All Chapters of Beneath the Surface : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Lila’s POV The morning of the launch, I packed my bag quietly, every fold of fabric feeling heavier than it should. I paused for a moment, staring at the small suitcase at the foot of the bed in Drew’s guest room. The plan was simple, I would pack up my things and once we returned from the launch, I would tell Drew the truth and leave afterwards. This decision weighed heavily on me and I knew I could not turn away from it anymore. The launch was today and by the end of it, Drew Sinclair’s name would carry more weight than it already did. His empire would no longer just be talked about in boardrooms or written about in glossy magazines. Tonight, people will see the wonder of what he built, and they will never forget it. And me? By the time the applause ended and by the time the champagne flutes were emptied, I was going to be ushered into a world of Drew's fury and I won't lie I was scared of what his reaction would be. Would he hate me or try to even take my baby away from me. I

Drew’s POVThe sound of applause still rang in my ears as I led the procession of guests down the grand corridor, each step echoing with anticipation. The hotel staff had pulled the double doors open, revealing the hallway that framed the path into the heart of the hotel, the part no one outside my closest circle had ever seen.This was the moment.My empire’s crowning moment. The culmination of sleepless nights, relentless planning, years of sacrifice, and visions no one believed in until I forced them into reality.As the guests trailed behind me, billionaires in tailored suits, women glittering in jewels that caught the light like fire, politicians whispering in corners, I should have felt triumphant. Their gasps, the sharp intakes of breath as they stepped into the hidden Eden, told me I had succeeded.But my chest was tight. The place where Lila had been standing earlier was empty.She was supposed to be here, just a step back, watching everything unfold like she always did quie

Drew’s POVThe car was moving too slow.I didn’t care that the driver was already tearing through red lights, horns blaring as we cut across lanes, or that New York’s night traffic made every second feel like quicksand. It wasn’t fast enough.Not with Lila unconscious in my arms.Her head rested against my chest, her hair spilling over my suit, the strands damp with sweat. Her face, God her face was too pale, lips parted as though even breathing had become a battle. I pressed two fingers to the side of her neck again, desperate for what I had felt the first time, that faint, fragile beat of life beneath her skin.It was there. Weak, but there. She looked weightless in my arms. Weightless, and yet she looked like she was carrying every ounce of my world in her fragile body. I had no idea how much she meant to me until now, it felt like my world was being ripped into two.My chest tightened. “Stay with me, Lila,” I muttered, the words breaking past clenched teeth. “Don’t you dare leave

Lila’s POVThe silence after his question was unbearable.“Is the child mine?”It echoed in the quiet room, louder than the steady beep of the monitor, louder than the frantic drumming of my own heart.I opened my mouth, but my throat closed. The words stuck like broken glass. I could feel his eyes burning into me, demanding, waiting, daring me to lie.Tears blurred my vision. I wanted to reach for him, to soften the sharpness in his gaze, but my body felt too heavy, pinned to the bed by the weight of the moment.Finally, the truth clawed its way out, trembling and fragile.“Yes.”It was barely more than a whisper. But it was enough.“Yes, Drew… you’re the father.”For a moment, he didn’t move. His expression didn’t change, but the muscle near his jaw ticked once, then again. His hands, balled at his sides, opened and closed like he was trying to stop them from shaking.Then, slowly, he drew in a breath, sharp and uneven. He stepped back once, as if the distance would give him control

Lila’s POVThe silence he left behind was worse than his anger.As soon as the door clicked shut, it was like the air in the hospital room shifted, thickening until it pressed down on me. I could still hear his voice echoing in my head, sharp and furious, tearing through me like shards of glass.Is the child mine?Did Max know all along?The questions replayed, over and over again until my chest felt raw.I pulled the blanket up to my chin, trying to steady the tremor in my hands, but nothing helped. My eyes burned, swollen from the tears I had already shed, and still more slid down my cheeks. The ache in my body was nothing compared to the ache in my heart.I was so sure now that he hated me and maybe he would never look at me the same way again.I buried my face in my hands and sobbed quietly, muffling the sound so the nurses wouldn’t hear. For the first time since Max dragged me into that nightmare car, I felt truly suffocated. At least then I had hope that Drew would come for me.