Chapter 1

My son was twenty-seven days old when I started packing for the two of us.

The maid saw the open suitcase. “Are you and the Don taking your son on a trip?”

I shook my head. “Just me and my son.”

She glanced awkwardly over my shoulder.

Gabriel stood behind me in Joseph's nursery with my dinner tray. I hadn't heard him come in. There was a slight frown on his face.

He set the tray on the side table, then leaned over the crib to check that Joseph was still asleep.

“Where are you going? I'll come with you. My men can handle things here for a few days.”

I slipped Joseph's birth certificate into a folder.

“You don't need to. I start work in Zurich in five days. Joseph's coming with me.”

He paused, then smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“Still upset about what happened?”

“I'm talking about a job.”

“I know. Your old colleagues have been in touch.” He glanced at the suitcase and took my hand. “Once you've recovered, I'll arrange something if you want to go back to work. Why take the baby so far away?”

“I've already accepted the offer.” I calmly pulled my hand free.

“I know you’re still upset with me.” His voice stayed gentle. “Once the dinner’s over in three days, I’ll make time for you and Joseph.”

He took an invitation from his jacket pocket.

The date was three days away. Both our names were at the bottom.

“This is our first family dinner since Joseph was born. It'll be good for you to get out of this room for a change.”

He set the invitation beside me and kissed my forehead.

“Nora, you're the one I married. You're the one I'm spending my life with. What happened that day won't happen again.”

I knew he meant it.

For nearly a month, he'd handled the night feeds without waking me. He checked Joseph's bathwater with a thermometer. Even the old butler said he'd never seen Gabriel take such good care of anyone.

But he'd been just as careful cleaning Aaron's scraped knee while I lay on the tiles for forty minutes.

I put the invitation back on the table, took off my wedding ring, and set it on top.

“My lawyer is drawing up the divorce papers. If there's anything you want to discuss, you can speak to her.”

Gabriel stared at the ring. His smile slowly faded.

It took him a moment to speak. When he did, his voice was under control.

“Have you been sleeping badly again? We can talk about what's wrong. But don't threaten me with divorce because you're upset.”

“I'm not threatening you.” I held his gaze. “I mean it.”

“Nora.”

He straightened and rested a fingertip on my wedding ring.

“I can make it up to you. I can give you time to calm down. But I don't want to hear the word divorce again.”

The maid lowered her head and quietly slipped out.

No one in this house ever doubted that Gabriel meant what he said.

Yet he refused to believe I meant a word.

His phone rang.

Celeste was crying. Aaron had fallen on the stairs again. Could Gabriel come over?

He immediately asked if the boy had hit his head. He told her not to move him and said he'd bring a doctor.

After hanging up, he picked up his jacket, then stopped and glanced at the crib.

“I want Celeste and Aaron to move in. There are rooms ready in the east wing. With the doctors here, it'll be easier to look after him.”

“So you've already decided. You're just letting me know?”

He tugged at his collar, his patience wearing thin.

“My brother died saving my life. Before he died, I promised I'd take care of his wife and son.”

“Is that why Aaron came first when my watch told you I'd fallen?”

His face changed. After a pause, he said, “I thought you'd just bumped yourself. I was going to finish cleaning his knee and come straight back.”

“And you’re a doctor, Nora. I thought you’d know what to do.”

He didn't try to say forty minutes was nothing.

But I hadn't needed him to replace every bathroom tile on the estate afterward. I'd needed someone to open the door that day.

Joseph began to cry, as if he could feel the tension between us.

Gabriel went straight to the crib and picked him up. He rubbed his back with practiced ease, then handed him to me once he'd settled.

“We’ll talk when I get back.”

After the door closed, I opened my job offer from University Hospital Zurich.

For years, I’d put Gabriel first. I’d left the work I loved to help him build the life he wanted, telling myself there would be time for me later.

I wasn’t giving him any more years.

I replied to confirm I’d be joining their neurosurgery team.

In three days, I’d be leaving with Joseph.