Chapter 3

Aurora's POV

The air between us turned to ice the second Jace's gaze landed on the photo.

His jaw tightened until it looked almost painful. "What the hell is this, Aurora?" He growled out. "Did you come here to show off how perfect your life is? Is that it? To flaunt everything you have? To show me your child?"

What the fucking hell? Has Jace always been this dumb? This wasn't about us at all.

"Jace, calm the fuck down." My voice was harsh like his and steely. "That's not a family photo as you can see very well. That's your son. Our son. His name is Alex. And he needs your help. He's very sick, he needs a bone marrow transplant. I'm not a match."

He slammed the phone down with a scoff, disbelief painted on every part of him. "My son? Yeah...that's not fucking possible. You know why? It's because we haven't had contact with each other for years We haven't spoken in years. You vanished, Aurora, you slipped out of my life without a trace and never looked back. Do you expect me to believe you just kept my child secret all this time?"

"Did I ever tell you I kept him a secret?"

"Then why am I just finding out about him now especially when he is sick huh?" He asked me.

"Oh mighty one, why don't you ask yourself that question? I called you, idiot. I reached out to you. I sent emails to you so you could learn about your son." I screamed at him.

That's a lie. I mean not really a lie since I only sent one email after all my calls left unreturned with only one answered. But he had no fucking right to be mad at me when he was the one who wanted nothing to do with us.

"You can stop with the lies, Aurora." be told me. "I did every fucking thing for you and you just left. So stop the lies."

"And you can stop with the stupid matyr act. You were never hurt. You did everything the way you wanted to. Everything you did..."

He surged to his feet, rage simmering hotter than before. "Every fucking thing I did was for you!"

"Cheating wasn't for me!" I screamed at him. "That was for you."

He stared at me with a frown. "What the fuck are..." but I didn't let him speak.

I couldn't even bear to listen to his pathetic excuses whatever they may be.

"You did everything you wanted. Not what I needed. Not once did you ask what would make me feel safe. All those parties, events, headlines...you mean to tell me you did all those for me? Who the fuck are you kidding?"

He braced his hands on the desk, knuckles white. "Everything I did was to protect you. Every thing I did was for you. I did it to protect you."

I laughed manically. He really was insane if he thought I was going to fall for his stupid tricks. There was no way that was going to happen.

I took a slow breath, pushing down the tide of old, aching memories. "That's not what this is about," I said, more tired than angry now. "This is about Alex. He needs your help, Jace. He has leukemia. The doctors said his only hope is a bone marrow transplant. We're running out of time, and you're his father. You're his only chance."

He shook his head once, hands trembling before he hid them behind clenched fists. "Go to your husband, then. You look like you're doing fine. Your rich, perfect man can buy any treatment. Why come here?"

I paused. God knows where he got the gist that I was married...oh, I turned to the ring I always wore on my finger. It was a way to make men stop coming after me especially since I only needed to care for my son. I didn't need another man who would wreck my life. It wasn't real. I was not married but Jace didn't need to know that.

I let out a bitter laugh. "That's not how this works, Jace. Alex is your son. Money can't buy a matching donor. If you don't help, and something happens to him, it'll be your blood I wipe off my hands. Your legacy, your pain, not just mine." I slid a slip of paper with my number across the desk. "If you care about anything, you'll call. Get tested. That's all I need from you now."

"Get out, Aurora." he growled out in anger.

"Oh, and just so you know, we are not on any terms where we call each other by our given names. You refer to me as Miss. Thompson." I said to him cooly, walking out of his officem

I didn't look back. As I reached the door, I paused, there was no way I was going to leave things as they are. So I gave him the middle finger. Petty, yes but I wasn't going to cower in his presence. If he wanted to be an ass then that's on him.

The elevator doors closed around me, and by the time I'd sunk into the backseat of a cab, the tears came, silent, hot, unstoppable. I pressed a shaking hand to my mouth, willing my body to stop gasping with grief.

Nothing has gone as planned. Not even a little bit. I mean I knew we were going to exchange words. I knew this was fifty-fufty but I never thought that it would end up like this. Seeing Jace reminded me of what was. What had been and was no longer and I was disgusted with myself for even feeling something for him when he had behaved like I hurt him. But that was all a lie. I could never hurt Jace. When it came to our relationship, I was the only one hurt. It was always me never Jace.

I had failed Alex. I should have at least gotten him a father that loved him not one that wanted nothing to do with him.

Fuck.

