The rhythmic beep of a monitor echoed softly in the sterile room. The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air as Caliste stirred, her lashes fluttering open. Bright white light greeted her, and for a moment, confusion clouded her thoughts.
She blinked, scanning the room...until her gaze stopped at the man sitting quietly beside her bed.
Caelum.
He looked tired, the top button of his shirt undone, his dark hair slightly disheveled. But what caught her attention was the worry in his eyes, the way his smile tried to hide it.
"You're awake," he said softly, relief threading his tone. "You scared me there for a moment."
Caliste slowly sat up, pressing a hand to her forehead. "What… what happened?"
"You collapsed in the parking lot," Caelum replied, standing to help her sit properly. "You've been out for hours. The doctor ran some tests."
He hesitated, then handed her a folded sheet of paper...her laboratory report.
Caliste's fingers trembled slightly as she opened it. Her eyes skimmed the lines… until one word caught her breath.
Positive.
Her heart pounded. The room seemed to close in on her.
Her lips parted, but no sound came. The paper slipped slightly from her trembling hands.
Caelum frowned, his voice gentle. "Hey… what's wrong?"
Caliste's face drained of color. "No… no, I can't be…" she whispered, disbelief coating every syllable. Her breathing quickened as panic rose in her chest.
Caelum immediately moved closer, his hands lightly resting over hers to steady them. "Caliste, it's okay. Take a breath."
But she couldn't. Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head, clutching the sheet as if denying its truth could change it. "This can't be happening…"
Caelum's brows furrowed. He had expected surprise...maybe even joy...but not this. Not fear.
His mind raced. Why is she so terrified?
And then, as silence hung heavy between them, a thought pierced through him like a blade.
Who is the father?
He didn't ask...not yet. But the question burned in his chest as he watched Caliste crumble quietly before him, her world shattering from a truth only she understood.
-----
Caliste sat silently for a long moment, her fingers twisting the edge of the hospital sheet. The hum of the fluorescent lights filled the heavy pause between them.
When she finally lifted her gaze, she met Caelum's eyes those calm, searching eyes that had always seen through people. And she saw it there the question he didn't dare to ask.
Her lips quivered before the words came out in a broken whisper.
"The father… is Lucian."
Caelum froze.
The air between them shifted, a stillness laced with quiet understanding and something that felt like heartbreak.
She turned her head away, unable to meet his gaze. "Please," she murmured, voice trembling, "promise me you won't tell him."
Caelum stared at her for a moment the strength in her voice clashing with the sorrow behind her eyes.
He finally asked, softly, "Why?"
Caliste closed her eyes, her fingers curling over her chest as if to keep herself from falling apart. "Because loving Lucian…" She drew in a shaky breath. "Loving him is like jumping into an abyss there's no direction, no light. Just… falling. And at the end of it, it slowly kills you."
Her voice cracked, and for the first time, Caelum saw not the composed designer everyone admired, but the woman who had once loved too deeply, and was now paying the price for it.
He felt his throat tighten, pain gnawing at his chest. So this is what it means to love someone who can't love you back, he thought. Even if she broke free from Lucian, her heart had never followed.
Caliste took another breath and continued, "I tried, Caelum. I tried to move on. But he's like a shadow that never fades. I don't want him to know about the baby. I can't… not when he's the reason I can't even breathe properly sometimes."
Silence settled between them, thick with emotion.
Caelum finally smiled faintly the kind of smile that carried sadness but also deep acceptance. He reached for her hand, holding it gently.
"If that's what you want, I'll keep your secret," he said quietly. "But remember, you're not alone in this. I'll be here, Caliste."
He glanced at her abdomen, his tone softening even more.
"Besides… the child you're carrying is my niece. That makes her family."
Caliste's lips parted, and for the first time that night, a tear rolled down her cheek. She whispered, "Thank you, Caelum."
He just smiled again, though inside his heart ached.
Because he finally understood ..no matter how much he tried, Lucian Velmore would always be the man she loved, the one her soul refused to let go of.
The air in the detention facility was thick with sweat and metal — cold walls, rusted bars, and a silence that carried menace.
Inside a dimly lit cell sat Desmund Winslow, his once-polished suit now wrinkled and his hair streaked with gray. Yet, even stripped of luxury, he exuded authority. His eyes were sharp ....calculating, unbroken.
He sat on the edge of his cot, flipping through an old newspaper. The headline from two weeks ago still burned in his mind:
"VELMORE INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION.... LED BY CEO LUCIAN VELMORE."
Desmund's lips curved into a bitter sneer. "Even behind bars, that boy finds a way to mock me," he muttered.
From the corridor, footsteps echoed. A guard approached, tapping his baton lazily against his palm. "You got a visitor, Winslow. Says it's business."
Desmund raised an eyebrow. "Business?" His tone dripped with amusement. "In here?"
But curiosity flickered in his eyes as two guards escorted him to the visitor room. On the other side of the glass sat a young man in a dark suit... quiet, expressionless, but with a confidence that didn't belong to an ordinary messenger.
The man leaned closer to the glass. "Mr. Winslow," he said smoothly. "My employer is interested in your… unfinished affairs with the Velmore family."
Desmund's eyes narrowed. "And who exactly is your employer?"
The man smiled faintly. "Someone who believes your downfall came too easily. Someone who shares your hatred for Lucian Velmore."
Desmund chuckled lowly. "Hatred? Hatred is too soft a word, boy. He took everything from me...my influence, my company, my daughter." His tone darkened. "He made her choose him over her blood."
The visitor slid a folder through the slot under the glass. "Then perhaps you'll want to see this."
Desmund opened it ...photos of Caliste leaving a hospital, her expression pale and anxious… a copy of her lab report folded inside. His hands tightened around the papers, his jaw clenching as he read the word at the bottom: pregnant.
A slow, cruel smile spread across his face.
"Well," he said softly, "the universe never runs out of irony, does it?"
He looked up, eyes gleaming. "She's carrying his child, isn't she?"
The man didn't answer, but his silence was enough.
Desmund leaned back, chuckling darkly. "Then Lucian's empire isn't as untouchable as it seems."
The visitor's tone was smooth, almost too calm. "We can help you reach her... even from in here. You give us what we need, and we'll make sure your message gets delivered."
Desmund tilted his head, intrigued. "And what exactly do you need?"
"Information. Velmore's next move. His vulnerabilities. Anything you know that can make him fall."
A long silence stretched between them before Desmund finally said, "You'll have it." Then his voice dropped, low and venomous:
"But I want Caliste brought to me first. Alive. She'll help me finish what Lucian started."
The visitor smiled faintly. "Consider it done."
As the guards led Desmund back to his cell, his laughter echoed down the hall... quiet at first, then louder, until it sent chills through the corridor.
Behind the bars, the fallen tycoon had found a new game to play.
And outside, in the city he once ruled, the storm was beginning again...this time from the shadows of a prison cell.