Ariel Reed sat stiffly in the hospital conference room, her eyes locked on the door. The anxiety that had been gnawing at her for the past three agonizing hours refused to let up. Even though she trusted the test results, her mind was a mess of nerves and doubt.

Her tension spiked when Fiona walked in. What the hell was she doing here?!

Ariel's alarm ratcheted up when Brodie, silent until now, rose to guide Fiona to the seat beside him.

"What are you doing here? Your eye just healed, and you're already out and about?" His tone was more worried than accusing.

"I... I was worried." Fiona slipped off her sunglasses, revealing red-rimmed eyes. She glanced at Ariel, her look loaded with things she wasn't saying.

"Worried about what?" Brodie shot Ariel a contemptuous look. "I just want to see how far someone will go with her lies."

Ariel clenched her sweaty palms and said nothing. Ever since she'd claimed she'd taken items from the night Brodie and Fiona spent together to attempt artificial insemination, she'd known she was walking a razor's edge. She had no choice. If Brodie took the paternity test and it saved their daughter, she'd say or do anything.

"I believe you," Fiona said, fingers brushing the black briefcase that clashed with her outfit. "Even if we're only half-siblings, you're still my sister, and Capri is family. No one would just stand by and watch her suffer. Drop the obvious lies. The paternity results will be here soon; you still have time to come clean. I'll talk to Brodie..."

"Come clean about what?" Ariel cut her off, ending Fiona's little performance.

Ariel had loved Brodie since they were kids. On her eighteenth birthday, she’d slept with him while he was drunk and saved him from a fire. Then circumstances had forced her to leave without a word. She never imagined she'd come back to find the story twisted beyond recognition. Fiona had claimed she was the one with Brodie that night, the one who'd saved him. She'd branded Ariel a cheating woman who ran off with another man.

"Say that Capri is Brodie Wagner's child—a truth we both know? Or that it was me with Brodie that night, the one who pulled him from the blaze? That your blindness is because you partied recklessly and started a wildfire, causing ruin and costing a life? Fiona, your blindness is your karma. It has nothing to do with Brodie."

"Would you believe me if I said that?" Ariel asked Brodie, her spine straight but her eyes pleading. "Brodie, if the results show Capri is your daughter, will you believe me just this once?"

"You've always had a way with words," Fiona cut in, stealing Brodie's chance to answer. She unzipped the briefcase. "I wanted to keep these from Brodie, but since you won't stop your antics, I can't stay silent."

She dumped the briefcase's contents onto the table just as a knock came at the door. Brodie's assistant, Ray Lawrence, stepped in.

"Mr. Wagner, the results are in."

Brodie didn't take the envelope Ray offered. Instead, he reached for the photo that had landed near him. His hand tightened around it—the image was unmistakable.

Across from him, Ariel saw it too. Her first instinct was to rise and explain. "It's not what it looks like. That man is my mother's lover. He tried to assault me."

Brodie's face was unreadable, his voice level. "Open it. Tell me the result."

Ray calmly opened the envelope and pulled out the test results. Ariel tracked his every move, holding her breath as her heart threatened to burst.

Ever since Fiona had walked in, a dark foreboding had settled over her.

"The results show that you and Capri Reed are not biologically related."

The world tilted. Ariel froze. She only moved when Fiona's laughter registered.

"Impossible... This can't be true."

With trembling hands, she snatched the report. Her panicked eyes finally landed on the words confirming there was no biological link between Brodie and Capri.

"How could this be... Capri is your child! There has to be a mistake, an error somewhere!" She reached for Brodie's arm. "Paternity tests usually take a week. These rushed results can't be right. Let's redo it, please!"

"Ariel Reed! Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Fiona yanked her away. "The facts are clear, yet you're still in denial."

Ariel stumbled backward and crashed to the floor, murmuring, "There must be a mistake..."

"Still denying it?" Fiona taunted, holding up a scandalous photo. "Capri isn't Brodie's daughter. She's this man's child. You've always been scheming. Now face it—no one's buying your tricks anymore."

"No! I had nothing with him. You were the only one, Brodie. Just believe me. One more time..."

