ONE WILD NIGHT

She's lying," he tells the cameras. But the truth in his eyes says otherwise. Struggling on scholarship and multiple jobs to support her family, she never expected one night to change everything. But when a pregnancy test confirms her worst fears, the father, a billionaire's heir, publicly denies her claims to protect his own future. Now she's fighting a battle on two fronts: keeping her scholarship while raising a child alone, and facing down one of the most powerful families in the country. In a world where money talks and reputations can be bought, she has only one weapon, the truth. But when lies have billion dollar consequences, will the truth be enough to survive?

Chapters

Chapter 4

I almost made it.

Three weeks passed without mistakes. My plan was running smoothly. I filled my days with extra tutoring sessions, worked double shifts at Romano's that left me with almost no time to sleep, and kept a pile of scholarship applications for single mothers under my mattress. I even started taking pregnancy vitamins, mixing them in with my normal pills. Zoe knew and worried sometimes, but I tried not to let it show too much.

The morning sickness had become something I could manage. Crackers before getting out of bed, ginger tea between classes, bathroom breaks timed during lectures. I handled it the way I handled everything quietly, carefully, and with Zoe's steady support when I needed it most.

"You're glowing," Mom said during our weekly video call, her voice weak but warm from her hospital bed. "Are you using a new face cream?"

I forced a laugh, hoping the laptop camera didn't catch the guilt in my eyes. "Just the natural glow of too much school stress."

"Don't work too hard, sweetheart. You're already doing more than enough."

If only she knew. But I'd gotten good at dividing myself into pieces, being exactly what each person needed me to be. Strong daughter. Responsible sister. Perfect student. And now secretly ,the woman carrying Alexander Stone's child while he prepared to marry someone else.

It was Tuesday morning when my carefully built world shattered.

I had just left British Literature, running through my afternoon tutoring schedule in my head, when my phone started buzzing nonstop. Call after call. Text after text. I frowned, expecting the usual mix of clients and work reminders.

Instead, Zoe's name flashed across the screen.

"Maya, where are you?" Her voice was breathless, panicked.

"Just left Morrison Hall. Why? What's wrong?"

"Don't go back to the dorm. Don't go anywhere crowded. Find somewhere private and call me back."

"Zoe, you're scaring me"

"Maya, it's everywhere. The photos, the story... Oh God, how did this happen?"

The line went dead.

I froze in the middle of campus, students brushing past me like water around a rock. Photos? What photos?

With trembling hands, I opened my browser and typed in my name.

The first headline made my knees weaken:

STONE HEIR'S SECRET BABY SCANDAL

Beneath it, a grainy hotel security shot: Alex leaving the elevator, shirt wrinkled, hair a mess, watch in hand, looking like a man who'd had a very good night.

Timestamp: 6:47 a.m.

The second photo was worse me, wearing Zoe's black dress, stepping into the same elevator twelve hours earlier.

Timestamp: 7:23 p.m.

A gossip blogger, Marcus Chen, had connected the dots that would unravel my life:

Stone heir Alexander spotted leaving mystery suite after overnight stay. Same evening, unidentified woman enters hotel. Sources confirm woman is Maya Collins, 22, Westfield University student. Collins recently seen visiting Hartford General's maternity ward. Connect the dots, people...

My phone lit up with notifications,Twitter mentions, Instagram tags, Facebook messages from people I hadn't heard from in years. The story was spreading like fire.

I ducked into an empty classroom, heart slamming so hard it hurt. This couldn't be real. Those photos were weeks old,who had held onto them, and why release them now?

The phone rang. Unknown number.

"Maya Collins? This is Jennifer Walsh from Entertainment Tonight. We'd love to hear your side"

I hung up. It rang again.

"Ms. Collins, David Morrison from People"

I switched it off, but the damage was already everywhere.

Through the window, I saw news vans rolling up outside campus. Reporters were spilling onto the quad with cameras and microphones.

A campus alert buzzed through anyway:

Media presence on campus. Avoid main entrances. Contact police if harassed.

They were here. For me.

I slipped out the back door, but even the quiet paths weren't safe. A photographer jumped from behind the library.

"Maya! Maya Collins! How long have you been involved with Alexander Stone?"

I ran.

By the time I reached my car, three more cameras had caught me. My phone showed forty-seven missed calls.

I drove to the only place I could think of;St. Catherine's Chapel, the tiny church near campus. Silence. Stained glass. Empty pews.

But my phone wouldn't stop buzzing. I answered only when Jake's name lit the screen.

"Maya, what the hell is going on?" His voice shook with fear. "Reporters are calling the house. They're asking Mom about you and some billionaire. She's freaking out."

My heart broke. "Where is she?"

"In bed. The nurse gave her something, but Maya... she keeps asking what you did. She thinks you're in trouble."

I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead to the wooden pew. My sick mother didn't deserve this.

"Jake, listen to me. Take care of Mom. Don't let her see the news. Don't let her go online. Promise me."

"Maya... are you really pregnant?"

The air in the chapel became s

"Yes."

"And the father... it's really that Stone guy?"

"Yes."

Silence. Then, softer, stronger than his fifteen years: "Are you okay?"

The question cracked me open. "I don't know."

"Do you want me to come?"

"No. Stay with Mom. I'll handle this."

But even as I said it, I didn't know if it was true.

The reporters weren't leaving. The scandal was too big,that I couldn't handle,rich heir, poor student, secret baby. The story told itself, and it painted me as the villain.

