ry was so vivid it felt like it was happening now. A year ago, she had taken a solo trip to a small, secluded monastery in the

lessed the sandalwood beads, infusing them with prayers for fidelity and strength. When she gave it to him, he'd been mov

of comfort, now felt like a shard of glass in her heart. But she didn't flinch. She let it cut.

th was failing. Carlene was by his side, playing the part of the concerned, attentive associate. They had ridden the elev

about scheduling a follow-up. As they approached, they could hea

head. "So beautiful, and she had to go through that emergenc

the baby, a little girl, so premature she's still in a

on." A cold finger traced down his spine. He turned to the nurses, his v

Craig. She came in last night. Emergency C-secti

m. Julian opened his mouth... His mind raced, a frantic scramble of deni

," she said, her voice tight, her grip bruisingly i

ry at him, not bleeding out on an operating table. But Carlene's grip was insistent, her nails digging into his sleeve. And the truth was

e di

is voice flat. "

d still on his arm. He didn't look back. But the words echoed in his head with every

im knew. But he had alr

Hayes walked directly into their path

face. "Well, well. If it isn't Mr. Hawthorne," she said, her voice dripping w

ned. "Sloane. What

e sharp as a blade. "A friend whose husband was too busy wining and dining his mistress to answer his phone

an who had just been punched in the gut. Carlene's grip on his arm tightened

but his voice had lost its commanding e

ope you haven't done anything you'll regret, Julian," she said, her smile vanishing. "Because I've seen what happens to men who cross the Hayes family. S

a full-blown scene, pulled Julian's arm again, more insiste

t him feeling irritated and vaguely uneasy, but more than that-he felt exposed. Sloane kn

ing breath before turning back towards Adalynn's room. She decide

d, pulling out her phone to show Adalynn a picture she'd snapped through the glass of th

ly eclipsed everything else. This tiny person was all that mattered now. The last lingering shred of attachment she might have felt for Julian, the man who co-created this life, se