Prologue:

Patrisha’s heart pounded as she approached a private room in the hospital. The moment she learned about what had happened to Ethan, she hadn’t hesitated to fly back to the Philippines from abroad, bringing her newborn baby with her. She couldn’t let her parents find out about her sudden return, so she had kept it a secret, along with the fact that she had brought her child and the baby’s caregiver with her.

When she finally reached the room she was looking for, Patrisha first peered through the glass panel on the door. Inside, she saw a nurse and a woman standing beside Ethan, who was lying in bed. Her brows furrowed slightly at the sight of the woman, whom she had never seen before. However, judging by the way the woman acted around Ethan, they seemed to share a close relationship. The realization sent a faint pang of jealousy through Patrisha’s heart.

A few moments later, the nurse stepped out of the room. Just then, the woman keeping watch over Ethan noticed Patrisha and approached her, leading her away from the doorway.

Patrisha was caught off guard by the woman’s sudden approach and hadn’t expected her to come over. Still, she quickly regained her composure and offered her a polite smile.

“Is… there something you need?” the woman asked gently and politely.

“Uhm…” Patrisha cleared her throat. “I just wanted to… see Ethan. How is he?”

“Uhm… h-he’s doing okay. He still hasn’t regained consciousness, but… he’s stable,” the woman replied awkwardly.

“I see. How long has he been… unconscious?”

“It’s been… almost a month.”

Patrisha turned her gaze sadly toward Ethan. She had no idea what had happened to him, and if Nathan hadn’t accidentally let it slip, she would never have known what he had been through.

“M-May I… know your name?” the woman asked after a moment. “Are you a friend of Ethan’s too?”

“I’m Patrisha Cruz,” she introduced herself. “Trisha for short.”

The woman gave her a warm smile. “Would you like to come in so you can see him better?”

“Sure!”

The two of them entered the room, and Patrisha gazed at Ethan as he lay unconscious in the hospital bed. She approached him and couldn’t stop herself from gently running her fingers through his hair.

She had missed him.

Almost a year had passed since the last time she had seen him. She had thought she would never get the chance to see him again. But after learning what had happened to him, she couldn’t help but worry deeply about him.

Even though their relationship had ended long ago, there was one truth she could never hide forever—Ethan was the father of the child she had given birth to only recently.

A few moments later, Nathan suddenly arrived.

“Trisha?” Nathan murmured in surprise when he saw her.

Nathan Flores was one of her friends and acquaintances in the entertainment industry. He had grown up with Ethan, which was also how Patrisha had become close to Ethan back then. Patrisha had been a model at the time, but she had since quit after unexpectedly becoming pregnant.

“N-Nathan…”

Nathan quickly approached her and gently grabbed her by the arm. “What are you doing here?” he asked quietly.

“Why? Is it wrong for me to come see him? I just want to see him,” she replied softly.

Nathan glanced at the woman watching over Ethan before slowly letting go of Patrisha’s arm.

“Uhm… this is Trisha, Sydney. She’s a friend of mine and Ethan’s—”

“I’m not Ethan’s friend,” Patrisha interrupted. “You know that.”

“Trisha, please,” Nathan quietly scolded her. It was true, after all. She wasn’t Ethan’s friend, nor had she ever been his ex-girlfriend.

She was about to say something when they suddenly heard a faint groan followed by a cough from Ethan. Their eyes widened when they saw him move.

“Ethan!” Sydney exclaimed as she rushed to his side.

Nathan and Patrisha quickly followed.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes, much to their relief. Nathan immediately ran out of the room to call for a doctor.

Patrisha, meanwhile, saw Sydney tightly holding Ethan’s hand.

“S-Sydney…” Ethan murmured weakly, calling the name of the woman Patrisha knew was now his girlfriend.

“Ethan… Ethan, I’m here,” Sydney said happily.

A few moments later, Nathan returned with the doctor he had called. They stepped aside to give the doctor enough room to properly examine Ethan. After a while, the doctor turned to Sydney.

“He is in good condition now. He just needs to regain his strength.”

“Thank you, Doctor!” Sydney said happily before approaching Ethan again.

Patrisha swallowed hard and managed a small smile. She was relieved to know that Ethan was finally doing well. And as far as she was concerned, there was no reason for her to stay any longer.

