THE MAN I ONCE LOVED

Sonia’s POV

"You have ten seconds to get out of my way, Ethan."

 My heart was hammering so fiercely, I feared it would break my ribs as I tightened my small son's fingers. Ignorant of the tempest building between me and the man obstructing our progress, Lucas yawned slowly and clutched my fingers.  

 Once **broken beyond repair**Ethan Adamson—the guy who had stood before me—dressed in a neat charcoal suit that gave him every bit the merciless millionaire he had evolved. His **piercing blue eyes**, which caused my knees to weaken, now **burned with something dark, unreadable**.  

 And I detested my body still responding to him.  

 Ethan's eyes flicked to Lucas, and his face changed to **sharp, lethal** like a creature detecting blood.  

 "Who is he, Sonia?" asked * His voice was quiet, menacing.  

 Though I pushed myself to remain cool, a shudder raced down my spine. "None of your nasty business."  

 His mouth closed and muscles quitched. You are mistaken in that regard. This is most definitely my business.  

 I gasped in a sucking motion. The air between us **crackled like a live wire.** He stepped in front of me near enough to detect the smallest hint of his cologne—**dark spice and regret.**  

 I battled memories trying to smother me. The evenings I spent **begging for his love**; the night he tossed **divorce papers in my face**  

 I wouldn't break. Not once again.  

 "Move," I ordered with a steel-like voice.  

 Lucas never lost sight of his gaze.  

 "What's his age?"  

 My stomach turned over. He was aware already. Perhaps he calculated the figures correctly. Perhaps he saw too much of himself in the set of his jaw that matched Ethan's own, in my son's **striking blue eyes. ** _  

 I said, "Walk away, Ethan," softly. "Anyway you're thinking, whatever you're planning—don't."  

 His eyes turned back to me. "You separated my son from Sonia. You honestly think I would let you leave this time?"  

 My heart came to a standstill.  

 Once more yawning, Lucas rubbed his drowsy eyes. **Son of five years old. Our lad.**  

 Ethan Adamson also recently found the one thing capable of **destroying everything**.  

 I knew I was in trouble the instant he said, *my son*.  

 A deep, terrible terror twisted in my gut as Ethan's eyes fixed cold, mercilessly on me. He was not staring simply at me. **She was hunting.

 "You have no rights," Though I spoke sharply, he cut me off.  

 " I have every darn right." He progressed forward. I turned away. "Five years Sonia,? You never told me after having my child for five years.  

 Lucas moved next to me, pulling at my coat. "Mommy, which is he?"  

 Ethan let out a strong breath. **Like the words literally hurt him** I saw it—the flutter of something fragile before the fury beneath consumed everything.  

 Ethan spoke gently, eyes focused on mine, challenging me to question him. "I'm someone your mother has been lying about," he said.  

 I reached out defensively for Lucas. "We're leaving."  

 Ethan's hand sprang out, clutching my wrist before I could turn away.  

 Sparks started where he touched me. A reminder of the **fire that once blazed between us**, one I would have swore I would never let to devour me once more.  

 "You are not going anywhere." His voice sounded like a deep growl.

 I pulled my hand away, chest rising and falling with hardly controlled anger. "What, Ethan, are you looking for? An apology? Mistake? Better still. I should have shared it with you. I ought to have let you be a father. You know, though, what I ought not have done? I shouldn't have loved a man unable to love me back."  

 There was flickering in his face. Reiteration? agony I found hard to believe.

 "You don't get to play the victim here, Sonia," he bit. You walked away.  

 I grumbled angrily. "You tossed me aside. The second she returned, and to you I was nothing."  

 His eyes became black. "You consider me not regretting that?"  

 Between us hung silence. ** Heavy. choked.**  

 I shook my head and pushed my voice to stay constant. "Lucas is my darling, Ethan. For always, he has been mine.  

 A gentle smile curled his lips. "Never anymore."  

 My stomach turned over. "What the devil does that mean?"  

 "I want custody," he replied, voice silk and steel, "it means."  

 I froze.  

 Ethan moved closer, voice tinged with murderous purpose. **"And if you don’s Sonia... I will take him." I want to.

 A freeze shot passed through me.  

 The man who broke my heart was **now arriving for my soul**.  

 And this time I might not get away completely.  

 Panic shot through my blood vessels. You wouldn't dare.  

 Ethan grinned—slow, harsh, triumphant. **Try me**.  

 I sensed that glance. Ethan Adamson never bluffed; **the same expression he had when closing transactions worth billions**. He never threatened anything at all. I was then in the thick of a deal I cannot afford to lose.  

 I said softly, "You're a monster."  

 His face softened—for a moment, exactly one second. But that vanished in a flash.  

 "No, sweetheart," he said, voice dark, **possessive**. I'm a man who doesn't lose what's mine."  

 I wanted to scream, grab at him, make him hurt the way he had done to me. But the drowsy weight of my baby rooted me in reality.  

 I found it impossible to oppose him.  

 Unlike this.  

 Not without a strategy.  

 Ethan straightened his tie, thinking of **calculated arrogance. ** " Tomorrow at eight a.m., I will meet you at my office. Be not late."  

 I shot him a nasty look. Regarding what?  

 His smile became deeper. **To go over the conditions of our agreement**  

 He turned and left me standing there, pulse pounding, stomach twisted in terror.  

 Ethan Adamson was not just in my life once more.  

 He came here to destroy it.  

 The worst of all is also  

 I might let him go.

"Do you know what Sonia's problem is?" Ethan's voice was low, silky, yet it had a harsh edge that caused my breath to stop.

 Trying to ignore the way my body still reacted to him, I crossed my arms. "Enlighten me, Ethan."

 His eyes leisurely and deliberately slid over me. "You believe you can just turn away from me. From this."

 I laughed dismissively. "There is no such thing as "this." Not five years have gone by.

 Though it didn't reach his eyes, a smile curved his lips. "You are mistaken there, darling. Since I still own you.

 My chest started to hurt from rage. "You, Ethan, have nothing. Not me, sure as hell not Lucas."

 His grin disappeared. "We’ll see about that."

 I ought to have turned away. I ought to have spun around and left his office. But I failed as well. Not after he had recently endangered our son, the one thing I would die to defend.

 The conflict dense and lethal buzzed between us. I tried to slow my rushing heart by clenching my hands. Say what you want and be done with it.

 Ethan leaned on his desk, appearing too damn strong, too damn powerful. "Simple is

all. I am looking for my son. And I don't lose either."