[Five Minutes After Eunice Escaped]
Inside the presidential suite, the air was heavy with silence.
Hart Matthew opened his eyes. He reached out to the other side of the bed, expecting to feel the soft, warm skin that had finally allowed him to sleep for more than three hours.
His hand hit empty sheets.
He sat up instantly, his sharp gray eyes scanning the room. The bathroom door was open. The room was empty.
"She ran?"
Hart let out a low, cold laugh. Usually, women did everything to stay in his bed. They would pretend to lose an earring, or 'accidentally' leave their phone number on the nightstand. But this woman? She had fled like a thief in the night.
"Smart woman," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "If she had stayed, I would have had to pay her off."
He stood up to head to the shower, but something on the pillow caught his eye.
A blue lanyard.
He picked it up, dangling it from his finger like a piece of evidence. It was an employee ID card.
He flipped it over.
Name: Eunice Position: Junior Developer (IT Dept) Company: Matthew Group
Hart stared at the photo. In the picture, she was smiling—a shy, innocent smile that looked nothing like the desperate, burning woman from last night.
"So," Hart whispered, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You don't just work in my city. You work in my building."
He walked over to the landline phone and dialed a number.
"Prepare the car," he ordered, his voice devoid of emotion. "And tell HR I want the file on a Junior Developer named Eunice. Immediately."
[Two Months Later]
"Eunice! Open the door! You've been in there for twenty minutes!"
The loud banging on the bathroom door made Eunice flinch, but she couldn't answer. She was currently hugging the toilet bowl, emptying the contents of her stomach for the third time that morning.
"I'm fine, Debby!" she choked out, flushing the toilet and splashing cold water on her pale face.
She unlocked the door and stumbled out. Her roommate, Debby, was standing there with her hands on her hips, looking worried.
"You are not fine," Debby said, narrowing her eyes. "You've been throwing up every morning for a week. Is it the cafeteria food? Did you eat that suspicious sushi again?"
Eunice walked past her to the kitchen, grabbing a cracker. "It's just stress. The CEO returned from his overseas business trip yesterday. Everyone in the IT department is terrified."
"Hart Matthew?" Debby rolled her eyes. "Why are you scared of him? You're just a Junior Dev. He probably doesn't even know you exist."
Eunice froze mid-bite.
If only she knew.
For two months, Eunice had lived in terror. Every time her phone rang, she thought it was HR firing her. Every time she saw a black car, she thought it was Hart coming to arrest her.
But miraculously... nothing happened. Hart had gone to Europe for a merger deal the day after that night, and he had only just returned.
"Maybe I got away with it," Eunice whispered to herself.
"Got away with what?" Debby asked.
"Nothing!" Eunice said quickly. But suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her. The smell of Debby's coffee made her stomach turn violently.
She clamped a hand over her mouth and ran back to the bathroom.
Debby didn't follow her this time. instead, she stood in the hallway, doing the math in her head.
Vomiting in the morning. Sensitive to smells. Constant fatigue.
"Eunice," Debby called out, her voice serious. "When was your last period?"
The sound of retching stopped.
Silence filled the small apartment.
Eunice slowly opened the door, her face as white as a sheet. "I... I was supposed to see it six weeks ago."
Debby didn't say a word. She grabbed her purse and car keys. "I'm going to the pharmacy. Don't move."
[30 Minutes Later]
Three plastic sticks lay on the bathroom counter.
Eunice sat on the edge of the bathtub, her hands trembling so hard she had to clasp them together.
"Check it," she whispered. "I can't look."
Debby took a deep breath and walked over to the counter. She picked up the first stick.
Positive.
She picked up the second stick.
Positive.
She picked up the third stick. Digital. It didn't just show lines; it showed words.
[PREGNANT: 8+ WEEKS]
"Eunice," Debby said softly. "Congratulations. You're going to be a mommy."
Eunice felt the room spin. The floor seemed to drop out from under her.
"No," she gasped, tears streaming down her face. "You don't understand, Debby. This... this ruins everything. I can't afford a baby! I'm still paying off my student loans! And the father..."
"Who is the father?" Debby asked, sitting next to her and hugging her. "Is it that guy from the gym? Or your ex?"
Eunice shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "It's not an ex."
"Then who?"
Before Eunice could answer—before she could admit that she was carrying the heir of the richest man in the country—her phone buzzed on the counter.
It was a notification from her work email.
FROM: Executive Office (Level 50) TO: Eunice (Junior Developer) SUBJECT: IMMEDIATE SUMMONS
"Ms. Eunice, please report to the CEO's office immediately. Mr. Matthew is waiting for you."
Eunice looked at the phone, then at the positive pregnancy test.
"He knows," she whispered, terror gripping her heart. "He's back. And he knows."
[END OF CHAPTER 2]