LOGIN"You were just a tool, Imogene." Her heart stopped. "And I was foolish enough to believe you cared." *** Imogene Scott had always known her place—by Damien Shaw’s side, even when his love was a distant dream. Marrying her only because of an unexpected pregnancy, Damien’s affection never blossomed. Instead, her devotion turned him from a mere sales manager into the billionaire CEO of IMU, one of Europe’s most powerful tech empires. But her sacrifices weren’t enough. After losing their baby, Damien’s coldness deepened, sealing their marriage with an unspoken “no meddling” rule. Imogene’s reward? Watching Damien parade countless mistresses, all while she buried her own dreams to fuel his. She believed, naively, that one day he’d see her worth. But when he fell in love with her stepsister and served her with divorce papers, Imogene’s world shattered. Realizing she was nothing more than a pawn in Damien’s game, she vanished—pregnant and determined to protect her unborn child. Three years later, Imogene returns, not as the broken woman who fled but as a renowned artist and mother to their two-year-old daughter. Now, Damien realizes what he’s lost and wants her back. But this time, Imogene is ready to fight, and she’s not making the same mistake twice.
View MoreImogene ScottLater that nightThe house is quiet—well, mostly.We’re all curled up in the living room watching tv. Theo’s nestled between Damien and me, legs sprawled over both our laps like a lazy prince. Isla’s curled up in the oversized armchair with her favorite blanket—pink, sparkly, and ragged from love. And Lily, of course, is sitting with her arms crossed and her nose turned up like she’s way too grown for movie night, but she hasn’t moved from her spot next to me since the opening credits started.Some animated movie plays—something with talking animals and way too many fart jokes. I’m not really watching. My eyes keep drifting to each of them. Their faces lit up, mouths moving, popcorn fingers reaching across laps. This. This is peace.Theo suddenly turns his little head up toward me. “Mommy, do you think fish ever get sad they can’t blink?”I blink. Damien chokes on his water.“What?” I say, trying not to laugh.“I mean,” Theo continues seriously, “if I couldn’t blink,
Imogene Scott Six years later“Lily! If I see one more of your dirty plates in the sink, I swear, I’m gonna make you eat dinner off the floor like a raccoon!”I’m holding a half-peeled carrot, my apron is splattered with sauce, and I’ve got Theo hanging off my hip like a monkey while Isla screams in the background because apparently, he took the pink marker.“I didn’t do anything!” Theo yells, squirming as I plop him down. “She hit me first!”“You pulled my hair!” Isla shrieks.“Guys!” I rub my temples, “For the love of all things holy, stop acting like you were raised by goats. Please.”“Mom,” Lily calls from the couch with the sass of a ten-year-old who thinks she’s thirty. “I was gonna rinse the plate, but Theo distracted me.”“By breathing?” I deadpan.She shrugs. “He exists too loud.”“Theo!” Isla whines again, chasing after him with a Barbie in hand like she’s about to bash him with it. “Give it back!”“Not until you say I’m the best brother ever!”“You’re the worst brother
Imogene ScottI feel it before I see it.A soft twitch. The slightest movement beneath my cheek.I jolt upright, eyes snapping open. My neck aches from sleeping in the chair, and my hand is still wrapped around his. Damien’s fingers are curling slowly around mine.My heart starts pounding.“Damien?” My voice is barely a whisper.His eyelids flutter. Then those dark eyes, still a little glassy, still groggy, finally find mine.A lazy, familiar smile curls at the corner of his mouth. “Told you I’d carry your burden,” he rasps.I break.I don’t even try to hold it in. Tears fall freely down my cheeks, and I laugh and cry all at once as I clutch his hand tighter and lean forward to press my forehead against his.“Don’t ever do that again,” I sob. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmurs. His voice is hoarse, but his thumb brushes my hand gently. “You think I’d miss meeting our babies?”I shake my head, still crying. “I was so scared.”“I know,”
Imogene ScottThey wheel Damien away before I can even kiss his forehead.“Wait, please, wait…” My voice is too broken, too small. The doors swing shut in my face, and he disappears behind sterile white.I’m frozen for a second, like I can’t figure out what to do with my limbs. My hands shake as I stare down at them. There’s blood on my palms, his blood. It’s drying at the edges, thick and coppery in the center. My fingertips tremble as I lower them to my lap, blinking past the sting in my eyes.I bury my face in my hands and let the sob escape my throat.I don’t even care who hears me.I pace. Back and forth across the white tiles of the emergency waiting room, under the humming fluorescent lights that make everything look like it’s happening in some kind of nightmare. My chest is tight. Every breath is a battle. I still feel the weight of his body falling against me. The way he grunted when the bullet hit him. The way he looked at me—like I was his whole world.He didn’t even thi






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