The next morning, Caliste walked into the towering glass structure of Velmore Industries, her head held high but her chest tight with nerves. The marble floors gleamed under her heels, and the mirrored walls reflected a woman who looked every bit the part of a poised designer and businesswoman though deep inside, her heart was an unhealed scar.
It had been a week since that night in Lucian's penthouse.
A night filled with anger, unspoken truth, and a deal born of desperation.
Caliste never meant to go back to his world, but when he offered her a chance to work under one of his subsidiaries, she took it. She didn't care about the gossip or the eyes that followed her every step. She had only one purpose now to stay close enough to see her son, even from a distance.
---
The Office Whispers
By noon, the rumors had already spread through the entire building like wildfire.
"Did you hear?" one employee whispered by the elevator. "Caliste Winslow is working here again under Lucian Velmore himself."
"No way! After everything that happened between them? The divorce? The scandal? That's insane!"
"I even heard Lucian hasn't had a serious relationship since her. Maybe he's not over her."
"Or maybe she's trying to get back to him because he's richer now," another added with a snicker.
Caliste heard bits and pieces of their words as she walked past, her face calm but her fingers trembling slightly as she held her sketch folder. She had grown used to gossip long ago being a Winslow, a fallen heiress, and Lucian's ex-wife meant whispers followed her everywhere.
But this time, the sting was sharper. Because they didn't know.
They didn't know why she left.
They didn't know the secret she carried that her love for Lucian had never faded, only been buried beneath the weight of survival and sacrifice.
And they didn't know that the child they all assumed was his with someone else was hers too.
---
Lucian's Shadow
Caliste sat in her assigned office, overlooking the city skyline. Lucian's office was just a floor above hers unreachable yet close enough to suffocate her.
He had not spoken to her personally since their confrontation. Every instruction came through an assistant. Every meeting they had was strictly professional with others in the room.
And yet, she could feel his presence everywhere.
His scent lingered in the corridors, his tone echoed in the way employees straightened up when he passed. He was the same cold, commanding, impossibly composed. But sometimes, when their eyes met across the boardroom, something flickered in those gray irises anger, maybe. Or pain.
Caliste couldn't tell anymore.
Still, she stayed.
---
The Magazine Article
That afternoon, her secretary Mia entered her office holding a glossy magazine.
"Miss Winslow, I think you might want to see this," she said carefully.
Caliste took the magazine and felt her pulse quicken the moment she saw the front page:
> "The Enigmatic CEO: Lucian Velmore..
Father, Visionary, and The Untouchable Bachelor."
The article was recent. The cover photo showed Lucian in a black suit, holding a small boy in his arms Lucca.
Caliste's breath hitched. She traced the image with trembling fingers. Her little boy had grown so much his dark hair fell softly over his forehead, and those stormy gray eyes… were Lucian's.
Her throat tightened painfully as she turned the page. The article detailed how Lucian had withdrawn from high society years ago, refusing arranged marriages and rejecting countless business alliances that came with marriage proposals.
> "Three years ago, Lucian Velmore stunned everyone when he announced that he was already a father. The child, Lucca Velmore, was confirmed through a DNA test demanded by the Velmore matriarch, Lady Victoria Velmore. The results proved a 99% match to Lucian. Since then, the Velmore family ceased their search for a suitable bride, accepting the child as the rightful heir."
Caliste's eyes blurred with tears.
So, it was Victoria who demanded the DNA test. Of course, she would. The Velmores were ruthless when it came to bloodlines.
But Lucian had protected their child. He introduced Lucca to the world, claiming him as his heir despite not revealing the mother. He never hid him or denied him.
That realization broke something inside her.
Her child, their child was safe because of Lucian.
And though guilt tore through her, she found comfort in knowing that the Velmore matriarch herself now shielded Lucca from the dangers of men like Desmund Winslow the same man who would've used her son to manipulate Lucian if he had known she was pregnant back then.
It was the reason she left.
The reason she broke her own heart and surrendered her rights as a mother.
For her son's safety.
