Chapter 1

Kyra

A light rain tapped against the car window as I stared at the iron gates in front of me. I should be grateful for having found a job, or I would be completely out of options. But I also had to admit that I was terrified of starting over again and having it end the same way as last time.

Those gates. Massive. Black. Imposing.

I checked the address one last time. This was it. Blackthorne Estate. A mansion that looked more like a maximum-security prison. The kind you enter without knowing if you’ll ever come back out.

The name sounded like something taken from one of those dark novels I used to read in secret before life stole even my ability to dream.

I tightened my fingers around the strap of my bag. I couldn’t mess this up. This was my chance to start over, even if it wasn’t comfortable at first. To erase what came before I nearly lost myself. A new city. A new name. A new job. And all I had to do was… take care of a child. A simple nanny. Nothing more. So why did it still feel so hard? Is starting over always this difficult?

Isabelle no longer exists. Only Kyra.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. An electronic intercom awaited my approach, as if it had been placed there just for me—though I knew it hadn’t. I pressed the button, and a female voice answered rigidly. No waiting. No welcome.

“Name?”

“Kyra Lystem. I’m here for the interview with Mr. Blackthorne.” I tried to speak calmly, but the truth was that I was more nervous than I wanted to admit. I felt like I might collapse right there.

There was a silence. Far too long. Then a click, and the gates slowly opened. The garden was meticulously symmetrical, silent as a wealthy cemetery. The mansion was even more imposing up close—tall windows, old architecture, oversized doors, and a perfectly maintained garden. Two dogs stood behind a fence, but they didn’t bark. They just watched. They must be like their owner. Quiet and tense.

A middle-aged man opened the door before I could knock. Everything about the place felt strange.

“Follow me.” His posture was rigid and severe. “Miss Lystem.”

There was no “good evening.” Not even a direct glance. Just silence and footsteps. Mine were quicker than his. I felt small, fragile. Invisible before everything unfolding around me.

“I will inform Mr. Blackthorne that you’ve arrived. Please wait here.”

I nodded and stood there, motionless in front of a glass door so tinted that I couldn’t see anything inside.

But when I entered the office, everything changed.

He was there. Sitting behind a large black marble desk, a glass of whiskey in hand and a gaze sharper than any knife ever pressed against me. He looked like a warning.

Liam Blackthorne.

He was younger than I had imagined. Maybe thirty-five. Maybe less. But he looked as if centuries of control were stored beneath that pale skin and those eyes that never smiled. My sentence was about to begin. And I was terrible at defending myself.

“Miss Kyra,” he said, without emotion. “Please, have a seat.”

I didn’t hesitate. I simply did as he instructed. I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I just needed to be hired. I had bills. Far too many overdue ones.

Liam

She looked scared. Nervous and cornered.

And for some reason, that pleased me more than I should admit. Not the hysterical, noisy kind of fear. But the silent one. The respectful one. The kind that kept her spine straight and her chin almost firm, even though her eyes hesitated, revealing everything without her realizing it. I was looking at the perfect sight. She was exactly what I had been looking for, because even though she was afraid, she was still standing there.

Composure. That was all I demanded. And it seemed she knew exactly what to say.

“Experience with children, Miss?” I asked bluntly. “For how long?”

“Yes. With three families over the past five years. All… private. I have six years of experience, Mr. Blackthorne.”

She hesitated at the end. Ah. There was something there. An untold story. I recognized that kind of silence. It was the same one I heard in myself whenever Julie asked why her mother never came back. Every time she asked me to call her mom, and I had to invent a terrible lie.

“Why did you leave your last job?”

She searched for the right words, and that’s when I realized Kyra wasn’t being herself.

“The family moved. Out of the country,” she lied. “I couldn’t go with them, sir. So I had to look for another job. And here I am.”

She didn’t lie well. But there was something useful about that. Bad liars are easy to predict. And predictability, in my house, was a comfort—especially coming from my daughter’s nanny. I didn’t want just anyone here. I was only doing this madness of hiring a nanny until I finished closing a few deals.

“And why do you want to work here?”

She lifted her gaze. For the first time, directly into my eyes. Defiant. For a brief moment.

“Because I need to,” she replied simply. “And I believe I’m qualified. I read the requirements and I fit what you were looking for. I’m dedicated, I love children, and I’m not invasive. Once I step outside the door, I forget everything.”

Honest. Raw. Almost… beautiful.

Not in a polished way. But with the beauty of a woman who has fallen to the ground and had to get back up on her own. The kind of beauty that hurt to look at, to speak to, even to breathe around.

“Julie has nightmares,” I informed her. “She doesn’t sleep well. She hates physical contact. And she doesn’t like changes. Would you be able to handle that without panicking or asking for help?”

She took a deep breath.

“I know how to respect boundaries. I don’t force closeness. And I can wait for her time. But I will offer my best to build a good relationship. I won’t force her—I’ll convince her that it’s worth it.”

I looked at her for long seconds. Firm mouth. Tense chin. Hands folded in her lap with a control that caught my attention. Kyra wasn’t sweet. Nor submissive. But there was something in her posture that screamed contained surrender. Obedience with swallowed fury and a desperate need to be protected.

“Last question,” I said, lowering my tone. “Can you keep secrets?”

“I know how to survive them. Other people’s lives don’t interest me, Mr. Blackthorne.”

I leaned forward slightly. The air between us seemed to heat, even in the cold room. She didn’t look away. I lowered my gaze to her résumé. I didn’t care about it. But it gave me time. Time to absorb what she caused just by being there.

“The nanny’s room is next to Julie’s. So you’ll be close when she needs you. I hope you don’t have a problem with that.”

She hesitated, surprised.

“I’m hired?”

“I don’t like wasting time, Kyra. If you want the job, it’s yours. With a few clear rules.”

She nodded, lifting her chin slightly.

“You can tell me.”

I stood up slowly. Walked around the desk and approached until I was close enough for her to feel my presence like an unspoken threat. I spoke softly. Almost a whisper. Even though we were alone in the room.

“No questions about my personal life. No bringing anyone into this house. And no invading my daughter’s space… or mine.”

She swallowed hard, but didn’t fail.

“Understood, sir. I don’t care about other people’s lives. They don’t interest me. As for bringing someone here, that would be a fit of someone with problems. Which is not my case.”

I smiled slightly. Just enough to make her wonder whether it was approval… or a warning.

“Welcome to the Blackthorne house. I hope you adapt well here.”

Kyra

When he left, my heart pounded like an unhinged drum. I had a job in the house of an arrogant, controlling man. And then I wondered, how does he deal with his daughter? But it wasn’t just that.

There was something about that man that put me on alert. Not just because of the way he spoke. But because of what he didn’t say.

Liam Blackthorne was dangerous.

And deep down, a perverse part of me knew: if I wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t just invade my thoughts. He could shatter everything I had tried to rebuild in a matter of seconds.

And I would surrender easily. Without resistance.