Chapter 1

Nicole Point Of View 

"Your son's condition is getting worse every day. If he doesn't get a bone marrow transplant soon, I'm afraid he may not live past the age of ten," Doctor Thomas said quietly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat before asking, "Isn't there any other way to help him besides that?"

Doctor Thomas slowly shook his head. "You already know how this works, Mel. You understand there's nothing else we can do. If there were another option, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

His words hit me harder than I expected. I leaned back in the chair and covered my face with both hands, trying to hold myself together. It felt like my whole world was falling apart all over again. Just when I thought life was finally beginning to get better, everything started crashing down.

My son, Jayden, had been diagnosed with a rare medical condition that required a bone marrow transplant to save his life. We had tested everyone we could think of, hoping someone would be a match but none of them matched including me. 

The chances of finding a suitable donor were becoming smaller with every passing day, while Jayden's condition continued to get worse.

"Bring in a sibling or his father," Doctor Thomas said. "There's a good chance one of them could be a match."

A sibling would have been the easier option if Jayden had one. But the idea of bringing his father here was almost laughable. His father wanted nothing to do with us. As far as he knew, Jayden didn't even exist, and I intended to keep it that way.

I would never let Jayden meet David, the thought alone made my stomach turn. How could I possibly bring my son to a man who had thrown away three years of my life as though they meant nothing? 

Three years of loving him, standing by him, and trying to be the wife he never wanted, only for him to throw it all back in my face and marry my stepsister instead.

David and I had been married for three years, but he never treated me like his wife. To the outside world, it was as if I didn't exist. He kept our marriage a secret, ignored my feelings, and made every decision without caring how it affected me. 

He even convinced me to give up my career so I could stay home and take care of the house.

The only reason I became pregnant with Jayden was because of one drunken night. It had been a mistake, one that changed my life forever. David had never intended to consummate our marriage. He had never truly wanted me.

Then Tamara came back, the same woman who had disappeared before their wedding, forcing me to marry David in her place because our parents insisted, returned as though nothing had happened.

Instead of remembering everything I had sacrificed, David got engaged to her while he was still legally married to me. He didn't care how humiliating it was or how much it hurt me. None of it mattered to him.

So how was I supposed to face a man like that now? A man who hated me so much that after Tamara pushed me down the stairs when she discovered I was pregnant, he had my luggage dropped off at the hospital and told me never to come back to the house.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm. I had no idea what I was going to do, but one thing was certain. I had to find a way to save my son without involving his father.

No matter how desperate things became, I refused to let David know about Jayden's existence. I would find another solution somehow, even if I had to search every corner of the world for one.

Two weeks later, I stepped out of the plane in New York with Jayden's small hand tightly wrapped around mine. For a brief moment, I stood still and looked around.

The last time I had left this city, I had nothing. I had been carrying Jayden in my womb, heartbroken, homeless, and uncertain about what the future held for us. I had walked away from New York with nothing but pain and determination.

Now I was back, only this time, everything was different. I had returned from London as one of the world's best neurosurgeons, with my son proudly standing beside me. Life had taken me through unimaginable hardships, yet somehow I had built a successful career despite everything that had happened.

If someone had told me years ago that this would be where I ended up, I would never have believed them. After Jayden suffered another episode the previous week, I finally made up my mind. Waiting for a miracle was no longer an option.

I had to return to New York and this time, I had a plan. It was risky, desperate, and probably the craziest decision I had ever made, but it was the only one I could think of.

I needed to find a way to get close to David again. Somehow, I had to make him get me pregnant before disappearing from his life once more.

Maybe that child would be a suitable bone marrow match for Jayden. It was a terrible plan. But when it came to saving my son's life, I was willing to do anything.

After settling into my new home in one of the most expensive parts of the city, I resumed work that same week. Getting employed at one of the best hospitals in the United States had been surprisingly easy. 

My reputation and achievements at my previous hospital in London had spoken for themselves, making the transition almost effortless.

It was my first day, so I spent most of my time familiarizing myself with the hospital and learning my way around. I had just settled into my office when the hospital director suddenly walked in. From the look on his face, something was wrong.

"Hayley, we are really glad to have you here," he said. "I know today is supposed to be your first day, and I asked you to spend it getting familiar with the hospital because your actual work was meant to begin on Wednesday. But our plans have changed."

He continued, "We are dealing with a serious problem right now. A surgery is scheduled to begin in an hour, but the surgeon who was supposed to perform it was involved in a terrible accident on the way here this morning. The rest of our senior surgeons are already tied up in other operations, and the ones who are available aren't experienced enough to handle a case like this. The patient is very important. Their family owns a large share of this hospital, so we can't afford to make any mistakes."

"You want me to perform the surgery?" I asked.

"Yes, please," he replied without hesitation. "When we informed the family that you would be joining our hospital, they specifically requested you. We explained that you wouldn't be available until after this surgery, but since you're already here, could you please help us?"

The desperation in his voice was impossible to miss. I wasn't surprised that the patient's family had asked for me. Over the past five years, I had built a name for myself in the medical field. People called me the Gifted Hands because of my success in the operating room. 

Failed surgeries under my care were extremely rare, and my name had become one of the most respected among neurosurgeons around the world.

"I will do it," I said.

Relief immediately spread across his face. He thanked me repeatedly before asking me to follow him so he could brief me on the patient's condition.

As we walked, he said it would be better if we passed through the hospital lobby first. He wanted the patient's family to see me before the surgery so they would feel reassured that their loved one was in safe hands.

We were only a few steps away from the lobby when the director's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and frowned. "Excuse me for a moment," he said. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you." I nodded and continued walking toward the lobby alone. Just then, my phone vibrated in my hand. It was a message from Jayden's nanny. "Your son..." The moment I unlocked my phone to read the rest of the message, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, I walked straight into someone. The impact was hard enough to make my phone slip from my hand and fall to the floor.

"I'm so sorry—" The apology died in my throat.

I slowly lifted my head, my eyes met his, David was standing right in front of me. For a brief second, neither of us moved. His eyes widened in complete shock as he stared at me, looking as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Before either of us could say anything, another message from Jayden's nanny flashed across my phone screen. David's gaze instinctively shifted toward the phone lying on the floor. Then he bent down to pick it up.