Chapter 2
The night before the funeral…
Dylan Carter locked himself inside Cate's apartment alone.
Nobody stopped him.
Nobody dared to.
Not after seeing the state he was already in.
The apartment still smelled like her:
vanilla candles,
coffee,
faint lavender lotion.
God.
That somehow hurt more than the funeral itself.
Because everything inside still looked alive.
Like Cate might walk through the door any second laughing about something ridiculous.
But she wouldn't.
She couldn't.
The explosion destroyed everything.
Dylan slowly walked through the apartment in silence while rain battered the windows outside.
The living room still held traces of their life together:
her blanket thrown carelessly across the couch,
medical journals stacked beside fashion magazines,
tiny sticky notes reminding him to eat properly.
His chest tightened painfully.
Then suddenly—
His eyes landed on the nursery door.
Half-finished.
The breath nearly left his lungs.
For several seconds…
He couldn't move.
Because behind that door existed every future he just lost.
Slowly…
Dylan pushed it open.
And completely shattered.
Tiny white furniture stood unfinished near the walls. Baby clothes still folded inside open boxes. A stuffed rabbit sitting beside the crib.
Cate bought it two weeks ago.
Because she said:
"Every baby deserves emotional support."
God.
The memory hit violently.
Dylan pressed one hand against the nursery wall breathing unevenly now.
Because suddenly he could hear her laughter again.
See her smiling.
Feel her placing his hand against her stomach excitedly whenever the baby kicked.
His child.
Their child.
Gone.
A broken sound escaped his throat before he could stop it.
Meanwhile across the city…
Elite society whispered endlessly.
Because despite the funeral…
despite the tragedy…
people remained obsessed with one terrifying detail:
Dylan Carter loved Cate Sullivan more than he ever looked at another woman.
And nobody understood why.
Not Vanessa. Not the media. Not his family.
Especially after Sophia Laurent.
Because everyone still remembered: Dylan rejected one of the most powerful heiresses in the world…
only to fall obsessively in love with a common nurse.
It made no sense to them.
Meanwhile inside the apartment…
Dylan slowly sat down beside the unfinished crib.
Completely broken now.
His phone vibrated repeatedly with ignored calls:
board members,
reporters,
family friends,
condolences.
He ignored everything.
Then suddenly—
A notification appeared.
1 unheard voice message.
Cate.
Dylan froze instantly.
His breathing stopped.
Because somehow…
He never noticed it before.
The timestamp shattered him immediately.
Sent: Three hours before the explosion.
His hands trembled violently while pressing play.
Static crackled softly first.
Then—
Cate's voice.
Warm. Breathless. Alive.
"Hey emotionally unavailable billionaire…"
Dylan closed his eyes instantly.
God.
Her voice.
The recording continued softly.
"You're probably still working and pretending coffee counts as food…"
A broken laugh escaped him painfully.
Because yes.
That sounded exactly like Cate.
Then her tone softened slightly.
"I know you told me not to move around too much while pregnant…"
A pause.
Soft laughter.
"But your child apparently wants mangoes at eleven p.m."
Dylan physically bent forward now covering his face.
Because suddenly she felt alive again.
Close. Real.
The voice message continued.
"Anyway… I just wanted to say I miss you already."
Silence.
Then quietly—
"And I think our baby is going to love you very much someday."
The recording cracked slightly.
Then the final words came softly enough to destroy him completely:
"Come home soon, Dylan."
The voice message ended.
Silence swallowed the nursery whole.
And suddenly…
Dylan broke.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
The sound that left him didn't even feel human.
Years later people would still whisper about that night.
About how security heard Dylan Carter screaming inside the apartment alone.
Because in that moment…
The most powerful man in Ashford City became just another grieving man begging the dead woman he loved to come back.
Three years earlier…
Before the funeral. Before the fire. Before the grief destroyed him.
Dylan Carter first met Cate Sullivan on a rainy night.
And unfortunately for him…
Nothing felt normal afterward.
The Carter Foundation Charity Gala overflowed with wealth and artificial elegance that evening.
Crystal chandeliers glowed above Ashford's elite while expensive laughter echoed across the ballroom.
Dylan hated every second of it.
