Three years ago, Hazel Vance made a choice that changed everything. One night of passion with a mysterious stranger at a masquerade ball left her with more than just memories—it left her with a son whose rare violet-blue eyes are a constant reminder of the father she'll never find.

Now a struggling single mother, Hazel desperately needs the executive assistant position at Sterling Group. The salary could finally give her two-year-old Leo the life he deserves. But her new boss, CEO Liam Sterling, is nothing like she expected.

Demanding, brilliant, and devastatingly handsome, Liam has a reputation for being impossible to work for. Most assistants don't last a week. When Hazel refuses to be intimidated by his cold demeanor and sharp tongue, something shifts between them. The attraction is immediate and electric, crackling through every professional interaction.

But it's his eyes that stop her cold. The same striking violet-blue shade that stares back at her every morning when she looks at her son.

As the tension between them builds and the lines between professional and personal begin to blur, Hazel finds herself caught between her desperate need for this job and her growing attraction to the one man who could destroy everything she's worked for.

She doesn't know that Liam has been searching for the mysterious woman from the masquerade ball ever since that night changed him forever. And he has no idea that the composed, fiery assistant who challenges him at every turn is the same woman who haunts his dreams.

When the truth finally comes to light, will it bring them together or tear apart the fragile new life Hazel has built for herself and her son?

By the time Owen's black sedan pulled into my driveway, Fiona's herbal tea had worked its magic and I was drifting in and out of sleep. I woke up hours later to find Scarlett perched on the edge of my bed, watching me with concerned eyes.


"Hey there, sleeping beauty," Scarlett said, her voice gentle but carrying an undertone of urgency.


"Hi, Vi," I mumbled, pushing myself up against the pillows. "How are you holding up?"


"Like I've been hit by a truck," I admitted, running my hands through my tangled hair. "He's planning to marry one woman while keeping another as his mistress. And the worst part? I think she might be the mystery woman from his past that he's been searching for all these years."


Scarlett shifted uncomfortably on the bed, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Hazel, I cornered Liam and made him talk. What I'm about to tell you might be hard to hear, but you need to know the truth. For your sake and my brother's."


Chapter 143 - Chapter 143 - Gentle Release and New Beginnin