ZAYNE'S POV
I had just tucked the ring box back into my duffel bag when my phone vibrated on the nightstand. I ignored it at first—tonight wasn't meant for anything else.
But it buzzed again. And again.
Three missed calls.
From my mother.
Angel stirred beside me, her arm wrapping tighter around my waist. "Everything okay?"
I kissed her forehead. "Yeah. Just work stuff. I'll be right back."
I slipped into the hallway and answered.
"Zayne," my mother's voice was cold and clipped. "You need to return to the estate immediately. There's been a board decision."
"Now?"
"Yes. It's about the company. About your future."
I didn't know it yet, but that call would shatter everything.
TWO DAYS LATER – KIM FAMILY ESTATE
The entire board sat around the long marble table. My mother stood at the head, poised as ever.
"Zayne," she began, "the overseas branch in Paris is failing. We need someone with vision. Someone who can restore confidence in the Kim brand."
I knew what was coming.
"So send one of the partners," I said.
Her eyes narrowed. "They've all voted. They want you. And they agreed to a deal."
She handed me a document.
Terms: If Zayne Kim can double KimTech's international revenue in five years, he will have full personal autonomy—including the right to marry whomever he wishes. If he fails, he must return and marry Daisy Scott, daughter of the Scott financial empire.
I stood, furious. "So this is a transaction? My love life?"
"It's about image," she said. "And legacy. You can be with Angel if you succeed. But if not—"
I tore the paper in half. "You think you can bribe me into obedience?"
"No. I'm offering you a way to have both your love and your name. Prove you deserve them."
ANGEL'S POV
The day Zayne left, I didn't even get to say goodbye.
One minute we were tangled in sheets and dreams, the next—he was gone.
No text.
No explanation.
Nothing.
I called. Twenty-three times. He never picked up.
Then the nausea began.
I thought it was heartbreak. But it was more.
I sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the two pink lines on the test.
Pregnant.
I laughed. A dry, broken laugh.
He left me... and left this behind.
WEEKS LATER – COUNTRYSIDE
I packed my bags and moved into my grandmother's house in the quiet part of town. She had raised my mom, then helped raise me when my parents died.
Now, she'd help me raise my child.
I stopped answering questions from friends. I deleted social media.
Zayne had disappeared like mist.
And so would I.
The world didn't need to know about the child of a boy who broke promises.
ZAYNE'S POV
Paris was colder than I remembered.
I worked sixteen hours a day. Meetings. Presentations. Marketing overhauls. And every night, I stared at my phone, hovering over her name.
But I never called.
Because I didn't deserve her—not until I could be the man she needed.
Not until I won our future.
– ANGEL'S POV
I stood in the mirror, six months along, my hand on my belly.
"You'll never know your father," I whispered. "But you'll know love."
I wiped my tears and turned off the light.