Chapter One:
The ceiling was white. Too white. Too still.
Ava gripped the side rail of the hospital bed, sweat soaking through her gown as a fresh wave of pain hit. Her heart pounded harder than her contractions. She looked toward the door again. No footsteps. No shadow. No Nathan.
"Nurse—" she gasped, her voice cracked and dry. "My husband... he said he was on his way."
The nurse gave her a soft look. The kind people used when they knew something you didn't want to hear.
"I'll check again, sweetheart," she said gently, then disappeared down the hallway for the third time in the last hour.
But Ava knew.
He wasn't coming.
Tears blurred her vision as the next contraction seized her from the inside out. Her baby was coming, and she was alone.
---
Three hours later, Ava clutched her newborn son to her chest.
His cries had softened, but hers hadn't. Silent sobs shook her shoulders as she rocked him gently, pressing her lips to his forehead. The nurse had left. The monitors beeped steadily. The room was dim now.
Still no Nathan.
She wanted to believe he'd had a good reason. A car crash. A phone left behind. Anything.
But her instincts—sharpened by years of his cold silences, his absences, his sudden meetings and unread messages—knew the truth.
He hadn't forgotten. He hadn't been blocked. He had chosen not to come.
Chosen to miss the birth of his son.
She blinked away another tear and looked down at the tiny face nestled against her chest. "You deserved better, little man," she whispered. "So did I."
A knock came at the door. Not soft. Not hesitant.
Ava straightened, expecting a nurse or maybe—maybe—Nathan.
But it wasn't.
Dominic Grant stepped into the room, tall, composed, and utterly out of place. His charcoal suit was immaculate. Not a wrinkle or a stain on him. His black hair was slicked back, and his gray eyes—cold, calculating—landed on her and the baby without blinking.
Ava's heart skipped. "Dominic?"
He nodded once. "Ava."
She instinctively clutched her son tighter. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see the child," he said plainly. "And you."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
He stepped closer but didn't sit. Didn't soften. "Because Nathan won't."
The words landed like a slap.
Ava's throat tightened. "You don't know that."
He didn't argue. Didn't explain how he knew. He just looked down at the baby, then back up at her.
"He's beautiful," Dominic said, quieter now. "He doesn't deserve to be used as a pawn."
Her blood ran cold. "What are you talking about?"
Dominic glanced toward the hallway, then stepped farther into the room and shut the door behind him.
"Nathan's filing for divorce. This week," he said, his tone flat.
The world tilted.
Ava's voice came out a whisper. "No. He wouldn't. Not now."
"He already did."
She shook her head, gripping the baby tighter. "Why are you telling me this? Why are you even here?"
Dominic leaned against the windowsill, arms folded. "Because I can help you."
She laughed, bitter and dry. "Help me? What, out of pity? This is your brother's mess."
"I don't pity you," he said. "But I've watched Nathan ruin enough lives. Yours included. I can give you protection. Money. A legal team. Stability for your son."
She blinked. "Why?"
"Because I'm offering you a deal."
Her heart skipped. "What kind of deal?"
He didn't blink. "Marry me."
---
The silence after his words stretched painfully long. Ava stared at him, completely stunned.
"You're insane."
"Maybe."
She couldn't look away. "You want me to marry you? Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Why would I ever do that?"
"Because you're out of options," he said calmly. "Nathan has already moved on. He's working with his lawyers to gain full custody. His team is building a case. Infidelity, mental instability, negligence. Lies, mostly. But if you stay on your own, you'll be buried in court."
Ava's mind was spinning. "That's not possible. He can't take my son. He left me—"
"He has money. And he has the Grant name. That's enough."
Her voice rose. "You'd really stand there and say this to me after I just gave birth to your nephew? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Dominic's eyes didn't flinch. "The only person who can stop Nathan."
Ava stared at him. "What's in it for you?"
His jaw tightened. "My reasons are my own."
That wasn't good enough. "I'm not going from one cold marriage to another. If I marry again—ever—it'll be real. Not another power play between Grant men."
"I'm not asking for love," he said flatly. "Only an alliance."
Her voice shook. "That's disgusting."
Dominic finally pushed off the windowsill, walked over, and stopped at the edge of her bed.
"You want to protect your son? Or not?"
Ava met his eyes. Gray. Sharp. Unreadable.
Her throat ached. "You think I'd actually say yes?"
"I think," he said, "you'll do whatever it takes. Just like me."
---
That night, Ava sat alone in the recovery room. Her baby slept beside her, small and warm and helpless.
And she thought about everything Dominic had said.
The idea of marrying him made her stomach turn. But the idea of losing her son?
That was unthinkable.
Nathan was dangerous when he was angry. And worse when he was cold. He wouldn't care about what it did to the baby—or to her. He'd win just to spite her.
She'd seen it in his eyes the last time they'd fought. He didn't love her. He didn't even hate her.
He wanted to erase her.
A knock came again.
This time, when the door opened, she didn't flinch.
Dominic entered quietly and closed the door behind him. No suit jacket this time. Just a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing the tattoo she'd never asked about.
He stood beside the crib and looked down at the baby.
"Have you thought it over?" he asked without looking up.
She nodded once. "I have one condition."
He glanced at her.
"You keep your secrets," she said. "But you protect him with everything you've got. No matter what happens between us."
Dominic nodded. "Agreed."
Ava took a breath and forced herself to meet his gaze. "Then I'll do it."
He nodded once, as if this were just a business transaction.
But when he looked at her again—just for a second—his eyes weren't cold anymore.
---
Later that night, Ava finds an envelope tucked inside the hospital bassinet. It isn't from Dominic or the staff.
It's unsigned. Just a photo.
Nathan. Standing outside the hospital.
Looking at her window.
And walking away.
---