Ethan Cole wasn’t used to hearing “no.”
At thirty-four, the tech billionaire had everything—private jets, glass penthouses, and an empire built from nothing but an idea. Women followed him everywhere. But he barely noticed any of them.
Until her.
Anna.
She wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met—quiet, graceful, and working as his live-in housekeeper in his sprawling New York estate. She kept her eyes down, rarely spoke unless spoken to, and seemed immune to his charm.
Which, for Ethan, only made her irresistible.
Late nights turned into lingering conversations. A brush of hands while clearing the table. A smile over morning coffee that felt like sunlight.
One stormy night, it happened.
Ethan kissed her in the kitchen while rain hammered the windows. She didn’t pull away. He told himself it was more than desire—he wanted her. And she believed him when he whispered, “I’ll take care of you.”
But promises are easy for men like Ethan.
A month later, Anna stood in front of him, her voice trembling.
“Ethan… I’m pregnant.”
His world didn’t pause. It spun faster. Too fast.
Panic won.
He handed her an envelope—a “solution,” a cold goodbye—and told her she deserved “something better than this situation.”
And just like that, Anna was gone.
Five years later.
Ethan Cole was still rich. Still powerful. Still empty.
At a charity gala in the city, he scanned the room the way men do when they’re looking for something they can’t name. Then he saw her.
Anna.
Her hair was longer now, her dress simple but elegant. But it wasn’t just her that stopped his breath—
It was the little boy holding her hand.
His eyes.
Ethan’s eyes.
The child looked up at Anna and laughed, a sound that felt like it split Ethan open.
For the first time in his life, the billionaire felt poor.
He tried to speak, tried to find the words he should have said five years ago. But when he stepped toward her, Anna only looked at him—steady, unflinching.
“You lost us,” she said softly. “You don’t get to find us again.”
And with that, she walked away, her son’s small hand in hers.
Ethan stood there, surrounded by champagne and chandeliers, but all he could feel was the crushing weight of what money could never buy back.
By the time he realized what he’d lost, it was already too late.
