Eight years after I ran away, I had an unexpected reunion with my ex-husband, Blake Sterling, in the city of Oakhaven.

His friends gaped at me. "So, this is what you've become since you ran out on Blake? A freelance event designer?"

Eight years ago, I was seven months pregnant when I suddenly started hemorrhaging. As I lay in an ambulance, my life hanging by a thread, he was at his "true love" Tiffany's yacht party, ignoring my desperate calls, one after another.

My heart shattered when I confronted him. He just shot me an impatient look. "Stop being so dramatic. I don't have time for this. As long as you know your place, you'll always be Mrs. Sterling."

I couldn't bear it any longer. So I ran. And I was gone for eight years.

Now, those same cold eyes were staring at me again. "Are you done with your little performance? When you are, you're coming home with me."

What he didn't know was that my husband and daughter were already waiting for us at home, with dinner on the table.

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1

"Where the hell have you been all these years? Do you have any idea how hard I've looked for you?" Blake Sterling growled, blocking my path.

His eyes blazed with undisguised fury, and I subconsciously glanced at my son, Cody Vance, who was helping me pack up my equipment a short distance away.

His friends closed in, their glares like daggers.

"You heartless woman! How could you be so cruel?"

"Did you know he's stayed single all these years, waiting for you?"

I had run away eight years ago while pregnant, but Blake had apparently never forgotten me, using all his connections to search for me. His friends were all indignant on his behalf.

"We thought you'd make something of yourself after leaving Blake. And this is what you've become? Some freelance event designer?"

"Exactly. Without Blake's connections, this is all you'd ever amount to. Serves you right for walking out on him!"

Blake’s gaze swept over me, a frown creasing his brow. "So, Amelia. What have you been doing for the past eight years?"

I clutched my work apron, a storm of emotions churning inside me. After leaving Blake, I'd survived roach-infested apartments, eaten expired food from supermarkets, and even lain helpless and alone in a hospital bed.

But thank God, all of that was in the past.

A few of Blake's friends laughed contemptuously.

"Now you realize how good Blake is, don't you?"

"Why don't you kneel and beg for his forgiveness? Maybe if he's in a good mood, he'll take you back."

Their eyes raked over me, a malicious glint in them as they snickered under their breath.

Blake remained silent, showing no intention of stopping them.

Cody thought I was being bullied and immediately clenched his fists, rushing over to glare at them. "Don't you touch my mom!"

Worried he'd get too worked up, I quickly pulled him into my arms and soothed him gently. "Cody, it's okay. Mommy's fine."

Cody's features were a mirror image of Blake's, right down to the hint of a cold demeanor. Recognition dawned on Blake's face.

His gaze softened. "Cody, right? I'm your dad. Come here, let me have a look at you."

Blake gently extended a hand to Cody, but Cody slapped it away and shouted, "You're not my dad! My dad is the founder of Aurum Investments! He protects me and Mom! You're a bad man!"

Julian Croft, the founder of Aurum Investments, was a tech mogul in Oakhaven, a titan of the industry, someone a man of Blake's standing could only dream of meeting—let alone someone like me.

Blake's face instantly darkened.

"Is this what you've been teaching him? To lie? To be a snob? To deny his own father?"

He was convinced I had ulterior motives, that I had coached our son to call another man 'Dad'.

He didn't know that Cody was constantly mocked at school for not having a father.

He didn't know Cody had also been diagnosed with a mild social anxiety disorder, making it difficult for him to fit in.

Without Julian's patient guidance, without him stepping in to be the father Cody so desperately needed, I couldn't imagine what would have become of my son.

As expected, Blake's accusation provoked Cody, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"I didn't lie! I'm not a liar! You are!"

Blake roughly yanked Cody out of my arms and glared at him. "Is this what your mother taught you? To be so rude to your own father?"

"What are you doing?! Don't scare him!"

I tried to pull Cody back, but Blake shoved me aside.

"Look at him! Selfish and a liar! He's nothing like a Sterling! This is your fault! He needs a real lesson, and I'm going to give it to him today!"

Cody's face flushed with anger, and in his struggle, he pushed Blake. In a fit of rage, Blake's control snapped. "I'm your father, and you will listen to me!" he roared, his grip tightening on Cody's arm.

The grip was so tight Cody cried out in pain.

Blake froze for a moment, about to say something, but his phone rang.

"Blake, where are you? Mason is looking for you, he won't stop crying..."

Tiffany Reed's voice filtered through the phone, faint over the sound of another child crying in the background.

Blake's tone immediately softened as he replied, "Tell Mason I'll be right there."

He hung up and impatiently let go of Cody.

"I have to go. You and Cody wait for me here. Don't go anywhere."

Behind us was a large theme park. Blake and his friends hurried into the park, clearly on their way to soothe Tiffany and her son.

After all, one call from Tiffany had been enough for him to abandon me while I was hemorrhaging, my life on the line.

The school event wasn't over, but Cody was clearly shaken. I quickly got the organizer's approval and took him home.

After we returned to the apartment we were temporarily staying in, I coaxed him to sleep and then received a call.

"Blake Sterling is investigating you. Do you need me to stop him?"

"No, it's okay."

We were only in Oakhaven for seven days. After seven days, Blake and I would return to our separate lives, never to cross paths again.

Not long after I hung up, the doorbell rang.

"Amelia, we need to talk."

Blake stood outside, holding a beautifully packaged limited-edition toy car. He scanned the tiny apartment, not bothering to hide the contempt in his eyes.

"This is where you live? This apartment isn't even the size of a walk-in closet at the Sterling estate. Is this the grand, independent life you wanted?"

His condescending gaze reminded me of a conversation between him and his friends eight years ago.

"Amelia Vance is an okay person, but she's too emotional, always needs to be coddled."

"Isn't it normal for men to have to socialize for work? She's always picking fights with me over little things."

"Since she doesn't appreciate the life the Sterling family can give her, let her go out and suffer a bit. Then she'll learn to behave. She needs to understand that in this family, knowing how to please a man is what's most important."

In that house, I was like a caged canary, allowed only to be his docile and obedient companion. The moment I tried to cross a line, I would be ruthlessly put back in my place.

Eight years had passed, and Blake seemed to think I had finally "learned my lesson." He looked at me smugly, but his satisfaction quickly vanished.

I calmly tossed the toy car he'd brought into the trash can by the door.

Blake’s jaw tightened. "Cody is my son. If you won't think about yourself, at least think about his future. Or do you want him to end up like you—a second-rate designer scrambling for scraps?"

I cut him off, enjoying the flash of surprise on his face. "That toy was for Tiffany's son, wasn't it? The tires are made of latex. Cody has a severe latex allergy. Just like me."

The first time I was rushed to the emergency room after accidentally touching a latex product, Blake had stayed by my bedside all night. When I woke up, I saw his bloodshot eyes.

But later, after Tiffany appeared, items he knew I was allergic to started showing up around the house more and more often.

The one who liked collecting limited-edition toy cars was Tiffany, not me.

"Sorry..."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Blake's face as the memory surfaced, but it was quickly replaced by his usual self-righteous anger as he shifted the blame back to me.

"If you hadn't run away while you were pregnant, I wouldn't have missed eight years of my son's life! If he had been by my side all this time, how could I possibly not remember his allergies!"

He roared at me, furious and ashamed, "In the end, this is all your fault! You're too damn selfish!"

The air fell silent.

Soon, he lost any patience for civility.

"Cody is my son, and I will not abandon him. I'll give you two days to come to your senses. I'll be back to get you both."