There are moments in life when your entire world stops with a single heartbeat.

For me, it happened the second I looked up from my housekeeping cart and saw Julian standing in the middle of the hotel lobby.

For eight months, I had imagined that moment a thousand different ways.

I had convinced myself it would never happen.

Yet there he was.

Perfectly dressed in an expensive tuxedo, surrounded by executives, photographers, and the glamorous woman everyone believed would become his future wife.

And there was me.

Wearing a faded housekeeping uniform that barely fit over my pregnant belly.

My hands were rough from cleaning chemicals.

My back ached every single day.

For one terrifying second, neither of us moved.

Then I saw Camila grab his arm.

She whispered something urgently, probably reminding him that people were watching.

That cameras were everywhere.

That his reputation mattered.

I lowered my head and tightened my grip on the cart.

“Excuse me, sir,” I whispered.

“I still have rooms to clean.”

I pushed the cart toward the service hallway as fast as my swollen body would allow.

All I wanted was to disappear again.

I had spent months hiding.

Changing cities.

Changing jobs.

Changing my name.

Everything I did was for one reason.

To protect the tiny life growing inside me.

Then I heard his footsteps.

Heavy.

Fast.

Desperate.

“Elena!”

The sound of my name shattered whatever strength I had left.

I abandoned the cart and hurried toward the service elevator, pressing the call button over and over with shaking fingers.

Please…

Just let the elevator arrive.

Please let me leave before he catches me.

The doors finally began to open.

Then a hand slammed against them.

The elevator stopped.

Julian stood between me and my only escape.

His chest rose and fell with every breath.

His eyes searched my face as though he couldn’t believe I was real.

“Why?” he asked.

His voice cracked in a way I had never heard before.

“Why did you leave me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about our baby?”

“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?”

I finally forced myself to look at him.

The man I had loved with everything I had.

The man I believed had already chosen someone else.

The man I thought wanted me gone forever.

My entire body began trembling.

Without thinking, I wrapped both arms around my stomach.

Around our baby.

“Please…” I whispered.

“Don’t hurt us.”

“You already won.”

“You have everything.”

“Just let me keep this baby.”

“I promise I’ll never ask you for anything.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

His face changed instantly.

It was as if every bit of strength drained out of him.

“Hurt you?” he whispered.

“Elena… I searched for you everywhere.”

“I hired investigators.”

“I nearly destroyed myself trying to find you.”

A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it.

“They found me.”

I looked straight into his eyes.

“They found me three months ago.”

“And they gave me your message.”

The hallway suddenly began spinning around me.

My heart pounded so violently I could barely breathe.

The fluorescent lights blurred into long white streaks.

The last thing I remember seeing was the horror spreading across Julian’s face.

Then everything went black.

I felt my knees give way beneath me.

Strong arms caught me before I struck the concrete floor.

As darkness swallowed me, I could hear him calling my name over and over again.

But all I could think was one terrifying question…

If Julian had never sent that message…

Then who had spent the last eight months making me believe the father of my child wanted us both to disappear forever?