She ignored Fiona completely, focusing only on Brodie, her voice shaking, her eyes pleading.

"Fiona, maybe you should have another eye exam," Brodie said suddenly.

"Brodie..." Fiona started to argue, ready to remind him of her recent checkup, but the tension in his shoulders and the trembling in his hand silenced her. Reluctantly, she nodded and left with Ray.

"Brodie... you believe me, don't you?" Ariel asked, hope bleeding into her voice.

"I gave you a chance."

Brodie's eyes drilled into her, brimming with barely restrained fury. Ariel's heart sank.

"Ariel Reed, did you really think I bought that story about digging through trash for artificial insemination? I gave you a chance, and what did you give me?"

He angrily swept the obscene photographs off the table. "Just these pictures and that report!"

"You've certainly mastered playing innocent and vulnerable to enchant me, only to turn around and act like a common harlot. Now with a child of questionable parentage, you expect me to shoulder the responsibility? Ariel Reed, it’s not five years ago anymore.. I'm not that besotted fool who'd ignore your infidelity just because you claimed you were coerced."

Ariel frowned. "What did you see? What encounter? When?"

She wanted to insist she'd only ever been with him, but his mocking stare drained the fight right out of her.

"I'm not asking for much, Brodie... I don't expect you to love me again or for us to be together. I won't interfere between you and Fiona. I just beg you to save Capri. Just once. As an act of kindness. As charity. Please, I'm begging you. Only you can help her."

Brodie's tone was ice. "Believe me, that child would rather die than be your daughter. It's better to let her go."

With those words, Ariel's last hope evaporated. He believed it...

Even when she'd hit him with that far-fetched claim about scavenging for insemination, Brodie hadn't spoken so harshly.

But now...

Faced with the damning test results and undeniable evidence, he believed she'd been promiscuous—that Capri was illegitimate.

She sat in despair, staring into Brodie's cold eyes. The guilt of possibly passing her suffering onto their child had never weighed so heavily on her. She sat motionless, whispering, "No, she told me she loves her mom, wants to be my daughter..."

"Knock, knock."

"Mr. Wagner, there seems to be an issue with Miss Fiona's follow-up test. Would you come out and take a look?" Ray's voice came from outside the door.

"In the future, do not come within a hundred feet of me. Otherwise, I'll make sure your daughter finds no treatment anywhere."

With that parting shot, Brodie slammed the door behind him.

Ariel sat in a daze. She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that until her phone chimed with a new message. Dr. Dexter Fox had sent her a video of Capri's daily routine, and the familiar sight pulled her back to reality.

She watched the short video several times, tears streaming down her face as she saw her frail child swallowing pills, smiling at the camera and saying, "Today, I took all my medicine like I was supposed to."

Her daughter had been diagnosed with severe thalassemia and needed a bone marrow transplant to live past seven.

Her daughter was fighting for her life...

No one had the right to take that from her.

Ariel wiped her tears and kissed the screen as if her child could feel her love. Then she called her grandfather, Bruce Reed.

"Grandpa, I've made my decision. I want to marry Brodie Wagner."

If fate had blessed her with this child, she wouldn't let fate take her away. Brodie, I'm sorry, but I can't let you live with regret—and I can't bear to live with my own.

“Mr. Wagner, Fiona’s mother is here to see you,” Brodie Wagner’s assistant, Ray Lawrence, announced.

Brodie picked up the phone. “Which hospitals are we working with?” he asked.

“We’ve reached out to every institution we can,” Ray replied. “But our pull in the medical world is nothing compared to the Reeds’. And Ariel’s grandfather is working closely with the Chases. Unless Mr. Reed changes his mind, our hands are tied.”

“Understood.” Brodie took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, frustration coiling tight in his chest. “Show her to the meeting room. I’ll be right there.”

Brodie had already guessed why Fiona’s mother had come. But her request still caught him off guard. “If possible... consider marrying Ariel Reed.” The words lit a fire of indignation in him. He felt manipulated, cornered.

