Chapter 3
She took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving Noah's sleeping face.
"I found out I was pregnant two weeks before we signed the divorce papers."
The words hit me like a punch to the chest.
Two weeks.
She'd known she was carrying my child, and she'd still walked into that lawyer's office and signed our marriage away.
"Why?" I asked, and my voice broke. "Why didn't you tell me?"
A bitter laugh escaped her. "Tell you? Gavin, you were already gone. Emotionally, physically... you'd checked out of our marriage long before the papers were ready. You worked twelve-hour days. You missed our anniversary. You missed my birthday. When I tried to talk to you about having children someday, you said we were 'too busy building an empire.'"
She looked at me, and her eyes were full of the pain I'd caused.
"I thought you didn't want children. I thought if I told you I was pregnant, you'd either pressure me into an abortion or... or you'd use your money and your lawyers to take him away from me. You're Gavin Rowan. You can buy anything. Anyone. I was terrified you'd decide a baby was bad for your image and make me disappear."
I stared at her, horrified.
"You thought I'd take our child from you?"
"I thought you could," she whispered. "And I thought you wouldn't care enough not to."
The truth of it cut deeper than any knife. She'd believed the worst of me because I'd given her every reason to.
"So I decided to do it alone," she continued. "I moved into this little house. I quit my job at the company because I couldn't stand seeing you every day. I saved every penny. I thought... I thought I could give him a good life. A quiet life. Away from the spotlight, away from the pressure of being Gavin Rowan's son."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I was going to tell you when he was older. When he could understand. When I was sure you wouldn't hurt him."
"And Richard?" I asked, though I already dreaded the answer.
Emily closed her eyes.
"He found out three months ago. He followed me to a doctor's appointment. He saw the ultrasound pictures in my bag. And then..." Her voice trembled. "Then he started demanding money. He said if I didn't pay him, he'd tell you. He'd tell the press. He'd make sure everyone knew I was an unfit mother who hid her child from his billionaire father."
"How much did you give him?"
"Everything I had," she said. "My savings. The small settlement from the divorce. Everything. And it still wasn't enough. He kept wanting more. He said I owed him for keeping my secret."
She looked at Noah, and her hand stroked his tiny head.
"I was so scared, Gavin. He threatened to report me to child protective services. He said he'd tell them I couldn't provide for my baby. That I was mentally unstable. I've been sleeping with a baseball bat beside my bed. I check the locks three times every night. I haven't felt safe in months."
My blood ran cold. My son. My Emily. They'd been living in fear while I was in my penthouse feeling sorry for myself.
"I'm sorry," I said, and the words felt too small, too late. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to do this alone."
She looked at me, and for a moment I saw a flicker of the woman who used to love me.
"You're here now," she said softly.
"I am," I promised. "And I'm not going anywhere. Not without you. Not without my son."
Noah stirred in her arms. He made a small, gurgling sound and opened those green eyes again. This time, he looked directly at me.
Something inside me shifted. Something fundamental. I'd spent my whole life building companies, accumulating wealth, chasing success. None of it mattered compared to this tiny human being who shared my eyes.
"Can I..." My throat felt tight. "Can I hold him?"
Emily hesitated. Just for a second. Then she carefully, gently, placed Noah in my arms.
He was so small. So light. His head rested in the crook of my elbow, and I felt his warm breath against my skin. He looked up at me with those green eyes, and for the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to love something more than yourself.
"Hey, buddy," I whispered. "I'm your dad."
He cooed. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.
Emily watched us, tears streaming down her face.
"I've missed you," she said quietly. "Every single day. I hated that we ended like that. I hated that I let my fear keep us apart."
"I missed you too," I admitted. "I threw myself into work because I was scared. Scared I'd be a terrible husband. Scared I'd be like my father—cold, distant, more interested in his company than his family. I didn't realize I was becoming exactly what I feared by being gone so much."
Noah yawned and closed his eyes again, falling asleep in my arms.
"What do we do now?" Emily asked.
I looked from my son's peaceful face to the woman I still loved.
"Now," I said, "we fight. Richard wants two hundred thousand dollars? He's not getting a dime. He wants to threaten my family? He has no idea who he's messing with."
I carefully handed Noah back to Emily.
"I'm going to make this right," I promised. "I'm going to protect you. Both of you. Whatever it takes."
Emily nodded, and for the first time since I'd walked through her door, I saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
May you like
Outside, the snow continued to fall. Inside, a family that had been broken apart was starting to find its way back together.
But Richard's threat hung in the air like smoke. New Year's Day was only a week away. And I knew, with a certainty that settled in my bones, that this was only the beginning.
