When I woke again, it was because Lily stirred. The cabin lights were on.
I blinked, orienting myself. My head was still resting on the stranger’s shoulder. But what made me freeze wasn’t that.
It was the blanket around me.
And Lily—peacefully asleep in the man’s arms as he gently rocked her.
I sat up in panic. “I—I’m so sorry—why are you—”
Before I could finish, a flight attendant rushed over. “Ma’am, good, you’re awake. We tried not to disturb you—he told us you hadn’t slept in days.”
I stared at him in confusion.
The flight attendant added, almost breathless, “Do you know who you’ve been sitting with?”
I shook my head.
“That’s Ethan Ward. CEO of WardTech.”
My pulse stuttered. WardTech—one of the largest tech companies in the country.
But the real shock came when Ethan calmly handed Lily back to me and said:
“We need to talk. Something happened while you were asleep.”
His expression was serious. Almost urgent.
My stomach tightened.
“What… happened?”
Ethan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he waited until the passengers had filed out and the plane cabin grew quiet. Flight attendants lingered nearby, glancing at him with a mixture of awe and caution. Clearly, they knew him well.
“Let’s step aside,” he murmured.
Nervous, I clutched Lily and followed him a few rows down. Ethan turned toward me, the professional mask fading, replaced by something far more human.
“While you were asleep,” he began, “someone created a scene.”
My blood chilled. “What do you mean?”
“A woman from row 27 started filming you. She claimed you were ‘irresponsible,’ that you were endangering your baby, that it was ‘disgusting’ to fall asleep on a stranger.”
My throat tightened. Shame and panic collided inside my chest. “I—I didn’t mean to— I was just
He lifted a hand gently. “You did nothing wrong. She was harassing you. Loudly.”
I swallowed hard. “Why would she—”
“She recognized me,” he said flatly. “And decided to twist the situation. She told everyone she was going to ‘expose the poor single mom clinging to a billionaire for favors.’”
My heart dropped. “What?! I didn’t even know who you were!”
He nodded. “I know. But she didn’t care.”
I hugged Lily tighter, stomach sinking. Social media could destroy someone in hours. One video, one misleading caption, and I’d be torn apart by strangers. Fired from my job. Judged forever.
“I tried to de-escalate,” Ethan continued, “but she kept shouting. So the flight attendants removed her phone.”
My voice trembled. “Did she post anything?”
“No. I made sure of it.”
Something in his tone made me blink. “What does that mean?”
He pulled out a business card and handed it to me.
Ethan Ward — CEO, WardTech Corporation
“I run more than a tech company. I have media connections. I asked the airline to hold her, pull the footage, and issue a statement if necessary.”
My knees felt weak. “You… protected me?”