“I know this isn’t fair to you. But please, hear me out.” Maria’s voice wavered, but her eyes stayed fixed on him. “My husband and I have lost all our authority. Fiona’s treatment has been stopped. Mr. Reed dotes on Ariel’s aunt, Jenny Reed—the child he had late in life. Ariel offered to marry you in exchange for saving Jenny’s life, and he didn’t object. Because of that, he won’t back down. Not even if it costs Fiona her sight forever.”

Over the past few days, Brodie had seen exactly how callous Mr. Reed could be.

“If Fiona loses her sight again, it’ll be permanent...” Maria Reed’s face crumpled with despair.

“I can take care of—” Brodie started, then stopped cold. His first instinct was to protect Fiona, not to give in to Ariel’s demands. The realization grated on him.

Maria knew Brodie didn’t love Fiona. He only felt guilty—responsible for the accident that damaged Fiona’s vision when she saved him from the fire. She also knew her daughter would rather go blind than watch Brodie marry another woman. But as a mother, she couldn’t just stand by while her daughter wasted away over a love that would never be returned.

“Brodie, we’re business people. When there’s a choice, why not minimize the risk? You could marry now and divorce later. But blindness is forever.” She paused, letting the words sink in. “Could you live with that? Would you ever forgive yourself?”

Brodie was silent for a beat. “How is Fiona?” he asked.

“Not good,” Maria said. “Her treatment’s been stalled for days. Her eyes are inflamed. They could get worse at any moment...”

“I’ll make sure she gets treated by tomorrow. No matter what,” Brodie promised.

Maria left, a little reassured.

Brodie slumped onto the sofa in the meeting room. His helplessness curdled into bitter resentment—aimed straight at Ariel.

The resentment boiled over when Ariel showed up unannounced. He knew better, but his anger got the best of him. “Do you ever think your daughter’s illness is karma for the things you’ve done?” he snapped.

Ariel froze, tears springing to her eyes.

Fiona had said similar things before—worse, even—when Ariel went to her grandfather. Fiona had confronted her, cursing her out about karma and dying alone. Ariel had fired back, enraged that Fiona would put that kind of hex on her child.

But hearing it from Brodie felt like a knife to the heart.

“Choose your next words carefully if you want to resolve this,” she warned, wiping away her tears. Her voice turned icy. “You’ve tried every avenue to get Fiona treatment. But it’s clear nothing will work without my grandfather’s approval.”

Brodie’s irritation spiked. She kept going. “I know you don’t want to marry me. I won’t force you. I came with two other proposals.”

Ignoring the way his expression darkened, she pressed on. “One: a bone marrow transplant to save my daughter.”

Brodie let out a bitter laugh. “You wish.”

Ariel didn’t flinch. “Two: give me a child.”

Brodie’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “What did you just say?”

“I’m asking you to give me a child,” she repeated, her gaze unwavering.

“What? Your mother’s clients aren’t enough for you? Miss Reed, if you’re that desperate, I can call up a dozen men for you.”

Ariel ignored the insult. “Your child. From you.”

The words had barely left her mouth when a glass flew past her ear and shattered against the wall behind her.

“Are you trying to make me hate you even more?” His voice dripped with disdain.

“I’m offering one last option—marriage.” She pushed on, unfazed by his hostility. She pulled a document from her bag and set it in front of him. “And then, give me a child.”

Brodie didn’t even glance at it. “You think you have leverage?”

“I don’t have leverage. I saved Mr. Reed’s precious daughter at great personal cost. Now he’s generously supporting me.”

“I figured you’d need an undeniable reason to help my daughter. So I gave you one.”

“Read the agreement. Marry me, and Fiona stays safe. If you choose the transplant or let me conceive, we can divorce anytime, and I’ll disappear from your life. You don’t have to marry me. Just agree to my terms, and Fiona still gets treatment.”

She pointed to a clause. “I know you despise me. You don’t have to touch me. Just provide...”

“If I agree to marry you, Fiona’s treatment resumes. Correct?” Brodie cut in.

Ariel nodded on instinct, caught off guard. “Yes. But we have to register first.”

