Three years ago, Tiana thought divorcing Sebastian Wolfe would free her from the pain of his lies and the shadows that haunted their marriage. But when tragedy strikes her family and she returns to her hometown, she's forced to confront the man who once shattered her heart-and who still lingers in her soul. Sebastian isn't the same cold, unreadable billionaire she left. He's darker, more haunted-and about to discover a secret that will change everything: the existence of their daughter.
Ridgehaven, Three Years Later
Tiana Wolfe pulled into the narrow driveway of her childhood home, the past loomed just beneath the surface- quiet, waiting.
The cottage looked exactly the same. Faded white paint clung stubbornly to the wood, and ivy curled up the sides like it belonged there. The rosebushes her mother once tended with pride now drooped under their own weight. Time had paused here, even if her own life had been in constant motion. In the back seat, a small figure shifted beneath a pink blanket.
Ivy.
Her daughter's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, her tiny lips parted in sleep. She was five now, curious and bright, and full of questions Tiana never had the strength-or the permission-to answer. Especially about him.
Sebastian Wolfe.
Even in her thoughts, his name carried weight. The man she had once loved. The man she had once feared. The man who, until now, had no idea he had a daughter.
Tiana opened the car door, bracing herself against the late autumn wind. It stung her cheeks and pulled at the hem of her coat as if trying to tug her back to where she came from. But she couldn't run this time. Not with her mother in the hospital, not with Ivy asking about family, not with fate clearly deciding it was time for the past to resurface.
The front door opened before she could knock.
Eli stood in the entryway, arms crossed, the worry on his face doing nothing to hide the fatigue in his eyes.
"She's resting," he said quietly, referring to their mother. "But... we have a problem."
Tiana stilled. "What kind of problem?"
Eli hesitated, then stepped aside to let her in. The silence between them stretched like a thread pulled taut.
"Sebastian's in town," he said at last.
The name hit her like a blow to the chest.
"He knows you're back."
Tiana stood frozen in the doorway, her heart pounding in her chest. The name Sebastian felt like a distant thunderclap, one she had managed to ignore for three years. But now it was here, rattling her bones, forcing her to face everything she thought she'd buried.
"Sebastian..." she whispered the name to herself, barely able to keep it from escaping in a breathless exhale.
Eli watched her carefully, his jaw clenched. He knew she wasn't ready to hear it, but there was no avoiding it. "He showed up this morning. Said he's been trying to find you. I don't know how he knew you'd be here, but..." He trailed off, his voice low, like he didn't quite believe the words either.
Tiana's stomach dropped. "How is he involved in this?" She felt like she was suffocating. The thought of seeing him again, after everything they'd been through, felt impossible. And yet, here she was, standing on the precipice of it all.
Eli stepped aside, ushering her into the small house. The soft scent of lavender and chamomile lingered in the air, memories of her mother's soothing touch. But the warmth of the house didn't chase away the chill settling into her bones. The room felt too familiar. Too full of ghosts.
She glanced at Ivy, still peacefully asleep in the back seat. What would she think of him? she wondered. Tiana had never told her about her father. The hurt was too fresh, too real. How could she explain a man who was everything to her once but now a stranger?
"I don't want to see him," Tiana said quietly, more to herself than to Eli. She turned away, feeling the weight of everything she had worked to forget pressing in on her.
Eli's voice stopped her. "He's here for more than just you, Tiana."
Tiana froze, her back to him. More than just me?
She turned slowly, meeting his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"He's asking about Ivy."
The room seemed to tilt on its axis. Tiana's knees felt weak. Ivy? He couldn't be serious. "What for?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Eli looked uncomfortable, as though the conversation itself was something he wasn't supposed to have. "I don't know. But he's demanding to see her. Says he has a right. Something about a claim he's been ignoring all these years."
Tiana's breath caught. "A claim? What kind of claim?" Her mind raced as she pieced together what little she knew. Sebastian had never once reached out. Never once seemed to care about anything that came after their marriage, and yet now... now, he was making demands.
"He wants to acknowledge her. He wants to see her. As if it matters now," Eli said, his frustration clear. "But it's not just about that. It's about something deeper. Something we're missing. You're the only one who can find out what it is."
Tiana closed her eyes, her mind reeling. She hadn't asked for this. Hadn't asked for any of it. She had built a life without him, free from his control, his silent judgment, his presence. But what if he's right? What if Ivy deserves to know her father?
And yet, she couldn't shake the memory of their last night together-the final argument that ended with words too sharp to heal, with promises broken beyond repair. She had left not just because of the affair, but because of the coldness between them. Sebastian had pulled away before, but that night had been the breaking point.
"I can't do this." The words left her lips before she even realized what she was saying.
"You don't have a choice," Eli said gently, his tone more sympathetic now. "It's already happening, Tiana. And if you don't face it, it's just going to haunt you even more."
Tiana glanced back toward the window, toward the world beyond. The world that had kept her running all this time. Could she face him again? Could she bear the storm of emotions that would inevitably follow?
She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the inevitable. "Where is he?" she asked, her voice a little steadier now.
"In the living room," Eli said. "He's been here for over an hour. I don't know how he found out, but he's not leaving without answers."
Tiana nodded, her mind already processing the confrontation. The pieces of her life, carefully put back together, now felt like a fragile house of cards, ready to tumble the moment she stepped into that room.
With a final glance at Ivy, who stirred in her sleep, Tiana walked past Eli and into the heart of the house. The air felt thick, and every step she took made the distance between her and her past shorter.
Sebastian.
It had been three years.
Three long years since she'd walked away, since she'd slammed the door behind her, telling herself she would never, never be the same woman again.
But what if she was wrong? What if the man standing in her living room still had the power to destroy everything?
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Emery James has spent years building her dream café in a quiet coastal town, far from the chaos of big-city life-and even further from the heartbreak she left behind. But when her landlord sells the building to none other than Desmond Proctor, her former best friend and the man who once broke her heart, her peaceful life is suddenly turned upside down. Desmond, now a successful real estate investor, never expected to return to his hometown-or to face the woman he's never truly forgotten. Tasked with redeveloping the property, he offers Emery a deal: work with him to save the café, and he'll reconsider the sale. Old wounds, unspoken feelings, and undeniable tension bubble to the surface as they're forced to spend time together. But as they rediscover the connection they once had, Emery has to decide-can she trust Desmond with her heart again, or is she setting herself up for another heartbreak?
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