LOGINNATALIE’S POV
I woke up before my alarm.
For a moment I laid there wondering what brought me out of my sleep so early. And then Jason came to mind.
I immediately sat up and checked the time.
Six-thirty. I wasn’t going to start worrying so early.
I quietly got out of bed and walked to Ava’s room.
She was still sleeping wrapped around her stuffed bunny
NATALIE’S POVI woke up before my alarm.For a moment I laid there wondering what brought me out of my sleep so early. And then Jason came to mind.I immediately sat up and checked the time.Six-thirty. I wasn’t going to start worrying so early.I quietly got out of bed and walked to Ava’s room.She was still sleeping wrapped around her stuffed bunny like she was protecting it from the world.The doctor had been right. Whatever she’d taken was out of her system now.I stood there for another moment before heading back to the kitchen.I picked up my phone from the counter and went through my messages. There was a missed call from Jason, but no texts. No threats or new demands. And a single missed call should have made me feel less scared.It didn’t
NATALIE’S POVThe blood drained from my face.“How do you know where I work?” I asked.Jason laughed softly. It made my stomach turn, and he didn’t even have an intimidating voice on a regular day.“Does it matter?” He replied.“Yes, it matters.”“What matters is that I’m asking you nicely with all the information I know.”“I’m trying to make this easier for you,” he continued.I stared at the floor.Nothing about this felt easy, nothing about it even made sense.“You threatened my daughter.”“I warned you.”“You call that a warning?”Jason sighed.“I’ll be in touch Natalie.Before I could respond, the call disconnected.I lowered the phone slowly.For a few seconds, I simply stood there staring at the screen.“Natalie?” Mia called for the second time.I shook my head.“I need to get Ava.”“What happened?”“I’ll explain later.”“Natalie.”“I mean it, Mia. I need to get my daughter.”She stepped around the desk.“Did he threaten you again?”“I don’t know what he’s doing anymore.”I rub
NATALIE’S POVI was helping Ava finish a cup of apple juice when my phone started ringing.Mia.I answered immediately.“Hey.”“Before you get angry, let me explain.”My stomach immediately tightened.“What happened?”“Lucas wants you back at work.”I stared at the wall.For a second, I genuinely thought she was joking.“What?”“He said you already had enough time to deal with the emergency.”I looked over at Ava. The sight alone made me want to hang up.“Mia, she was literally admitted to the hospital.”“I know.”“He can’t be serious.”“He is.”I closed my eyes.Of course he was. What had I expected? His two seconds of kindness meant literally nothing. A billionaire CEO wasn’t going to stop his entire schedule because his assistant’s child got sick.The King family never worked that way.I learned that lesson five years ago.“Then tell him I’m not coming.”“Natalie.”“No.”“Listen to me first.”I sighed heavily.“What?”“I found someone who can watch Ava.”I frowned, already unwillin
LUCAS’ POVI stared at my phone long after the call ended.The conversation had lasted less than a minute, yet it was enough to leave me distracted all over again.“Well?” Ethan asked from across the office.I looked up.“Her daughter is okay.”Ethan leaned back in his chair.“Good.”Neither of us spoke for a moment.I turned my attention toward the floor-to-ceiling windows behind my desk. Normally I found the view calming, but today it did nothing for me.“Remind me why you called her.”I glanced over my shoulder.Ethan was watching me with an expression that already annoyed me.“Because her daughter was in the hospital.”He laughed. “Oh really? And that’s it?”I turned back toward the window.“I was concerned.”“You were concerned about your employee’s child after knowing she existed for approximately three hours.”“I don’t know why you’re making this sound abnormal.”“Because it isn’t normal.”I sighed and walked back toward my desk.“Can we talk about something else?”“Not until y
NATALIE’S POVBy the time I reached the emergency room, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely sign my name.“What happened to her?” My voice was shaky and I was already out of breath from running up the stairs. “She said she was having a bad tummy ache so I gave her a pill and—”My eyes widened. “What pill did you give her?” “Why didn’t you call me first? Were you trying to kill my daughter?” I didn’t give her a minute to speak. I didn’t want to hear her out, I just wanted my daughter. “No no, I'm sorry. I was just trying to help.” “You could’ve called me first!” Two nurses rushed over to us. One immediately wrapped her arms around me trying to calm me down. The other led the teacher out. She looked like she was about to cry and I hated myself for yelling but I had every right to. “Oh my God.” “It’s okay Miss Hart.” “No it’s not, where is my daughter? I need to see her.”“You will soon, you just need to relax.” I sat down and placed both hands on my chest, just tryin
Chapter 3LUCAS’ POV I didn’t want to attend that meeting, but I was glad I did. Apparently, I had a new personal assistant. Not that I needed one, but mother insisted. But when she walked in and I got just a glimpse of her, my whole world stopped. It was a face I hadn’t seen in years, and never imagined I’d ever see. I didn’t even know her name. All I knew was, I fell in love with her five years ago at a random club and never got the opportunity to see her again. She completely disappeared. “Mr King?” I heard Tom call out for at least the third time.I quickly turned to him. Only then did I realize I was staring, hard. “You had something to say?” “Uhhh,” I looked around the table trying to remember. I was completely thrown off by her that I lost track of what I was doing. “Remind me what this meeting was about again?” I asked. “It’s about the new product we’re advertising. You had something to say about it.” I still couldn’t concentrate. “Why don’t we leave that to the ad
Chapter Two - NATALIE'S POV The phone nearly slipped from my hand.“What the fuck?” I muttered. Jason was a lot of things, but this was a whole new level of low. I typed. “Are you stalking me now?” Then I cleared it. I stared at the message, panicking and thinking of how to respond. So I did
Chapter One - Natalie Pov: My phone started ringing before I could take a single sip. I looked at it in pure disgust. It was an unknown number and I wasn’t in the mood to even guess who it was. I stared at the screen, debating whether to ignore it. The phone rang again. And again.With a sigh,
Prologue - Five Years EarlierI should have known something was wrong the moment Vanessa volunteered to help with the wedding.My stepsister had never volunteered for anything in her life, not unless there was something in it for her.Yet somehow, I ignored every warning sign.The late-night phone







