LOGINMorning arrived quietly.
A pale ribbon of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, stretching across the bed until it found Emma’s face. She scrunched her nose. “…Rude.” The sunlight, unsurprisingly, ignored her complaint. Emma cracked one eye open. The first thing she noticed was Rowan’s arm around her waist. She smiled. Carefully, she tried to slip out of bed.Morning arrived quietly. A pale ribbon of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, stretching across the bed until it found Emma’s face. She scrunched her nose. “…Rude.” The sunlight, unsurprisingly, ignored her complaint. Emma cracked one eye open. The first thing she noticed was Rowan’s arm around her waist. She smiled. Carefully, she tried to slip out of bed. His hold tightened. “Nice try.” His voice was still thick with sleep. Emma glanced over her shoulder. “I thought you were asleep.” “I was.” “You don’t sound asleep.” “I woke up when someone started escaping.” “I wasn’t escaping.” “You were leaving.” “I was going to brush my teeth.” “I would’ve missed you.”
The drive back to Rowan’s estate was quiet. Not the awkward kind. The comfortable kind that only came after a day well spent. Shopping bags filled the back seat. Emma smiled to herself at a memory. “What?” Rowan’s eyes stayed on the road. “You know exactly what.” “You’ve been smiling for the last five minutes.” “I have not.” “You have.” She folded her arms dramatically. “I was simply remembering Stephanie.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Ah.” “What does ‘ah’ mean?” “It means she’s a bad influence.” Emma let out a soft laugh. “On me?” “Very much so.” “I think she’s improving me.” “I noticed.” She turned toward him. “That sounded suspic
The first mistake Rowan made was agreeing to “one last store.” He should have known better. “Steph,” Emma said, laughing as her sister slowed outside another boutique. “You promised.” “I did.” Stephanie pointed through the display window. “Then I saw that.” Rowan followed her finger. He closed his eyes. “…Right.” “I know that sigh,” Emma said. “It means you’ve accepted your fate.” “I’ve accepted bankruptcy.” Stephanie looked genuinely confused. “We’ve barely bought anything.” Rowan glanced down at the shopping bags looped over both arms. “I admire your optimism.” Emma laughed, the sound escaping before she could stop it. She reached for Rowan’s arm to steady herself. He looked down at her hand. She hadn’t even realized she’d done it.
The drive to Emma’s house was painfully quiet. The radio was off. Neither of them reached for it. Outside, the city carried on as if nothing had happened. Inside the car, yesterday still sat between them. Rowan kept his eyes on the road. Twice he almost spoke. Twice he thought better of it. Emma rested her elbow against the window, watching familiar streets pass by in a blur. Every now and then, she caught him glancing at her left wrist. The marks were already fading. His expression wasn’t. “It’s getting better,” she said softly. He nodded once. “I know.” Another stretch of silence. Then, almost too quietly to hear— “I’m still sorry.” Emma looked at him. He wasn’t looking for reassurance. He wasn’t asking her to tell him it was okay.
The nurse walked a few steps ahead of him. Dominic followed without speaking. “…Dad.” She had said it so naturally. As though the word had belonged to him all along. Dominic stopped for half a heartbeat. Dad. He drew a slow breath and continued after her. The automatic doors slid open. Warm air met the chill that had settled into his bones hours ago. Inside the neonatal intensive care unit, monitors beeped in quiet rhythm. Nurses moved from one incubator to the next with practiced hands, speaking softly enough that their voices barely carried. The nurse stopped near the window. She smiled. “Your son.” Dominic looked through the glass. Everything else disappeared. He’d imagined this moment countless times. Hearing that first cry. Feeling tiny fingers wrap around his own. Instead… A tiny boy lay inside an incubator that suddenly seemed far too big. A knitted blue cap covered most of his head. A tube rested beneath his nose. His little chest r
Dominic Sterling hadn’t moved from the chair outside the operating suite in over an hour. Someone had left a paper cup of coffee beside him. It was cold now. He hadn’t noticed. Doctors crossed the corridor. Nurses hurried past with charts tucked against their chests. Somewhere down the hall, a child laughed before being hushed by a worried mother. Life went on. His didn’t. His phone lit up again. Victor Reynolds. He stared at the screen until it stopped ringing. A second later, another call came through. His assistant. Then the board secretary. Then London. He switched the phone off. The company could wait. Nothing else could. The operating room doors swung open. Dr. Harrison walked out with two nurses close behind him, one carrying a clipboard. The doctor’s expression was calm. Too calm. “Mr. Sterling.” Dominic was already standing. Dr. Harrison didn’t waste time. “We can’t wait any longer.” The words landed with frightening clarity.
Morning arrived softly over Emma Laurent’s house. Sunlight filtered through the trees lining the backyard, spilling gold across the stone pathway leading into the garden. Fresh white roses bloomed along the fence while lavender swayed gently in the breeze. Tiny droplets still clung
The news didn’t arrive loudly. It slipped in. A notification lighting up Emma’s phone in the quiet of her living room, cutting through the stillness Dominic had left behind. She didn’t pick it up immediately. But she already knew. Something had shifted. When she finally looked— The
Dominic didn’t leave immediately. For a moment after Brian stepped away, the silence stretched between them—tight, charged, unfinished. His gaze moved past Emma briefly, toward the street, as if confirming what he had already seen. Then back to her.
The rain had softened by the time they wheeled Emma out of the hospital. Not gone. Just quieter. Like the world had lowered its voice—but not its intention. The sky hung low and grey, the air cool against her skin as the door







