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?

I felt hollow as I watched Hazel walk away. My heart hammered against my ribs like it wanted to break free and chase after her. The fluorescent lights of the breakroom seemed to dim, matching my darkening mood.


"I'll never love anyone the way I love you." Her words echoed in my head, beautiful and agonizing all at once.


I slid down against the counter until I hit the floor, not caring who might walk in and see the almighty CEO of Sterling Group breaking apart. My phone was still in my hand, and I typed out a message through blurred vision.


The moment I hit send, regret washed over me. What a pathetic, cowardly thing to say. I wanted to take it back, to run after her and tell her what I really meant: Don't go. Don't move on. Wait for me.


Three months. I'd pushed the wedding back three months, thinking it was some grand gesture. But what was I really offering her? More waiting? More uncertainty? More pain?


Chapter 124 - Trapped Between Jealousy and Longing