Chapter 6

Early the next morning, Ava Thompson - Heather's ride-or-die best friend - stormed into the hospital as soon as she heard about Cherry.

She burst through the door, arms full of snacks, toys, and love. "Oh my sweet little Cherry! You've lost so much weight!"

"Auntie Ava!" Cherry squealed, her eyes lighting up like little suns.

Ever since she was born, Ava had been her godmother - the fun, loud, over-the-top one.

"Come here, give Auntie a big ol' kiss!" Ava scooped her into a hug, smooshing her cheeks like she was squishing a marshmallow. "Even your little hand looks puffy from the IV. My poor baby!"

Cherry giggled and squirmed under the affection. "Auntie Ava! Too much! My face hurts!"

"Oops, sorry sorry!" Ava laughed. "But look, I brought you a mountain of goodies. Snacks, toys, a new Barbie dress - your favorites!"

Heather shot her a side-eye. "Careful - if you keep this up, she won't want to come home with me."

Ava waved it off, unfazed. "Kids should be spoiled. Right, Cherry?"

Cherry's round eyes turned into crescents as she flashed a mischievous grin and threw Ava a wink. "I love you, Auntie Ava! Mwah!"

"Love you more!" Ava blew her a finger-heart.

While Cherry busied herself changing outfits for her Barbie dolls, Ava dragged Heather out into the hallway.

"So... you ran into Kieran last night?"

Heather blinked. "How do you know?"

"Noah told me. Said that bastard tried to get you drunk. Still allergic, right?"

"I'm okay. Took meds. And I got forty-three grand out of it. Not a bad deal."

Ava's face darkened. "That's not the point, Heather. You could've died. You shouldn't even be working there. If it weren't for that part-time job, you wouldn't have seen him again."

Heather exhaled. "Fate has a funny way of catching up. If not last night, it would've been another time."

Ava folded her arms, her tone sharp. "What now? The man wrecked your career once - blacklisted you across the whole industry. That was without even seeing you. Now you've run into him, and he nearly killed you with a drink. What happens next time?"

"I don't know," Heather said quietly. "One day at a time."

Ava hesitated, then lowered her voice. "And... Cherry? You planning to keep hiding her forever?"

Heather gave a wry smile. "If I don't, what do I do? March up to Kieran and go, 'Surprise! You're a dad!' He'd just think I'm using her to manipulate him. Trying to guilt him into forgiving me."

She looked out the window, her voice soft but sure.

"There's nothing left between us. It's been six years. Kieran's not the kind of man who forgives betrayal - especially not from me. The fact that I'm still breathing... is probably the last bit of mercy I'll ever get from him."

Ava shivered. "That's... terrifying, honestly."

Heather didn't flinch. "It's just how he is. When Kieran loves, it's to the bone. But when he hates... there's nothing left."

She fell quiet for a moment, caught in memory.

Back in college, during a summer bar gig, a drunk customer had touched her hand.

Kieran found out.

He dragged the guy into a back alley and shattered his arm on the spot.

Heather had clung to him, crying, begging him to stop. She was terrified the man would retaliate. But Kieran didn't care.

Afterward, he banned her from all part-time jobs.

He'd taken the hand that had been touched and washed it under freezing water until it turned red. Then he kissed it tenderly, as if to erase the stain.

That night, he lost control. He pinned her down and kissed every inch of her like she was slipping away from him.

"Heather," he'd whispered hoarsely, "don't let anyone touch you. Ever. I can't take it."

Yeah... that was Kieran. Obsessive. Possessive. Passionate to the point of madness.

And now?

"Ava," Heather said, voice trembling for the first time, "I'm scared he'll take Cherry away from me. Use her to punish me."

Ava froze. "You think he'd do that?"

Heather didn't answer.

She didn't have to.

Because they both knew... he might.

Right then, Ava's phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen and groaned. "Ugh - work."

She picked up. "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?! Kieran just hit number one on trending! You're missing the story again!"

"Kieran?"

Ava's jaw dropped.

She hung up and opened Twitter.

Top trending: [Kieran Foster & Emma Collins Engaged!]

Tag: BREAKING

"What the actual - ?!" she blurted.

Heather looked over. "Work drama?"

Ava shoved the phone into her hands. "Look at this."

Heather's eyes scanned the headline.

Emma Collins. She didn't know her. Didn't need to.

"He's getting engaged, huh?" she said, voice flat. "Good for him. I wish them the best."

Ava stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "That's it? No screaming? No tears? No throwing the phone?"

Heather gave a calm smile. "What's the point? Crying won't bring him back. If he's choosing to move on, that's good. Maybe he'll stop obsessing over the past. Maybe he'll stop trying to destroy me."

Ava blinked. "Damn. That's... actually a decent mindset."

Her phone buzzed again. "Gotta go before my editor explodes."

She gave Cherry a quick kiss and took off, half-running through the hallway.

Heather walked back into the hospital room.

Cherry looked up with big, curious eyes. "Mommy, your eyes are red. Were you crying?"

"Huh? No, sweetie. Air conditioning's too strong. Made my eyes itch."

She ruffled Cherry's hair and changed the subject smoothly. "Are you cold?"

"Nope! I'm cozy."

But Heather's mind was somewhere else.

As she poured Cherry a glass of water, her hands trembled - and the cup slipped through her fingers, shattering on the floor.

---

That night, Julian was on night shift.

Heather handed Cherry over to him and left for her gig at Velvet Dusk Club.

Cherry got hungry in the hospital room, rummaged through the bag her godmother brought over, and found a rolled-up magazine shoved between snacks and toys.

Ava must've dropped it in by accident - reporter life and all.

With nothing else to do, the kid pulled it out.

Cherry was six, not in school yet and far from a reading pro, but Heather had been teaching her to recognize basic characters.

"The... Global... Business..."

She paused at the last word, scrunching up her nose.

"Re... rev... what's that one?"

But the man on that cover - wow.

Way more handsome than Dr. Griffin!

Cherry's eyes sparkled, her pudgy finger poking at the picture. "He matches Mom perfectly!"

By 9 p. m., she'd flipped through that magazine a dozen times. Mommy still wasn't back yet.

Bored and restless, she slid off the bed, her little yellow duck slippers squeaking as she hopped to the floor.

Julian had said he'd be on the second floor. If anything happened, she just had to ask the nurse to take her.

She was about to head to the nurses' station when she spotted a man by the window on his phone.

Tall, stylish, super handsome.

She blinked. Hard.

Wasn't that the handsome guy from the magazine cover?