Without saying another word, she quietly left the room and never let Ethan see her.

Ethan Vego was the father of the child she had given birth to, and he had no idea about it. They had never been in a relationship, and she had never expected that their casual relationship would result in a child—one who had nearly caused her parents to disown her.

The memory was still painfully fresh in her mind.

The moment her father learned about her pregnancy, he slapped her hard across the face. Her cheek burned and throbbed from the blow, and she could see the deep disappointment in her father’s eyes.

“I don’t know where I went wrong with you, girl! We’ve been trying so hard to build a good life for you, but all you’ve ever done is ruin it!” her father spat angrily.

“That’s enough, Pablo! Don’t hurt our daughter,” her mother pleaded, stepping in to stop him.

“That’s why she turned out like this! You’ve spoiled her too much!” her father snapped angrily at her mother.

“I’m not spoiling her! All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t hurt her. Our daughter is pregnant, so you have no right to lay a hand on her!”

“Then what are we supposed to do about that child? What if people find out about her pregnancy? What will our investors say about our family?”

“No one will find out because she’s leaving for New York tomorrow,” her mother said, causing Patrisha to quickly turn toward her.

“Mom? What are you talking about?”

“If the father of your child isn’t willing to take responsibility for you, it’s better for you to stay in New York for now, sweetheart.”

“Mom…” she murmured in disappointment and disbelief.

“That’s right! It would be better if you left the country,” her father agreed.

Her chest tightened at her parents’ decision. She had spent her entire life being away from them because they were always busy with their businesses, both in the Philippines and abroad. And now that she was going through something difficult, instead of standing by her and supporting her, they were pushing her away once again.

So, despite how much she disagreed with their decision, she had no choice but to follow their wishes. She left the country with her caregiver, Nanay Lucy, so she could quietly carry her pregnancy to term and give birth to her child there.

She also left her modeling career and cut off all contact with her friends because that was what her parents had ordered her to do.

Almost a year later, after successfully giving birth to her child, Patrisha returned to the Philippines upon learning that the father of her child, Ethan, had been unconscious for nearly a month. According to Nathan, Ethan had been shot by his stepbrother, who was now serving time in prison for what he had done.

She had no intention of disrupting Ethan’s life or interfering with his relationship with his girlfriend. However, she believed Ethan had the right to know about their child. Besides, Ethan had treated her well during the time they had been seeing each other. They had both agreed to keep their arrangement purely physical. They just wanted sex, with no strings attached. They had only used each other for sexual pleasure, and she had never imagined that their casual arrangement would result in a child.

That was why she returned to the hospital the following day, where Ethan was still confined, to tell him the truth about the child she had given birth to.

“Why are you only telling me about this now?” Ethan asked in a deep voice.

“Actually, I never intended to tell you about it in the first place. As you can see, I left quietly without causing any trouble for you. I managed to get through everything on my own, even without you,” she replied.

“You chose to keep everything from me, Trisha. And now, what? You’re only telling me about it when you’re already about to leave?”

She and her child had to return to New York soon, since her parents had no idea that she had briefly returned to the Philippines.

“Look, Ethan. I chose to keep it from you because I didn’t want you to feel like I was forcing you to take responsibility. Besides, we both knew that what happened between us wasn’t because we loved each other—”

“Even so, Trisha!” Ethan cut her off. “I had the right to know the truth. I have a right to my child!”

“I’m not taking that right away from you. Of course you have a right to your child because he’s yours. I just didn’t want to force you into anything because we both know that he was conceived because of nothing more than physical desire. And I didn’t want to become the villain in your life or interfere with it.”

“I want to see the baby,” Ethan said seriously.

“We need to return to New York, but don’t worry. I’ll let you see him. I won’t keep him from you, Ethan. And I’ll introduce you as his father.”

“Thank you, Trisha. And I’m sorry that… I wasn’t there when you needed someone by your side.”

She gave him a small smile.

“Get well soon, Ethan. And I hope you can explain this properly to Sydney. I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she said before finally leaving.

She had never wanted to hurt anyone. If anything, she would rather be the one to get hurt than cause pain to someone else.

And now, there was only one thing she wanted to do—take care of and love the one precious thing she had in her life, her child.