---
Silent Guilt
That night, Caliste couldn't sleep. She sat on her bed, holding the magazine, the photograph of Lucian and Lucca etched into her mind.
She imagined Lucca's laughter. His first steps. His first words.
She wasn't there for any of it.
Her tears slipped quietly down her cheeks as she whispered to the night, "You're safe, my little one. That's all that matters."
---
Rumors and Reality
The next few weeks were chaos.
The media had caught on to the fact that Lucian Velmore and Caliste Winslow the once-power couple whose divorce had been front-page news were now working together.
Articles popped up daily:
> "Velmore and Winslow: Rekindling Old Flames?"
"Lucian's Ex-Wife Joins His Empire? A Strategic Move or Romantic Reunion?"
"Can Caliste Accept Lucian's Child If They Reconcile?"
Caliste sighed as she scrolled through her tablet. The gossip columnists had no mercy. They painted her as a desperate ex trying to win back her powerful former husband.
In truth, she didn't even know how to face him properly.
Every time she tried to speak, her words froze.
Every time their eyes met in a meeting, her pulse quickened, but Lucian's expression remained unreadable.
---
Lucian's Watchful Eyes
In his private office upstairs, Lucian Velmore stared down at the floor below through the glass window.
He could see Caliste focused, graceful, and perfectly poised as she gave instructions to her design team.
She hadn't changed much. If anything, she had become even more elegant, her aura sharper, colder. But he could still see traces of the woman he once loved in the way she bit her lip when thinking, or how she tucked her hair behind her ear when nervous.
He clenched his jaw.
No matter how hard he tried to stay detached, she still had power over him.
She was working in his company now by his permission. And he hated himself for allowing it.
Because every time he saw her, he remembered that night she told him she would give up their child. The memory burned him from the inside out.
Why did she do it?
Why did she choose freedom over motherhood?
Did she really not love their son?
He told himself it didn't matter anymore. She made her choice, and he made his to raise Lucca on his own.
But deep down, part of him still couldn't understand her.
And that confusion turned into quiet anger that refused to fade.
---
The Confrontation That Never Happened
A month passed.
Caliste had proven herself indispensable at work her creativity was unmatched, and her designs increased Velmore's prestige in the luxury market. The board praised her. Lucian's grandmother even sent a handwritten note of approval.
Still, between the two of them, silence reigned.
Until one evening, at a corporate gala, they stood face-to-face again.
"Mr. Velmore," Caliste greeted politely, bowing slightly.
"Miss Winslow," Lucian replied, his voice formal and cold.
They stood under the chandelier's golden light, surrounded by glittering guests, and yet it felt like the world had shrunk to just the two of them.
Caliste hesitated, her heart racing. "I just wanted to say thank you… for allowing me this opportunity."
Lucian's gray eyes flicked over her face, emotionless. "You earned it. My personal feelings have nothing to do with your position here."
Her throat tightened. His words cut cleanly, like a blade.
"I understand," she whispered.
But before she could walk away, Lucian spoke again, his voice low.
"I just hope," he said, "you won't regret stepping back into my world."
She froze. The warning in his tone sent a chill down her spine. But when she turned to face him again, he was already gone walking through the crowd like a shadow that refused to stay still.
---
Unseen Ties
Back at her home that night, Caliste stared at her reflection in the mirror.
The makeup couldn't hide her fatigue. The smile she wore at events was a mask she was tired of keeping.
The truth was simple she still loved him.
Even after everything. Even after the pain.
But love wasn't enough anymore.
Her son was growing under Lucian's protection loved, safe, and far from the reach of the Winslow family's corruption. That was all she had ever wanted.
If she had to carry Lucian's hatred to keep that peace intact, she would.
She brushed a tear from her cheek and whispered to her reflection, "This is enough. As long as he's safe… as long as you're safe."
Outside, the city lights shimmered, cold and distant, just like Lucian Velmore.
And yet, somewhere within that coldness, Caliste hoped that maybe one day… he would finally understand.
That her freedom wasn't a betrayal.
It was the only way to protect their son — and him.