Accidental Night with the Wrong Bartender

Jayden's POV

'Does she not know who I am? Or is she pretending?'

The question refused to leave my head throughout the entire ride from the airport.

I recognized her immediately. How could I not? For five bloody years, that woman had lived in the back of my mind like an unfinished sentence. The moment her face came into view... I knew.

Elara.

The woman who forced her way into my life for one reckless night... and disappeared before dawn.

She made me break the promise I made to Jane.

She made me break my celibacy.

And then she vanished as if nothing had happened.

Yet there she stood in front of me; smiling politely, thanking me for watching her kids, even stretching out her hand for a handshake...

As though she didn't remember what she did to me.

How dare she?

Who the fuck does she think I am to forget me so easily?

Or was it an act?

I leaned back against the airplane seat, staring out into the dark stretch of sky beyond the window. I tried closing my eyes, but it was useless.

Her face kept appearing.

And those kids.

Those two boys she held so naturally in her hands.

"Could she be married?" I muttered under my breath.

She had two children.

Was she married back then?

Was that why she ran?

Did she use me as some pathetic escape from a failing marriage?

The memory of that night replayed against my will. She had been crying. She was angry and broken. She talked about betrayal... about being hurt. She drank more than she should have.

Had she been fighting with her husband?

Did she need a distraction?

Did she use me to fill a void and then return to her comfortable life?

"Fuck."

The word left my mouth sharply, drawing a glance from a passing flight attendant.

I ignored it.

Anger surged through me... hot and humiliating.

How dare she use me as a substitute to fulfill her desires, then disappear, and now appear again with children in her hands?

Another thought crept in.

What if she knew who I was?

What if she had been sent by someone?

An enemy?

The idea sounded ridiculous... yet I couldn't find any other explanation for her behavior.

She occupied my mind completely, and the more I thought about her, the tighter my jaw became.

What irritated me most wasn't the possibility that she used me.

It was the thought of her belonging to someone else.

Of her having a husband.

Of her refusing to leave him.

No.

For five years, I had forced her memory out of my head. Buried it under work, responsibilities, silence.

But now she was back.

And she was disrupting everything again.

...

"Boss, you have a board meeting by six, a client meeting by four, and before all of that, you have to attend the..."

"Family gathering." I completed the words for him.

"I know." My father had made sure to pass the message across that it was unavoidable.

The plane had barely landed before Dion started listing my schedule, walking beside me as we exited the terminal.

I barely heard half of it, my mind was still focused on that woman.

I had already made a decision mid-flight.

She was like a ghost back then. I couldn't find a trace of her no matter how hard I searched.

But now I had something solid.

Her name.

Elara Reyes.

And two children.

I needed answers.

I needed to know what happened that night... and why she ran.

Maybe...

Maybe once I knew the truth, I could finally let her go.

"Boss," Dion spoke again carefully, adjusting his grip on the suitcase as we walked toward the car. "About the family gathering... the Bryes won't be the only family there."

I slowed slightly. "What?"

Who else could possibly be invited?

This was supposed to be simple...  eat, greet, leave.

My father insisted I show up first thing after returning. I had agreed only to get it over with.

But something in Dion's tone told me this wasn't simple.

He placed the suitcase in the trunk before opening the passenger door for me.

"I just received confirmation... Ms. Zia and her parents will be there too."

"Zia?"

Jane's best friend?

What would she be doing there?

Zia was the only woman I tolerated after Jane's death. She understood grief. She understood silence.

Because she loved Jane too.

"Yes, boss." Dion hesitated before continuing. "It's not just a gathering. They're... arranging your marriage."

"My what?"

The word left my mouth flat.

I had expected this.

Four months ago, I accidentally walked into my father's study and saw the draft agreement - signed by him and Zia's father.

A marriage alliance.

"Both families have agreed that you and Ms. Zia should get married," Dion finished quietly.

Zia was suitable.

Good background.

Respected family.

No scandal.

And I wasn't repulsed by her.

That was probably enough for them.

But it wasn't enough for me.

I climbed into the car, rubbing a hand across my face before Dion started the engine.

"Tell my father I'm not interested."

Dion looked at me through the rearview mirror.

"This wasn't the old master's idea."

I went still.

"What?"

He hesitated.

"It was Madam."

I closed my eyes.

Of course it was.

My father rarely interfered anymore. Once he realized I could handle the company, he stepped back.

But my mother...

She worried.

She thought I was lonely.

She thought Zia would fix that.

She probably convinced my father that this was for my own good.

The Ranviers were powerful. The alliance benefited everyone.

Everyone except me.

"It's alright," I said finally. "I'll deal with it."

Dion nodded and pulled the car onto the road.

Zia had waited patiently all these years. Despite knowing I had no intention of remarrying. Despite knowing I intended to stay alone.

I believed I could.

Until that night.

Until Elara.

Maybe...

Maybe letting her disappear was a mistake.

She used me.

And I never got an explanation.

My mind returned to the note she left that morning.

She said she had changed her mind.

Changed her mind about what?

As if there had been an agreement between us.

Then she vanished.

But...

Those twins.

A frown slowly formed on my face.

They couldn't be older than five.

Five years.

The timeline lined up too neatly.

My heartbeat slowed.

Could it be...?

No.

My eyes opened sharply.

She wouldn't.

Would she?

Either she was already pregnant when she slept with me...

Or she went back to someone else immediately after.

Both options irritated me equally.

I looked toward Dion, who was focused on the road.

"I need you to look into the woman we met earlier at New York's airport."

Dion blinked. "The woman with the twins?"

"Yes."

My voice hardened.

"Investigate her."

It might just be a coincidence.

But if she dared to carry my child... my children... and keep them hidden from me...

There was no way I was letting her walk away again.

"I want everything."

...

"Darling, what took you so long?" Zia stood up as soon as I walked in, a big smile on her face. She walked towards me, attempting to hug me.

An attempt... Because she knew I hated being touched.

I took a step back, my cold gaze sweeping over her. "You insist on calling me that," I said curtly, walking towards the chair opposite the one she had been sitting on.

I ignored her, but she didn't say anything. She never did