Page 56 of Neptune

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CASSIE

Seven Years Ago

Eight months pregnant

M y eyes scanned the titles of the books on the bookstore shelf. I was trying to find a book about parenting—I wanted to be a good mother for my child.

I could just browse through articles on the web, but spending time outside my house once in a while didn’t hurt.

In fact, I preferred being outside my house because Morgan scared me. Being inside my house wasn't safe anymore.

" Look, she's really pregnant ," I heard a girl whisper around me. " People say that she doesn't even know who the father is ."

" How could she be so stupid ?" another girl whispered. " No wonder he left her ."

Being outside my house had disadvantages too. People at my school had started spreading rumors about me after seeing me with a huge belly.

I'd gotten familiar with the shock on their faces.

I snapped my head toward the girls who were just talking about me, shooting them a glare. They gulped and abruptly walked off, dropping a magazine onto the floor.

Sighing, I picked it up and was about to put it back on the shelf when something caught my attention.

It was a business magazine, and one of the headlines on the cover piqued my interest.

The family tragedy that befell Klein Enterprise and what we can learn about them.

My eyebrow raised. Family tragedy. How interesting. I'd never thought that a family tragedy could impact the business world significantly.

I flipped through the pages, and when I reached the page that I was looking for, I froze.

There on the page was a picture of a family of four posing for an elegant family portrait. The parents had two sons, and one of them made my eyes widen in shock.

It was Luke. I couldn't have been mistaken. With those hazel eyes. With that piercing stare. He looked much younger, though.

The family picture seemed to have been taken when he was still a teenager, but I was more than sure that it was Luke.

I read through the article. The names. Arthur Klein... His successor, Victor... His second son, Lucas...

Lucas. Lucas Klein.

Luke .

My hand was shaking when I gripped the magazine tightly—I was afraid that I would drop it. It was too precious for me to let it slip from my hand.

I had found him.

???

Two days after I found the article about Luke's family in the magazine, I was in New York, at the headquarter of Klein Enterprise.

I'd left my house before dawn to take the first flight from LA. I hadn't told Morgan, and she would be furious if she knew that I'd escaped.

I was expecting her to call me later in the day, but I didn't think that I would be brave enough to pick up the call .

I'd used all my savings to buy the plane ticket—thank God I hadn't used all my money for the trip to Hallstatt.

I'd planned to use it to buy necessities for my baby, and the fact that I'd used it to see Luke instead made me worry.

Oh, God . What was I thinking? I needed that money to buy things for my baby, but seeing Luke was equally important.

My heart thumped hard as I stared at the majestic building of Klein Enterprise. Luke was apparently the son of a businessman, and I felt intimidated being here.

But I was carrying his child—I had to see him. I kept telling myself that I was doing the right thing. He deserved to know that he had a son.

And he needed to know that his son and I had been living in danger with Morgan.

Yes, a son . I'd seen a doctor yesterday to get the recommendation letter for taking the flight, and the doctor had told me that it was a boy.

I hadn't found out earlier because it was my first time seeing a doctor. That was pathetic, I knew. But I didn't have much money, and Morgan wouldn't even lend me hers to see a doctor.

I looked down at my tummy and caressed it, trying to calm both of us down.

Don't worry, sweetheart. You're going to meet your dad soon.

It was so overwhelming that I felt tears in my eyes. I'd never thought that I would be able to see Luke again without having to wait seven years.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the grand lobby. I gazed around the place like a clueless person.

Once I found the reception desk, I walked toward it.

The lady behind the counter smiled. "Good afternoon. Please fill in the logbook and leave your ID card here. Which floor are you going to?"

My mouth dropped open. I didn't have any idea how to answer her. My hands started to get sweaty, and the air felt colder. "I need to see Lucas Klein."

The moment I mentioned Luke's name, the lady frowned.

She eyed me with suspicion. "Have you set an appointment with him?"

I swallowed.

"If you have, the guard will come downstairs and escort you to his office," the lady said. "And I'm sure that you already have the contact number of his secretary?"

I didn't know what to say. I hadn't prepared anything before coming here because I was too overwhelmed.

I just wanted to see Luke.

"Please," I begged. "Please, help me see him. He knows me. Just tell him my name. I'm Cassandra. Cassie."

The lady sighed. "I'm sorry. But we can't let you in unless you have an appointment with him."

"No, you don't understand—" My sentence was cut off when a security guard approached me.

"Please sit down in the lobby, ma’am," he said in a polite tone, gesturing toward the sofas. "We have other visitors lining up."

I noticed that I was indeed making people behind me wait, and so I followed the guard as he escorted me to settle on the sofa.

He smiled, throwing me an apologetic look, probably feeling guilty because he knew that I was pregnant and that I should be treated with the utmost care.

Leaning back against the sofa, I sighed in defeat. I should wait until Luke came down to the lobby, but how long would it take?

I decided to take a chance. I was already here—there was no turning back.

A few minutes passed, and I was imagining all the possibilities that could happen when someone's voice caught my ears.

"So, Luke isn't back yet? That sucks. He didn't tell me about it. He didn't pick up my calls."

A woman was talking at the counter, but she wasn't handled by a receptionist. She was talking to someone who seemed to have a higher position, the manager of the building or Luke's assistant.

"We apologize, Ms. Josephine," the man said. "He has to lead another urgent meeting in Texas. He has to take charge there because the chairman is handling another business matter in Mexico."

My heart felt like sinking into a deep pit. So Luke wasn't even here.

The woman sighed, muttering under her breath. She was about to leave, but I automatically rushed to her.

"Wait!" I called, making her halt.

This woman knew Luke. She seemed like a close relative, and she was my only hope. Maybe she could pass my message to Luke.

"I need to talk to you. I need to talk about Luke," I said, breathless, my hand shooting to my belly to support it because I'd just run to her.

The woman looked at me like I was a pain in the ass, but that look changed when her eyes dropped to my hand.

She stared at the ring on my finger. Her stare was so long that it made me uncomfortable.

She finally looked up, and surprisingly, she said, "Well, I've still got some time to spare."

I stared at her, anticipation building up inside me.

"How about we sit somewhere else to discuss?" she asked.