Episode 7: A Woman from the Fire
The flight to Singapore was cold. Private. Silent.
Just the way Abel preferred it.
Except this time, silence felt heavier. Deadlier.
He hadn't been to this city in three years—not since Project AETHER collapsed under his signature and three brilliant minds were lost in the wreckage. Or so he thought.
But Cassandra Vale—his former lead developer, presumed dead—was alive.
And targeting Evan.
---
Singapore – Private Bar, 2AM
Abel walked through the back entrance of a shadowed bar near the industrial district. Harrison waited outside.
Inside, seated in a velvet booth, was Cassandra Vale.
She looked just like he remembered: sharp, regal, and dangerous.
"Abel Luna," she purred, sipping her whiskey. "Did you come to kill me? Or beg for forgiveness?"
He didn't sit. "You're threatening my wife."
Her smile curved. "Wife? That doesn't sound like the man I knew."
"You sent the texts."
"I sent warnings. You and I both know Evan deserves the truth."
"She knows enough."
"No," Cassandra said, standing slowly, "she knows what you told her. Which isn't the same."
His jaw clenched.
"What do you want?"
Cassandra's voice was cold. "Justice. For what you let happen to those scientists. And for the girl you married to bury the truth."
He stepped closer. "If you come near her again, I'll make your disappearance real this time."
She leaned in, smirking. "You still think threats make you powerful. But love, Abel—that's your weakness. And she's going to ruin you."
He walked out before he could prove her right.
---
Back at Luna Estate – Evan's Room
Evan stood in front of her mirror, staring at herself.
For the first time, her dress didn't fit the same.
Her belly was barely rounded now—nothing dramatic—but she could feel the change.
She ran a hand across it, heart twisting.
Two.
She still hadn't told him.
How could she?
He wasn't the kind of man who smiled at ultrasound photos or built cribs. He was the kind of man who buried mistakes with lawyers and bought silence with diamonds.
But the babies growing inside her weren't mistakes.
They were hers.
And maybe… just maybe… they were his chance to change.
---
Two Days Later – Abel Returns
The front doors burst open late that evening.
Abel's presence filled the house before he even said a word. The staff scattered like smoke.
Evan came down the stairs slowly, arms folded protectively across her chest.
He looked at her like he'd been gone a year.
"You're safe," he said softly, walking toward her.
"You found her?"
"She won't be a problem again."
"Did you kill her?"
His jaw flexed. "No. But she knows if she comes near you again, I will."
Evan didn't flinch.
For once, she didn't fear his darkness.
"I went to the doctor," she said quietly.
That stopped him cold.
He stepped closer. "Is something wrong?"
She looked away.
"No. Everything's fine."
"Then why do you look like you're about to shatter?"
Her eyes met his.
And for a second, she almost told him.
But then she saw it—the thing he didn't say. The unspoken fear that love was weakness, and that family was something he lost faith in long ago.
So she lied.
"I was just… overwhelmed."
He didn't believe her.
But he didn't press.
Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small black box.
"For you," he said, offering it without emotion.
She opened it slowly.
Inside was a necklace—simple, elegant, with a diamond-studded A.
"A for Abel?" she asked softly.
He nodded. "It's not ownership. It's a reminder."
"Of what?"
"That you're mine," he said, "and I protect what's mine."
Her breath caught.
Her lips parted to speak—but a sharp pain stabbed through her stomach.
She gasped.
He caught her just before she collapsed.
---
Luna Private Hospital – Emergency Room
Evan lay still on the hospital bed, breathing shallow and fast.
"Monitor both heartbeats," the nurse whispered to the OB. "She's early, but the signs are there."
Abel stood by the window, fists clenched.
The doctor came over.
"She's okay. The babies are okay. But the stress is affecting her system. She needs to avoid emotional spikes."
His eyes darkened.
"Was it something I did?"
"She's holding too much in," the doctor said gently. "Her body's reacting to it. If you're the person causing that... maybe ask yourself what she needs from you."
---
Later That Night – Evan's Hospital Room
The room was quiet, save for the hum of monitors.
Abel sat beside her, for once unarmed by his usual distance.
She was sleeping.
Even in rest, she looked tense. Fragile.
He reached out, carefully brushing her hair from her face.
Then he whispered, "I don't know how to do this. But I swear, Evan… I will not lose you. Or them."
---
🔥 End of Episode 7
> Coming Up in Episode 8:
Evan wakes up and realizes Abel now knows she's carrying twins. The conversation they've both been avoiding is finally about to happen—except someone's about to use that truth against them