"Mr. Blackwood, you've got a visitor from the Parker Group-Liam's here."

The secretary barely got through the door before a rogue ball bounced against her leg.

Hot on its tail, a little tyke with a mop of hair clung to her, peppering apologies with a cherubic face.

"Oops, sorry! I didn't mean it!"

His doe eyes and dimpled grin were disarmingly cute, and the secretary couldn't help but forgive him instantly. "It's alright, kiddo. I know you didn't mean it."

She comforted Ethan with a gentle coo before turning to her actual task. "Mr. Blackwood, I have "

"Vincent stepped out, but I'll pass on the message," came a voice, cool but kind, from behind a monitor.

The secretary did a double take as she realized it was Mr. Blackwood's wife.

Their love story was the stuff of legends-love at first sight on a snowy mountain, and sealed for a lifetime by a volcano's edge. Sounds like a fairy tale, but the secretary always felt it was too storybook to be true.

Especially when...

Mrs. Blackwood rose to her full height, her radiant features now fully in the secretary's line of sight. "Anything else, Miss?"

Caught off guard, the secretary mumbled, "No..." and walked out, still feeling like she'd seen Mrs. Blackwood's face somewhere before.

Heading out to pin down a time with Liam's assistant, her gaze lifted to see a man in black. His hands were pocketed, his vibe intense he was not the kind of guy you want to stare down. "Mr. Parker! Mr. Blackwood isn't in!" She recognized Liam and chased after him to stop him.

And that's when it clicked why Mrs. Blackwood's face felt familiar.

Years ago, a juicy piece of gossip rocked the city about a woman named Charlotte who juggled men like circus balls, including Liam and Mr. Blackwood.

Liam, unfazed by the secretary's blocking attempt, strutted around Blackwood Group like he owned the place.

These days, he didn't sweat the small stuff. Gone was his old restraint; he now moved to the beat of his own drum.

The secretary's heart leaped as he shoved open the office door.

With Mrs. Blackwood looking so much like that Miss Perry, what would Liam do?

She quickly buzzed Vincent, who told her he'd be back ASAP. By the time she hung up, the office door had already swung shut.

"And who might you be?"

The innocent question hung in the air as Liam looked around and finally down to meet the gaze of a little boy with milky skin and curious eyes.

Big eyes, thin lips-the spitting image of someone he knew.

For a second there, Liam thought to himself, if he and Charlotte ever had a kid, they'd probably be as adorable as this one.

Just thinking about Charlotte made him speak to Ethan in a much softer voice, "Hey buddy, who are you?"

Henry, who was watching this whole thing, couldn't believe his eyes. Since the car crash, Mr. Parker had been more distant and icy than ever. It was rare to see him act so kindly. Ethan, feeling a bit strained looking up at Liam, pulled him down to sit on the couch. With a relieved sigh, he said, "You here for my dad?"

"And who's your dad?"

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"My dad's Vincent-he's a real-life hero!" Ethan beamed with pride.

Liam snorted quietly to himself.

He and Vincent had never seen eye to eye, and the word 'hero' was the last thing he'd associate with Vincent.

But the news of Vincent having a kid that was a real surprise.

"And your mom?"

"She's a princess!" Ethan said, puffing up with pride.

Seeing the kid's face go red with a mix of pride and shyness melted away some of Liam's harshness. His voice went gentle, "Being a princess's not a name, kiddo. What's her actual name?" "You wouldn't know her anyway-she's not from around here," Ethan said matter-of-factly.

"And what about you? You from around here?" Liam was surprised by his own patience.

"Nope, I'm from the same place as my mom!" Ethan declared without missing a beat.

"But your dad is from here," Liam said, chuckling at Ethan's earnestness.

"Yeah, but..." Ethan started to count on his fingers, looking a bit confused.

Before Liam could ask why he was counting, the door creaked open and Vincent's voice called out.

"Ethan!"

"Daddy!" Ethan forgot all about counting and bolted toward his father, hugging him like he was the best thing in the world.

Just a heads up: is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Don't miss out on the next chapter-visit us now and continue your journey! Looking excited, Ethan told his dad, "Daddy, there's a visitor uncle here, and I've been chatting with him a lot!"

"Really?" Vincent's eyes turned icy when they landed on Liam, and his voice went cold, "Daddy needs to have a word with this uncle. Why don't you go play for a while, Ethan?" "Sure!"

Vincent handed Ethan some snacks he'd brought, telling him not to eat too much or mom might have to take action.

"Mom wouldn't, she loves me to bits!" Ethan said, his face lighting up as he clutched the bag of treats.

He handed Liam a jelly, "Uncle, you look a bit down. Mom says a jelly can fix that!"

Liam laughed softly, "It's not really the jelly that does the trick, it's just something adults say to kids."

Still, he accepted the jelly, and Ethan, unbothered by Liam's comment, sighed like he was way older than his years, "I know the jelly doesn't really do anything. It's just that I'm happy when mom gives me one." Ethan paused for a second, then swiped the jelly from Liam's hand.

"Hey, if you're feeling down, I can get my mom to send over some more jellies. She's got a way of making people smile, you know?"

"Sure," Liam said with a warm voice, a slight smile hanging on his face without him even realizing it.

Ethan, with his treats in tow, skipped off. Before he darted out the door, he planted a big kiss on Vincent's cheek. "Thanks, Dad! Love you tons!"

"Love you too, Ethan," Vincent said. But as soon as Ethan was out of sight, his face went from fatherly warmth to stone cold.

When Vincent ran into Liam years later, it was like he was gearing up for battle.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

"Looks like having a kid mellowed you out, Parker. Even got the patience for your nemesis's kid now."

He meant Chloe's kid. The one Liam never claimed but was living it up in some fancy house in the burbs, decked out with all the best stuff. "Liam, Charlotte died for nothing, huh?"