The events of the night haunted Ella Lin like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. Her once pure heart had been dragged through the mud, crushed under the boots of men who saw her as nothing more than a disposable plaything.
Wrapped in a hotel bathrobe that wasn't hers, she sat curled on the icy marble floor of the Empire Hotel's Presidential Suite. Her body trembled uncontrollably. The humiliation, the shame—it was carved deep into her bones.
Outside the giant glass windows, dawn crept over the horizon, painting the sky in soft pastels. But for Ella, it was the coldest morning of her life.
And yet, through the overwhelming sorrow, a dangerous spark flickered to life within her.
She wiped her tears away, stood shakily, and faced the full-length mirror. Her reflection looked pale, broken… pathetic.
Never again.
"From today onward, I, Ella Lin, will become a woman no man can trample on again. Leon Xu… this is your last victory over me."
Her fists clenched. Her voice, though soft, echoed through the empty suite like a vow written in blood.
Meanwhile, in the towering glass building of Empire Corporation, Leon Xu stood in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. His usually calm and composed face was clouded with a storm of emotions he couldn't quite name.
He had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, Ella's pale, tear-streaked face haunted his mind.
Pregnant.
That one word wouldn't leave his thoughts.
But why did he feel… uncomfortable? Restless?
"Sir..." His assistant, Ryan, knocked softly on the office door. Leon didn't turn around.
"What is it?"
"The results you ordered regarding Miss Lin's medical report… they're here."
Leon's fingers tightened around the glass of whiskey in his hand. He spoke without turning.
"And?"
Ryan hesitated.
"Positive. She's six weeks pregnant."
The glass slipped from Leon's hand and shattered against the marble floor. For the first time, the mighty Leon Xu looked shaken.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Six weeks. That meant…
His mind raced back to that rainy night six weeks ago. Ella had shown up at his villa, drenched from head to toe, begging him for just one night to stay by his side.
He had been drunk. She had cried in his arms.
And he…
"Damn it!"
Leon strode out of his office like a man possessed.
At that same moment, Ella walked out of the Empire Hotel, her back straight, her expression cold and empty.
She hailed a cab and disappeared from sight.
By the time Leon arrived at the hotel, she was already gone.
The hotel manager, trembling under Leon's furious glare, could only offer a stammering apology.
"She left, Sir… she didn't say where she was going..."
Leon's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Find her!" His voice thundered through the lobby. "Turn the city upside down if you have to!"
Days passed.
Ella disappeared as if she had vanished from the face of the earth. No trace, no news.
Rumors began to swirl. Some said she had gone overseas. Others whispered that she had found a rich man who took her away.
But none of that mattered to Leon.
He searched relentlessly, his temper growing worse by the day. He barked orders at his staff, snapped at business partners, and couldn't sleep without seeing her face in his dreams.
And every time he remembered her standing in front of him, voice trembling as she said, "I'm pregnant…" his chest tightened painfully.
He hated how much power she still had over him, even in her absence.
Three months later.
In a luxurious villa on the other side of the world, Ella stood by a massive window overlooking the sea.
Her belly was slightly rounded now, and she gently placed her hands on it.
"Little one," she whispered softly, her voice filled with both sorrow and hope. "Don't worry. Mommy will give you everything. You don't need a father like him."
Her eyes, once soft and naïve, were now sharp and cold.
Gone was the lovesick fool.
In her place stood the future CEO of the Lin Global Empire.
Behind her, an assistant approached respectfully.
"Miss Lin, the documents are ready. The board has approved your return to lead the corporation."
Ella turned, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Good. It's time for the world to remember who I really am."
And somewhere far away, Leon Xu sat in his darkened office, staring at the same pregnancy report over and over again, his heart growing heavier with regret and a fear he didn't dare name.
He didn't know it yet, but his days of dominance were over.
The tables were about to turn. And when they did… she wouldn't be the one begging for love anymore.