ne before

f she'd actually been allowed to bring into that marriage in the first place. Books. Clothes. A handful of photographs from before she'd been so

r, and it was Grace who finally asked the question

going to

harder than she neede

ia

e. "No, I'm not telling him. He made it very clear what he wants, Grace. A clean break. No o

t fair to

ing up knowing your father only staye

really an argument to make against it, no

nobody had ever heard the name Cross Industries outside of a business page, and the rest she put away without touching,

eel like a lie - the man she'd let herself believe in for one reckless night on a terrace had never r

isconcertingly, his father's exact frown. Mia cried when the nurse put him in her arms - not from the pain,

ng him to anyone. A clean start, the wa

l. It was only later - once Ethan was walking, once he had opinions and a laugh that came from somewhere low in his chest, unmistakably not hers - that she found he

ons to herself. There wa

inally not performing for anyone. She didn't read the business pages anymore. She didn't know, and told herself she didn't care, whether Damian

s, those three years. Most of t

ause her foundation was merging with a larger one and she was the only person who could sign off on the terms. One trip. Two days. She t

rong abou

he way she remembered, three years older and somehow more like himself than he'd ever

ice - a three-year-old's voice, high and unbothered - asked the one question

s that man s