Brodie made a call. “Get my documents to the registry office in twenty minutes.”

He hung up and met Ariel’s stunned expression with a smirk. “As you wish.”

“Ray!” he called.

“What do you need, Mr. Wagner?”

Ray’s voice came from just outside the office.

“Prepare the car. We’re going to the registry office.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Brodie rose to leave, Ariel was still reeling. She hadn’t expected this.

“What’s holding you back?” Brodie reminded her as they passed each other. “If you delay Fiona’s treatment, I’ll make sure you feel her pain.”

His harsh words snapped Ariel back to reality.

“You really don’t have to force yourself to marry me. Just—”

Brodie didn’t even glance her way. He strode out, and Ariel hurried to grab the agreement and follow.

The process was efficient. When the marriage certificate with the official stamp was in her hands, her thoughts drifted.

She never thought Brodie would actually marry her. Her plea to her grandfather had been an attempt to save her daughter through a transplant. She’d assumed no one—not even her grandfather—could directly force Brodie’s hand.

But now...

“The marriage is complete. Now fulfill your promise.”

As they left the registry office, Brodie called Mr. Reed and handed the phone to Ariel.

“You talk to him.”

“Grandpa... Yes, it’s done...”

She confirmed it, and Brodie swiftly took the phone back. “We need your help with Fiona’s case.”

He listened, then glanced at Ariel. “Now that we’re married, I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”

His gaze sent a chill down Ariel’s spine.

“I understand what you want,” he said after ending the call, staring her down. “You want another child to save yours with cord blood.”

Ariel wasn’t surprised he knew. Information on thalassemia treatment was easy enough to find.

“You think marriage will pressure me into saving your daughter? Or that marrying me will let you find a way to have a child with me?” He suddenly leaned in, gripping Ariel’s chin. “If your brains matched your schemes, you wouldn’t be entertaining such foolish thoughts.”

His closeness radiated danger. Ariel trembled with fear.

“What are you—”

Brodie’s phone rang, cutting her off.

It was Maria—probably about Fiona’s treatment resuming.

Brodie didn’t answer right away. He leaned into Ariel’s ear, voice dripping with venom. “Do you really think I’d ever want someone as tainted as you?”

He took the call, his sadistic smirk vanishing the moment he heard the first words.

“Fiona tried to take her own life?”

Ariel’s head snapped up in shock.

“Which hospital?”

Brodie headed for the parking garage at a dead run, then turned to Ariel a few steps ahead. “If anything happens to Fiona, you’ll never see your daughter again.”

Ariel clutched the glaring red certificate, watching Brodie’s determined figure retreat. Tears streamed down her face.

All she wanted was to save her daughter—to stay close to the one person who might be able to help.

But how had everything spiraled so devastatingly out of control?

Ariel Reed drifted back to the villa in a daze, the marriage certificate clutched in her hand. Sleep was a lost cause. Her mind spun with the same stubborn thought: Fiona’s suicide attempt had to be an act. But fear crept in anyway—not just fear of Brodie Wagner’s payback, but guilt, too. She’d put someone in danger for her daughter’s sake, even if that someone was Fiona.

“God, please, have mercy,” she whispered, curled into a corner of the bed, too terrified to even sob.

But mercy felt a million miles away. Dr. Dexter Fox called, his voice grim as he told her Fiona had indeed lost her sight. To stop Ariel and Brodie’s marriage, Fiona had tried to end her life with carbon monoxide. They’d saved her in time, but the trauma had stolen the vision she’d only just regained.

“Ariel, maybe you should come back. Capri doesn’t have a rare blood type. We’ll find a match…” Dexter’s voice faded as the hotel room door clicked open. Brodie stood there, key card in hand, a storm brewing in his eyes.

Ray’s voice vanished as the phone slipped from Ariel’s grasp. She went frozen, terror locking her in place at the sight of Brodie. She wanted to speak, to ask about Fiona, but the words wouldn’t come. Brodie’s advancing silhouette carried an unbearable weight, wrapping her in darkness, stealing the breath from her lungs.

