The next morning, I was halfway through updating the meeting schedules when I saw Daniel lingering by the break room, pretending to fuss with the vending machine. He had no meetings scheduled on this floor. No real reason to be here. But he’d been hanging around more lately, drifting through corridors with too-casual smiles and questions that didn’t belong.

I ducked my head, pretending to focus on my clipboard, hoping he’d take the hint and leave. But he moved faster than I expected, stepping into my path before I could disappear down the hall.

“Elena,” he said, voice pitched too soft to be casual.

I stopped, spine stiffening, arms locking tighter around the clipboard. I glanced over my shoulder, scanning for anyone nearby. The hallway was empty for now.

“I’m working,” I said, keeping my voice cool, professional.

Daniel’s mouth pulled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. He stepped closer, too close, lowering his voice like we were still something we weren’t.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” he said, eyes darting not to my face, but to the subtle way my blouse no longer hugged my waist the way it used to.

I went still. My throat tightened.

“You don’t even know what I’m doing,” I said, every word careful.

He shrugged like it didn’t matter. “I’ve made mistakes,” he said, voice syrupy and full of false humility. “But I still care. I’ll support you. The baby.”

His hand gestured vaguely between us, as if that was all it took to bridge the canyon he’d carved open. “If it’s mine, I want to do right by you.”

The floor tilted slightly under me. It was the first time he’d said it aloud like it was something he could own just by speaking it.

He thought it was his.

He thought this could be salvaged with a promise he hadn’t earned.

I opened my mouth, ready to say something but the words caught. Because even if I knew the truth of my heart, the truth of my body was still a question mark. I hadn’t confirmed anything. I hadn’t told anyone. And every minute that passed made the secret heavier.

Before I could decide what to say, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

Nicholas approached with the same calm, deliberate force he brought to everything, his presence filling the hallway before he even reached us. His eyes were already locked on mine, reading the tension like it was printed in bold letters across my forehead.

He didn’t look at Daniel. He didn’t need to.

“Is everything alright here?” Nicholas asked, his voice even, deceptively casual.

I nodded too quickly, clutching the clipboard tighter against my chest. “Fine. We’re fine.”

Daniel shifted, his casual facade slipping just a little. “We were just talking,” he said, offering a smile that didn’t touch his eyes.

Nicholas didn’t blink. He didn’t return the smile. He didn’t acknowledge the excuse.

He spoke with the kind of finality that didn’t invite argument. “Get back to work,” he said not to me but to Daniel.

Daniel stiffened, his face flushing, but he didn’t argue. He hesitated a second too long, like pride battled instinct, then turned on his heel and stalked off down the hall.

I stood frozen, the clipboard pressed so tightly against my ribs it left indentations in the paper. I could feel my pulse pounding in my wrists, in my throat, everywhere.

Nicholas didn’t move until Daniel disappeared around the corner.

Then his eyes flicked to me but he said nothing for a long moment. I could see the questions behind his gaze. The anger barely held in check. But when he spoke, his voice was calm, deliberate.

“My office,” he said, bud it didn’t sound like an order or a request.

It’s an invitation.

One I couldn’t refuse.