Chapter 2 - The Ghost of a Mistake
“Mommy, who is that man staring at us?”
Leo, the oldest by three minutes, tugged at my sleeve.
His sharp little eyes—so much like his father’s—narrowed suspiciously at Blake.
I placed a protective hand on Leo’s shoulder.
“No one, baby. Just an old acquaintance.”
Blake flinched as if I had slapped him.
He took another step forward, his breathing ragged.
“Emma… are they…?” He couldn’t even finish the sentence.
His eyes darted from Leo, to Max, to Finn.
Three boys. Identical in age. Five years old.
The math was simple. The math was devastating.
“Don’t do this here, Blake,” I warned, my voice turning to ice.
At that moment, the driver of the Bentley stepped out.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing a sharply tailored Italian suit.
He walked over, picking up Finn with practiced ease.
Blake’s eyes snapped to the man, the old jealousy instantly reigniting.
“Who the hell is this?” Blake demanded, his fists clenching. “Is this the man you left me for?”
The man holding my son let out a deep, mocking laugh.
“Nice to see you too, Blake,” he said.
Blake froze. He recognized the voice.
“Lucas?”
“That’s right,” my older brother said, his gaze hard and unforgiving. “Still jumping to the worst conclusions, I see.”
Lucas turned to me, his tone instantly softening.
“Ready to go home, Em? The board meeting is at four, and the boys want ice cream first.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
I ushered the boys into the spacious back seat of the Bentley.
Blake lunged forward, grabbing my arm before I could get in.
His grip was tight, desperate.
“You can’t just walk away! Emma, talk to me! Are they mine?”
I looked down at his hand on my arm, then back up to his terrified eyes.
“You lost the right to ask me any questions five years ago.”
I pulled my arm free.
I stepped into the car and closed the door.
As the Bentley pulled away from the curb, I looked through the tinted window.
Blake was standing in the middle of the drop-off lane.
His security team was rushing toward him, looking concerned.
But Blake was just staring after my car, looking like a man who had just been shot in the chest.
Inside the car, Max leaned his head on my lap.
“Mommy, why was that man crying?”
My heart skipped a beat.
“He was crying?”
“Yeah,” Leo chimed in. “Water was coming out of his eyes. Is he sad?”
I swallowed hard, stroking their dark hair.
“Yes, sweetie. I think he is very, very sad.”
For five years, I had built a fortress around my heart.
I had raised my boys.
I had partnered with my brother to build a tech firm that rivaled Blake’s empire.
I had survived the destruction of my reputation in New York.
But seeing Blake completely broken on the sidewalk… it sparked an emotion I had buried deep down.
Not triumph.
Just profound, overwhelming sorrow for what could have been.
But I knew Blake Harrington.
He was a man who conquered whatever he set his sights on.
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He wouldn’t just let this go.
The war wasn’t over. It had just entered a new battlefield.
