004

Lily's POV.

The walk home felt longer than usual. My mind was spinning, my body running on autopilot. The doctor’s words played over and over in my head, each repetition making my chest tighten.

I was pregnant.

With Ashton’s child.

The thought made my stomach turn. One night. That was all it had taken. One night of weakness, of giving in to emotions I hadn’t even fully understood. I had given him everything…my innocence, my heart…and in return, he had crushed me without a second thought.

I stepped into my apartment, shutting the door behind me. The silence was suffocating. My gaze swept over the mess…the empty food containers, the unmade bed, the clothes scattered everywhere. My life was already a disaster, and now this?

I ran a shaky hand through my hair, my breath uneven.

Ashton had thrown me out of his life like I was nothing. Fired me. Humiliated me. Had his security drag me out of his office as if I was some intruder. And that same evening, he had gotten engaged. To Valerie Monroe.

I scoffed bitterly, shaking my head.

How had I been so stupid?

My fingers curled into fists at my sides. I had been nothing more than a moment of weakness for him, a distraction he had discarded without a second thought. I could still hear his cold voice, see the way he had looked at me as if I disgusted him.

The memory stung, and I clenched my jaw, swallowing against the lump in my throat.

And now, I was carrying his child.

No.

I couldn’t tell him. He had already made it clear what I meant to him…nothing. If I showed up with this news, he’d probably think I was trying to trap him, to ruin his perfect engagement.

I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

I had enough problems to deal with. I was running out of cash. My rent was due. My landlord had already given me a final warning, and if I didn’t pay up soon, I’d be out on the streets.

My life was a mess.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, a sharp breath escaping my lips.

But then… there was this.

A tiny life growing inside me. A part of me.

A part of him.

I closed my eyes, letting the thought settle in. Everything around me was falling apart, but this baby… this baby gave me something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope.

-

-

-

Four years had passed.

Four years since I walked away from that city, pregnant and broken. Four years of fighting, struggling, pushing through every obstacle that tried to knock me down.

I had nothing when I left. No home, no job, no support. Just a baby growing inside me and a will to survive. I worked odd jobs, anything to keep food on the table. I cleaned offices at night, waited tables during the day, and took on freelance work whenever I could. Sleep became a luxury. Tears became my companion. But I refused to give up.

And then, slowly, things changed.

I used what little I had to start something of my own. At first, it was just a small online store, selling handmade accessories. I spent hours designing, marketing, shipping orders, barely making enough to scrape by. But I kept going. The business grew. I expanded. I learned everything I could about running a company. And before I knew it, I had something real.

Now, I owned a fashion brand.

My name was on billboards. My designs were worn by celebrities. My company was thriving, and for the first time in my life, I had everything I had ever dreamed of. Wealth. Stability. A home.

But none of it compared to the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

Nathan.

My son. My world.

Motherhood was brutal. There were nights I thought I wouldn’t make it, nights when exhaustion and loneliness crushed me. Nights when Nathan cried for hours, and I cried along with him, feeling like a failure. But somehow, we made it through.

And now, here we were.

Back on a plane, heading home.

Nathan sat beside me, swinging his little legs. At four years old, he was too smart for his age, always asking questions, always curious. His dark curls framed his face, and his big brown eyes…so much like his father’s…sparkled with excitement.

“Mommy, are we there yet?” he asked, fidgeting with his seatbelt.

“Not yet, baby,” I said, smoothing his hair.

He sighed dramatically. “But I wanna see our new house.”

I smiled. “Soon.”

He looked up at me, studying my face. “Are you okay?”

I hesitated before nodding. “Of course.”

I wasn’t sure if I was lying. Going back to that city meant facing everything I left behind. The memories. The pain.

But I wasn’t the same woman who had left.

I was stronger now.

And no matter what waited for me there, I wasn’t afraid.

…

We were walking toward the car, Nathan bouncing beside me as we made our way through the crowded airport. It felt like the weight of the past was lifting, like the city I once fled from was now just a memory. I was finally starting fresh, rebuilding everything from the ground up.

Nathan’s little hand was clasped tightly in mine, his excitement was evident. “Mommy, I can’t wait to see our new house!”

I smiled, squeezing his hand. “It’s going to be amazing, baby. You’re going to love it.”

He grinned, already lost in his thoughts about all the adventures we’d have. I couldn’t help but feel proud of how far we’d come. Life wasn’t perfect, but I had my son, my business, and the strength to face whatever came next.

But then it happened.

We were nearing the exit when I heard it…someone calling my name. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to stop me dead in my tracks.

"Lily?"

My heart skipped a beat, my body instinctively tensing. I thought I imagined it at first. But then it came again.

“Lily?”

I felt a familiar knot tighten in my stomach, a mix of frustration and disbelief. No way. This couldn’t be happening. I’d just stepped back into this city, into a new life, and now… this.

I didn’t look yet. I didn’t want to.

Nathan tugged on my sleeve, confused by my sudden stillness. “Mommy? What’s wrong?”

I gave him a quick, reassuring smile, my thoughts racing. There was no way I was going to let whatever this was ruin my day. I had been through too much to let this throw me off balance.

But curiosity and an almost uncontrollable sense of anger pulled me toward the source of that voice. I turned slowly, the weight of the moment hitting me like a slap.

And there he was.

Ashton.

Standing in the middle of the crowd with his new P.A. and his whole damn team behind him. The last thing I expected to see. He looked… different. More polished, more in control than I remembered. But it was still him. And he was looking right at me with those cold, calculating eyes.

I stood frozen for a second, watching him. He hadn’t noticed Nathan yet, but he was staring at me, the shock in his face almost too obvious to ignore.

I didn’t speak. Not yet.

His eyes moved over me, then to Nathan, then back to me. There was a moment of silence, a beat where everything seemed to stop around us. His P.A, a guy I didn’t recognize, stood at his side, shifting nervously. The rest of his team stood a few steps behind.

I didn’t need to say anything. I wouldn’t say anything. There was nothing left to say to him.

Ashton took a few steps forward, his gaze locked onto me like a predator stalking its prey. But I wasn’t going to flinch. Not now. Not after everything he’d put me through.

Then, like a punch to the gut, he called my name again.

“Lily.”

The sound of it, the way he said it, stopped me in my tracks. The disbelief in his voice, the confusion…it hit me harder than I expected.

I finally turned to face him, not out of weakness, but because I needed him to see me, to know that I wasn’t the same person he discarded all those years ago.

And there he was. Looking at me like I was a ghost.