Alicia slammed the apartment door behind her, her heels echoing sharply against the marble tiles. Her hands were still trembling, her breath short and uneven. She ripped the earrings from her lobes, one after the other, and threw them onto the couch like they had burned her skin.
She had managed to hold herself together the entire evening. She'd smiled, nodded, toasted her sister's engagement, and kept her distance from him.
Dominic Blackwell.
The name sounded like danger wrapped in velvet.
Everything about him—his voice, his eyes, the way he said her name—unraveled her. And she hated herself for how her body still remembered his touch.
One night. One mistake. That was all it was supposed to be.
But now, it wasn't just a memory. He was in her world. Her family's future depended on him. And he was playing with fire… knowing damn well it would burn her first.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: Are you okay?
Alicia stared at the screen, jaw clenched. She didn't need his concern. What she needed was distance. A way out of this suffocating mess.
She typed back one word.
Alicia: Don't.
She tossed the phone aside and headed straight for the bathroom. Maybe a long shower could wash away the memory of his hands.
Maybe.
Meanwhile, across the city, in a penthouse overlooking the skyline, Dominic leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, glass of whiskey in hand, watching the rain resume.
He hadn't expected to see her again. He hadn't expected that woman from the hotel to be Alicia Morgan—the daughter of Charles Morgan, his new business partner, and soon-to-be sister-in-law of Ethan Crane, his most strategic ally.
It was too perfect.
Too cruel.
He'd walked into that party expecting numbers, deals, polite smiles. He hadn't expected the ghost of last night to stand before him in a silk-blue dress, looking like sin wrapped in family obligations.
He hadn't expected to want her all over again.
But he did.
Not for the thrill.
Not for the accident.
He wanted to know why she couldn't look him in the eyes for more than a second… and why her hands trembled when he touched her.
This wasn't over.
And he wasn't walking away.
The next morning, Alicia arrived at her family's law firm early, dressed in a beige blazer and a tight ponytail that screamed professional. Her mother's words echoed in her head:
> "We must show strength, even when we're falling apart."
Alicia had made that her armor since childhood.
She stepped into the meeting room only to freeze once again.
Dominic was already there.
Seated at the end of the long mahogany table, sipping black coffee, as if he hadn't completely shattered her ability to breathe less than 48 hours ago.
Her father smiled when he saw her. "Good, you're here. We can begin."
She sat as far from Dominic as possible, ignoring the weight of his stare.
"We'll be formalizing the partnership with Blackwell Industries today," her father announced. "Dominic has expressed interest in investing not just financially, but in some of our upcoming international cases."
Dominic's voice was smooth as silk. "With your daughter's expertise in contract law, I believe the firm has significant potential. I'd like to work closely with her."
Alicia's heart stopped.
Her eyes met his for one brief second, and she could see it—the challenge in his gaze. The game had started.
And she was already behind.
---
Hours later, Alicia stormed into her office and slammed the door. Two minutes later, he knocked once and stepped in like he owned the place.
"You're unbelievable," she hissed.
Dominic closed the door behind him, voice calm. "Why?"
"You know exactly why!" she snapped. "You think this is some game? That you can show up here, offer money, and just… insert yourself into my life?"
He tilted his head. "Funny. I thought I already did that."
Her face turned crimson. "That was a mistake."
His smile faded. "Was it?"
"Yes," she said firmly. "You're my father's business partner. My sister's soon-to-be family. You're—"
"What I want," he interrupted, stepping closer. "And I don't care how complicated it is."
She stepped back until her desk hit her legs. "I do."
He stopped, just inches from her. "You're scared."
"Of course I'm scared!" she exploded. "You were supposed to be a stranger. A moment I could forget. And now you're everywhere. You're sitting in meetings with my father, charming my sister, pretending last night meant nothing—when we both know it wasn't just sex."
Silence hung between them like a blade.
Then he said softly, "It wasn't nothing."
Her eyes burned. "Please… don't make this harder."
Dominic took one last step forward, his fingers brushing her hand—soft, deliberate, dangerous. "Tell me to walk away, and I will."
Alicia's breath hitched.
Say it, her mind screamed.
Tell him to leave.
To forget.
To vanish.
But her lips didn't move.
Her body betrayed her.
And her silence gave him all the answer he needed.
He turned and walked out without another word, leaving her gasping in the ruins of her control.
---
That night, Alicia couldn't sleep.
She lay awake staring at the ceiling, her hand resting lightly over her stomach. A strange nausea had followed her all day, along with a sense of dread she couldn't shake.
She blamed the stress.
The guilt.
The weight of the secret she hadn't dared say aloud.
Until now.
She grabbed her keys and drove in silence to the nearest 24-hour pharmacy.
A box.
A single box.
She paid in cash and left without looking the cashier in the eye.
Back home, her hands trembled as she took the test.
Minutes passed like hours.
Then the result appeared.
Positive.
The world tilted.
No. No. No.
This couldn't be happening.
She dropped the test on the bathroom floor and sank to her knees, both hands covering her mouth.
A baby.
She was pregnant.
And the father…
Was Dominic Blackwell.
The man she shouldn't have met.
The man she couldn't tell.
The man her family was counting on.