SHADOWS OF LOVE

 It was one of those crisper mornings in November when Sara Hart stepped out of her small apartment with one hand carrying a grocery bag while the other clutched her three-year-old son, Noah's, tiny fingers. Her life was filled with daycare pickups, late-night freelance work, and dreams of today that had long been given up on love, and a future that didn't have a place for anything but her son.Yet this day felt different. There was something in the air that felt electric and that couldn't be explained—like fate had started weaving its threads all over again.Meanwhile, clear across in the other side of the city stood the castle of towers where 28-old Ethan Knight strode in as the CEO of Knight Enterprises. His life was an antithesis of hers- all polished and shiny but entirely controlled. Ethan was that sort of a man 'who has no time for mistakes, let alone love.' His reputation as a ruthless businessman had preceded him, but beneath that ice-cold shell, there lay a man who had once craved something real. That part of him, however, had been buried way back.Following a swift glance at his calendar in hand, Ethan told his assistant, Lila, "Cancel my afternoon meeting." There was a charity gala for which he had to prepare-the most recent commitment imposed on him by his PR team.Will do, Mr. Knight, was Lila's clipped but very businesslike reply.Fate usually has its own plans, and apparently it was scheduling this gala for Sara too. She had begrudgingly agreed to lend a helping hand for her best friend's work, Emily, who was catering for the big event. Some of the extra bills would be going toward Noah's daycare, but the promise Emily had made for this to be an easy job gave added encouragement.The place was busting around the evening time, the city's elite population came flowing into the grand hall of the Hilton Hotel. Sara adjusted her caterer's garb nervously and hurried through the masses, balancing trays of hors d'oeuvres. The pretty chandelier glimmering over her head warmed everything, rendering the whole scene surreal, almost dreamlike.Ethan stepped into the room in his usual glare. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, his piercing blue eyes scanning the crowd with indifferent ease. For him, such events were all the same-kind of a sad sea of false smiles and shallow conversations. In about an hour or two, he probably would have to look for an excuse to leave.However, as he turned around toward the bar, something- or someone- caught his eye.Sara.She was not one of the rich ladies in the room draped in garish diamonds and expensive designer gowns. There was a quiet elegance to her, a resilience in her posture that drew him. The reason for her strange familiarity was beyond his capacity to comprehend, but he felt inexplicably drawn to her.This was a different moment for Sara. Her heart stopped when she caught Ethan's eye from across the room. That face was there; the sharp jawline, the confident stride-this was the man. Ethan Knight. The man who had unknowingly fathered her child.Her grip tightened on the tray as the memories came flooding back: a summer affair that burned bright and fast but ended without so much of a word from Ethan. She tried reaching out after the shock of learning she was pregnant. But a man like Ethan Knight was impossible for girls like her to reach.And now here he was, only few feet away.Ethan approached her, curiosity taking the better of him. "Excuse me," he said, his deep voice smooth yet commanding. "Have we met before?"For a moment, Sara considered lying, pretending that she didn't know him. But the weight of the truth was heavy upon her chest."No, she replied a little steadier than she expected. "I don't think so.Ethan frowned at her, surveying her face, and there was something in her eyes traced familiar but not able to be placed. Before they could move more in queries, however, Sara excused herself by disappearing into the thick crowd.Both had their nights pass in a blur. Ethan kept thinking he recognized her; Sara couldn't stop playing their brief interaction over and over in her head.As for that night, after Sara has walked home with a sleeping Noah in her arms, she made an unspoken promise to keep herself away from Ethan Knight. He belonged to her past, a chapter already closed. She had built a life for herself and her son, and there was no place for a man like Ethan in it.However, fate had something else in mind.The photograph-surfing Ethan stumbled onto yet another image of her on the website of charitable events his company organized the next morning. He froze because Sara's picture was displayed on the screen before him."Lila," he called through his throat. "Tell me whose lady this is."And unknown to Sara, her earth had just about to collide with Ethan's once more. And this time, it won't be running away.To be continued...