CHAPTER 2: A WORLD BEYOND MINE

Sophia's POV

“You... you're joking.”

I stared at Mia, waiting for her to laugh, but she didn't. Instead, she kept staring at me as I had just announced that I'd won the lottery.

“That was Ethan Sterling,” she repeated, lowering her voice. “The Ethan Sterling.”

I blinked. “The CEO of Sterling Holdings?”

She nodded so hard I thought her neck might snap. “The billionaire every business magazine can't stop talking about.”

A strange feeling settled in my stomach. Suddenly, everything made sense. No wonder people had moved aside when he walked into the ballroom. No wonder he carried himself as if the entire room belonged to him.

He wasn't just rich.

He was powerful.

The kind of man whose signature could make or destroy someone's future.

“And I just stood there talking to him like he was...” I paused.

“...a normal person.”

Mia burst out laughing. “Honestly? I think that's why he kept talking to you.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Women throw themselves at Ethan Sterling every day.”

She glanced toward the ballroom, where photographers had begun taking pictures of some of the guests.

“Models. Actresses. Socialites. Women who would probably do anything to get his attention.”

“And?”

“And you were the only woman in this hotel who looked like she wanted to escape instead of chasing him.”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, I wasn't trying to impress anyone.”

“I know.” She gave me a knowing smile. “Maybe that's what impressed him.”

Before I could respond, a waiter passed by carrying a tray of sparkling drinks. Mia quickly grabbed two glasses and handed one to me.

“Come on. We're celebrating.”

I looked at the glass.

“I don't think I should.”

“One drink won't hurt.” She raised hers. “To your promotion.”

I hesitated before clinking my glass against hers.

“To surviving adulthood.”

Mia laughed. “That's the saddest toast I've ever heard.”

I smiled, but my thoughts were already somewhere else.

My mother's hospital bill.

Friday's deadline.

The money I didn't have.

One drink wasn't going to solve any of it, but for tonight, I decided to stop thinking about it.

At least for a little while.

An hour later, the ballroom had grown louder. Business executives laughed over expensive drinks while the live music filled the room. Conversations mixed, and the once-calm atmosphere had turned into a busy celebration.

I stood near the dessert table, absentmindedly stirring the ice in my glass.

My thoughts weren't on the party anymore.

They were on Mom.

The hospital bill.

Friday.

How was I supposed to find that kind of money in three days?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice someone approaching until a familiar deep voice made me freeze.

“You've barely smiled all evening.”

I turned.

Ethan Sterling stood beside me.

This time, there was no crowd around him. No photographers. No assistant.

Just him.

I straightened.

“I thought CEOs were supposed to be busy entertaining important people.”

“They are.”

His eyes met mine.

“And yet...”

He paused.

“...here I am.”

My pulse quickened for reasons I didn't want to think about.

“I don't understand.”

“You looked like you needed someone to rescue you.”

A small laugh escaped me. “I wasn't aware I looked that helpless.”

“You don't.”

His answer came quickly.

Then his gaze moved over my face, and something about his expression changed.

“You look... tired.”

The words caught me off guard.

No one had noticed.

Not my coworkers.

Not even Mia.

But somehow, he had.

I looked away.

“I've had a difficult week.”

“So have I.”

I glanced back at him and smiled faintly. “I doubt our weeks were anything alike.”

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked toward the enormous windows overlooking the city.

“You'd be surprised.”

For the first time since meeting him, I saw something different.

He looked less like a billionaire CEO and more like a man carrying a heavy load.

Something invisible.

I wondered what it could be.

But I didn't know Ethan Sterling well enough to ask.

And judging by the way he carried himself, I doubted he was the kind of man who welcomed personal questions.

Across the ballroom, a woman in a crimson evening gown watched us.

Her fingers tightened around her champagne glass.

“Who's she?” she asked.

One of her friends glanced in my direction.

“No idea.”

“But Ethan has been talking to her twice tonight.”

The woman's expression darkened.

“He never talks to anyone twice.”

She turned sharply toward a passing waiter.

“Find out who she is.”

Meanwhile, I had no idea I was being watched.

I looked at Ethan.

“I should go. It's getting late.”

He nodded.

“I'll have my driver take you home.”

I laughed nervously. “That's kind, but unnecessary.”

“It wasn't a suggestion.”

His tone was calm, but there was something firm behind it.

I stared at him.

“I don't accept rides from strangers.”

For the first time, amusement appeared in his eyes.

“So we're still strangers?”

I hesitated.

“Weren't we?”

For a brief moment, Ethan looked at me.

Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a sleek black business card.

He held it toward me.

I took it reluctantly.

There was only one name printed in silver.

Ethan Sterling

CEO, Sterling Holdings

Below it was a private phone number.

Not the company's number.

His personal one.

I looked up at him.

“If you ever need help...” He paused. “Call me.”

I stared at the card.

People would probably pay thousands to have this number.

“I can't take this.”

“You already have.”

I looked down at the card again.

When I raised my head, he was already walking away.

I watched him disappear into the crowd, completely confused.

Why would a billionaire give me his personal number?

He barely knew me.

Unless...

There was a reason.

Maybe he hadn't approached me simply because I looked tired.

Maybe the conversation hadn't been as random as I thought.

I slipped the card into my purse and tried to push the thought away.

But something about Ethan Sterling bothered me.

Not in a bad way.

It was the feeling that there was more to him than what everyone saw.

And for the first time that night, the thought settled deep in my chest.

Maybe meeting Ethan Sterling hadn't been an accident.

I didn't know how important that meeting would become.

I didn't know that before the sun rose, my ordinary life would take its first step toward becoming something I could never have imagined.