PROLOGUE

“The horoscope says this is where I’ll find my forever. So... where is he? Hmm?”

Freya muttered to herself, eyes scanning the crowded H-Club.

Tonight her heart was in pieces. The man she had loved for years had chosen someone else. She didn't come to H-Club to sulk. She came to forget. Better to be lost in loud music and strangers than alone in the four corners of her room.

“I will not waste my tears on a useless man! Did he think I was going to chase him? What am I, a dog? Tsk. If he can be happy with someone else, then so can I!”

She was still trying to convince herself when someone approached her.

He was unfairly handsome — sharp eyes, perfect nose, a mouth that looked like it was made to smirk. Expensive watch, expensive scent. The kind of man who screamed old money.

Without asking, he picked up her goblet and drank from it.

“Hey! That’s mine!” Freya frowned.

He winced. “Ouch. Sorry, dear. You looked lonely. Want some company? I’m Jacob. Jacob Anderson Gray.”

Jacob — the illegitimate son of multi-billionaire John Vandolf Gray — hadn’t come here to flirt either. He’d come to forget how his girlfriend chose his half-brother, Jackson, over him.

He held out his hand. She took it.

“Freya Oligario. Nice to meet you,” she said, her irritation melting a little under his charming smile.

Freya was a rank-and-file employee at La Niño Group of Companies, one of the biggest conglomerates in the country. She’d lost her parents young, but she’d put herself through college in sheer will.

“Are you here alone? Really alone?” he asked.

She nodded.

He looked at her — not lecherous, but captivated. Her red lips, her innocent eyes behind her glasses, the soft scent of her perfume. Something about her pulled him in.

'I’m not going home without her. I need to spend tonight with this woman,' he thought.

They started talking. Two broken hearts finding the same dark corner in a loud, messy club. Two stories of betrayal. So they drank. Glass after glass until the edges blurred.

“You know, I’m a Virgo,” Freya giggled, her cheeks flushed from the wine. “And some crazy horoscope writer wrote that tonight... tonight I’ll meet the person who will make me whole. The person I’ll grow old and gray with.” She looked up and accidentally met his eyes.

Jacob leaned in, his arm sliding around her waist.

“I don’t believe in horoscopes,” he whispered. “But since you said it... I want to believe it.”

He cupped her face. She didn’t pull away.

One look. One breath. And then they were kissing — soft at first, then hungry, like they were both trying to forget someone else through each other.

“I can’t do this here,” Jacob breathed against her lips, his forehead pressed to hers.

“Then don’t.”

He took her to his condo.

At the door, he paused and looked at her, giving her an out. “You can still step back.”

Freya smiled teasingly, her heart hammering. “Do you think I will?”

Jacob smiled, that dangerous, boyish smile, and closed the door behind them. He gently removed her glasses. “You’re even more beautiful without these.”

He set them on the sofa.

“I — I need those to see—”

He kissed her again, deep and slow, and she forgot what she was going to say. The alcohol, the heartbreak, the rain pounding against the windows — everything faded except the heat between them.

Freya’s fingers found the buttons of his shirt. Jacob’s hands found her waist.

“Once we do this, there’s no turning back,” he whispered.

“Then don’t make me turn back.”

What happened next was theirs alone — clumsy, tender, desperate. Two strangers trying to heal each other for one night. Her first time, his first time feeling wanted again. Whispered names, soft promises made in the dark that neither of them expected to keep.

After, he kissed her forehead and held her close.

“I like you, Freya. Out of all the women in that club, my feet brought me to you. Like you’re a magnet. Thank you... for making this heartbreaking night feel less lonely.”

He drifted off thinking, 'If she never comes back, I’ll pour everything into this girl.'

Two Months Later...

Two pink lines.

Freya stared at the pregnancy test, terrified at first. 'Can I be a good mother?' but the fear didn’t last. A fierce of courage took its place.

She went to Jacob’s condo, her heart pounding.

"You can do this, Freya. He’ll be happy. He has to be."

They hadn’t lost contact after that night. In fact, after a month of messages and late-night meetups, she’d said yes to being his girlfriend.

She was about to punch in the code to his door when a woman appeared. Pointed nose. Skin white as snow. Red dress, stilettos, jewelry that cost more than Freya’s rent. Expensive paper bag in hand.

The woman smiled sweetly. “Excuse me, miss. I think you’re lost. You’re about to open the wrong unit.”

Freya adjusted her glasses and checked the number. “Thanks, but no thanks. This is my boy—”

“Hey, babe! What are you doing here?”

Freya’s face lit up. Jacob. She stepped forward, ready to share the good news. “Jacob! I have good news for—”

The words died in her throat.

The beautiful woman threw her arms around Jacob and kissed him. And Jacob kissed her back.

Freya’s blood ran cold. Her knees shook.

“Babe, do you know her?” the woman asked, clinging to Jacob.

Freya prayed, 'Please. Tell her who I am. Tell her you love me. Tell her I’m your girlfriend.'

Jacob just raised a brow and looked at her like she was a stranger.

“I don’t know her, babe. Probably just one of those girls looking for money. Don’t mind her. Let’s go inside.”

It felt like a knife twisting in her chest.

“Okay, babe. I missed you so much! I bought you something. You’ll love it,” the woman cooed. Before disappearing inside, she glanced at Freya with a fake smile. “Nice to meet you. Take care! Be careful next time. People might think you’re a thief. And buy new glasses. That one looks defective.”

Freya stood there, pale, tears blurring her vision. She left the ultrasound result in a brown envelope at his door and walked away.

On the bus back to her apartment, she packed everything to go back to the province. To raise her child alone.

Her phone buzzed.

{Freya, I’m sorry. What we had was just a fling. One night, Freya. I only dated you because I felt guilty. Ivana and I are back together. We’re getting married once she gets her inheritance. I hope you move on and find the right man for you. Thank you for the happy memories.}

Freya laughed through her tears and tore his photo in half.

“That ONE NIGHT LOVE you’re talking about? That’s going to be my present and my future. And because of what you did, you will never see our child.”