登入NATALIE’S POVThe automatic doors slid open, and Ava was out of my reach before I could remind her not to run.“Slow down!” I called after her, laughing despite being nervous about the looks everyone gave. She stopped just a few feet away and turned around with an exaggerated sigh.“I’m walking.”“You were running,” I said, grabbing her hands. “I was speed walking.”I shook my head.“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”She grinned before skipping toward a display of colorful backpacks lined up against the wall.The store was busier than I expected, but considering schools were opening soon, I wasn’t too surprised. Parents wandered through the aisles with shopping baskets, children argued over lunchboxes and pencil cases, and every parent there looked stressed.“Mommy!” Ava waved me over. “Look!”She held up a bright purple backpack covered in tiny butterflies.“It’s pretty,” I said.“I love it.”I reached for the price tag.My shook for just a second.One hundred and twenty dollars.
LUCAS’ POVI had barely settled into my chair when I heard a knock on the door.“Come in.”Emily stepped inside carrying a stack of folders against her chest.“Good morning, Mr. King.”“Morning, Emily.”She placed the folders on my desk before pointing to the one at the top.“The revised partnership agreements came in this morning. Legal has already approved them, they just need your signature before they’re sent back.”I nodded and opened the first folder.“Did legal ever get back to me about the Westbridge proposal?”Emily looked at me for a second before smiling.“Natalie already handled that.”I looked up from the papers.“She did?”Emily nodded.“She followed up with them yesterday afternoon. They sent the revised documents first thing this morning.”“I don’t remember asking her to.”“You didn’t.”Her smile widened.“She noticed it had been sitting in your pending files for a couple of days and figured you’d want it completed before the weekend.”I glanced back down at the folder
NATALIE’S POVMia decided she was going to follow me to Carla’s house since she had to leave the office early.But by the time we got to Carla’s apartment, Ava looked perfectly fine.She was curled up beneath one of Carla’s knitted blankets, watching cartoons with a mug of warm tea sitting untouched on the coffee table. The second she spotted me, her entire face lit up.“Mommy!”She climbed off the couch before Carla could stop her and wrapped both arms around my waist.I laughed, brushing the curls away from her forehead.“I heard someone wasn’t feeling well.”She frowned dramatically.“I wasn’t.”I raised an eyebrow.“But I’m better now.”“So that’s it? Just like that?”She nodded proudly.“Carla made soup.”Carla appeared from the kitchen carrying a dish towel over her shoulder.“Don’t let her fool you,” she said with a laugh. “She only ate three spoons before jumping up and down again saying she was cured.”“I was!” Ava yelled.“You were not.”“I was.”I couldn’t help laughing as
LUCAS’ POVI read the same sentence four times.It still didn’t make sense.The contract sat open on my desk, waiting for my signature, but my eyes kept drifting to the glass wall separating my office from Natalie’s. She was typing away on her laptop, occasionally stopping to answer a phone call or jot something down in the notebook she carried everywhere.She’d settled into the job faster than I’d expected.Tom couldn’t stop praising her, Emily said she’d already organized half the mess I’d been ignoring for months. Even Ethan, who enjoyed finding something wrong with everyone, admitted she was doing well.None of it surprised me.The woman I’d met five years ago had been just as organized. She laughed at how chaotic my apartment looked after insisting on making breakfast before left.
NATALIE’S POVI was halfway through reviewing a contract when my phone vibrated.At first, I ignored it. The entire morning had been busy, and I was still trying to prove to myself that I deserved to be here. Between organizing Lucas’s schedule, responding to emails, and preparing documents for a conference call later in the afternoon, I barely had enough time to think about anything else.The phone vibrated again.I glanced at the screen and immediately felt my stomach tighten.Unknown Number.Ever since Jason reappeared, those two words had become enough to ruin my day.Slowly, I picked up the phone and unlocked it.For several seconds, I couldn’t understand what I was looking at.Then my blood ran cold.It was me and Ava.The picture had clearly been taken outside Carla’s apartment building the previous morning. I recognized me and Ava’s outfits immediately. I even remembered what she had been complaining about when we were walking toward the entrance.Someone had taken that photo
NATALIE’S POVThe document Lucas sent the night before had taken forever to finish. By the time I submitted the revised version, it was almost two in the morning.Then I spent another hour staring at the ceiling.Thinking about Jason and the money I didn't have.Thinking about why Lucas King had suddenly become interested in whether my daughter was feeling better. I wondered if he knew the truth and it made me worry.He couldn't have known. Except his mother told him which I doubt considering she did everything to get rid of me.The more I thought of him, the more confused I got.Thankfully, work gave me little time to think.The moment I stepped into King’s Corporation, Mia handed me a tablet and three sticky notes.“Good morning to you too.”
Chapter 3LUCAS’ POV I didn’t want to attend that meeting, but I was glad I did. Apparently, I had a new personal assistant. Not that I needed one, but mother insisted. But when she walked in and I got just a glimpse of her, my whole world stopped. It was a face I hadn’t seen in years, and neve
Chapter Two - NATALIE'S POV The phone nearly slipped from my hand.“What the fuck?” I muttered. Jason was a lot of things, but this was a whole new level of low. I typed. “Are you stalking me now?” Then I cleared it. I stared at the message, panicking and thinking of how to respond. So I did
Chapter One - Natalie Pov: My phone started ringing before I could take a single sip. I looked at it in pure disgust. It was an unknown number and I wasn’t in the mood to even guess who it was. I stared at the screen, debating whether to ignore it. The phone rang again. And again.With a sigh,
Prologue - Five Years EarlierI should have known something was wrong the moment Vanessa volunteered to help with the wedding.My stepsister had never volunteered for anything in her life, not unless there was something in it for her.Yet somehow, I ignored every warning sign.The late-night phone







