Chapter 4

~HUNTER~

Three years away, and now I was back home. Back to the very place I had sworn never to return.

It’s strange how, despite everything that happened between my father and me, he never failed to remind me why I was able to enjoy the life I was living.

“Everything I own is yours,” he had once said.

Well, now I planned to leave my mark everywhere until my father’s name became nothing but a memory.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I didn’t bother turning away from the floor-to-ceiling window in front of me, my gaze fixed on the New York skyline.

The sun was setting, its orange hues flooding the room in a warm glow. It was beautiful, almost peaceful.

“Come in,” I said, my voice sharp but low.

The door creaked open, and Mr. Tallace, the manager of this hotel branch, stepped in cautiously.

“Yes?” I asked coldly, not moving from my spot.

He stammered, clearly nervous. “I… I’ve carried out your instructions, sir. Miss Brown has been fired.”

At the mention of the name, I arched a brow. “Miss Brown?” I asked, finally turning to face him. I walked to my chair and sat down, my eyes never leaving the trembling man before me.

“The young woman with a child,” he explained, his voice faltering. “The one you asked me to get rid of.”

Ah, yes. Her. How could I forget? Those eyes of hers—tired, hopeless, and scared—were carved into my memory. But it wasn’t her that stayed in my mind the most. It was the boy.

His face was a mirror of my own as a child, and I hated it.

Hated being reminded of the broken boy I used to be.

I should have been furious at the hotel staff for hiring her in the first place—a young mother with a child in tow. “The Aurelia” and its staff were supposed to symbolize perfection.

I had worked too hard to secure our spot among the top ten globally for them to hire just anyone.

“Who authorized her employment?” I asked, my tone icy. “A mother and her child in my hotel? Imagine what the guests would say if they found out. Some might even call it abuse.”

Mr. Tallace visibly flinched under my gaze, his knees buckling as he fell to the floor. His head bowed low, his voice trembling.

“I’m so sorry, sir. It was a mistake on my part. I didn’t know she would bring her child to work,” he stammered.

“So, you’re saying she outsmarted you?” I asked, scoffing in disbelief.

The girl I’d seen earlier was weak, fragile, and terrified. Those were traits I hated, but watching her scramble in fear had given me a perverse sense of satisfaction.

It wasn’t enough.

I wanted to see her break even more.

I hadn’t felt anything since I arrived back here—not anger, not pain, not even joy. Just a hollow, numbing void.

Dr. Logan, my therapist, had once told me it was due to my unresolved childhood traumas. He had advised me to open up to people, try dating, find hobbies, or at least stop burying myself in work.

But I wasn’t the type to listen.

“That weak thing outsmarted you?” I repeated, the corner of my mouth twitching into a cold smirk. “It seems I need to start cleaning the house. Incompetent workers have no place here. You’re fired.”

“What?” Mr. Tallace gasped, his voice filled with disbelief. “But… but, sir, I did nothing wrong!”

“Nothing wrong?” I echoed, standing as I moved back to the window. “You allowed a liability into my hotel. That, in itself, is wrong. See yourself out, Mr. Tallace, or I’ll call security to drag you out.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment before the sound of scrambling footsteps filled the room. Mr. Tallace had no choice but to leave, the soft click of the door signaling his exit.

Once again, I was alone.

The sun had almost disappeared now, the room growing darker as the skyline sparkled with city lights.

I clenched my fists, staring into the glass until my reflection blurred.

I hated that boy. The one who had stared back at me through the child’s innocent eyes.

I hated them both.

And I wouldn’t stop until everything in this place—everything my father once held dear—was mine to destroy.

~CELINE~

A week had passed since I was fired from “Aurelia.” Seven days of dragging Caesar from one hotel to another, filling out applications, and hoping for even the smallest chance of employment.

The answer was always the same: “We’ll get back to you.”

Some of them did. Only to tell me I didn’t get the job.

I sat in a small café near Caroline’s workplace, fingers wrapped tightly around a lukewarm cup of coffee. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could afford. The last thing I needed was for Caesar to notice how close we were to being out of money.

At least Caroline was thriving. Her family’s wealth and connections had paved the way for her to live her dream life. She’d called me earlier to meet her for lunch. Not like I had anything else to do.

“What can I get for you and this little prince charming?”

A cheerful voice broke through my thoughts. I looked up to see a brunette waitress smiling warmly at me, her notepad suspended in her hand.

“Oh, hello,” I said softly, managing a faint smile in return. I picked up the menu, but the words blurred together. Nothing on it seemed affordable.

“Your son is adorable,” the waitress said, her voice tinged with genuine admiration.

I lowered the menu slightly, glancing at Caesar. He was happily engrossed in his toy truck, humming a little tune to himself. For a moment, my heart eased.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice quieter now.

“He has such striking features,” the waitress added, glancing toward something behind me. “He reminds me of him. Is he the father?”

Her words froze me mid-breath. Slowly, I lowered the menu completely and turned to follow her gaze.

It landed on a billboard across the street.

Hunter Reid.

His face dominated above the city, larger than life, as though he owned every corner of it. My chest tightened, anger bubbling beneath the surface. That smug, arrogant face haunted me even when I wasn’t looking for it.

He was the reason I’d been fired. The reason I was here now, sitting in this café with no job and decreasing hope.

I scoffed internally. Caesar didn’t look like him, not even close. And even if he did, the thought of Hunter being his father made my stomach churn.

“I don’t know him,” I said bluntly, my voice sharper than intended.

The waitress blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Oh… I just thought, with the resemblance—”

“He is not the father,” I cut her off, my tone rising before I could stop myself. My voice carried across the café, drawing curious stares from nearby tables.

“A man like him could never be a father,” I added, bitterness dripping from every word.

The waitress shifted uncomfortably, her earlier smile faltering. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, taking a small step back as though sensing she’d overstepped.

I clenched my jaw, heat rising to my face as I realized how loud I’d been. My fingers trembled as they gripped the edge of the table. This was his fault.

Even when he wasn’t here, Hunter Reid still had the power to ruin my day.

I looked at Caesar, who was playing with his truck. He seemed happy and didn't notice the tension around us. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.

“It’s fine,” I said quietly, though my voice was tired.

The waitress nodded quickly and hurried away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I stared down at my coffee, the lukewarm liquid mirroring the pit in my stomach. No matter how much I tried to move forward, his shadow loomed over every step I took.

Hunter Reid.

The man who had destroyed my life with a single, careless decision—and walked away smiling.