Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I'm lying on my couch, staring at the ceiling of my apartment.

Today, I turned eighteen. I also learned that I've become Tim Frost's heir. If something happens to him, I'll inherit his entire fortune. I don't know how much he has, but I've heard that it's substantial.

They also say that, in addition to his legitimate business, Tim influences certain criminal circles. I don't want his inheritance; I want Tim Frost himself. But he made it clear that nothing can happen between us. He said I must forget him.

I wish he had killed me.

I've been waiting for this day for twelve years, and now I'm an adult. I can control myself and do whatever I want. I thought that when this day came, I would be truly liberated. But the day has come, and liberation hasn't arrived. Suddenly, I find myself unable to do what I want. Right now, more than anything, I want to have a son with Tim Frost. Maybe then I wouldn't be so lonely. But I don't have Tim or his son.

I look at the photo, but Tim doesn't look like himself. He looks too serious and frowning. A vertical crease has formed between his eyebrows. I stroke it with my finger as if I could smooth it out.

Today, I realized very clearly that I am completely alone. Before, I thought I had Tim and he had me. I just needed to wait until I came of age to be with him. But Tim refused to let me into his life.

"You are too dear to me, Ava," he said the last time we saw each other. It was my graduation, and he brought his mistress. He brought her specifically to show that nothing connects us. So that I would forget him. "You have to stop obsessing over me, Ava," he said, holding my hand in the darkness of the utility room where I had hidden when I saw him with that girl.

But he didn't know that I heard him quietly add, "I love you."

He sees me as his illness and his obsession. He's afraid of me because I render him defenseless. I make my stony Tim Frost vulnerable, so I have to step aside. But it's hard for me to give him up because everyone needs someone. If I had a son, he would need and love me. Not like his father. Tim would do anything for me, except let me into his life. But his child could come into my life.

The last time Tim saw me, I was twelve. When I was sixteen and came to his office, he barely glanced at me. That means he won't recognize me now. When he came to my graduation when I was seventeen, I hid from him in the utility room, so he definitely couldn't see me. So I have a chance.

If Tim meets Ava, he'll only know her by her first name. The first thing I'll do is change my name. Tomorrow, I'll report my passport as lost and submit a statement requesting to take my mother's maiden name. My first name is Ava. Ava Gordon is too long, but Ava Kane is just right. I deliberately didn't apply for a job after high school so that I wouldn't have to change documents later on.

I have money now—what I saved up during my time in the orphanage and what Tim gave me. I'll enroll in the correspondence program and start studying, but for now, I need to find a job.

I could try working for Tim in the office, but I don't know if they need someone like me. I don't know how to do anything. I could at least go see him from a distance. First, though, I should go to the hairdresser and do some shopping to look good. I can't show up in front of Tim looking like a waif.

The best thing would be to cut my long, dark hair. Then, Tim definitely wouldn't recognize me. But, I doubt I'd dare. I know he likes girls with long hair, and I want him to like me.

Tim loves beautiful women. He told me himself. I look like my mother, who was very beautiful, so I can be beautiful too.

When I meet Tim Frost, he won't want to let me go.