FIVE WEEKS EARLIER
"Emma, you're going to spend the entire evening standing in that corner?"
Emma turned towards her best friend.
Lily was wearing a beautiful red dress, her hair styled perfectly.
"I told you I didn't want to come," Emma replied.
"And I told you that you needed to leave your apartment once in a while."
Emma sighed.
She had only agreed to attend the business event because Lily had refused to stop asking.
Besides, she had been working too much lately.
Her small job at a restaurant barely covered her expenses, and she couldn't remember the last time she had done something simply because she wanted to.
"Come on," Lily said, taking her hand. "Let's get something to drink."
The ballroom was filled with wealthy businessmen, beautiful women, and expensive decorations.
Emma felt out of place.
She adjusted her simple black dress and followed Lily towards the drinks table.
Across the room, a man stood beside a group of businessmen.
Alexander Hayes.
At thirty-two, he was the CEO of Hayes Global, a company known for its success in real estate, technology and international investments.
He was wealthy, intelligent and notoriously difficult to impress.
He was also bored.
"You're not even listening," Daniel, his closest friend, complained.
Alexander glanced at him.
"I am."
"What did I just say?"
"Something unnecessary."
Daniel laughed.
"One day, your attitude will get you into trouble."
"That would be unfortunate."
Daniel shook his head.
Alexander picked up his drink and looked around the ballroom.
His eyes briefly stopped on a woman struggling to reach a glass from the crowded table.
He watched her for a second before turning away.
He had no idea that she would soon become the most unexpected part of his life.
---
Emma finally managed to get a drink.
Unfortunately, as she turned around, someone bumped into her.
The drink splashed across a man's black suit.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
The man looked down at his jacket.
Then he looked at her.
"Is that how you normally greet strangers?"
Emma frowned.
"Excuse me?"
"You just poured your drink on me."
"I said I was sorry."
Alexander studied her face.
Most people would have been apologizing repeatedly by now.
She looked genuinely annoyed.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Why?"
"Because I'd like to know who ruined my evening."
Emma folded her arms.
"Then remember me as the woman who apologized."
For a moment, Alexander stared at her.
Then he laughed.
It was an unexpected sound, even to him.
"You're quite something."
"And you're standing in my way."
She walked past him.
Alexander watched her disappear into the crowd.
Daniel appeared beside him.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you smiling?"
Alexander picked up another drink.
"Go and find something useful to do."
---
As the evening continued, Emma found herself speaking to the same stranger again.
This time, it was near the hotel terrace.
"You're following me," she said when she noticed him.
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
"This is my hotel event."
"That doesn't mean you own the entire building."
He smiled.
"Do you always argue with people you don't know?"
"Only when they deserve it."
He laughed again.
They began talking.
At first, it was about the event.
Then it became about work, money, and the strange things wealthy people complained about.
Alexander found her refreshing.
Emma found him surprisingly funny.
Neither of them asked too many personal questions.
As the night grew later, they continued their conversation away from the noise.
They were both drinking, and their judgment wasn't as clear as it should have been.
By the time they eventually separated from the crowd, neither fully considered the consequences of their decisions.
The following morning, Emma woke up in an unfamiliar hotel room.
And beside her was the stranger.
---
Alexander was already awake when Emma sat up.
"Good morning," he said.
Emma stared at him.
Then she looked around the room.
Her dress was on a chair.
Her handbag was near the door.
She closed her eyes.
"Oh, no."
Alexander rubbed his forehead.
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
She quickly got dressed.
"I need to leave."
He watched her quietly.
"At least tell me your name."
"Emma."
"Alexander."
She nodded.
There was an awkward silence.
Neither knew what to say.
Finally, Emma picked up her handbag.
"Goodbye, Alexander."
"Goodbye, Emma."
And just like that, she left.
They didn't exchange phone numbers.
They didn't make promises.
They simply went their separate ways.
---
THREE WEEKS LATER
Emma sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the pregnancy test.
Lily stood beside her.
"Have you thought about what you're going to do?"
Emma looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"The baby."
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know, Lily."
"Do you know how to contact the father?"
Emma shook her head.
"I don't even know his surname."
Lily sat beside her.
"Then what about the hotel? Maybe they can help you find him."
Emma looked down.
"I don't want to go searching for a stranger."
"But Emma-"
"I'll manage."
Her voice broke.
She wiped her cheeks.
"I don't have much, but I'll find a way."
Lily held her hand.
"You don't have to do everything alone."
Emma nodded.
But deep down, she was terrified.
She had no idea what the future held.
---
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
Pregnancy was not easy for Emma.
There were mornings when she struggled to get out of bed, afternoons when she worked despite feeling exhausted, and nights when she cried quietly because she didn't know how she would afford everything the baby needed.
Lily helped whenever she could.
She accompanied Emma to appointments, helped her buy baby clothes, and reminded her that she wasn't alone.
Still, there were things money couldn't solve.
One evening, Emma sat on her bed, holding a tiny blue baby outfit.
She smiled sadly.
"Your father doesn't even know you're coming."
She gently rubbed her stomach.
"But that's okay, sweetheart. Mommy will love you enough for both of us."
---
TWO MONTHS LATER
"Emma, breathe!"
"I AM BREATHING!"
Lily stood beside her in the hospital, looking almost as frightened as she did.
"Okay! Just don't shout at me!"
Emma grabbed her hand.
"You're my best friend. You're supposed to be helping me!"
"I am helping!"
Hours later, a baby's cry filled the room.
Emma turned her head.
The nurse smiled.
"Congratulations. It's a healthy baby boy."
Tears filled Emma's eyes.
Her son was placed gently in her arms.
She stared at his tiny face.
His little nose.
His eyes.
His beautiful expression.
"Hello, my baby," she whispered.
Lily wiped her tears.
"Have you chosen a name?"
Emma smiled.
"Oliver."
"Oliver Carter?"
Emma nodded.
"Yes. Oliver Carter."
She kissed his forehead.
"You and me, sweetheart. We're going to be okay."
---
FIVE YEARS LATER
"Mommy! Where is my blue shoe?"
Emma looked towards the bedroom.
"Under the sofa!"
Oliver appeared in the doorway, holding one shoe.
"Mommy, I checked there. It wasn't there."
Emma pointed towards his other foot.
"Then where did you get the one you're wearing?"
Oliver looked down.
He blinked.
Then he laughed.
"Oh!"
Emma shook her head.
"Sometimes I wonder how you remember anything."
Oliver grinned.
"I'm very intelligent."
"Of course you are."
He ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Emma kissed his hair.
Five years had passed since the night she met Alexander Hayes.
She had survived pregnancy, sleepless nights, unpaid bills, difficult days and countless struggles.
She wasn't wealthy.
She wasn't living the life she once imagined.
But she had Oliver.
And to her, he was worth everything.
What Emma didn't know was that the man she had spent five years trying to forget was preparing for his wedding.
Alexander Hayes was about to become someone else's husband.
He had no idea that he already had a son.
A son who carried his eyes, his nose, and his unmistakable smile.
And somewhere in the city, a small boy was about to ask a question that would eventually change all their lives.
"Mommy?"
Emma looked down.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Do you think my daddy knows I exist?"
Her smile slowly disappeared.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Because the truth was simple.
She didn't know.
And she had no idea that one day, Oliver would come face-to-face with the man he had been asking about.