The next morning, Maria woke to the sound of her phone buzzing non-stop.
Missed calls. Messages. Notifications.
Her heart sank.
She opened one of the texts—from an old friend.
"You made the blogs o! Front page gist. Hope you're okay?"
Maria's fingers trembled as she tapped the link.
There it was.
A blurry photo of her and Alexander at last night's dinner. She was laughing. He was looking at her with something close to… affection.
"Mystery Woman and Billionaire Madu? Meet the Maid Who Stole His Heart—and Gave Him a Son!"
Maria dropped the phone.
No one was supposed to know.
The article had everything—her name, Junior's photo from her social media, even a shot of the old hotel where she used to work.
A knock came at the door.
Alexander.
She opened it slowly.
"You've seen it," he said quietly.
"You promised to protect me," she whispered.
"I didn't do this," he replied, stepping inside. "Vanessa. Or someone close to her. They've been digging."
Maria walked past him, pacing. "My face is on the internet. My son's face. Do you know what that means? My peace is gone."
"I'll fix it."
"No," she said, tears in her eyes. "You can't fix this with flowers or money. This is my life, Alex."
He looked at her, pain visible on his face. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
She nodded slowly. "Neither did I."
Junior came out from the room, rubbing his eyes. "Mummy, why are you crying?"
She scooped him up, kissed his forehead, and turned away from Alexander.
"I need space," she said quietly.
He opened his mouth to argue, then closed it.
And left.
Outside, paparazzi cameras flashed.
Inside, Maria held her son tighter than ever.
The world had finally come knocking.