Chapter 58 58
She swallowed.
Okay. Breathe.
Her mind immediately went into chaos.
Hi, Mr. Brooks, sorry to disturb you, your sperm works perfectly—
“Nope. Absolutely not.”
She squeezed her eyes shut for half a second.
Good evening, sir. Five years ago you slept with my best friend and—
“Arrest. Jail. Lifetime ban.”
She rubbed her temples.
Lucas, you have a child—
Her heart skipped.
No… too blunt.
She inhaled slowly.
Your son almost died today.
He ran into traffic screaming for his mother.
Her chest tightened.
That’ll do it.
That’ll get his attention.
She straightened her shoulders.
Just say the truth. No drama. No fear.
Then doubt crept in, sharp and vicious.
What if he doesn’t believe you?
What if he laughs?
What if he takes the child?
Her fingers curled into fists.
Blair might never forgive me.
But Maverick deserves a father.
Footsteps approached.
Her breath caught.
This was it.
No more rehearsing.
No more running.
The truth was about to step out of her mouth—
and there would be no taking it back.
Eliana nearly collided with a maid carrying fresh towels.
“I–I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The maid smiled politely, lowering her voice. “If you’re looking for the study, it’s that way.” She pointed down the corridor. “Last door on the right.”
“Thank you.”
Eliana nodded and moved forward—then stopped as she heard voices.
.
She froze instinctively, pressing herself against the pillar as steam drifted from a half-open door nearby.
The bath.
She hadn’t meant to look.
She didn’t want to look.
But her eyes betrayed her.
Lucas was there—relaxed in a way she hadn’t seen him before, sleeves rolled up, hair damp. Olivia stood close, wrapped in a robe, laughing softly at Lucas's unfunny jokes.
Eliana’s heart dropped.
“…you know my mother would love you,” Olivia was saying, her tone light . “A wedding would calm the board. The press too.”
Lucas exhaled, rubbing his jaw. “Marriage solves a lot of problems.”
Olivia smiled. “Then let’s stop pretending it isn’t inevitable.”
Silence followed.
Then Lucas nodded slowly. “We’ll announce it soon.”
That was all it took.
Eliana stepped back as if burned.
Her breath came fast.
No…
I can’t ruin this.
Her fingers trembled as she backed away quietly, every word she’d practiced shattering in her mind.
He’s already happy.
Already choosing someone.
Maverick’s face flashed before her eyes.
Blair’s tired smile.
The guilt she carried tightened like a noose.
Her chest ached.
“…I’m sorry,” she whispered to no one.
Turning around, Eliana walked away from the study, away from the truth she’d come to deliver.
Some truths, she realized too late, arrive when it’s already too painful to speak them aloud.
Eliana barely remembered how she made it out of the mansion.
The iron gates slid open, the guards nodding politely, unaware that her world was cracking apart with every step she took.
The moment she reached her car, she collapsed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut.
Her hands flew to the steering wheel.
Then she broke.
Hot tears streamed down her face, blurring the grand lights of the Brooks mansion as she turned the engine on.
The car jerked forward, tires crunching against gravel as she drove off into the night.
“I nearly betrayed you, Blair…” her voice cracked, barely louder than a whisper. “I almost destroyed everything.”
Her chest heaved as she wiped her face angrily, but the tears wouldn’t stop.
“If I had spoken… if I had told him…” She shook her head violently. “No. I couldn’t. He’s happy. He’s moving on.”
The road stretched endlessly ahead of her, streetlights flashing past like judgmental eyes.
Her phone lay on the passenger seat.
She picked it up again—dialed.
No answer.
“Where are you?” she sobbed, gripping the phone tightly. “Where did you go, Blair? Please… just be safe.”
A memory of Maverick’s small hand slipping from Lucas’s grasp stabbed her heart.
“I was selfish,” she whispered. “I should’ve let him have that moment. I should’ve let you breathe.”
She pressed harder on the accelerator, tears dripping onto the dashboard.
“I promise,” she said through a broken laugh, half-mad with fear and guilt, “I’ll protect your secret. Even if it ruins me.”
Eliana rushed inside the apartment, her chest still tight, keys slipping from her trembling fingers.
“Blair?” she called instinctively—then remembered.
Silence answered.
She shut the door slowly… and froze.
Maverick was sitting on the couch.
Her heart shattered.
“Mave, baby—” She dropped her bag and hurried to him, kneeling in front of the couch. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
He didn’t smile. Didn’t joke. Didn’t ask for cartoons.
Instead, he asked softly, with a seriousness no child should carry—
“I was waiting for Mommy.”
Eliana swallowed hard.
“She’ll be back,” she said quickly, too quickly. “She probably just—”
“Is this how Daddy left too?”
The words hit her like a slap.
Her breath caught. “What?”
Maverick’s fingers tightened in his pajamas. His eyes were glossy, confused, scared.
“Daddy went away,” he said. “Mommy says he’s busy… but he never came back.”
He hesitated, then whispered, “Is Mommy going to disappear like that?”
Eliana pulled him into her arms immediately, holding him so tight her own body shook.
“No. No, no, no,” she murmured, pressing her lips into his hair. “Your mommy would never leave you. Ever. Do you hear me?”
“But she promised she’d pick me up,” he said, voice breaking. “I waited. I waited and waited.”
Tears slipped down Eliana’s face, soaking into his shirt.
“I know,” she whispered. “I know you did.”
Maverick pulled back slightly and looked at her with innocent, aching eyes.
“Did Daddy wait too?”
That was it.
Eliana turned her face away, unable to stop the tears anymore. Her chest hurt—physically hurt.
“Yes,” she said hoarsely. “I think… I think he waited too.”
Maverick nodded slowly, then rested his head against her shoulder.
“I don’t want to wait forever,” he murmured. “It hurts.”
Eliana closed her eyes, holding him as if the world might take him too.
“I won’t let that happen,” she whispered fiercely. “I promise you, Mave. I won’t let you be alone.”
But even as she said it, one terrifying thought echoed in her mind—
Blair… where are you?