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?

The transformation in Maya was instantaneous when her phone began ringing. The light in her eyes extinguished, her smile faded to nothing, and her entire body went rigid with tension. She began trembling slightly, a physical reaction I couldn't miss.


"Damn it," she muttered, glancing at her screen with unmistakable dread. "It's my mother again."


I reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Honey, you should answer. She's obviously not going to stop calling."


Maya exhaled slowly, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'll take it inside the apartment," she conceded. "I'm not going to classes today anyway. My professor canceled and sent a message to our group chat. That's why I turned my phone on—to check messages—and I forgot to switch it off again."


Chapter 432 - S3 Chapter 28 - Defying Maternal Tyranny