“She’s blind,” he said, each word sharp as a blade. “So you won’t need to see this world either.”

His hand shot out. Ariel squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for a blow that never came. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and hauled her to her feet.

“Wait.”

She moved fast, scrambling for the phone she’d dropped, but Brodie gave her no time. His strength dragged her effortlessly toward the door.

“Wait, Brodie, let me grab my phone. I need my phone.”

She latched onto the doorframe, keeping him from dragging her out completely. Wherever he was taking her, she needed that phone—needed to stay reachable, to make sure Capri could always find her.

“You won’t need it anymore.”

Brodie pried her fingers off the door. Ariel fought him tooth and nail, clawing at the frame with hands and feet, desperate to get back inside.

She had no idea where he planned to take her, but the ice in his words made her fear the worst—losing her eyes, maybe even her life.

“What do you want? Where are you taking me? Let go of me—I won’t go with you! Brodie Wagner, you can’t force me! Help! Somebody help! Murder!”

Her screams echoed back at her. The villa lay dead silent, as if they were the only two souls inside its walls.

“This is my property. I cleared everyone out before I came.”

“Brodie Wagner, calm down. I never meant for anything to happen to Fiona…”

“Enough with the crocodile tears!”

He clamped a hand over her mouth. Her cheek slammed against her teeth, and the taste of blood flooded her senses.

His fingers brushed the blood from her lip with a contempt that barely hid his impatience. Then he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.

“Ah—”

The move knocked the breath out of her. It hit her then: her pitiful strength was no match for Brodie’s.

She clutched at his clothes as nausea churned in her empty stomach, the upside-down position making everything worse.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Brodie, put me down—listen to me first. Dr. Dexter Fox is renowned worldwide. He knows the top eye specialists. He can help. Fiona’s eyes still have a chance.”

But Brodie was deaf to her pleas. Rage drove him onward through the villa lobby.

“Please, calm down, Brodie. I’m begging you, calm down. Don’t be so quick to pass a death sentence on me…”

He tossed her into the backseat of his car, then lingered for a moment to whisper, “This pain is what you inflicted on her. For that alone, you deserve to be torn apart.”

“Are you going to kill me, then?” she asked, meeting the storm of his fury head-on.

“I won’t kill you. You’re not worth dirtying my hands for,” he said coldly. “And aren’t you most worried about your little one? Ariel Reed, I’ll lock you away. Give you a comfortable life. But you’ll never see her again, hear her voice, or know a single thing about her—not even when she dies.”

“You can’t do that…” Ariel shook her head in horror. “Brodie, you can’t… Let me out! Let me out!”

She shoved against him, trying to duck under his arm and bolt, but he forced her back into the car and slammed the door.

“Brodie, open the door! Let me out! You lunatic, let me out!”

She pounded on the door, hair wild around her face as she stared through the glass—a terrifying sight, the kind that would scare a child into tears.

Brodie climbed into the driver’s seat. When he saw her about to lunge forward, he hit the button for the partition, sealing her cries behind soundproof glass.

Trapped, Ariel went wild, pounding on the barrier with arms, legs, even her head. To Brodie, her howls were nothing but muffled noise.

But the raw despair in her screams didn’t give him the revenge he wanted. Not even close.

He floored the gas pedal, trying to drown out the turmoil inside him, but he kept one ear tuned to the silence behind him.

When the quiet stretched on for minutes, he figured she was up to something.

He thought he was prepared. But when he finally reached their destination, opened the door, and saw Ariel slumped back in the seat, tears sliding down her face without a sound, something inside him faltered.

It was too familiar…

Their first meeting had been like this—Ariel in the school health room, staring blankly at moths fluttering around the fluorescent light, tear tracks stark on her cheeks. When she’d looked at him, it was with a hopelessness so fragile it seemed like she might shatter on the spot. Even now, the memory left an ache he couldn’t shake.

“I was just wondering why you hadn’t crashed, driving like that,” she rasped, her voice ragged from screaming. “Same as when we first met. I wondered why you didn’t just walk away.”

Brodie remembered that night clearly. How he’d handed her tissues for no reason he could name. How he’d stood guard until morning.

