LOGINXavier stood in the hallway outside the suite, both hands wrapped around the children’s smaller ones. Natasha stepped ahead of them, reaching for the door handle.Just as she pushed it open, his phone rang.Xavier released one of the children, pulling his phone from his pocket and glancing at the screen with a quiet sigh.It was his father, Ronan. The call was about an urgent board meeting that had supposedly already started. Xavier turned back without entering the suite and spoke gently to the children.“I’m sorry, kids. Something important came up at work. I won’t be able to come in with you today.”The happy smiles on Adrian and Agatha’s faces faded instantly. Their shoulders dropped, and they looked at him with wide, disappointed eyes. Xavier felt a sharp tug in his chest. He crouched down to their level and offered a reassuring smile.“I promise I’ll come visit another time, okay?”Adrian nodded slowly, still looking sad. Agatha gave a small wave. “Okay… bye, birdie man.”Xavier
THIRD PERSON POVZane groaned and leaned forward in the leather booth, rubbing his face with both hands. “We have to act fast. He dares not send those divorce papers through.”Kade let out a low laugh, shaking his head. “You know how your brother can be. He has taken this whole thing personally because of that Veronica girl.”Zane gritted his teeth, jaw tight. “I need to do something about that lady. Xavier must not find out she already has children for him.”He turned to Camila, his brows furrowed deeply. “It’s all your fault. If you had listened to me, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”Camila frowned, her perfectly shaped eyebrows pulling together. “What do you mean by ‘if I didn’t listen to you’?”“I told you to drop the damn modeling career and go back to Xavier,” Zane said, his voice low and sharp. “If you had been with him all these years, we would have had the property signed over a long time ago. But no. You insisted on finishing your modeling thing first before I could
VERONICA POVBack at the hotel, I was in daze as I stumbled into the suite. My legs felt heavy, my mind even heavier. I was relieved when I saw that Natasha and the kids weren’t here. Meaning, Natasha must have taken the kids to the Grand City Park like we planned. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already three hours past noon. They should be walking through that door any minute now.I dropped my bag on the couch and kicked off my shoes. I needed to think. I needed a plan. How was I supposed to untangle myself from this mess without everything exploding?“How did this even happen?” I whispered to the empty room, rubbing my temples.How did the stranger from five years ago turn out to be Xavier Cross? What kind of cruel coincidence was this? And what in the world was I supposed to do now? He had flat-out refused to let me out of the contract. Leaving the city and heading straight back to Atlanta crossed my mind. But that was pointless. I had already submitted every detail
XAVIER POV Last night, as soon as I stepped into the meeting hall to greet the old business acquaintances Kade had told me were waiting, people closed in around me. My former investor partners had all shifted into trading now, and they were trying to persuade me to merge my company with their operations since I had more than enough capital to make it happen. Even though the conversation with them, along with the board members and brand owners present, was genuinely productive, my eyes kept drifting back toward the door. Then I saw her. Veronica slipped into the crowd with Jason trailing right behind her. Panic surged through me like ice water. I cut every conversation short and pushed my way through the bodies until I reached the corridor. By the time I burst out the exit, she was already gone. I took the private elevator straight down to the ground floor, slid into my car, and told Luca, my driver, to follow the taxi she had hailed. I knew that boy Jason had angered my Veronica,
VERONICA POVThe sound of my name echoed through the hall like a gunshot.“What?” My eyes went wide, panic flooding every inch of me.Heads turned. Whispers started immediately. The woman who’d confidently declared earlier that her proposal would win the investment shot me a look so venomous I felt it like a slap.“Who’s Veronica Harper?” someone muttered behind me.“The small bakery owner from Atlanta,” another voice replied, laced with disbelief and a hint of envy.Xavier’s lips curved into a slow, satisfied smile.“Congratulations, Ms. Harper,” he said. “Please join me on the podium and introduce yourself to everyone.”Every eye in the room locked on me. I could feel the jealousy radiating off them. But hey guys, I never wanted any of this.I forced my legs to move toward the stage. Each step felt heavier than the last. Out of the corner of my eye, the side door opened. Jason walked in.My knees nearly buckled. Why? Why was the universe piling every nightmare on top of me in a sing
VERONICA POVI had planned to leave Los Angeles the next morning. Being shortlisted for Vanguard Mall felt like some kind of cosmic mistake. I was twenty-eight, running a small but steady bakery in Atlanta. I could expand on my own terms, in my own time. I didn’t belong in rooms full of polished entrepreneurs and million-dollar leases.“I’m changing our flight,” I told Natasha while she filled the tub for the kids’ bath. “This whole thing is useless. They shortlisted me by accident.”Her face fell. She set the pitcher down. “Veronica, this is my first time in Los Angeles. Please let me have one more day with the kids. I could take them to Central Park tomorrow at noon. They’d love it.”“But Natasha—”“Please. Just one more day. I know you’re missing your lovey dovey Zane already, lover girl.”I rolled my eyes, cheeks warming. “No…no I’m not… Fine. Just one more day.”She squealed and threw her arms around me. “You’re the sweetest! The kids are going to be so excited when I tell them.”
VERONICA POV“Drive,” the stranger orders the driver.The car glides smoothly away from the curb. I twist in the seat, pressing my palm to the tinted glass. Outside, Jason is shrinking in the distance, face flushed with confusion, hands shoved deep in his pockets as the space between us widens.I
JASON POVNo… this has to be some kind of mistake. He can’t be my adoptive father. No.I know I wouldn’t recognize him on sight. Most definitely not. He isn’t. He can’t be.A frustrated groan leaves my throat as I drag a hand down my face, palm pressing hard against my forehead like I could push th
VERONICA POV“Zane! What are you doing?” My voice came out louder than I meant, sharp with panic as I tried to twist free.He didn’t answer right away. Just held my gaze, steady and unblinking.“What does it look like I’m doing, kitten?”I rolled my eyes, mostly to hide how fast my pulse was racing
VERONICA POV Five years had passed since I walked out of my father’s house with nothing but a small suitcase and five thousand dollars in cash. It hadn’t been easy. Not even close. But I’d survived. More than that—I’d built something real. With the little money I had, I started small. I opened







