The Billionaire's $500,000 baby

Liora

ud click that made my head throb. I'd been on my feet for eighteen hours straight. My ankles weren't just swollen; they fel

lled like a mix of old fries, industrial-strength floor cleaner, and the cheap floral perfu

n't. I had to do it. Every cent, every nickel left under a plate, every pity-tip from a truck driver was another minute of oxygen for

menu. Move it or I'm docking your

ease and had a heart made of gravel. He didn't care that I was tired. He

o nothing. I wondered if I'd ever have a normal conversation again, or i

dge of a table to steady myself. The neon "Open" sign in the window flickered, casting a sickly red light over the empty tables. The diner was a graveya

n a flannel shirt, my phone vibrated in my pocke

hosp

on the man's lap. I set the pot down with trembling hands and ducked behind

rt was hammering so hard I

es?" The voice was sharp. Efficient. It re

pen?" I gripped the edge of the coun

. Click. Click. Click. It sounded like a countdown. "We've received the final notice from your insurance provider. They are categorizing your mo

he stomach. "Denied?! But... she's already in the ICU. She's on a vent

s well have been reading a grocery list. "To keep her in the private cardiac wing and maintain her spot on the surgery list, w

. "The nurse told me they don't have the same monitoring equipment there. She could have a

ment isn't processed, the transfer or

ne wen

ven have fifty dollars in my savings account. I had fourteen. I'd been skipping meals for two weeks just

ind me. He smelled like cigarettes and old ham. He snatched the pho

hot, angry tears. I hated crying. Especially in front of him. "That was the hospital. My mom... t

neck bulging. "I've got customers waiting, a floor that needs mopping, and you're standing here crying lik

It skidded across the laminate and

Get your stuff and g

sounded. "This job is all I have. I'll work the night shifts. I'll

e I call the cops for t

t looked away, staring intensely at his eggs, embarrassed by the scene. I slowly reached down and picked up m

grabbed my old, thin jacket...the one with the

sh the moment it hit the ground. I didn't have an umbrella. I didn't even have a sc

g in circles like a trapped animal. Who could I call? My aunt had already stopped answering my letters months ago. My friends from high sch

Truly, comp

jagged teeth against the sky, biting into the clouds. One building stood out...the Luminaire Corp headquarters. I

old companies like they were toys. He was the man who had everything while I was losing the only thing

white headlights cut through

sped toward the intersection. It was beautiful and terrify

la

mouth. It drenched my thin jacket. I gasped, the cold knocking the wind out of me. I stood ther

or a moment. Just a f

nough to see out, but enough for me to see his eyes. They weren't kind. They weren't sorry. They were a piercing, frozen

gy or a hand. The window rolled back up, seali

aillights disappeared into the

my teeth rattled. I looked down at my cracked ph

me. And in six hours, I w

didn't know that he had already looked into my life and found exactly what he wanted

gratitude. He di

d already decided I was the