The world didn't prepare her for this heartbreak
Alice Parker stood there frozen, her heart pounding against her ribs like a prisoner trying to escape.
She took her phone from Nora, opened it and stared at the headline:
"The Fashion King: David Thompson's Billion Dollar Empire".
She stared at the picture next to it in disbelief. It couldn't be . It shouldn't be. But it was.
Those eyes .
That hair .
That jawline.
That body.
That same raw presence that had pulled her in that night like a magnet.
David Thompson. CEO of
Thompson & Co. Billionaire, empire builder. The Tabloid king.
The man who had made love to her and disappeared before sunrise.
She held strongly onto Nora trying not to overthink and cause herself to return to the hospital.
Nora told her to take deep breaths in and out which she did .
David was in her school that day to announce that his company was open to taking interns whom he'd want to later work with.
On a normal basis an employee would do this.
But David was working on his image and needed something to make him bigger.
There it was:
Alice's school. A very prestigious and well known for its excellent academic success . And there were various reporters who were present that day.
Only the best 5 students would be allowed to intern at his company and Chloe saw it as an opportunity to climb her way through to the top.
The day was over and David had returned to his building. David Thompson's fingers danced across his glass of bourbon. The office windows stretched wide behind him, a towering view in Manhattan's steel veins. Yet none of it soothed him.
It had been weeks since that night.
Weeks since the girl with dark brown eyes and curvy figure turned him inside out without even knowing his name.
He'd had multiple one-night stands before. Dozens. Maybe more. But this one lingered.
This one couldn't leave his mind.
This one was stock on him.
She wasn't like the others. She didn't flirt to impress . She didn't know who he was— and more importantly, she didn't care. And that, somehow, had been the most intimate thing about her.
He loved how smart she sounded in their conversation.
"Earth to David", a voice cut through.
Finn Barmer, his longtime best friend and the company's lead fashion psychologist, entered the office holding two cups of coffee. " You're staring out the window like Gotham needs you."
David blinked. "Just thinking".
"And that wasn't funny", he smirked.
"You've been 'just thinking' every day since that night," Finn said, handing him a cup. "Still can't shake her, huh?"
David didn't respond.
Finn narrowed his eyes. "You didn't even get a name?"
David shook his head slowly in despair. " I left before she woke up. I thought I was doing her a favor. But I don't think I did".
"You were protecting your reputation". Finn said bluntly " Typical you".
David's grip tightened around the cup.
Finn leaned forward. "So…. What if
she shows up again? What if
fate throws her back in your path?"
David's jaw clenched. " Fate doesn't get to decide my future. I do."
But deep down he wasn't sure if he meant what he just said .
Back in the campus, Alice was in free fall. She had just started staying with Nora , since her parents threw her out and her best friend betrayed her.
She was pregnant.
With David Thompson's child .
A man she didn't know.
A man way above her class and level.
A man who didn't know her .
Her chest tightened. Chloe had left her at the club. Chloe had pushed her to drink. She realized she had to have a proper conversation with Chloe.
She picked up the phone and called Chloe .
Alice: "We need to talk now!"
No reply
Seconds passed
Then minutes
And the finally:
Chloe: Busy right now. Maybe later tonight?
Alice fingers shook
Alice: You liar, You traitor! Why did you do it?
Chloe: Excuse me ?
Few seconds went by and then,
Chloe: We'll talk tonight. Come by my place. You should have the key.
Later that evening , Alice went to Chloe's apartment.
She stepped in with her hands crossed, heart thudding like a war drum.
Chloe looked up from her wine glass with a smirk that didn't reach her eyes. " You're earlier than I expected".
"You set me up", Alice said flatly.
Chloe blinked. " Set you up? What are you talking about?"
" You left me there drunk, You told my parents about my pregnancy and apparently you knew who the father of my baby was all this time"
" Oh ", Chloe said, lips curling. " So you finally put it together."
Alice felt the floor shift beneath her.
"You knew", she whispered.
Chloe swirled her wine. " Of course I knew, you think I accidentally brought you to a bar with the hottest men and accidentally took you to the VIP session? Do you think I left you there to watch a movie or something?"
"You… drugged me?" Alice asked, horrified .
Chloe's face twisted. " Oh! Please don't be dramatic. I just gave you a few shots and left you at the right place and the right time, you did every other thing yourself".
Alice's throat dried. " Why?".
Chloe stood her voice dropping.
" Why…. Why…?. You've always been the smart one. The perfect one. Even Grey chose you over me, remember? I was just the fun friend . The pretty one. But you got everything and I got used.".
