His eyes looked tired.
He looked like someone who had drunk too much, but was still holding himself together out of pure discipline.
Daisy only knew one thing about him that night.
He was a man she had never seen before.
A rich-l looking man, yes, but Daisy didn’t know he was Ethan Adai.
She didn’t know he was the CEO of Apex Lux.
She didn’t know he was a billionaire.
To her, he was simply a handsome, drunk man who looked lonely.
When she served him, their eyes met for a moment, and something passed between them.
Something dangerous and quiet.
Ethan’s voice came low.
“Do you ever get tired?” he asked.
Daisy hesitated.
Customers didn’t ask her that kind of question.
But something about his face made her answer honestly.
“Every day,” she said.
He gave a small laugh that didn’t carry joy.
They talked.
Not long talk, not deep talk, but enough.
Enough for Daisy to feel like she was seeing a man behind the money.
A man behind the power.
A man who looked like he didn’t trust the world anymore.
And Daisy, Daisy was young, lonely, and human.
She had been hungry for gentleness for too long.
So when he offered to take her away from the noise for just one night, Daisy made a decision she never thought she would make.
She gave him her first night.
Not for money, not for promotion, not for a connection, but because she was attracted to him and she was tired of being strong every day.
That night happened quietly.
No cameras, no witness, no promises, just two strangers whose loneliness found each other in a dangerous way.
And before Ethan even woke up the next morning, Daisy was already gone.
She left the room silently, her shoes in her hand, her heart pounding.
She didn’t take money.
She didn’t leave a note.
She only left with one thought.
This must never follow me.
The next day, Ethan woke up sober and angry at himself.
He remembered enough to know what could happen to her reputation if anyone ever found out, especially because she was small in society and he was powerful.
Men like him could recover from scandals.
Women like Daisy got destroyed by them.
When he found her later, when he made a quiet effort to speak to her again, Daisy’s face was tight with shame and fear.
“It was a mistake,” she told him immediately, her voice trembling but firm.
Ethan looked at her for a long moment.
I didn’t plan.
Please, Daisy cut in.
Don’t ever bring it up.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Daisy, don’t let anybody know, she said, almost pleading now.
Please.
Ethan saw it then.
Not pride.
Fear.
The kind that came from knowing how the world treated girls like her.
He nodded slowly.
All right, he said.
I won’t.
Daisy held his gaze as if she was sealing in a painful agreement.
And that day, she vowed to herself, no matter what happens, she would take care of herself.
And if the worst happened, she would take care of her baby alone because she knew how people already talked.
Luxury sales girls, luxury bar girls, they would say she slept for money.
They would reduce her entire life to one night.
She refused, even if her heart broke.
Back in the present, Daisy sat on her bed that night, staring at the test strip like it was evidence of a crime.
Her hands rested on her lap.
Her eyes were empty.
Her mind was loud.
I’m pregnant.
She looked around her small room, her portion of the crowded apartment she shared with her mother and sister.
The walls were thin, the air was heavy, and her problems were about to become everybody’s business, whether she wanted it or not.
Daisy pressed a hand to her belly, this time touching it.
A silent tear rolled down her cheek.
“What do I do now?” she whispered.
The next day at work, Ethan found her again.
He watched her from a distance first, like he was studying her mood.
Then he walked up calmly as if he was only a customer.
Are you free tonight?” Ethan asked.
Daisy’s heart skipped.
“Dinner with him?” Her mind went straight to the pregnancy.
She swallowed hard.
“Yes, I mean, I don’t know.
I’d like to take you out for dinner,” Ethan said.
“Just dinner.
” Daisy forced a small nod.
“Okay, sir.
” As Ethan walked away, Daisy stood there frozen.
