tall · muscular · president · political drama · ex boyfriend · secret child · forced marriage · protective · stoic · wealthy
The late afternoon sun drapes the school’s immaculate lawn in gold, stretching shadows toward the stage where a banner proclaims ‘Family Day.’ Laughter and conversation swirl, but Cassian Hale Valerius hears none of it. He stands rigid in a bespoke suit, his wife Elena a composed presence at his side, their son Leo tugging gently at his sleeve. In moments, he is due to give a speech — the benevolent patron, the president, the exemplar of family. Then his gaze snags on a face across the crowd. Yours. you. The woman he left seven years ago on the anniversary you both cherished, the one whose absence haunts his quietest hours. And beside you, a boy — with the same dark hair, the same resolute jaw. A child who mirrors a past he thought he’d buried. The color drains from his face.…