At twenty-nine, he already ruled Carter Enterprises like a machine:
brilliant,
feared,
emotionally unreachable.
Women chased him constantly.
Mostly because:
he was rich,
powerful,
devastatingly handsome,
and impossible to get.
Unfortunately for them…
Dylan rarely noticed anyone.
After losing his parents young, he buried himself inside work completely.
Relationships felt exhausting. Performative. Temporary.
So while socialites laughed around him pretending sophistication…
Dylan mentally planned escape routes.
Beside him, Victor Carter sipped champagne casually.
"You look homicidal."
Dylan adjusted his cufflinks calmly.
"I'm considering it."
Victor laughed.
"Try smiling tonight." "The shareholders think you're emotionally dead."
"I probably am."
Before Victor could answer—
someone crashed directly into Dylan.
Red wine splashed violently across his black suit.
The ballroom gasped collectively.
"Oh no—"
A female voice.
Panicked. Real.
Not fake elegant panic.
Actual panic.
Dylan slowly looked down.
And froze.
The woman standing before him looked horrified.
Not because he was Dylan Carter.
Because she genuinely felt bad.
That alone shocked him slightly.
"I'm so sorry," she rushed out quickly while grabbing napkins desperately. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
Dylan just stared.
Because for the first time that entire night…
Someone felt real.
No calculated flirting. No polished seduction.
Just chaos.
Beautiful chaos.
She finally looked up fully.
And Dylan's chest tightened unexpectedly.
God.
She was beautiful.
Not the polished billionaire-wife kind.
No.
Warm beautiful. Alive beautiful.
Big expressive brown eyes. Soft dark curls slipping loose around her face. Lips trembling slightly from embarrassment.
Victor immediately noticed Dylan staring.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The woman kept apologizing nervously while trying to clean the wine herself.
"I can pay for the cleaning."
Victor almost laughed aloud.
The suit cost more than some cars.
But before he could speak—
Dylan surprised even himself.
"It's fine."
The woman blinked in shock.
"Really?"
"Yes."
She stared suspiciously now.
Like she expected hidden anger eventually.
Interesting again.
Finally she sighed dramatically in relief.
"Thank God." "My best friend said rich people are terrifying."
Victor completely lost composure laughing.
Meanwhile Dylan raised one eyebrow slightly.
"And what do you think?"
The woman studied him carefully for a second.
Then answered honestly:
"You look emotionally unavailable."
Silence.
Victor choked on champagne instantly.
Dylan just stared at her.
Nobody spoke to him like this.
Ever.
Realizing what she said aloud, the woman covered her face immediately.
"Oh my God." "I'm leaving the country."
And for the first time in weeks—
Dylan smiled.
Small. Quick. Real.
The woman froze after seeing it.
Because suddenly…
The cold billionaire became unfairly handsome.
Victor looked personally amazed.
"You smiled." "At a woman."
Dylan ignored him completely.
Meanwhile the woman slowly lowered her hands.
"You can laugh?"
"It happens occasionally."
Something warm fluttered unexpectedly inside her chest.
Then awkwardly she held out her hand.
"I'm Cate Sullivan."
Dylan looked down at her hand briefly before taking it.
Warm fingers.
Soft skin.
Dangerous feeling.
"Dylan Carter."
Cate blinked once.
Then horror filled her face instantly.
"Oh."
Victor burst into laughter again.
"The emotionally unavailable billionaire himself."
Cate groaned softly.
"This is humiliating."
Dylan unexpectedly wanted to keep listening to her talk.
Which honestly annoyed him slightly.
Because women normally exhausted him within minutes.
Meanwhile Cate nervously stepped backward slightly.
"I should probably disappear now."
"Why?"
The question surprised both of them.
Cate blinked.
"What?"
"You're leaving because of wine?"
"And accidental personality analysis."
One corner of Dylan's mouth lifted faintly again.
Victor looked ready to collapse from shock entirely now.
Because Dylan Carter looked interested.
Actually interested.
Cate slowly narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You're weirdly calm about this."
Dylan looked at her carefully.
"You're weirdly honest."
Silence settled briefly between them.
And somehow…
Neither looked away.
