Chapter 2

**Celeste POV**

Maya didn’t waste time. The moment I stopped crying long enough to breathe, she was already on her phone, her fingers fast across the screen like sparks leaping off a wire.

“There. Found him.”

Her voice was too sharp, too certain. I blinked through my tears. “What?”

She pushed the bright screen in front of me like it was proof in a courtroom. And just like that, my stomach dropped.

The stranger from that night stared back at me, only he wasn’t a stranger at all. His photograph radiated a sharp, magnetic presence. Black suit, ruthless jawline, eyes so dark they seemed to pierce the camera itself.

The caption beneath his name made my stomach twist violently:

Lucian Backwood. CEO. Heir to Backwood Enterprises.

The man I’d given myself to in a haze of grief and alcohol wasn’t some anonymous mistake. He was one of the most powerful men in New York.

“No,” My voice broke as I stumbled back, pressing my hand over my mouth. “No, Maya, that’s not possible. It can’t be him.”

“It's a fact.” Maya’s voice was iron. “I triple-checked. And guess what? He’s not just anyone. That man is Lucian Backwood, billionaire, golden boy of the corporate world.” Her eyes locked onto mine. “And the father of your child.”

The last word cut deeper than any blade.

I shook my head so hard my hair clung to my damp cheeks. “Maya, I can’t go to him. He won’t remember me. To him, I was just—” I swallowed hard. “Just a mistake.”

Maya’s eyes softened briefly, but the softness was gone in a blink. “Mistake or not, you’re carrying his child. He deserves to know. And you need help.” She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

“Get up.”

“I can’t go to him please”

“You will.” She cut me off, her voice unyielding. “Your baby deserve better than crying alone in this apartment. If you won’t fight for yourself, fight for your baby.”

The city swallowed me whole as we rode in silence. I couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t stop seeing his face on that screen. Lucian Backwood. Wealth. Power. Untouchable. He existed in a world so far above mine it might as well have been another planet.

Blackwood Enterprises wasn’t a building. It was a monument, a skyscraper of mirrored glass that pierced the sky. Sunlight bounced off its surface like fire, blinding and dazzling. Its sheer presence dwarfed everything around it.

I froze at the base of it, my heart beating so hard it hurt. People in expensive suits walked in and out with practiced ease, their phones pressed to their ears, their eyes sharp and busy. Every single one of them looked like they belonged.

I didn’t.

“I can’t,” I whispered, my throat raw. “Maya, I can’t go in there.”

“You can,” she said, gripping my wrist with the same determination she’d had when she shoved me out the door. “And you will. Come on.”

She dragged me through the revolving doors, and the air changed instantly, cool, perfumed, humming with wealth.

The lobby stretched out like something from a dream. White marble floors gleamed so bright I could see my reflection. Glass walls rose around us, crisscrossed with steel beams. A chandelier the size of a car hung from the ceiling, dripping golden light.

I wanted to run. Instead, I forced one shaky step after another as Maya pulled me forward.

Behind a sleek curved desk sat a receptionist with flawless makeup and scarlet lips. She looked up briefly, her smile polite but detached, her gaze sliding over my thrift dress before settling back on Maya.

“Yes?” Her voice was cool, professional.

“We’re here to see Lucian Backwood,” Maya said without hesitation.

The receptionist’s smile didn’t even flicker. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No,” Maya said, placing her hands on the desk, “but this is personal.”

The secretary smiled coldly . “Mr. Backwood doesn’t see anyone without an appointment. Especially not… walk-ins.” Her eyes flicked down my dress, my shoes, then away as though she had already decided I wasn’t worth the carpet I stood on.

Heat burned my cheeks. I wanted to disappear. But Maya leaned forward, planting both hands on the counter. “Listen, you don’t know what’s at stake. Just tell him Celeste Monroe is here. He’ll want to see her.”

The woman lifted her eyebrows, unimpressed. “Miss Monroe, even if I wanted to, I can’t. Mr. Backwood isn’t in the building.”

The finality in her tone was harsh. My heart sank, but Maya wasn’t done.

“Then when will he be back?”

“That’s confidential.”

I touched Maya’s arm. “It’s fine. Maya let’s…”

But before I could finish, The glass doors slid open behind us, and the atmosphere shifted. All the staff members straightened at once. Even the secretary stood.

“Mrs. Backwood,” the secretary said with a rush of respect.

I turned.

The woman who walked in carried power like a crown. Tailored suit, diamonds glinting at her ears, hair swept into a perfect twist. Her gaze swept over the lobby and landed on us.

Her gaze sliced through me, cold and calculating, lingering on my face, then…slowly…dropping to my stomach.

It wasn’t recognition. It was dissection. As though she could see through my skin, my bones, straight into the secret I carried.

The air left my lungs in a rush. I knew instantly.

Lucian’s mother.

She didn’t introduce herself. She didn’t need to. The resemblance was written in every angle of her features.

My knees threatened to buckle, but I locked them in place, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat.

Maya stiffened beside me, her bravado faltering for the first time.

Lucian’s mother’s lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile, more a sharp slash of amusement.

“Who are they?” Her voice was so cold, my blood ran cold.