Forever Starts Now

The autumn breeze carried the scent of nostalgia as Elena Ross stepped out of the taxi, her heart pounding against her ribs. New York. After six years, she was finally back in the city that had both broken and shaped her."Mommy, is this our new home?" Leo's bright voice pulled her from her thoughts. Her five-year-old son clutched her hand tightly, his dark eyes—so much like his father's, though she'd never admit it—wide with curiosity as he stared at the modest apartment building before them."Yes, sweetheart. Our new beginning," Elena whispered, smoothing down his silky black hair. She wouldn't think about that night. She couldn't. That stranger who'd held her as she broke apart, whose touch had burned away her tears, whose face she'd never fully seen in the darkness of that hotel room. He was just a ghost now, a beautiful mistake that had given her the greatest gift of her life.Leo tugged at her coat. "Can I go to a new school here?""Of course, baby. I've already enrolled you in the best school I could afford." It had taken nearly all her savings, but Leo deserved everything. He was brilliant, far too intelligent for his age, and she'd sacrifice anything to give him opportunities she never had.As they climbed the stairs to their third-floor apartment, Elena's phone buzzed. Another rejection. The fifth property owner this week who'd suddenly "changed their mind" about renting her a storefront. She knew exactly who was behind it.Marcus. Her ex-fiancé.Even after six years, he couldn't let her go. Not out of love—he'd proven he never had any—but out of spite. The man who'd chosen her stepsister Sophia over her, who'd shattered her heart the day before their wedding, was now systematically destroying her chance at building her fashion business in her own hometown."One day," she muttered under her breath as she unlocked their new apartment door, "one day I'll show you all what I'm capable of."The apartment was small but clean, a far cry from the luxury she'd grown up in before her family had disowned her. After the "scandal" of her running away and returning pregnant with no explanation of who the father was, they'd cut her off completely. Good riddance. They'd never truly loved her anyway, always preferring Sophia, the stepdaughter who knew how to manipulate everyone with her tears and lies."Mommy, I'm hungry!" Leo announced, dropping his small backpack on the floor.Elena smiled despite her exhaustion. "Let's see what we can make with what we have, okay?"As she unpacked their meager groceries, her phone rang. Unknown number."Hello?""Ms. Ross?" A professional female voice came through. "This is Hillcrest Academy. We wanted to confirm Leo's attendance for our Career Day event this Friday. We have a very special chief guest coming, and all students are required to attend."Elena's heart lifted slightly. At least something was going right. "Yes, of course. Leo will be there.""Wonderful. The event starts at ten AM sharp. Oh, and Ms. Ross? Mr. Alexander King doesn't appreciate tardiness."The line went dead before Elena could ask who Alexander King was. The name sounded vaguely familiar, like something she should know, but she was too tired to care. Probably some local businessman who'd agreed to give a boring speech to five-year-olds about the importance of hard work.Little did she know that Friday would change everything.Meanwhile, across the city in a towering glass building that kissed the clouds, Alexander King stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse office, surveying his kingdom. At thirty-two, he owned half of Manhattan's most prestigious real estate, ran a hotel empire that spanned three continents, and had more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes.None of it mattered.Six years ago, he'd held a woman in his arms for one night. A woman whose tears had soaked his shirt, whose body had fit against his like she was made for him, whose face he'd barely seen in the darkness but whose essence had burned into his soul. He'd left before dawn—an emergency business call from London that couldn't wait. When he'd returned to the hotel room, she was gone. No name, no number, nothing but the faint scent of jasmine on the sheets and a memory that haunted him still.He'd searched. God, how he'd searched. But New York was a city of millions, and ghosts didn't leave traces."Sir?" His assistant Marcus Chen knocked on the door. "Your car is ready for the school event on Friday."Alex turned, his expression cold. "Why am I doing this again?""PR, sir. The company's image benefits from community involvement. Plus, it's Hillcrest Academy. The children of New York's elite attend there."Alex waved him away. He didn't care about PR or elite children. He cared about the empire he'd built, the work that never waited, and the ghost of a woman he couldn't forget.Friday couldn't come fast enough.