Chapter 15: Chapter 14 The Secret Daughter
So he really had a wife. I did not hear wrong.
The woman in the silver dress was still smiling, her eyes darting between my face and Laziel’s hand on my waist. She was waiting for an answer. High society was waiting for a scandal. And I was standing there, suddenly feeling the trap of the man beside me.
A wife. A real, breathing wife out there.
I became angry or jealous? I didn’t know why, but I didn’t care about the people staring. Before Laziel could even open his mouth to answer the woman, I raised my free hand, planted my palms against his chest, and shoved his arm off my waist.
Hard.
Laziel’s hand dropped. His jaw clenched as surprise flickered across his eyes. He hadn’t expected me to strike back in a room full of his peers.
I could see the anger rolling of him, a promise that I was going to pay for this the second we were behind closed doors. I could practically see his mind counting the ways he was going to punish me for this at my new desk.
But I didn’t give him the chance to speak.
"Excuse me," I muttered.
I turned on my heel and bolted.
Laziel didn’t call me back. He didn’t yell. I could feel his burning glare piercing straight through my bare back as I cut through the crowd.
I needed to get out. I needed my daughter.
When the elevator doors opened on the tenth floor, I walked into the nursery suite.
Anastelle was still sitting on the couch, completely glued to the massive screen. The nannies stood up immediately, but I waved them away, stepping toward my daughter.
"Anastelle," I panted, my hands still shaking as I reached for her small arm. "Come on, baby. Let’s go."
Anastelle didn’t even look up from the screen, "No, Mommy! Wait! Bloom is about to defeat the bad guy!"
"You can watch the Winx Club at home, Anastelle.... We’re leaving. Right now."
End of flashback
Giulia blinked.
Then she rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might actually fall out of her head and roll across the floor.
"Girl, that’s your breaking news?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Seriously? That’s why you look like somebody just canceled Christmas?"
I glared at her. "He touched my waist all night, Giulia. The entire room was staring. Then some woman walks right up to us and asks if his wife couldn’t make it."
Giulia stared at me for three whole seconds, completely blank.
Then, she slowly pointed a finger at my face. "Oh my God."
"What?"
"Oh my God."
"What? Stop saying that!"
"You caught feelings for your psycho billionaire boss!" she gasped, her voice dropping into a dramatic whisper.
"I did not!"
"Mireya." She threw herself dramatically across the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest. "The man literally terrorizes your calendar for fun."
"I do not have feelings for him."
"He moved your entire desk inside his office."
"Because he’s a controlling maniac!"
"He buys your daughter snacks."
"Because he’s nosy and uses sugar bribery!"
"He stares at you like he wants to either marry you or lock you away in a medieval tower," Giulia countered, sitting up straight.
"Because he is clinically insane!"
Giulia threw both hands into the air, completely exasperated. "And yet, you’re sitting here looking like your dog died just because Mr. Tall, Handsome, and Emotionally Unstable turned out to have a ring on his finger! Girl, are you stupid?"
I grabbed a throw pillow and smacked her upside the head with it.
She laughed, dodging the second swing. "No, seriously! What exactly was your plan here, babe? Fall in love with your boss? His family already ruined your life once. Of course he’s married! He’s the heir to a multi-billion-dollar empire, annoyingly gorgeous. That’s practically a job requirement for men like him. Did you really think you stood a chance?"
"It’s not about having a chance!" I snapped, "I don’t care about him!"
"Then why are you crying?"
She was right. Why was I crying?
I dropped the pillow, staring down at my hands. They wouldn’t stop shaking.
"I saw Helix tonight."
Giulia froze mid-laugh. The color completely drained from her face.
"What?" she whispered.
"I saw him, Giulia. Near the entrance."
She reached out, grabbing my arms. "Did he see you? Mireya, look at me. Did he see your face?"
I shook my head quickly, "No. No, I don’t think so. I panicked, okay? I heard someone say my name in the crowd and I thought it was him. Then I looked over and... it was him. He was standing right there."
Giulia moved closer, wrapping her arms tightly around me, pulling me against her chest.
"Did he see Anastelle?"
"No. She was upstairs in the nursery suite the whole time."
"Then breathe. Just breathe, Mireya. He didn’t see you."
"But what if he does next time? What if he comes to the office? Milan isn’t big enough for this, Giulia."
"Hey. Look at me. You’re not that scared, helpless pregnant girl anymore. You are stronger now."
I let out a shaky laugh, wiping my face. "It doesn’t feel like it."
"That’s only because you’re severely sleep-deprived and your current boss is a certified sociopath."
Despite the fear, I laughed. Just a little.
"I want to quit," I whispered.
Giulia pulled back so fast I almost got whiplash. "What?"
"Mireya, the pay—"
"No! Everything is getting too dangerous. Laziel is already digging into my past, asking questions. Now Helix is back in the picture. What happens if one of them connects the dots? What if they find out about Anastelle?"
Neither of us dared to say the unspoken truth out loud.
Helix’s daughter.
The secret daughter they would rip away from you without a second thought.
"I can’t let anyone take her from me.... If Helix even remembers my face... if he realizes I kept his child... he will destroy me. I need to leave Milan. Tonight. We need to pack up and run."
"And go where, exactly?"
"I don’t know! Anywhere but here."
"With what money, Mireya?"
I opened my mouth to reply, but the words died in my throat. I slowly closed it again.
I didn’t even have enough cash to buy train tickets to the next province, let alone relocate and hide a child.
Giulia sighed, walking over to stand in front of me. She grabbed both of my hands in hers. "Use your brain, babe."
"Rude."
"But highly accurate," she insisted. "You cannot run on an empty stomach and zero Euros. Collect your paycheck first. You’ve worked hard for it. Go to the office on Monday and tell your psycho billionaire boss that you are resigning effective immediately. Demand your payout."
One more day.
Then, I could grab my money, take my daughter, and completely disappear before the walls closed in on me. Before Laziel uncovered my secrets. Before Helix recognized my face. Before the Monroe family could ever find out that Anastelle existed.
"Okay," I whispered, nodding slowly. "Okay. You’re right....Monday will be my last day."
At the time, it sounded like a solid plan.
I had no idea that by Monday morning, quitting would no longer be my decision to make.
