The sun was just beginning to rise over the tarmac, casting a golden sheen across the private airstrip.
Amelia stood by the terminal window, her slender figure wrapped in a long beige coat, one hand protectively resting over her bump.
Her eyes were calm, her face serene—but inside, her heart was a storm.
This wasn't just a business trip.
This was her escape.
From the past. From him.
From everything she once thought was love.
"Your flight is ready for boarding, Miss White."
The attendant's voice was polite, professional.
Amelia gave a small nod, her expression unreadable.
But just as she turned toward the boarding gate—
A sudden commotion behind her made the entire lounge fall silent.
The rhythmic thud of expensive shoes echoed across the marble floor.
Her breath caught.
She didn't need to turn.
She knew that sound.
Ethan Blake.
She slowly turned around.
And there he was.
Towering. Cold. Dangerous.
But this time… unshaven, eyes bloodshot, desperation bleeding through the cracks in his perfectly tailored image.
"Amelia."
Just one word.
Her name.
But spoken like a prayer from a sinner begging at the gates of redemption.
Her expression didn't flinch.
Her back straightened, her hand still gently covering her stomach.
"You shouldn't be here."
Ethan took a step closer, ignoring the guards already moving to block him.
"I came for you. For our child."
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"Now you care?" she snapped, her eyes gleaming like ice in the morning sun.
"Where was that concern the night you left me in that church like trash?"
His face twisted with guilt.
"I made a mistake—"
"You made a choice," she cut in sharply.
The words sliced through the air like a blade.
And then, for just a moment, her voice cracked—low and trembling.
"I begged you, Ethan. That night, I begged you to stay."
Her eyes filled with unshed tears, but they didn't fall.
"Now you want to play the hero? You want to claim this child when you threw away the mother?"
Ethan's voice lowered, broken and pleading.
"I'll do anything… just let me be part of their life."
Amelia stared at him, her voice quiet but ruthless.
"You can be part of their story, Ethan. Just not the happy part."
She turned without another word.
The final boarding call rang out through the terminal.
Her heels clicked rhythmically as she walked toward the gate—each step heavier than the last, but every inch earned.
She didn't look back.