When ambitious event planner Claire Parker agrees to a blind date, the last thing she expects is to meet Ethan Blackwood-billionaire CEO and the man she shared a whirlwind, secret romance with years ago. Their brief but passionate affair ended abruptly, leaving Claire with a broken heart and Ethan with regrets he's never voiced. Now, fate has thrown them together again. Sparks fly, but so do the ghosts of their past. Ethan is desperate to win back the woman he never stopped loving, but Claire isn't sure she can trust him-especially when she discovers the secret he's been hiding, a truth that could shatter her world all over again. Can love really conquer all, or will the wounds of the past keep them apart forever?
Chapter 1 The encounter
Claire Parker was exhausted. After a long day at the marketing firm where she worked, she had sprinted to the subway, nearly missing the train, and managed to squeeze into a crowded car. As she stood, clutching the steel pole, she felt the familiar rush of anxiety and stress ripple through her. Her head ached, and the weight of the day seemed to settle on her shoulders like a heavy cloak. She just wanted to get home, take a long, hot shower, and collapse into bed.
Little did Claire know that the journey home was about to take a dramatic turn.
As the subway pulled into the next station, Claire felt the jolt and shift of momentum, and for a moment, she lost her grip on the pole. In that instant, she felt herself teetering, the ground slipping out from under her. She closed her eyes, preparing for the impact, but it never came. Instead, she felt a strong arm catch her, pulling her back to steady ground.
"Whoa, careful there," said a deep, smooth voice.
Claire blinked, looking up into the eyes of a man who seemed to tower above her. He had piercing blue eyes, with an air of authority and composure that seemed almost out of place in the midst of a rush-hour subway car. His expression was calm, almost slightly amused, as if he found the whole situation slightly entertaining. For a moment, Claire felt a surge of embarrassment rise within her, but she quickly squashed it down.
"Uh, thanks," she stammered, trying to regain her composure. She pulled herself together, adjusting the strap of her bag and nodding in acknowledgment.
"No problem," the man replied. He had a confident, almost imperious air about him, but there was also a glimmer of something Claire couldn't quite place-something magnetic.
"Are you... okay?" he asked, with a hint of curiosity.
Claire nodded, still feeling slightly flustered but grateful that she hadn't ended up sprawled on the subway floor. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly, trying to brush it off. "Just... a long day."
"I can imagine," the man said, and for a moment, Claire noticed a flicker of understanding in his eyes, as if he had been through his share of long days too.
She nodded, feeling a strange sense of relief in his presence, even though she felt like she didn't belong in the same world as him. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she nodded again in a hasty farewell and tried to make her way further into the crowded subway car. But before she could completely escape, the man spoke again.
"Wait," he said, a slight urgency in his tone that caught her attention.
Claire turned back, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Yeah?"
"I'm Ethan," he said, offering a faint, almost imperceptible smile that seemed to twist around the corners of his lips. "Ethan Blackwood."
Claire's pulse quickened at the sound of his name-Ethan Blackwood. It wasn't the kind of name you forgot easily, and Claire had heard it before. It belonged to a billionaire known for his business empire and his famously aloof and enigmatic reputation. The Ethan Blackwood.
"Claire," she said, trying to keep her tone neutral, though she felt a rush of mixed emotions.
"Nice to meet you, Claire," Ethan said, and this time, his smile seemed to hold a bit more warmth, if only fleetingly. Claire felt a strange twinge inside her-part curiosity, part intrigue, part confusion.
"I should... go," she said, trying to make her escape, but Ethan's gaze held her just for a moment longer, as if he was searching for something.
"Maybe we could grab coffee sometime," he said, and Claire's heart skipped a beat.
"Uh, I don't-" she started to say, but Ethan cut her off with a soft but persistent look.
"Just think about it," he said, and before Claire could respond, the subway doors closed, and he disappeared into the crowd.
Claire stood there, still reeling from the encounter, the sound of Ethan's voice echoing in her ears. She felt a mix of disbelief, curiosity, and a hint of nervous excitement. What had just happened? And why did she feel like she had just crossed paths with someone who seemed entirely out of her league?
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push away the thought, but it lingered-persistent, like a whisper in ear.