Episode 5

Ana hadn't stopped thinking about that name since she heard it: Lian Hunter.

There was something about it that turned her stomach, and it wasn't because of the pregnancy.

She didn't know if it was a hunch or simply her usual anxiety playing with her mind, but the feeling wouldn't leave her alone.

For days she made excuses not to attend the meeting with the CEO. But the dean insisted, and rejecting that opportunity could raise unnecessary suspicions. So she accepted, even though her body trembled at the thought.

Meanwhile, in her small apartment in Brooklyn, Ana was preparing a folder with the architectural proposal, juggling the weight of her belly that was already beginning to show. She had become an expert at hiding it with baggy clothes and strategic scarves. Only her doctors knew the truth. Not a single friend, not her family, and certainly not him.

Him…

Why couldn't she get him out of her mind?

The night she had wanted to forget was returning, slowly, to peek into her memory. A whisper here. An intense look there. A laugh… and then emptiness.

What if it's him?

The question hammered her temples.

What if Lian Hunter is the man from that night?

But it was absurd. What were the odds that he would be the CEO who would come to evaluate her proposal?

None. Or so she told herself to calm down.

---

Lian arrived in New York on a spring afternoon.

His chauffeur was waiting for him at the airport with the usual discretion.

During the ride to the hotel, he reviewed the university project portfolio for the third time. Something in that document had caught his attention. A detail in the proposal. A stroke in the plans that had something... familiar.

And that name.

Ana Camargo.

He didn't know why it resonated so strongly within him.

Since he had lost track of the woman from that night in Mexico, he had not been involved with anyone again. Not because he couldn't, but because nothing aroused genuine interest.

That woman had marked him more than he was willing to admit.

And now, his intuition was reigniting.

Something was about to happen. He felt it.

---

The day of the presentation arrived.

Ana stood in front of the mirror and carefully chose her outfit. She opted for a loose blouse and black pants that hid her condition well. She tied her hair in a low ponytail and applied only a little makeup. She wanted to look professional, confident… even though inside she was a knot of nerves.

Upon arriving at the campus, the dean was already waiting for her. He smiled kindly at her, unaware of the whirlwind Ana was carrying inside.

"Ready?" he asked.

Ana nodded, swallowing saliva.

The conference room was prepared for the meeting. Upon entering, her eyes scanned the place in search of that face that she had begun to reconstruct in her mind.

And then she saw him.

The world stopped.

Lian Hunter was standing, reviewing some documents, wearing an impeccable dark suit and a serious expression. His bearing was imposing, confident, calculated.

But Ana didn't need more than a second to recognize him.

It was him.

The man from that night.

The father of her children.

Her breath caught, the air became dense, her hands were sweating.

Lian looked up… and their eyes met.

---

Lian didn't know why his heart suddenly accelerated so much.

Nor why he looked at her so intensely.

But when he saw Ana… something inside him was activated.

A memory.

A sensation.