Updated Mar 22, 2026 • ~5 min read
Chapter 5: Secret Meeting
MAREN
I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Three days since Bryant Park. Three days of trying to focus on work. Failing miserably.
Because Jasper King looked at me like I mattered. Like Miami wasn’t just sex. Like maybe this could be something.
But it couldn’t.
He was a King. I was a Ross. Our families would rather die than see us together. And I was pregnant with his baby. Which he didn’t know. And couldn’t ever know.
Because if he found out… I didn’t know what he’d do. Demand custody? Tell his family? Use it against Ross Agency?
I couldn’t risk it. But I also couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Sienna cornered me at lunch. “You’re distracted.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re thinking about him.”
I didn’t deny it.
“What am I supposed to do, Sienna? He’s the father of my baby. And my enemy. And I can’t stop…”
“Wanting him?”
Yes. God, yes.
“This is a disaster.”
“Maybe not.”
“How is this not a disaster?”
“What if the feud is bullshit? What if your families are wrong?”
“My mother died competing against his family…”
“Your mother worked herself to death. That’s not the Kings’ fault. That’s the industry. The pressure. The impossible standards.”
I wanted to argue. But she might be right.
“It doesn’t matter. Uncle Conrad would never forgive me.”
“Conrad doesn’t own you.”
“He raised me. After mom died. I owe him…”
“You owe him gratitude. Not your entire life.”
My phone buzzed. Text from unknown number. Same as before.
“Meet me. Same place. Tonight. Please. – JK”
I should have said no. But I typed: “Fine. 8 PM.”
Sienna read over my shoulder. “Good. Talk to him. Figure this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out.”
“Except you’re having his baby.”
Right. That.
8 PM. Bryant Park. Again.
Jasper was already there. Waiting.
I sat beside him. “This is a bad idea.”
“Probably.”
“We shouldn’t be meeting.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you text me?”
He looked at me. Really looked.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you. And I need to know if I’m alone in this.”
I should have lied. Said it was just sex. Moved on.
But…
“You’re not alone.”
His eyes darkened. “Maren…”
“But it doesn’t change anything. We can’t be together. Our families…”
“Fuck our families.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re CEO. You have power. Independence. I’m… I’m still trying to prove myself. To Conrad. To the company. To everyone.”
He was quiet.
“What if we could keep it secret? Just for now. Until we figure this out.”
“Secret?”
“Yeah. Nobody has to know. We meet. Talk. Get to know each other for real. Not as Ross and King. Just as… us.”
It was insane. Dangerous. Impossible.
“Okay.”
The word surprised me. But it was out.
Jasper smiled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. But rules. No telling anyone. No public meetings. No risking exposure.”
“Agreed.”
We shook on it. Formal. Ridiculous.
Then he pulled me close. Kissed me. Right there in Bryant Park. Where anyone could see.
And I didn’t care. Because this felt right. Even though it was so, so wrong.
We started meeting. Secret meetings. His apartment. My apartment. Neutral hotels.
We talked. About everything. Childhood. Families. Dreams. The pressure of living up to legacies. The weight of expectations.
He told me about his father. Cold. Demanding. Never satisfied.
I told him about my mother. Brilliant. Driven. Dead at forty-two.
We had more in common than I expected. Both trapped by family feuds. Both trying to honor dead parents. Both exhausted from the weight.
And the chemistry? Still explosive. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Every meeting ended in bed. Desperate. Consuming. Perfect.
But I hadn’t told him about the baby. Couldn’t bring myself to. Because this was fragile. Perfect precisely because it was temporary.
Once he knew about the pregnancy, everything changed. It became real. Permanent. Complicated.
So I kept the secret. Week nine. Week ten. My stomach was still flat. No visible signs. Just me and this secret. Growing every day.
JASPER
I was falling for her. Stupidly. Completely. Irreversibly.
Maren Ross was nothing like I expected. Smart. Funny. Vulnerable. She wasn’t the enemy. She was just a woman trying to survive impossible expectations. Like me.
We were the same. Trapped in the same stupid feud.
And I wanted out. Wanted HER.
But she was holding back. I could feel it. There was something she wasn’t telling me. A secret.
I saw it in her eyes when she thought I wasn’t looking. Guilt. Fear. Conflict.
“What is it?” I asked one night. We were at my apartment. Post-sex. Tangled together.
“What’s what?”
“The thing you’re not telling me.”
She tensed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Maren. I can see it. Something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Is it us? Are you regretting this?”
“No. God, no.”
“Then what?”
She was silent. Considering.
Then: “I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“That this ends. That we get caught. That I lose everything.”
I pulled her closer. “You won’t lose everything. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can promise that whatever happens, I’m not letting you go. Not again.”
She looked at me. Eyes shining. “You mean that?”
“Every word.”
She kissed me. Deep. Desperate.
And I felt it. The wall breaking. The secret getting closer to the surface.
Soon, she’d tell me. Whatever it was. And I’d handle it. Because I wasn’t losing her. Not for anything.
END OF CHAPTER 5
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