ZARA TAYLOR

I stood in front of the building, anticipating the joy of my life to burst through those doors. I wasn't the only one. So many parents were just as impatient as I was.

It has been hours since I dropped my daughter, Hazel, off at her school, and right now, I will do anything to have her in my arms once again. The huge bell rang and the doors were busted open with a lot of children rushing to their parents.

I scanned the crowd, my heart racing, eyes desperately searching for her familiar face. Then, just as if time had slowed, I saw her, Hazel. My little girl, with her messy brown hair bouncing as she ran toward me. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, a grin spreading across her face.

"Mama!" she shouted, throwing herself into my arms. I caught her easily, holding her tightly as if I could somehow make up for the hours we'd spent apart.

"I missed you so much, Haze," I whispered, brushing her hair from her forehead, inhaling the sweet scent of her childhood innocence.

"I missed you too, Mama!" she giggled, her arms wrapped around my neck. "We did a project today about the planets. Guess what? I made a model of the Earth and...." she continued excitedly, but I barely heard her. My mind, for a brief moment, wandered back to five years ago. To the night I made the decision that changed everything. To Matthew.

I had been running on adrenaline, making the decision to go through with the IVF, wanting a child but keeping my secret, a child who would never know the identity of her father. A child who would be mine alone. But now, five years later, Haze was everything to me. Every laugh, every tear, every moment spent with her was worth the heartbreak that had come before.

I pushed the thoughts aside and focused back on my daughter, her voice pulling me into the present. "... and then we played soccer outside! I was the goalie, and no one could score on me!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm, but something tugged in my chest. Her spirit, her energy, so much of it reminded me of someone. Of Matthew.

I shook the thought away, squeezing her a little tighter. Not today. Not right now.

"Well, it sounds like you had an amazing day," I said, setting her down gently and holding her hand as we walked toward the car. "What do you say we go get some ice cream?"

Her face lit up, her eyes wide. "Chocolate chip cookie dough, please!"

"Done," I agreed, feeling a flicker of warmth in my chest. It was moments like these that made everything feel worthwhile. I would protect her, no matter what, even if it meant never facing the truth about her father.

I dropped her bags in the backseat of my car and couldn't feel her around me. "Hazel darling, let's go," but she didn't move.

"What now?" I asked her. She folded her hands around her chest and had a frown on her face.

"Why don't I have a daddy like the rest of my classmates?" she asked, and my heart sank. For a five-year-old child, my daughter can be pretty amazing and intelligent. She took that from me.

My mind raced, struggling to find the right words, something that wouldn't hurt her, something that wouldn't reveal too much.

I took a deep breath and turned in my seat to face her fully. "You do have a daddy, sweetie," I said, my voice a little softer than I intended. "He just doesn't live with us."

Her brow furrowed, the frown deepening. "But all the other kids have their daddies at home, Mama. Why not me?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat threatening to choke me. "Well, honey," I began slowly, "sometimes families are different. Some daddies live far away or... sometimes they can't be with us the way we wish they could be."

I watched as her eyes scanned my face, trying to make sense of the words, but it was clear she wasn't completely satisfied. She tilted her head, her little voice quiet but persistent. "But who's my daddy? Where is he?"

I closed my eyes for a brief second, the sharp ache of the truth almost too much to bear. "He's someone who loves you very much, even though you've never met him. He's a part of you, and he's always with you in your heart. And I know that's enough," I said, my voice trembling.

"Okay, Mama," she said softly, jumping into the backseat of the car, the conversation settled in her mind for now.

I let out the breath I had been holding, feeling a knot loosen in my chest. I fastened her seatbelt, then we drove to her favorite ice cream store.

After an hour of enjoying her ice cream and falling asleep on my lap, we headed home with her earlier question still on my mind.

I walked into our patio to see a huge envelope in our mailbox.

"Strange," I don't think I was expecting any mail today. After a rundown of our evening activities, I put Hazel to bed and took out the envelope.

I sat in the quiet of the living room, the envelope from my father's estate lying unopened on the table in front of me. Hazel was asleep upstairs, her soft breath the only sound breaking the silence. The evening had been peaceful, just what I needed after the chaos of the day.

