Vivian stared out at the city skyline, the lights of Ashford City blinking like distant stars. The hotel room felt suffocating, its luxurious walls closing in around her. She hadn't slept. She hadn't even changed out of the clothes she wore to face Liam.
Her mind raced, replaying every word of his cold offer. A contract marriage. A life tethered once more to the man who'd shattered her heart.
She pressed a hand to her chest, as if she could steady the storm inside it.
"Do what's best for your son." His voice echoed in her head, low and relentless, as if it owned her thoughts the way he once tried to own her life.
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had cried enough for Liam Ashford.
Vivian crossed the room and knelt beside the bed, brushing a curl from Daniel's peaceful face. He slept soundly, safe for now. His small chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, and for a fleeting moment, her heart softened.
He deserved better than this.
What would happen if she said no?
She could see it all too clearly the headlines splashed across tabloids: ASHFORD SCANDAL: SECRET HEIR REVEALED.
Cameras flashing in Daniel's frightened eyes. Strangers speculating about him, about her, about their past.
They'll destroy him. The thought chilled her to the bone.
She rose and paced the room, hugging herself as though trying to keep herself from falling apart.
"I left for a reason," she whispered to the empty room. "I swore I'd never need him. Never let him control me again."
Her mind betrayed her with memories: Liam's laugh, once warm and easy a sound she hadn't heard in years. The nights they stayed up talking about dreams, before ambition hardened him. The moment his gaze turned cold, the day she told him she was pregnant, and he accused her of trying to trap him.
Her throat tightened.
But this wasn't just about her anymore.
She imagined the boardroom: powerful men in expensive suits, calculating, cold. She could almost hear their voices. An heir no one knew about? Weakness. Disgrace. Leverage.
They'll see him as a threat. A pawn. A liability.
Vivian clenched her fists. No. She wouldn't let them touch Daniel's life, not if she could stop it.
If she had to step back into Liam's world, she would do it but on her terms.
She'd demand conditions.
Her independence no puppet wife, no empty title.
A say in their son's upbringing.
A timeline an end date to this charade, a way out.
Protection, but not control.
Vivian crossed to the window, the city stretching beneath her like a web of secrets and power. Ashford Tower loomed in the distance, its glass and steel gleaming in the night a monument to Liam's empire.
The very world she'd fled.
But Daniel's safety mattered more.
Vivian straightened, resolve hardening in her chest. If I agree, it won't be because Liam forced me. It will be because I choose to protect my son.
She took one last glance at Daniel, sleeping so trustingly, and whispered, "I'll keep you safe. I promise."
Tomorrow, she thought, the game begins.
And this time, she wouldn't play by Liam Ashford's rules.
Vivian closed her eyes for a moment, drawing in a slow breath. The city lights flickered below, as if daring her to step back into the fire. She felt the weight of it the decisions waiting for her at dawn, the battle she'd been forced into.
He'll expect me to crumble, she thought. To come to him desperate, begging for safety.
But she wouldn't. Not this time.
She moved to the small table by the window, where her phone lay silent. For a fleeting second, she imagined picking it up, calling him, laying out her terms with cold precision. But no. That would give him too much power. This had to be done face-to-face. Let him see the strength in her eyes. Let him feel the distance between the woman he once knew and the one standing before him now.
Liam will try to twist this, she warned herself. He'll offer charm where he once gave scorn. Or he'll threaten, reminding me who holds the empire.
Vivian crossed her arms tightly, as if bracing against the storm to come. She could already hear the hollow promises It's for Daniel. I'm doing this for him. She'd heard enough lies to last a lifetime.
And if she failed?
A wave of dread washed over her as she imagined the headlines again:
ASHFORD SCANDAL: SECRET HEIR EXPOSED!
Illegitimate Child at the Center of Corporate War!
Daniel's face splashed across screens, strangers dissecting his life, his parentage, as if he were a chess piece on the Ashford board. Liam's rivals would pounce, turning Daniel into leverage, a weakness to exploit.
I can't let that happen. I won't.
Vivian straightened, her reflection in the glass no longer unrecognizable. The woman staring back at her was resolved. Ready.
When I face him tomorrow, I won't just defend myself. I'll set the rules. I'll decide the terms. And I'll make sure he understands Daniel is not a pawn. I am not his to command.
She allowed herself one last look at her sleeping son, so small, so innocent. Her voice barely a whisper.
"I'll keep you safe. No matter what it takes."
The city stretched out beneath her, the night heavy with promise and danger.
Tomorrow, she would step into Liam's world.
And this time, she would own the game.