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?

Tuesday lunch with my mother and Ava turned into an absolute nightmare after the gift mix-up disaster. The three women wouldn't stop torturing me about it.


"Adrian, I have something else for you." I pulled the business card from that gorgeous stranger at the boutique out of my jacket and handed it to my mother.


"What's this supposed to be?" Mom examined the card with curiosity.


I explained the whole humiliating encounter, and all three women exploded into giggles like teenagers, practically falling over themselves with laughter. My mother studied the card before passing it to Chloe and Ava. Still wiping tears from her eyes, she delivered her verdict.


"Adrian West, I raised you to be a gentleman! Your behavior at that store was completely unacceptable. You're going back there to apologize to that poor saleswoman, and if you ever cross paths with that young lady again, you'll apologize to her too."


Chapter 224 - S2 Chapter 8 - Maternal Lectures and Office C