But now, the calm was shattered. I had lived my life in the UK for the past five years, carefully building a future I could be proud of. I had earned my law degree, worked hard to establish myself as a partner in a reputable firm, and given my daughter, Hazel, a life far removed from the pain of the past. Or so I thought.

My heart pounded as I scanned the lines of the will. According to this will, my father was the second largest shareholder of a prestigious law firm. Zenith Law. Every lawyer worth his or her salt knows about the Zenith Law firm. They are among the best in the world. And now I'm its second largest shareholder.

I continued to flip through the pages of the document, trying to figure out how this happened. My father was never a wealthy man nor a lawyer.

My thoughts faded away when my eyes got a clause in the document. "You have got to be kidding me," I said to myself.

For me to have access to my shares, I have to get married and it doesn't give me the choice of choosing who I should get married to.

I have to marry Matthew Russell. The man I did everything I could to get away from. The man behind my Mother's death, and the father of my child.

The universe couldn't be more wrong.

ZARA

"Hi, Miss Zara, there is a call waiting for you in the office," my assistant and my only friend in the city, Vic, said as I walked into the lobby of my office.

"Do you have any idea who?" I asked her.

"She didn't say," I nodded and walked towards the office. "And, oh," she squeaked, smiling. 'You have a visitor," I didn't need to ask who it was, from the look on her face I could tell.

I walked into my office and there he was, Victor Armani, CEO of Armani and Co, law firm and my boss.

"Hi," I greeted with my usual smile as I placed my bag on the table.

"You are here," he turned to look at and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, even though I knew the answer to that question, "I already dropped the file of my last case with your assistant," I said to him.

"I know that, and you did a very good job with it. Brought the firm a lot of money," he said, and went quiet for a while.

"That's why I'm here actually to offer my congratulations and invite you for dinner," he said, as he placed his hands in his pants pocket.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Victor," I said as I took my seat behind my table.

"Oh come on, Zara," he said with one hand out of his pocket.

"This just isn't a good time," I said, remembering everything that happened last night.

"When is it ever, just one dinner, and that will be all," I juggled with my chair for a minute, and sighed.

"Fine, one dinner," I said, and he smiled.

"Good, I will send you the details," he walked over and kissed me on my cheek. I gave a little smile and he walked away.

Vic walked in, a few minutes after he did. "Well, looks like persistence is the key to your heart," she said and I scoffed.

"You say persistence, I say stalking," I said, and she sat down.

"What are you going to do about it?" She asked me.

"Like I told him already, it's just one dinner. I have a lot of things to do and think about."

"Hazel will be alright. I can come babysit," she said, and I smiled.

"You would do that?" I asked.

"Of course I don't have anything better to do, besides your daughter loves me more," she waved her hands dramatically, accidentally brushing the document on the table."

"I don't remember giving you this yesterday," she said before I could get them away from her.

"I got them from my father," I said, getting up.

"I thought your father was dead," she said with her accent that seems to piss me off sometimes.

"Yes, he is. It's his will. He wants me to take his position in a law firm I didn't know he owed," I said and she scoffed.

"You are not thinking of doing that. Are you?" She asked and I looked away.

"You just became a senior associate, and you are doing very well. How can you be sure that isn't your ex playing games," she said, and I brought my face back, away from the window.

"Ronnie doesn't care about me, but my father does. Even though he didn't show it until his deathbed," I said.

"So you are thinking about it," she said, and I nodded.

"I'm, but right now, I'm thinking about work and my dinner date with my boss," I said, and she stood up.

"Well, you know I will follow you to the ends of the earth," I smiled, and watched as she walked away.

Vic has been like a shoulder to cry on, ever since we met on our first day at the first. We clicked immediately and have been best of friends ever since.

I sighed, took out more of the documents I got from my father's will and began going through it. I hate the fact my father's legacy has been dragged through the mud by this immense growth of corruption.

My father was everything but he had an insane integrity for the law. But I can't believe he had a clause that can only be rendered if I marry Matthew. What was he thinking?

I rubbed my temples, feeling the weight of it all. The more I read, the more it felt like my father had written this will knowing I would be angry. Hurt. Cornered.

Marry Matthew Russell?

It was insane.

