CHAPTER 71. A debtZack looked out the enormous window of his office in the heart of Manhattan. It had been two days since that phone conversation with Andrea, where she had asked just one question and he hadn’t even known if she had heard his answer because all he could hear after that was Ben yelling at her not to leave.He would have liked to say that he hadn’t been able to sleep since that moment, but the truth was he hadn’t been able to sleep since the moment he boarded that plane to leave Canada. The shadow of Mason Lee standing in his doorway kept returning to his mind. The unpleasant introduction, the threats he didn’t care about at all, and then that declaration.“You can ignore everything, but the reality is that Andrea and I will never be apart because there is a child involved,” Mason had hissed with satisfaction.“A child you abandoned!”“That doesn’t matter, it doesn’t change the fact that I was Andrea’s husband for years while you’ve only been with her for two weeks. Ha

CHAPTER 73. A Desperate AttemptPeople might take a day to cry, but Andrea didn’t give herself even a minute; she couldn’t, because all she wanted was to get her daughter back. The social worker accompanied them to Mason’s residence that afternoon, and Andrea felt like vomiting at the sight of the mansion he lived in and the car he drove while she only had a crib for her daughter.Of course, the social worker didn’t miss the impact, nor the pain of having to leave her daughter in the arms of Mason’s nurse, because the moment he held her, the baby started crying desperately.That night Andrea felt like she was dying without her daughter. She could only think about how she was probably unable to sleep because she was with strangers. The next day, Andrea couldn’t even drink a coffee while anxiously waiting at the building’s entrance until Mason arrived in his Mercedes, and the nurse, looking haggard and tired, handed her the baby.Andrea hugged and kissed her daughter as if she hadn’t se

CHAPTER 75. What happened?”Andrea felt her heart stop for a second when she saw him there. He was wearing a long black trench coat, a turtleneck sweater, and his hair was as impeccable as ever. His expression was tired, as if it was a burden for him to be there. He was still seductive, still attractive... and suddenly, it was as if all the butterflies she had felt for him had turned into rats trying to devour her stomach from the inside.For days, Andrea had wished to see him appear at that threshold, but now... now it was very different.Zack discreetly glanced inside and was surprised that absolutely nothing had changed there, but he refrained from saying so. By that time, he expected Mason to have moved back into the apartment and to have to negotiate with both of them.“Hi,” he said with his usual softness.“Hi,” murmured Andrea, but her hand didn’t move from the handle and her body continued to block the door.For a long minute, neither of them spoke. She looked at him with a bl

CHAPTER 77. How can I not blame myself?!If there was ever a time for the ground to open up and swallow someone whole, for Zack Keller, that moment was now.Their conversation hadn't been long, but Andrea's words echoed endlessly in his mind: "Mason took my daughter because I refused to go back to him.""I don’t even have a bed to sleep in, Zack! Where the hell was I supposed to get money for a lawyer?!""I just want you to leave.""You didn’t ruin anything, you were just... inconsequential."Perhaps the worst part of it all was that after promising to help her, to protect her, he hadn't been there to make any difference. Andrea had lost her daughter, and no matter how much she insisted it wasn’t his fault, Zack couldn’t stop feeling that it was.Ben jumped when he arrived early the next morning and found Zack pacing the office like a caged lion. His disheveled appearance made it clear he hadn’t slept all night, and his eyes were red from worry. Ben approached slowly, feeling a pang

CHAPTER 79. That kind of powerAndrea walked to the reception area nervously. She was expecting one of the old clients who were obviously nervous about the change in management, but what she found was an unexpected surprise.Standing before her was a tall and handsome young man, dressed in a dark blue coat. He had a kind face and a gentle demeanor that Andrea had seen many times over the past two weeks, though mostly via video.“Mr. Stormhold?” she exclaimed.“Please, just call me Gideon. I’m only twenty years old even if I look older,” he responded in a deep, soft voice, extending his hand to greet her. “And you must be Mrs. Brand. I’ve come to meet you.”Andrea felt her heart skip a beat. She had been chasing after him, of course, but she never expected him to show up there.“Of course, please… Can I offer you a coffee?”Gideon nodded, and Andrea used the company card to take him down to the café. A few minutes later, they were seated at a small table, and Andrea gave him her full a