Chapter One

"Ms. Hayes, Avery got into a fight in the art studio. She hit the son of our biggest sponsor. You need to come here right away."

I immediately dropped the landscape plans I was working on and rushed to the arts center.

When I pushed open the office door, two children were standing side by side against the wall.

A man in a perfectly tailored designer suit stood with his back to me, his posture straight and imposing.

At the sound of the door, he turned around.

My heart sank the moment I saw his face.

"It's been a long time, Emma."

I glanced down at my mud-covered boots and the work pants torn by tree branches before lifting my head to meet his gaze.

"Indeed it has, Mr. Grayson."

Five years since our divorce.

And this was the first time we had seen each other again.

——

Emma's POV

The teacher, caught between us, let out a relieved sigh.

"Since you two already know each other, perhaps you could settle this privately…"

Before she could finish, the sharp, hurried click of high heels echoed down the hallway.

"Oh my God! Caleb, baby, who did this to you?"

Chloe Jenkins stormed into the office in red-soled heels.

She was dressed head to toe in the latest Chanel collection, a limited-edition platinum handbag dangling from her arm.

The awkward girl who used to struggle through household chores was nowhere to be seen.

When Chloe spotted me, her expression stiffened for a split second. But she quickly recovered, lifting her chin with the same smug superiority she now wore like a second skin.

"I asked the other students what happened. Caleb and the others were just talking. They weren't doing anything wrong."

She pointed accusingly at my daughter.

"This ill-mannered little brat suddenly rushed over and shoved him!"

Then she turned to Carter and grabbed his sleeve, her voice dripping with indignation.

"Darling, look at our son's face! What if he ends up with a scar?"

I crouched in front of Avery and gently wiped the dirt from her cheek.

"Sweetheart, tell Mommy what happened. Why did you fight?"

Avery bit down on her lower lip, stubbornly refusing to cry. Then she pointed at Caleb.

"He said I didn't have a dad, that I was a bastard, and that I didn't belong here."

"And that's why you hit him?" Chloe snapped at Avery. "It was just a joke. Was there really any need to make such a big deal out of it?"

I took a deep breath and stood up.

"Good for her. We don't back down when someone attacks us with that kind of disrespect."

"You!" Chloe exploded. "I knew it! She's a bastard with no father to teach her manners!"

Carter, standing across from us, suddenly frowned.

His eyes were fixed on Avery's face, and something shifted violently in his expression.

"Who dares call my daughter a bastard?"

A deep, commanding voice came from the doorway.

At the same time, a large, warm hand closed around my trembling fingers.

The reassuring warmth of his palm somehow steadied me.

"Daddy!"

Avery launched herself at him like a little cannonball.

Noah Harrison caught her effortlessly and swept her into his arms.

He wore a finely tailored charcoal-gray overcoat, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze was sharp and icy.

"I've been busy at the studio lately and haven't had time to bring my daughter to her art classes myself."

His eyes swept across the room.

"I had no idea that, in my absence, my daughter had become the target of other people's insults."

The silence that followed sent the temperature in the office plummeting.

Carter stared at Noah's arm wrapped around Avery. His Adam's apple bobbed as if he were struggling to swallow something bitter.

After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Caleb was in the wrong today."

"I'll make sure he understands that when we get home."

I gave him a cold nod.

Then I turned and left with Noah and our daughter.

"Emma!"

Carter called after me, a note of panic slipping into his voice before he could hide it.

I didn't look back.

Once we were in the car, Avery covered her smartwatch and giggled happily.

"When our little princess gets treated unfairly, how could I not come running to her rescue?" Noah said, turning around to wink at her.

As the car pulled away from the gates, I glanced out the window.

Chloe was still tugging at Carter, clearly refusing to let the matter go. Carter's expression darkened, and he abruptly shook her hand off.

Noah kept one hand on the steering wheel and glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"The woman dressed head to toe in Chanel. Is she the one who…"

I nodded.

"Chloe. She used to be our live-in housekeeper."

And she was also the woman who had made Carter so determined to divorce me that he was willing to throw away everything we'd built together.