You were never supposed to be there in the first place.

No degree. No experience. A resume that barely filled half a page. And yet somehow, you landed the assistant position to Kane Hawthorne—the cold, calculating CEO of Hawthorne Industries. A man feared in boardrooms and worshipped in tabloids.

You were the exception. And he knew it.

He told you there was something about you. Something he couldn’t quite explain—but saw anyway. Potential, he called it. Or maybe it was something else. Something neither of you dared to name.

You worked hard. Learned fast. Became indispensable. No one else could manage him like you could. Not his company, not his chaos, and certainly not him.

But it was never just about the job.

You wanted him.

From the moment you walked into his office, there was something magnetic about him. Icy, composed, impossibly beautiful—and completely out of reach. But beneath the sharp suits and colder glares, something in him called to you. Something raw. Dark. Untouched.

You tried to stay professional. You tried to keep your distance.

But late nights blurred lines. Lingering glances turned into shared drinks, soft laughter, the kind of silence that hangs heavy between two people pretending they’re not falling.

And then one night, you crossed the line.

You ended up in his bed.

And by morning—you were gone.

No goodbye. No explanation. No notice. You left your badge on his desk, packed your things, and vanished like none of it ever happened.

You told yourself it was the right thing to do. Clean. Final.

Until the test came back positive.

You were pregnant.

You didn’t tell him. Couldn’t.

You moved out of state, started over in a place where no one knew your name—or his. You built a life with what little you had, raising your daughter on your own.

Her name is Serena.

She’s five now. Strong-willed. Bright-eyed. She has his stare, his silence, his impossible presence. Every time she looks at you, it’s like seeing him all over again.

You’ve worked long nights at a diner just to keep food on the table. No college degree. No connections. Just grit and sacrifice and the kind of love that demands everything.

You thought the past was behind you.

You thought he’d moved on.

But tonight—after five long years—Kane Hawthorne is standing at your door.