Another call. Unknown number. Against my better judgment, I answered.

"Maya Collins? Elena Rodriguez, Channel 7. I know you're overwhelmed, but right now people are calling you a gold-digger. Don't you want the chance to tell your truth?"

Gold-digger. The word burned through me. I never asked him for anything.

"Then say that. If you stay silent, others will tell your story for you."

Her words echoed long after she hung up.

And she was right. Someone had told Marcus Chen to connect me to Alex, even to the maternity ward. Someone who knew details that only a handful of people could know.

The last call came from Westfield University.

"Ms. Collins, this is Dean Morrison's office. The Dean would like to meet regarding the media attention on your... situation. Can you come at three?"

My scholarship. My future. Everything was suddenly in danger.

As I sat in the chapel, colored light washing over me, one thought chilled me more than the flashing headlines and snapping cameras:

Someone had betrayed me. Someone had sold my secret.

But who-and why?

Continue to next part

Ethan's life is a lie. His wife, Sophia, sees him as nothing more than a disposable blood bag. She drains him to the point of death to help a powerful company create super-soldiers. A mysterious woman known as the Miracle Doctor, Linda Sarman, saves him. She tells him a shocking truth: he is Gad, a legendary War God who had his memory and power taken from him. Now, Ethan is thrown into a secret war of corporate spying and old fights.

Action Modern Mystery Vampire

9.3

Ex - Husband's Late Redemption

9.3

After five years of a cold, neglected marriage, Sarah finally chooses herself and leaves her husband, Mark. She was once a devoted wife who endured his indifference, but her departure marks a dramatic transformation. As Sarah thrives in her newfound independence, a stunned Mark realizes the depth of his mistake. He begins a desperate pursuit to win her back, but Sarah is no longer the woman he once ignored. Can his late redemption ever be enough?

Action Modern Romance

7.8

His Life Hung By My Hands

7.8

My fiancé and my cousin destroyed my life. Their betrayal led to my mother's suicide and my grandmother's death. They framed me for arson, and I went to prison. Three years later, I' m a trauma surgeon. The ER doors burst open, and there he was, carrying her in his arms. She was pregnant, and she was bleeding out. He begged me to save them. "Save her, Alana. Please. Save them both." Then he accused me of wanting revenge, his eyes filled with hate. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" The man who took everything from me was now on his knees, his world depending on my skill. I was the only one who could save the woman who stole my life. I did my job. I saved them both. But as I walked out of the hospital that night, his car was there, blocking my path. This wasn't just a chance encounter. He was back to reclaim what he thought was his.

Action Modern Romance

8.4

Rising From Ashes: The Architect's Comeback

8.4

I woke up in a sterile hospital room with no memory of the lethal-looking man pacing outside the glass. My friend told me he was Dante Moretti, the Underboss of Chicago, and the fiancé I had supposedly worshipped for seven years. But the truth shattered me faster than the crash did. When our convoy was ambushed and the car caught fire, Dante didn't pull me out. He chose to save Valeria—the widow of a soldier he felt guilty about—leaving me to burn in the backseat. He called it a "tactical decision." I called it a death sentence. I thought losing my memory was a curse, but it was a gift. It stripped away the delusion of love. I saw a man who treated me like a useful piece of furniture. I saw a rival in Valeria who smirked while taking my job and my place. When she set a room on fire to frame me, Dante saved her again, leaving me to choke on the smoke. He even branded me a thief in front of the entire Commission to protect her lies. He thought I would always be there, the obedient statue waiting for his scraps. He was wrong. I fled to New York and walked straight into the arms of his sworn enemy, Enzo Falcone. A man who didn't just promise to protect me, but walked through fire to do it. Months later, when Dante finally realized the truth and crawled back to me in the rain, begging for a second chance, I looked him dead in the eye. "Forgetting you was the only peace I ever knew." I took Enzo’s hand, letting Dante see exactly what he had lost. "Remembering you just confirmed that you are a mistake I will never make again."

Action Modern Romance

8.2

The Alpha Who Lost the Moon

8.2

She was rejected before hundreds, her bond twisted into agony, her worth declared worthless. Nyra Vale fled into forbidden lands, and the world believed she died. But the Moon had other plans. Five years later, she returns as the Moonshadow, powerful, untouchable, and carrying the stolen legacy of every sacrificed omega. Kael Draven, the alpha who destroyed her, now rules with iron control, burying his regret beneath duty. Their corrupted bond still burns between them, violent and unbreakable, dragging them into a dangerous game of power, secrets, and proximity that neither can escape. As ancient prophecies unravel and a ruthless enemy moves to claim her as a weapon, Nyra must choose: become the monster the world expects, or rewrite fate itself. Kael will sacrifice everything to stand beside her, but after five years of surviving alone, can she trust the man who once chose tradition over her heart? When the blood moon rises, will love be enough to break a curse forged in sacrifice, or will history repeat itself in blood and ash?

Action Romance Werewolf

8.5

The Alpha Who Mended My Rejected Heart

8.5

After her fated mate brutally rejects her, Elara is left shattered and exiled from her pack. Just as she prepares to face a lonely end, a powerful and mysterious Alpha named Silas intervenes. He offers her protection and a chance to heal her broken spirit. As they navigate rising tensions between rival territories, an unexpected bond forms. Elara must find the strength to trust again while uncovering a conspiracy that threatens their entire kind.

Action Romance Werewolf

ONE WILD NIGHT

Chapter 4

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