Grayson followed the nurse and Eileen like a ghost, keeping his distance, careful not to be seen. His heart pounded so hard it felt ready to break out of his chest. He didn't even know what the hell he was doing there, but his legs kept moving on their own.

And one thought kept looping in his head. She had a kid with another man.

Every time the thought surfaced, it stabbed through his stomach. But he had no right to judge her. Not when he was hiding things too. Not when his own sins clung to him like drenched bricks. Not when he had failed her more times than he could count.

He kept walking until a sign hanging from the ceiling made him freeze.

Pediatric Oncology.

His breath caught. The hallway stretched into something endless, and every step he took after that felt like walking through water.

Then her words came back to him.

"Two million dollars… that's my price…"

"There are so many things you don't know, Grayson…"

"I'm not going back to the past…"

And like a slap a