Alice took a shaky step back.
" You're sick," she whispered. " You were my best friend! What happened to opening up to me and letting us talk about it ?" She asked.
" So that I'll look like the desperate friend ?" Chloe asked while smiling as she dragged Chloe up her floor and asked her to leave.
That night, David paced his penthouse. He couldn't sleep. Couldn't think.
The memory of Alice haunted him. The way she whispered his name- even before she knew his name. The way she held him like she thrashed him.
It wasn't supposed to mean anything.
And yet….
It did.
A knock echoed on the door.
He frowned. No one visited unannounced.
He opened it and there Lucas Thompson stood. Giving him a weird smirk.
Older by five years, colder by twenty. Lucas has always been forced into David's shadow and was forced to remain there.
They shared a last name and nothing else.
"Brother" Lucas said. We need to talk
"About a girl, a college student, pretty with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, Alice Parker I think"
David froze
Lucas' smile widened. " Ring a bell?".
The next morning, Alice woke up in bed. Her head aching.
She hadn't slept .
She couldn't sleep.
Her world was unraveling. Chloe had betrayed her. Grey was long gone and wouldn't even talk to her. And now she was carrying the child of the most powerful man in the fashion world.
She had to get up , breathe and think.
There was a knock on her door
"Come in," she said.
Nora brought a tray of salad and bread.
" I know you don't feel comfortable enough to talk to me. But the baby needs to be healthy. You need to be healthy". Nora said in a calm voice. " Have something to eat , and then you can go about your day . I'm on my way to school let me know if you need anything". "Thank you," Alice said in a gentle voice.
She ate, took a bath and stepped out of the apartment in a hoodie and jeans, blending into the campus crowd. She kept her head down.
But someone else didn't .
From across the street, in a black SUV, David stared at her through the tinged glass.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
But he had to know.
Finn had found her name. Tracked her college. And now, here he was watching her walk.
She looked smaller than he remembered, softer, yet still pretty.
She disappeared in the blink of an eye.
David tried to look for where she had gone. But he knew he couldn't do that without getting the attention of others so he left.
The next day Alice decided to go to his company.
It was time she faced the truth .
Nora decided to accompany her, no questions asked. On her way in, coming out from an Audi R8 was David Thompson, alongside the very pretty daughter-Daisy Reynolds of another CEO billionaire.
Finn recognized her immediately when he saw her. He didn't tell David about it immediately, but took her in and talked to her.
He told her he knew everything about them and that he'll set up a location for them to meet.
He gave her a paper containing an address. It was the location of a café a few kilometres away.
David was going to meet her there.
She arrived at the café and ordered a black coffee.
She sat close to the window and took a sip to her coffee.
Her hands trembled as she opened her laptop.
She had no plan.
She didn't know what to do.
And at that moment, David entered the café, dressed casually and with a face cap.
The café felt silent for a beat.
David Thompson walked in like he owned the air itself.
Alice looked up and locked eyes with him .
Her coffee spilled across the table.
David didn't move.
She stood slowly, heart in her throat.
He stepped closer to her.
"Hello again", he said quietly.
Her voice was barely a whisper .
"You… you left me "
"I know".
Alice's face hardened.
"I'm pregnant". She blurted out .
David flinched like he'd been slapped. His jaw locked . His breath hitched. But his eyes – those dark, haunted eyes– never left hers.
"I figured you'd need proof or something . So here is a paternity test" she handed it over to him and continued " I was able to get a DNA sample through the help of Finn.
"I figured", he said.
Silence.
Painful,Heavy.
As David and Alice try to grapple with the whole situation and the pregnancy revelation, a sudden commotion erupts outside . The café's patrons turn their attention to the large windows, where a sleek black car screeches to a halt. The driver's door swings open and a tall figure steps out, his face obscured by a heart and sunglasses.
David's eyes narrow as he recognizes the gait of the man approaching him. " Lucas", he mutters under his breath.
Alice looks at David puzzled, " who is that?"
Before David can reply, the café's door bursts open and Lucas strides in , his gaze locked on to Alice. He stops a few feet away from their table with a sinister smile playing on his lips.
"Well,well," Lucas says, his voice dripping with malice
. "So this is the girl who's turned your world upside down little brother."
David stands up, placing himself between Alice and Lucas and asks him what he is doing there.
Lucas chuckles. "Just came to see the woman carrying the heir to the Thompson empire."
Alice face pale. "Heir?".