He didn't even know about Hazel. Or at least, I thought he didn't. He had vanished before I could tell him, and I had made peace with that silence. Now, this will... this clause... it was dragging the past right back into my present.

A knock pulled me out of my thoughts.

Vic peeked in, "Zara, you should leave now, to get ready for your dinner date," she said, smiling.

I looked at her, then at the clock that hung up on my wall. Damm, I have been in my own thoughts for six hours.

"Yeah," I said, trying to gather the document.

"I will be at your place by five," she said and I nodded. I rushed out of the office, and headed to Hazel's school to pick her up as well.

We didn't have our usual discussion, because of all the things on my mind.

I shouldn't take the position, I should just sell my shares and permanently cut all ties with my family and with Matthew.

This is the best decision, this is the only way I can protect Hazel from her father and my family.

Immediately we got home, I got a new alert on my phone. As a lawyer to a lot of people I need to be aware of anything relating to any of my clients.

I pulled up the news feed and a name stuck out to me. I rushed back to my father's file and there it was.

The news was about my father's firm, Zenith Law. Their recent client has just won the lawsuit against him, despite all the evidence that was against him.

This is the kind of corruption that is happening in the firm. Can I close my eyes and continue to let this happen?

I dropped my phone on the couch and picked up the file again. My father's signature stared back at me from the bottom of the page. It used to mean something. Now, I wasn't so sure.

Zenith Law was supposed to stand for truth. For justice.

Now, it stood for something else, power and silence. I could feel it. That case they just lost? It wasn't just about sloppy lawyers. It was about money. Connections. Control. The things my father used to fight against.

And now they were winning under his name.

I looked over at Hazel, sitting on the carpet, carefully building a tower with her blocks.

I folded the will, slowly, and tucked it back in its envelope.

This was bigger than me. It was bigger than Matthew. This was about a firm I didn't even know I had a claim to, being twisted by people who would do anything for power and money.

But one thing was clear.

If I walked away, they would win.

They would keep using my father's name to protect criminals and destroy good people. And Hazel would grow up thinking the world is only fair to those with money and lies.

No.

I couldn't let that happen.

But I couldn't tell Hazel yet. Not everything. She was too young. Too innocent. All she needed to know was that her mom loved her, more than anything.

The doorbell rang and I opened it to see Vic, standing with her hands on her bag.

"You aren't dressed," she yelled slightly as she walked in.

"I'm not going to the dinner, I'm going back to New York," I said and she sighed.

"No, Zara," she said, sadly.

"A lot is going on back at my father's firm. Things that shouldn't be happening. I have to go, I have to take what's mine. Not just for my sake but for Hazel's as well," I said, and she sighed.

"Well, you already thought about this well. But if you are going, then I'm going with you," she said, and I smiled.

"Good, because I will need all the help."

ZARA

The New York breeze hit like a wave just as soon as I stepped out of the plane. I held Hazel with my hands as we descended.

The air filled my hair and memories of everything I went through in this city flooded my mind like a hurricane.

I felt Hazel's hands leave mine, and my fingers clutched my purse tightly. I felt like I was just thrown back into a hole I spent my life crawling out of.

If I'm going to get rid of the weeds at Zenith Law firm, I have to be strong. I have to show my opponent, because I'm going to have many. I'm going to have to show them, I'm stronger, and more formidable.

"Zara," I heard a voice, and my fingers clutched my purse even tighter. "You can't run away from me now," the voice said again. I gasped, and turned around.

"Hey, it's me," Vic said, holding her hands out.

"Mama, are you okay?" I heard Hazel's voice. I looked around, wondering why I could hear him like he was standing next to me.

"I'm fine baby, let's get to the car," I picked her up and walked side by side with Vic.

"Are you sure you are okay?" She asks.

"I'm fine," I said abstractly, and continued working to avoid further questions.

We got to the parking garage and a man with my name held up in a big paper walked towards us.

"Hi, Miss Taylor, Miss Maria sent me," he said, and I nodded.

"And our luggage?" I asked him.

"Already in," he led us to the car, we got in, and started the journey to our new home in the city.

All of these wouldn't have been possible without Maria and Vic's help. Immediately I decided to move back to the state, I had Maria look for a house that suits my taste along with Vic as well.

