Chapter7 When Ethan Sterling stepped out of the CEO's Corner Office , his back was already drenched in cold sweat . He spat toward the closed door . " Damn it - sick in the head . ' He was the one who had driven Vivian Hart to despair , yet now that she was gone , regret gnawed at him like poison . Too late . Far too late . He slumped into his leather chair , panic twisting tighter in his chest . He had never once imagined losing Vivian . Sleeping with Sloane Quinn had been an accident - at least , that's what he told himself . But after that day , he couldn't stop . In Northbridge City , he ruled everything from the shadows . Keeping a mistress hidden from Vivian had been child's play . Vivian was pregnant back then , and he hadn't wanted to touch her . So he locked his lust away in a secret underground suite , using Sloane to feed the hunger . The thrill had become addictive . V And once Sloane carried his child , he gave her whatever she wanted . When she told him , he had only smiled faintly and promised her safety . But Vivian had found out . That part was his own damn carelessness . He had always thought she was easy to placate . Last time , all it had taken was plunging a knife into his own chest to win her over . He thought this time would be no different . Kneel a little , beg a little -Vivian would always forgive him . But then Sloane slit her wrists . She carried his unborn child - his flesh and blood . How could he not rush to her ? Vivian had the city's best doctors at her side . Nothing would happen to her , he'd told himself . He hadn't expected Vivian to explode . Hadn't expected her to scream about ending things . Twenty years of childhood bonds , of growing side by side - she couldn't just leave him . She Chapter7 77.78 % wouldn't . Or so he believed . Until the unthinkable happened . He lost their baby . Vivian had dragged Sloane into traffic , threatening to take them both down . Instinct had propelled him forward . He couldn't lose another child - not again . Not the one still growing inside Sloane . He had saved Sloane . But Vivian had vanished . Ethan tore at his tie , a suffocating ache crushing his chest . He didn't know why it hurt so much , only that it did . A month later , in the dead of night , news came from his contacts in the States . Someone had spotted Vivian at Avalon Private Hospital . The photo confirmed it - her . But she looked different . Lighter . Happier . Happier than she had ever been with him . The report said Avalon was owned by Prescott Holdings . That surname -Prescott - rare , yet strangely familiar . He couldn't place it , but it scratched at the back of his mind . There was no time to think . He ordered Derek Lane to ready the Gulfstream . They would leave that very night . In the States , under Miles Prescott's relentless insistence , I stayed in the hospital for another two weeks . Only when the doctors declared me fully recovered did he finally allow me to leave . He took me to his own home - nothing extravagant , just a small villa . Cozy , warm . The front and back gardens overflowed with roses and jasmine . My favorites . The sweet fragrance washed over me . Ethan had always been allergic to pollen . I hadn't smelled fresh flowers in years . Chapter7 77.78 % That night , a cool breeze drifted across the balcony , carrying the delicate scent of blooms . For the first time in what felt like forever , I tasted peace . I thought I was well again , my body strong as before . But Miles refused to leave me unguarded , hovering by my side as if afraid I'd vanish . I began to believe life might settle into this quiet rhythm . Until the day I walked , as usual , to Maplewood Park . From a distance , under the shade of a tree , stood a silhouette I knew too well . My steps froze . I turned , ready to walk away . But he had already seen me . " Vivian ! "