“Please…” Vera whispered, her voice shaking, her hand gently cupping the side of his face. “Stay with me. Asher…”Another noise.Movement.Eira.That single thought snapped her back to reality.Her baby was still in danger.But Asher…Vera froze, torn in two. One hand still on Asher, the other gripping the floor to push herself up.“Mommy!”Eira’s voice came again, smaller, scared, but still calling.And Vera had never felt more helpless in her life.Tears welled in her eyes as she hovered over Asher’s unconscious body, paralyzed by the impossible decision, save the man bleeding at her feet… or the daughter screaming for help just a room away.“Asher, I’m sorry,” Vera whispered, brushing trembling fingers through his blood matted hair. “I’m so sorry.”But she couldn’t stay.She wouldn’t lose both of them tonight.With a deep, shaky breath, Vera pushed herself up. Her legs felt like jelly, her heart pounding so hard it rattled her ribs.She forced herself forward, each step dragging he
Asher leaned back, watching the two of them with soft eyes. “So… I was thinking.”“Uh oh,” Vera teased, setting her fork down. “That tone usually means something big.”“I want us to leave the city for a few days,” he said, glancing at Vera, then Eira. “Somewhere calm. Private. Just the three of us.”Eira lit up immediately. “Like a vacation?! Can we swim?”Asher nodded. “Definitely swimming.”Vera narrowed her eyes. “You’re dodging chaos at work again, aren’t you?”He didn’t deny it. “Maybe. But I also want our daughter to see the world with her parents. As husband and wife.”She softened, her smile curving despite herself. “You’re serious?”“I already called the private hangar,” he admitted, sheepish but charming. “We can leave tomorrow night. I’ve got the perfect place. Quiet. Safe. Guarded.”Vera gave him a long, slow look. “Do your board members know their CEO is planning a honeymoon while the company’s in a media firestorm?”“They’ll survive,” Asher said, brushing her hand gently
Vera looked from her daughter’s trusting face to Asher, still kneeling before her.“You both drive me crazy,” she murmured, laughing softly through her tears.Asher smiled up at her, waiting.And with a watery breath, Vera finally whispered...“Yes.”The second the word left her lips, Eira gasped. “Did Mommy say yes?”Asher surged up and pulled Vera into his arms, the ring forgotten for a moment as relief poured through him.“Yes, baby,” he murmured into her hair. “She said yes.”Eira squealed and clapped, completely unaware she had just made the moment even more perfect.The ring sparkled delicately on Vera’s finger, glinting under the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows.She couldn’t stop staring at it. Not because it was expensive, though she could tell it probably cost a small fortune, but because it was hers. Thoughtfully chosen.Now, they sat side by side at the long marble kitchen counter, a thick cream colored envelope lying between them. It had been hand delivere
Asher took her tiny hand in his.“You’re our daughter,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to us. And anyone who can’t see that doesn’t deserve to be near you.”Eira sniffled and nodded slowly.“Okay.”Asher held her tighter. Vera leaned in too, and for a moment, all three of them were wrapped in a fragile bubble of warmth and pain and quiet strength.But Vera’s eyes lifted to meet Asher’s over Eira’s shoulder, and what he saw there made his heart sink. She was still scared, still thinking.Still preparing.Whatever Evelyn Donovan had set in motion… Vera was bracing for it.And so was he.Asher pressed a final kiss to Eira’s forehead, then carefully lifted her back into Vera’s arms. “I’ll go get her bunny from the couch,” he murmured, ruffling the child’s curls before standing and stepping away.Vera sat in silence, her daughter nestled against her chest, the faint scent of strawberry shampoo clinging to the little girl’s curls. Eira’s breathi
The Donovan estate was silent.Outside, the moon hung heavy and pale above the manicured gardens, but inside, Evelyn Donovan sat perfectly still in the velvet armchair of her drawing room.The lights were low, the fire long extinguished, but her rage burned hotter than any flame.Her phone, placed neatly on the glass coffee table, was still glowing from the call that had just ended.Asher had dared.Dared to raise his voice.Dared to threaten her, his own mother.And all for that girl and her bastard.She pressed her fingers together in her lap, knuckles whitening. Her jaw clenched so tight, her temple throbbed.She had tolerated Vera Sterling’s existence for far too long. She’d warned Asher again and again. Ignored his reckless defiance, hoping it was temporary. But now?Now he was ready to destroy everything she’d built for the sake of some countryside stray and the child she birthed in shame.No. Not on her watch.She reached for her phone with practiced calm, swiped to her private
Asher’s entire body locked.His mouth parted, but nothing came out. No denial. No excuse.Just a stunned kind of horror.Vera’s voice broke, finally laced with emotion. “She said she'd expose secrets. Secrets that could destroy you. She said it to my face. In your home.”Asher ran a hand through his hair, stepping back as if the words physically hit him.“She said that… to Eira?”“No,” Vera said tightly. “But Eira heard. She heard enough. She asked me what it meant.”His throat constricted. “Oh, God…”“I spent the night holding our daughter, explaining to her why she wasn't bad. Why she wasn’t some shameful mistake just because her parents weren’t married.”Vera’s eyes were glassy now, but she didn’t let the tears fall.“I did your job tonight, Asher. I protected her. From your own mother.”Asher looked away, shame burning like acid under his skin. He wanted to scream. To punch a wall. But none of it would matter. None of it would undo the damage.“I didn’t know she would come here. I