Eliza sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, her eyes fixed but unfocused on the TV screen in front of her, lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. Should she tell Casper? Handle it on her own? And if so, how? End the pregnancy? No way, she couldn''t bring herself to do that. She was sure Casper would want her to keep the baby.Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Her phone was slick with sweat from her tight grip, and she finally mustered the courage to call Casper. Just then, the TV screen flickered to a breaking news story. "A private ne from Falconridge crashed into an African forest due to pilot error, igniting a fire and iming the lives of all three on board, including two crew members and one passenger." The footage showed the grim sight of three charred bodies. At first, Eliza brushed it off as another tragic headline. She was preupied, rehearsing how she''d share the news about the baby with Casper. Her fingers hovered, indecisive, over the call button.


    Then the newscaster announced the victims'' names: "The crew members were local Africans, Peter Lee and James, and the passenger was a Falconridge national, Casper. The ne belonged to the CEO of Falconridge''s Welton International, Casper, who was only thirty. A tragic loss."


    Eliza, on the verge of dialing, froze. Casper? His name was like a p of thunder in her mind. Was he one of those victims? A ringing filled her ears. Her body went rigid, her expression stuck in disbelief.


    After what felt like eternity, she blinked her stinging eyes and looked at her phone. This wasn''t fake news. The crash was real. How could this happen? He had cheated death so many times before, how could this be it?


    She dialed his number repeatedly, desperation crossing oceans, but no answer came. She lost track of how often she tried. With half her phone''s battery drained, her fingers trembling, she called Dillon.


    After an agonizing wait, he picked up, "Hello?"


    "Dillon, has something happened to Casper?" Her voice shook, fingers barely holding onto the phone, "Tell me the truth about the ne..."


    Dillon''s silence was a knife to her heart. Despite her hope, reality was unforgiving.


    "Dillon," she pleaded, "just tell me he''s okay, that it''s not true."


    "Mrs. Moore," Dillon finally said, "M Casper did have an ident. But


    rest assured, he made sure


    the young master will be we and


    care of." .


    Von


    Her eyes filled with tears, her lips quivering. This wasn''t what she needed to hear. She needed to know he was alive.


    "I don''t understand. Where is Casper? Is he really... dead?"


    After a pause, Dillon confirmed, "Yes, Mr. Casper was in the ident."


    The words were a death knell, extinguishing herst hope. Her phone slipped from her grasp, hitting the


    s with a tter.Cont


    She slumped onto the bench, tears flowing freely. Casper had "died" before, like when he fell off a cliff. Everyone, including her, thought he was gone, but she hadn''t felt this crushed back then. Why did it hurt so much more now?


    Her pregnancy test was blurred by tears. Onlookers, thinking she''d received terrible news, offered words offort.