She might just be an assistant but she uprooted her life for me. Which also means I have to tell her everything.

"I haven't told you everything," I said, and she looked at me.

"You mean despite you embarking on a journey to cleanse your new law firm?" She asks with a smirk.

"Yes," I said to her, caressing Hazel's hair, who is already asleep on my lap.

"In order for me to have full control of my shares in the firm, I have to marry someone," I said, and she looked at me confused.

"Wait, what does that mean?" She asks.

"It means if I want to have access to my position, I have to marry a man I vowed I would have nothing to do with," I said to her, and she sighed.

Vic looked at me, her brows furrowed. "So who is this man? Someone from your past?"

I nodded slowly, looking out the window as buildings began to blur past.

"His name is Matthew Russell."

Vic didn't say anything at first. She just stared at me like she was trying to piece together a puzzle. "Is he... Hazel's father?"

I froze for a second. "Yes."

She let out a breath. "Wow."

"I never told him about Hazel. I left before I found out I was pregnant." I said, brushing Hazel's curls from her forehead. "And I never told him, because he can't be Hazel's father. Not after what he did. I built a life. I moved on. But now..."

"But now your dad's will is dragging all of that back," Vic finished for me.

I nodded again. "It's like he planned this. Like he knew I wouldn't just walk away. But he also knew the only way to make me stay was to give me no choice."

Vic leaned back in the seat and crossed her arms. "That's twisted. Forcing you to marry the one man you wanted nothing to do with."

I swallowed hard. "It's not just about marriage. It's what the firm has become. Zenith Law used to stand for truth, Vic. Now, it's a mess. Dirty deals, bought cases, shady people running things behind closed doors. If I don't step in... it'll only get worse."

Vic was quiet for a moment, then said, "So you're really going to do it? Marry Matthew?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "But I know I have to face him. I have to make him see that I'm not the same woman he left behind."

"Zara, you don't owe that man anything. Especially not your heart," she said gently.

"I know. That's why I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for Hazel. For the people the firm was meant to protect. For myself."

Vic smiled and nodded slowly. "Then I'm with you. No matter what. You say the word, and I'll help you tear the whole place down and rebuild it from the ground up."

I smiled, grateful for her loyalty. "Thank you, Vic. I don't think I could do this alone."

We arrived at the house just as the sun was starting to set. The driver parked out front and opened the door for us.

It was a quiet neighborhood, the kind of place that made you feel like you could breathe again.

I stepped out, carrying Hazel in my arms as Vic grabbed the bags. The house was perfect, simple, safe, and just enough space for the new beginning we were about to build.

"Where are you off too?" Vic asked me as I held the door knob.

"There is something I have to take care of," I said. I didn't wait for her to speak. I walked out the door, and got into the car.

"The cemetery," I said, and rested my head on the window. I needed to see my Mom. I didn't see her before I left the states, and now I need to see her. To draw strength from her.

The car moved slowly through the streets. Lights passed by, one after the other, and everything felt quieter than usual. I closed my eyes for a moment, holding back the tears. I had to be strong. I didn't come back to break down. I came back to fight.

The driver looked at me through the mirror. "We'll be there soon, Miss Taylor."

I gave him a small nod. "Thank you."

When we arrived at the cemetery gates, I stepped out of the car. The wind was colder here. The sky was getting darker, and the air smelled like rain. I walked through the quiet paths, the sound of my boots soft on the gravel.

I didn't need directions to find her headstone, I could find it in my sleep. As I got close, I looked up and saw a figure standing in front of my Mom's headstone.

I didn't need to ask myself who it was, I know who Matthew. I could picture him, anywhere, anytime. In the darker alley I could, even if he was behind me.

That's how close we were. How much in love we were until he had her killed, and now he is trying to suppress his guilt by visiting her grave.

He turned around, and I did immediately. I can't let him see me. Our appointment is for tomorrow, not today.

"Zara?" He said my name like a question. His voice brought chills that I thought I had forgotten through my body.

I'm sorry Mom, but our visit has to be later.

"Zara," this time he was sure it was me. I quickened my footsteps and walked back into the packing space.

"Please wait," he was gaining on me but I moved faster.

"Drive!" I yelled as soon as I got into the car with my heart beating faster than it ever has.