FLIGHT 402 TO SPAIN

I stared down at the two dark, bold pink lines, my knees buckling until I hit the cold bathroom tiles. The world felt like it was spinning completely out of control.

Pregnant. With Ethan’s baby.

The door unlocked and opened softly. Maya stepped inside, her eyes dropping to the plastic stick in my trembling hand. She gasped, kneeling next to me and wrapping her arms tightly around my shaking shoulders.

"Oh, Olivia..." Maya breathed, her voice cracking with pure empathy. "It's... it's Ethan's, isn't it?"

I could only nod, tears silently streaming down my face.

“Oh my God.” She gasped. My throat was dry as I stared at the lines, like it was going to disappear. 

"Olivia, listen to me," Maya said firmly, pulling back to look me straight in the eyes. "You have to tell him. Whatever happened between you two, forget it. This is his child. He's a billionaire, Olivia. He has power. He can protect you from Kelvin, and he has a right to know—"

"No!" I choked out, a wave of violent panic surging through my chest. "No, Maya, I can't! Never!"

"Olivia—"

"You didn't see his face!" I sobbed, gripping my head in my hands. "You didn't see the disgust in his eyes when he backed me against that wall. He thinks I set him up! He thinks I'm a manipulative, money-hungry whore who planned the entire thing with Kelvin! He swore he would ruin me!”

I looked at Maya, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. "He hates me, Maya. Deep in his soul, he utterly hates me. If he finds out about this baby, he’ll think it’s just another ploy to trap him. He will hate this child just as much as he hates me, or worse... the Blackwoods will take my baby away and destroy me completely. I cannot risk it."

"What about your adoptive family?" Maya urged gently, rubbing my back. "Can't you go back to them just until you get on your feet?"

A bitter, dry laugh escaped my lips. "My adoptive parents? They took me in out of charity and never let me forget it. They forced me into a contract marriage to save Evelyn. Now that Evelyn is pregnant and Kelvin is tossing me aside, they’ll only scowl in my face and throw me out. I have no family, Maya. I am completely alone."

Maya held me tighter as I wept into her shoulder. After several long minutes of suffocating silence, I wiped my face with the back of my hand and drew a deep, ragged breath. A strange, quiet resolve settled deep in my stomach.

"I have to leave," I said, my voice dropping into a steady, dead quiet.

Maya stiffened. "What? Olivia, no! Where would you even go?"

"Somewhere far away," I said, standing up on unsteady legs. "Somewhere the Blackwoods can't touch me. Ethan promised to ruin me here. He’s already blacklisted me from every jewelry design firm in the country. If I stay, I’m useless. I’ll be starving on the street with a child."

"Olivia, please think about this!" Maya cried out, standing up and grabbing both my hands. "You have no one else out there! You're pregnant, you're exhausted, and you're alone! Stay here with me—"

"And let them track me down?" I shook my head tearfully. "No. I have to protect my baby. Don't worry about me, Maya. I have some savings left over from my work at Tiffany&Co—I never spent a dime of Kelvin's money. It’s enough to get me a plane ticket to Europe and cover my living expenses until I find a new job under a fresh start. I will survive. I have to."

Maya stared at my pale, determined face. Seeing the absolute certainty in my eyes, the resistance melted out of her, replaced by a fierce, protective sorrow.

"Okay," Maya whispered, pulling me into a tight, desperate hug. "Okay. I’ll help you pack."

She pulled back, a dangerous, dark glint suddenly taking over her eyes. "But we are not letting Kelvin and Evelyn walk away clean. Give me your phone."

I fumbled in my bag and handed her my device. Maya quickly connected it to her encrypted drive, transferring the real video file of Kelvin and Evelyn in my bed.

"I'm a senior entertainment reporter, Olivia," Maya said, a cold, venomous smile playing on her lips. "By the time your plane touches down tomorrow morning, this video will be broadcasting on every major television network and news portal in North America. . Blackwood will know the truth, and Kelvin ’s precious CEO dreams will burn to the ground.”

An hour later, I stood near the departure gate at the international airport, my single duffel bag slung over my shoulder.

The overhead speakers chimed softly: FLIGHT 402 TO SPAIN - NOW BOARDING.

I looked down at my phone one last time. I pulled out the SIM card, snapped it cleanly in half, and tossed the pieces into a nearby trash can. Placing a gentle hand over my flat stomach, I felt a quiet, fierce warmth blooming against the hollow pain in my chest.

I turned around and walked down the jetway, leaving my past—and the men who destroyed it—behind forever.