Chapter One

EVELYN

My heart was in my throat as I walked through the corridors; every step I took made my heart beat faster, and the positive pregnancy test in my handbag felt heavier than a ton of bricks. 

This was it.

Everything we'd been waiting for.

For five years, I had loved Ashvin Blackwood with every piece of my heart.

To the rest of the world, I was nothing more than his capable secretary.

But behind closed doors, I was the woman who shared his bed.

The woman who loved him even though he always insisted we keep our relationship a secret. Still, I believed him every time he promised that one day things would be different.

And now I knew it deep down in my bones that this time everything would change. Ashvin loved his family more than anything.

He might be cold, ruthless, and impossible to read, but one thing everyone knew about him was that he protected the people he loved. There was no way he would let his child grow up without a family.

Others would wait for that special moment, for when the time was right with some special dinner or whatever sentimental things people did, but not me; I wasn’t interested in any of those things.

All I wanted was to see Ashvin's face when I told him he was going to be a father. The joy in his eyes and how excited he would be that we would start our little family together.

The executive floor of Blackwood Group came into view, and I felt my heart jump in excitement. I rushed through the corridors while my legs shook. With one last deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped in. 

But the moment my feet stepped inside the office, what I saw wasn’t what I expected. My smile fell as my eyes fell on Ashvin who had his hands comfortably around a woman I knew too well.

Amanda Jacobs. His ex-girlfriend and the thorn in my flesh.

Amanda locked eyes with me and smiled,

“Evelyn.” She announced. Like we were lost buddies who just met after such a long time.

The sound of my name coming from her lips made my stomach twist, and I felt my heart squeeze painfully, but I still remained composed, hoping there was some sort of explanation for this.

There had to be.

Ashvin wouldn’t...I mean yes, Amanda was his ex, and he loved her, but she left him, left him broken, and it had been five years. She was in the past. He said it himself; there was no way….

No.

I refused to let my mind go there.

Upon hearing my name, Ashvin turned. 

His usually emotionless face showed something I had never seen before. His eyes widened slightly, as though my presence was the last thing he expected. 

Then, as if he had suddenly remembered Amanda was still in his arms, he moved quickly, releasing her like he had been burned.

The warmth I had imagined seeing in his eyes when I told him about our baby slowly disappeared.

The pregnancy test inside my handbag suddenly felt heavier than it had moments ago.

Ashvin adjusted his suit jacket, his expression becoming cold and distant once again.

"Miss Carter."

My name left his lips, but there was no affection in it.

Miss Carter?

"I..."

Before I could say anything else, his brows furrowed, and irritation crossed his features.

"How many times am I going to remind you about knocking?" His voice was cold as ice, making me freeze for a moment before I remembered why I was here in the first place. 

"This is my office, Evelyn. Not your personal space." He added, adding salt to my already wounded heart.

“I just have something important to tell you. I didn’t know you had…” My eyes went over to Amanda before they found Ashvin’s dark eyes once again. “Company.”

Ashvin sighed before turning to Amanda,

“Leave us for a moment.”

Amanda looked shocked, but she knew arguing with Ash wasn’t possible, so she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek with a smile, making my insides twist in anger.

“I’ll be outside. Don’t take too long.” She announced before smiling at me, and then she walked out. Something about her smile unsettled me, but I didn’t dwell much on it as my attention turned back to Ashvin.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get any words out, Ash cut me off.

“I was going to call you later, but since you’re already here, I might as well just tell you now.”

The cold way he spoke to me shattered my heart, and I felt tears in my eyes, but I blinked them back.

"My relationship with Amanda is starting again. So I won’t be needing your night services anymore."

His tone remained completely emotionless as he spoke, 

“My night services?” I whispered the insult of what he was insinuating. 

Ashvin’s cold stare sized me up, a cold smile stretching his lips as he leaned back in his office chair. 

“Don’t tell me you believed we could be more than sexual partners.”

He stood from his chair and walked towards me, making me take a step back until my back was against the wall. I was trapped between him and the wall and could barely breathe from the way his dark eyes stared at me like he was staring into my soul and peeling me apart bit by bit.

“I hope you will be good and not cause Amanda trouble because I won’t let you get away with it. If you want to be dramatic, take it out on me. Do you understand?”

The words were so cold, sharp, and brutal as they sliced through my chest. I reached for his hand, my lips trembling as I shook my head with tears in my eyes.

But before I could open my mouth, the door opened, 

"Ash, the board members are waiting," Amanda announced.

“Ash, please, I’m-”

“Let’s talk later.” He cut me off and turned to leave, leaving me holding onto the handbag with shaking legs and tears in my eyes. My heart was cracking, but I felt I still had to try and make him understand why we couldn’t end.

Maybe if I explained and told him about the baby, he would change his mind. I was about to run after him when Amanda blocked my way with that creepy smile on her face.

“Eve.” She smiled, “I can call you Eve, right?” She reached over and held my hands in hers.

"Evelyn..." she sighed softly, when she noticed I was quiet. "You really don't have to look at me like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I whispered, trying to sidestep her, only for her to block me again.

"Oh, please." Amanda let out a laugh.

"You and I both know what this was. You were there when he needed someone," she continued. "And honestly, I should probably thank you. While I was away, you kept him company. You made sure he wasn't lonely and helped him stay out of the gossip magazines, which is why..." She trailed off and crossed her arms while leaning against the desk.

My eyes fell to the big rock on her finger, and I felt my heart sink all the way to my feet.

“Ash asked me to appreciate you with a little something, but I thought I should first pour my heart out, you know. Just so there is no bad blood between us. Especially that we might see each other a lot.” She waved her left hand with a smile.

My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. I had no idea what to say or what to do when it was obvious. He had asked Amanda to marry him; was that why he ended things between us in such a cruel way?

“Here you go.” Amanda straightened her hand and handed me a check. I took it and read the words written boldly: 

 [Five million dollars]

For a moment, I couldn't understand what I was looking at. I simply blinked at Amanda, who smiled at me as if understanding my confusion, 

“Ash asked me to give it to you. I hope you won’t misunderstand him. He just wants you to start a new life somewhere else. At least that’s what he told me to tell you.”

My fingers slowly closed around the cheque, making my knees buckle as if they were no longer able to hold my weight. 

My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest and left bleeding somewhere I couldn't reach. Every breath hurt, every heartbeat felt like another reminder that the man I had loved for five years had never loved me the way I thought he did.

 I wanted to scream, to cry, to beg him to take back his words, but the pain was so overwhelming that even breathing felt like too much work. 

Tears burned my eyes, yet somehow they weren't enough to wash away the ache spreading through my chest. It felt as though someone had reached inside me and torn apart every beautiful memory I had ever held onto, leaving nothing behind but emptiness.

He truly believed slapping me with money should be able to kick me out of his life?

 A dry laugh escaped me as his words from earlier echoed in the back of my head on a loop.

Ashvin was truly cruel. If he was kicking me out this way, wouldn’t he consider this child a hindrance and try to harm the baby? 

The image of being dragged into a hospital and having doctors forcibly abort my pregnancy played in my face, and I felt a shiver run down my back.

No.

I wouldn’t let him near this child. If buying me off was his intention, then I’d disappear without a trace! I finally looked at Amanda, forcing myself to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Thank you."

Amanda raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by my response.

"That's it?"

I nodded. A bitter smile tugging at my lips as my eyes fell on the shiny rock on her left finger,

" And Congratulations."

I took one last look around his office, and shame washed over me for what a fool I’d been wasting five years loving a man who saw me as nothing more than someone to warm his bed.

Wiping my tears off, I walked toward the door and left with no intention of looking back.