her... was

ingle night of recklessness, a mi

ay every trace of him from her life. She left school be

nfall when she found out she was pregnant. With no one to rely on,

ather had been sent to prison, while her mother had

surrounded her with tenderness and care, filling her days with affecti

that Madelynn discovered the

t have sex

't matter. But as the years passed, she slowly realize

fell into a gambling addiction, and turned ever

away nearly all of her savings, l

tal heart defect and needed a costly su

olas take the last bit

had finally ask

astard are going to spend the rest of your lives serving me.

arp slap struck Madel

ven react, her pho

the phone. "Ms. Collins, you need to come to the hospital ri

.

the corridors of Areswood Children's Hospita

orner of her lips already darkening. Her hands were balled into fists so tightly t

s treatment can't be

s nose. His voice remained soft, but the seriou

continue to build as she gets older. This case of pneumonia was a warning sign. We need to arrange the

throat so parched that not eve

was balancing on the edge of a cliff, on

ore afraid t

u tell me how much t

ed her pale, hollowed-out face, and a trace of sympathy crossed his expression. He let out a quiet sigh before speaking. "You understand the hospi

adelynn like a p

ly every day at the hospital. A normal job was impossible to main

s were spent working promotions at a bar. In between, she endured her husband's end

ousand dollars wasn't just expens

even selling the few pieces of jewelry she owned, all

d over her like an enormous weight,

her steps unsteady. She pressed herself against the corridor wal

urged through her, swallowing eve

s old. Her little girl h

! You really thought you could hide from me? You'v

he hallway, making nearby nurses and famil

stility. The stench of cheap alcohol clung to him, a cle

rip so brutal that she felt like the bones beneath his hand might splinter. Flecks of spit flew from his mouth, some of them nearly landin

adelynn fought against his hold, her cheeks burning with humiliation and

s were swollen and red, his expression warped by anger and desperation. He lifted his hand again, preparing

f, her shoulders instinctively rising as she braced

rson stepped forward. Nicholas was a raging drunk, the kind o

adelynn braced f

topping it midair with a grip like steel. Long fingers wrapped around h

las's face turned bright red as he fought against the restraint

Slowly, she opened her eyes and followe

into view first, a platinum cufflink

ed jaw, the thin lips pressed into a firm line, and finall

isappeared from six years ago, the same man she had

west, witnessing a version of her that was

ment she saw him, the memory of a night

me way, shielding her from danger like a knight wh

h had changed. Yet somehow,

rred as tears gathere