threatened to break our engagement. 

The next morning, she was gone. 

“Hurry up!” I told the driver. 

Rizo restaurant was almost thirty minutes away. I had a meeting with a top client there yesterday. 

Antonio Ruzzo.

I didn't want him seeing Maria that way, that was why I hadn't taken her with me yesterday. I hoped I had made the right decision.

I rushed out of the limo the moment it stopped in front of the restaurant. Rosa Alvarez was in her office. 

“I need to see one of your staff,” I told her. 

She nodded eagerly. “Did they steal from you, sir? I will punish them accordingly.”

“No,” I responded. “A lady. Maria.”

She frowned. “There's no Maria here, sir.”

It was her. I had seen her. Maybe she used an alias. 

“I want to see every staff member in this restaurant. I want everyone to stop working now.”

“Y-yes. Yes, sir. Right away.”

The entire staff were assembled before me within five minutes. But Maria wasn't there. 

I shook my head. “This isn't everyone. There was a lady. Blonde hair. She was here yesterday.”

Rosa's eyes widened in realisation as I waited in anticipation. 

“That should be Catrina Lombardi,” she said.

I saw the staff stifle a chuckle. 

How dare they laugh at my Maria? Did they know who she was?

I glared at them.

“How dare you laugh?”

They bowed apologetically. I faced Rosa. “I want every one of them sacked immediately.”

Rosa nodded quickly. “Right away, sir.”

She didn't need to say anything more than that before they left the building. No one was going to look down on my Maria and get away with it.

“Where is she?” I demanded. 

“I don't know,” Rosa responded, trembling. She knew it was best never to annoy me. “She didn't show up at work today.”

She was running away. She had definitely recognised me yesterday. 

“Where does she live?” I asked. 

She was shaking her head. “I have no idea.”

I glared at her. “Is that how you run this place? Do you employ workers without records? Bring me her record!”

She scrambled out of the room while I tapped my feet impatiently. She returned with a file bearing the name ‘Catrina Lombardi’.

I flipped it open. Her passport stared at me. It was unmistakably Maria. I hadn't imagined it yesterday.

My eyes fell on the salary. 

I flung the file angrily at her. “Is this how much you pay your workers? How can she survive with this?”

She picked the file, apologizing. 

“You employ people without doing the necessary checks so you can pay them this low?”

“She was desperate. She needed a job.”

I lowered my brows. “If I don't find her before the end of the day, today would be your last day in this restaurant.”

I marched out, angrily. 

Maria was still angry at me. And she was running away from me..

Damn!

I kicked the ground as I walked towards my waiting ride.

And just as I slid into the car, my phone buzzed. I stared at the screen.

A hospital.

Hospital? Was Maria okay? Had something happened to her?

I picked the call and the voice of a woman filled my ear. 

“Is this really Julian St Clair?” She asked.

“This is him”

I waited with bated breath. 

“A lady dropped your card here yesterday.”

“Blond haired? Where is she?” I asked, hoping rising once again.

“Yes. She promised to get some money for you to pay for her daughter's medical bills. But she hasn't returned.”

“Daughter?” I repeated. 

Maria was pregnant when she left.

“How old is she?”

“Five.”

That was my daughter. 

I stared at the screen. “I'm coming right now. Make sure she gets the best hospital treatment. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sure,’ I heard her say as I ended the call. “New City hospital. Now.”