Chapter 5 - The Storm Before the Dawn
Victoria swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure, stepping back from my chair.
"Callum," she stammered, offering a brilliant, albeit nervous smile. "I... I was just visiting. I wanted to make sure this young woman understood the reality of the situation. People are talking, Callum. My father is concerned about the press coverage surrounding the merger—"
"Your father's merger is canceled," Callum said flatly, walking into the sunroom with slow, dangerous steps.
Victoria gasped. "What?! Callum, you can't be serious! That contract represents three years of negotiations!"
"I am entirely serious," Callum murmured, stopping right beside my chair, placing his large, warm hand protectively on my shoulder. His touch instantly grounded me, chasing away the icy fear Victoria had brought into the room. "Effective immediately, my holding company is pulling all investments from the Sterling Group."
"Because of her?!" Victoria shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. "She's nobody! A pregnant cleaning girl! She means nothing to you!"
Callum looked down at me, his dark eyes softening with a deep, profound devotion that made my breath catch in my throat. Then he looked back at Victoria, his voice dropping into a deadly register.
"She means everything to me," Callum declared softly, every word cut like diamond. "She was the only person who cared if I lived or died when I had nothing. She gave me her food when I was starving. She kept my mother's memory safe when I was dragged away in chains. Everything I have built—every dollar, every building, every piece of power I hold—is worth nothing if I cannot protect her."
Victoria stood frozen, her mouth open in absolute shock.
"Get out of my house," Callum ordered flatly. "If you ever come near Nola again, I will not just destroy your father's company—I will destroy your family name."
Victoria didn't say another word. Shaking with anger and embarrassment, she turned on her heel and hurried out of the sunroom, her heels clicking frantically across the marble floor.
Silence fell over the room.
Callum exhaled a long breath, pulling a chair close to mine and sitting down. He reached out, gently covering my cold hands with his warm palms.
"Are you alright, Nola?" he asked softly, searching my eyes for any sign of hurt.
"Callum..." Tears spilled over my eyelashes, running down my cheeks. "She's right about one thing. I'm destroying your reputation. Your business deals... your standing in the city... you're sacrificing so much for me."
"I'm sacrificing nothing that matters," Callum said fiercely, taking my face in his hands, wiping my tears with his thumbs. "Nola, look at me."
I looked into his dark, intense eyes.
"For seventeen years, I walked through this city alone," Callum whispered, his voice laced with raw vulnerability. "I built an empire because I was terrified of being helpless again. But every night I came home to this big, empty house, I felt like that fourteen-year-old boy sitting in the dark on Hester Street. You gave me purpose again, Nola. You and this baby."
He looked down at my swollen stomach, his expression filled with awe and tenderness.
"I don't care about Marcus Vance," Callum continued softly. "I don't care about Victoria Sterling. I care about you. If you'll let me... I want to be a father to this child. I want to build a real family with you."
My heart hammered in my chest. "Callum... are you saying...?"
Before he could answer, a sharp, sudden pain ripped through my lower abdomen.
I gasped, clutching my stomach, my face turning deathly pale.
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"Nola?" Callum snapped up, his eyes filled with instant panic. "What's wrong?!"
"The... the baby," I choked out, another contraction seizing my body, forcing a scream from my throat. "Callum... it's too early... the baby is coming!"
