uiet sense of peace. His words touched something deep within her, a part of her that had longed for understanding,

ft yet steady. "If this is truly what you want, M

a man whose heart had finally found its way home. "Please, Ava," he

eart lifting with a rare hope she hadn't

o her mind. "What about your family?" she asked cautiously, her brow furrowed. "Sur

er," he replied quietly. "She's about to be married, but my wife...she passed away some years ago. Tha

ealized that perhaps fate had sent him into her life for a reason. S

in the project she'd been entrusted with-creating Alexandra's dream wedding dress. Litt

into the delicate stitches and elegant lines, crafting a gow

ial request: she wanted the gown delivered to her father's home, where she was staying until the big da

he carefully carried the gown to the grand entrance and rang the bell. To her

ne laced with suspicion and fury. "Are you stalking

tian," she replied coolly, her voice steady. "I'm here on behalf of the fashion house to deliver a wedding

the strange weight of destiny pulling her back into Sebastian's orbit, as thou

of her surroundings. But before she could gather her thought

led with surprise and delight, yet there was a hint of bewilderment

'm here to deliver a wedding dress," she managed, her gaze shifting between George, who stood at the to

she exclaimed, her eyes shining-only to stop short when she realized who stood before her. Her face went pale, and h

s voice brimming with pride. "Alexandra, Sebastian, I'd

oom as Alexandra and Sebastian ex

in unison, their voi

"Do you two know each other?" His gaze moved between th

looked between George, Alexandra, and Sebastian, her heart pounding. She had walked into a whirlwind s

stian, an edge of betrayal in her tone. "Sebastian, who i

as he struggled to find the words. "Ava and I...we knew each other a lon

stian, then back at Ava, his eyes filled with c

yet here it was, unfurling before the very people whose love and respect she now valued most. She turned to George, her gaze steady. "

flicker of fear in his eyes as he

with scorn. "You can't marry her, Dad! Ava is an ex-convict-a woman who spent year

" he added, his tone dripping with feigned concern. "Ava has a criminal past. She was ar

rds. Ava felt as though the air had been pulled from her lungs, the delica

gers lingering on the delicate fabric, the gown that symbolized all her hard work and dreams.

s she ran, her mind swirling with disbelief. How had she ended up here, back in Sebastian's toxic web, entangled in a family whose secrets ran deeper than

Ava's departure. Alexandra's eyes were still blazing with defiance as she

Ava had left behind, a reminder of the joy she had once brought into his life. He

king on a falsely sympathetic tone, "you're better off without her. Ava is nothing bu

hinted at her mistakes, and he had never judged her for them. Instead, he had seen the beauty in her resilience, the tal

barely more than a whisper. "None of us are perfect.

eyes, her face a mask of disbelief and frustration. "Can't you see? She

t time, there was a firmness in his ga

s of a dream, and without another word, grabbed his coat. Ignoring their disapproving glares, he stepped

ouring the grounds, he had no choice but to return home, a heavy weight settling in h

f and humiliation. Her mother, who was waiting up anxious

too burdened with the events of the night. She held up

ed to her room, collapsing onto her bed, where she lay awake long into the n