te in my mouth and a fog in my head. I blinked, and t

m to sleep anywhere, but it had never taught him to look peaceful while doing it. On the other side of the bed, Maya was tapping furiously on

t was a group chat

She m

ve already rerouted all hospital billing to

booked. Landing in three hou

allagher Tech is going to be fun. He's overleverage

, a band of misfits who became a family. Jax, the protector. Maya, the tech genius. Leo, the charismatic

wincing as pain sh

growl, but his hands were gentle a

id, my voice hoarse.

k with fury. "We know, Ava. We've got you. W

ifying in my mind. "I want to disappear from

t hesitation. "We have

ntrol return. "Get me out of here. Quietly. No di

aya said, closing he

iam stood there, holding a bouquet of expensive, out-of-season peonies. He

ya. "Oh. You're here." He directed his wo

y' felt like a

that," I said

ers. "I know this has been hard. I've been wo

elease. The baby. The wa

ld tone for shock. "It's a mess. But I

ackage. More than generous, really. And I'm keeping you on the company health insurance

given my job to Chloe; I saw it in a later news update Maya had shown me. Chloe Evan

g me," I stated,

nsisted. With your... health situation... we needed someone to st

ated tonelessly. The lie w

ng at him. "Exactly. And I'll find a new role for

department I built from the ground

ce dangerously quiet. The fifty percent stake I

handled by the lawyers. It's... complicated. This is better.

w. I needed to get away, to heal, to plan. F

," I

little smirk. He thought he had won. He thought I was the same woman wh

ing my hand. "I knew

.. a press conference I need to prepare for. With Chloe. The

ust occurred to him. "Oh, and one more thing I nee