Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Rise From Betrayal: Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 110

Rowan Blackwood had never avoided a question before. That thought followed Emma all the way to her office. It lingered while she sorted through emails. While she reviewed contracts. While she attempted to read a report for the third time. Nothing seemed capable of distracting her from the fact that Rowan had deliberately changed the subject. It wasn’t the answer itself that bothered her. It was the avoidance. Rowan always answered. Sometimes honestly. Sometimes sarcastically. Sometimes in ways that made her want to throw a stapler at him. But he answered. Today he hadn’t. Emma sighed and closed the file in front of her. A knock sounded against the glass door. A smile immediately tugged at her lips. “Come in, Rowan.” The door opened.

The next afternoon, Emma came out of the meeting, rolling her shoulders as she stepped into the quiet executive corridor. She had barely taken two steps when she found Rowan standing there. One shoulder rested against the wall, hands in his pockets, looking entirely too comfortable. Emma stopped. “Were you waiting for me?” He looked at his watch. “I’ve only been here…” He tilted his head. “Three minutes.” “You counted.” “I got bored.” She smiled. “You own an international company.” “And somehow all my work was less interesting than waiting for you.” Emma shook her head, walking past him. “That line would’ve worked on someone else.” “It worked on you.” “It absolutely didn’t.” “It made you smile.” “…That was unrelated.” “So you admit

The ambulance came to a stop beneath the emergency entrance. Before the rear doors had fully opened, Dominic was already climbing out. “Sir—” He ignored the protest, keeping pace with the stretcher as the paramedics rushed Laura through the sliding doors. Her face was pale. Too pale. The oxygen mask hid most of it, but he could still see how little she moved. “Thirty-four weeks,” one of the paramedics reported. “Collapsed at home. Blood pressure remained critically elevated during transport.” Dr. Harrison met them halfway down the corridor. His eyes swept over Laura once before turning to the monitor. “What was the last reading?” The paramedic answered. Harrison’s expression tightened. “When did the headaches begin?” Dominic didn’t have to think. “Three… maybe f

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

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.