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?

"Cole! Cole!" Ophelia's frantic voice echoed through our house before she'd even made it through the front door.


"In the kitchen!" I called back, focused on layering turkey and cheese for my sandwich. No emergency was worth abandoning lunch.


Ophelia burst into the kitchen, her face flushed. "We've got trouble. Big trouble."


"Whatever it is, it can wait five minutes." I spread a generous helping of mustard on the bread. "Besides, I'm starving."


"Your stepmother took a little trip with Justin," she announced, watching me closely for a reaction.


I laughed and took a large bite of my sandwich. "Good riddance. The farther away those two stay from me, the better." The new spicy mustard hit my taste buds. "Damn, this mustard is fantastic."


"They went to Haven Harbor, Cole." Ophelia's tone turned serious. "Where Maya lives."


My stomach dropped. Suddenly, the sandwich tasted like cardboard. "Shit."


Chapter 494 - S3 - Chapter 90- Rescue Mission