“For a long time after, I thought that night was my salvation.” She let out a brittle laugh. “Now I see disaster is just as good at wearing disguises.”

“Brodie Wagner, you love pulling me out of the dark just to throw me into the abyss.”

Her small face tipped up to his, tears ready to spill over—a bruised, haunting beauty, a vulnerability he’d never been able to resist.

Otherwise, why would a man as solitary as him keep vigil all night for a stranger?

Ariel suddenly clung to his shoulder and, before he could react, leaned in and kissed him.

It stunned him. Several seconds passed before he shoved her away—only for her to drag him back down and throw him off balance.

His dark eyes stormed, disbelief barely hidden beneath loathing.

“Have you lost your mind?” he spat, furious.

Her warmth pressed against him, her scent invading his senses, making his breath come faster. He gripped the seat to push himself up, but Ariel’s arms wound around his neck and pulled him into another hungry kiss.

It wasn’t tender anymore. It was a storm—relentless, bruising. When he tried to pull back, her lips bit into his.

“Insane!” he cursed, swiping the blood from his lip, his face dark with anger. “Used to selling yourself, are you? Can’t wait to climb onto anyone who crosses your path?”

Ariel laughed, unfazed by his scorn, watching him with an unfathomable lightness.

“Brodie Wagner, you’re so handsome. Did you know? When we were together, seeing you always made me want to do this.”

“Shut up!”

Brodie’s voice trembled as he turned away, his pulse erratic.

“I won’t be silenced. If I don’t speak now, I may never get the chance to talk to you again.”

She stood slowly, the madness fading like a distant memory, melancholy settling back over her. “If there’s anything left to say, it’s for Capri and you.”

“I won’t be seeing Capri. But fortunately, you’re here.”

She got out and stood just behind Brodie. Her hand hesitated, aching to reach for him the way she used to, then fell to rest lightly against his back. Her voice was calm.

“Brodie Wagner, thank you for being part of my life. For showing me beauty.”

“One last thing—may I hug you?” she pleaded, unable to hold back the final request.

Without waiting for an answer, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back. He didn’t pull away.

“Thank you…”

For a brief moment, her tears soaked through his shirt, burning where they should have been cold, making him want to flee. But the ghostly hold of her arms wouldn’t let him move.

He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed without a sound.

Ariel knew exactly how to stir the heart of a man who’d once loved her.

“Do you think tears will leave me helpless the way they did before? That I won’t know how to handle you?” He brushed her hands away and turned to face her, his eyes cold again.

“I know what you’re doing. No need for more theatrics.”

He seized her arm and strode toward the secluded manor tucked into the hills—a place with no other soul for miles.

So this was the end…

Ariel let her head fall, resentment giving way to exhaustion.

“If Fiona’s eyes can be healed, I’ll let you go once she regains her sight. From then on, you’re never to cross paths with us again.”

“If she stays blind, then I wish you a long life.”

With that, Brodie turned from her and slammed the manor door shut.

Ariel didn’t bother calling for help. From the moment Brodie made his decision—from the second he’d dragged her out of that room, breathing fire—she’d known pleading was useless.

Drained from the fight, she stumbled toward the sofa and collapsed before she got there.

There was still hope, some glimmer…

She crawled across the carpet, grabbed tissues from the table, and carefully wrapped the few strands of hair clenched in her fist—strands she’d snatched from Brodie’s head during their struggle.

Carefully, she tucked the precious bundle against her heart, as if an imaginary wind might snatch it away.

That done, she leaned her head back against the sofa and exhaled deeply, spent in body and soul.

She loved Brodie Wagner. But her feelings were far from the selfless devotion she pretended. His cutting words made her seethe. His refusal to acknowledge their daughter pushed her to the edge of airing everything online just to shame him.

But she couldn’t risk it. Her daughter was her Achilles’ heel. One misstep, and it could all come crashing down.

Despite all her caution, why had everything spiraled to this?

All she could do was cling to memories and use whatever scraps she had left to buy a fraction of mercy.

Yet there was still a chance.