If Jace wanted nothing to do with our son, if he didn't want to get tested, then how was I going to save my son? I couldn't go back to my family because they didn't want me. They disowned me when I divorced Jace. And with the attitude I received back when I called them...no. I couldn't even think about it.

What the hell was I going to do now?

Chapter 4

Aurora's POV

I didn't know how I made it to the hotel, just that when I did, I locked the door, sank to the floor. My whole body shook. I pressed my palm to my mouth, trying to quiet the sound so the walls wouldn't echo with my failure. But I knew deep down that I wasn't going to do anything.

My phone vibrated across the table, breaking the silence. I stared at it, the name "Kels" dancing on the screen. I was sure she was calling to know if the meeting with Jace had gone well. And fuck! She was on time. It was like she knew there was something wrong somewhere. I quickly wiped my cheeks and answered, trying to steady my voice.

"Aurora?" Kelsey's voice came through with concern.

"Yeah?"

"Alex wants to speak with you."

A moment later, my boy's soft voice, small, sleepy, came through.

"Mama?" he called out softly.

I breathed in, clinging to the strength his voice gave me. "Hi, baby. How are you? Have you eaten?"

"Yes. Aunty kels made something for me. We watched Moana too but it's a girl's cartoon." He grumbled.

I laughed. "You love it. And who said Moana was just for girls?"

"It isn't?"

"Nope. Moana is for everyone. I watched it and I'm an adult."

"You and Aunty kels are both weird." He said to me,

"Right? Did you paint today?" I asked him.

And that was a more interesting conversation because my son was obsessed with painting and drawing. He babbled, telling me about his spaceship crayons and a drawing he was doing for me. To be sincere, his drawings weren't good, but they also weren't bad and I knew with time that he was going to get better. As he spoke, I could hear his voice getting weaker. It took strength for him to do this and the only reason why he was at home after months in the hospital was because I insisted on a break.

He needed a change of environment and besides, I set up the best nurse I could find for him. Just so he wouldn't be burdened with sleeping in the hospital which was making him fucking anxious. But he'll have to go back soon. It was almost the third day already. And besides, I still had no solution to making him better.

I swallowed the ache that threatened to spurt free. "Are you tired?"

"Uh huh."

"Then go to rest okay? Mama loves you. I'll see you soon, okay?" I told him.

"Love you too mama."

He handed the phone back, and I heard the gentle shuffle as Kelsey picked up again. "So? What happened?"

The pressure in my chest felt like it would split me open. "It didn't go well at all, Kel. Jace... he doesn't believe Alex is his. He doesn't want to help, not even to do the test. It's like he's pretending our son doesn't exist."

Kelsey let out a sharp curse, "Putain!" so fierce I almost laughed through my tears.

"How can he be so damn sure? He hasn't even seen Alex! The boy could be his clone. How can he look at you and not see it? Merde, Aurora, I should go to his damn office myself-"

Her protective rage was a lifeline, even as I shook my head sadly, tears drying into exhaustion. "Words won't convince him. Maybe nothing will."

Kelsey's voice softened. "You're not alone in this, ma chérie. Tell me, what are we going to do next?"

I let out a bitter, trembling sigh. "I guess I'll try to reach my family. Maybe there's someone willing to be tested. I... I have to try. For Alex."

There was a pause, then a spin of disbelief.

"I'm sure I heard you wrongly right?" She asked me. "Arr we talking about the same family who left you? The same people who turned their backs when you divorced Jace, and again when you told them about Alex's diagnosis?"

I pressed my lips together. The first time we got Alex's diagnosis, I had reached out to my family after finding out I wasn't a match. None of my calls were returned except one from my father who cursed and told me I wasn't family and to take my spawn elsewhere. Kelsey had been with me and was struck with shock when she heard him. From then on, she developed a hatred for my family but I was struck right now.

"Yes. But what else do I have? If they slam the door in my face, at least I'll know I did everything." and I was willing to beg just so they could help my son.

When she didn't immediately respond, I rushed on, "Thank you for everything. I know you already got tested for a match, you did more than any sister ever could..."

She cut me off. "Of course I did. Alex is my family. He is my fucking nephew blood d damned. I'll keep calling everyone in Paris, anyone I know in New York, anyone with the right blood type. You are not doing this on your own, understand?"

A wave of gratitude left me shaky. "Thank you. Really."

She promised to keep Alex safe, to keep my phone on no matter the hour, and to call with any news, good or bad. Our call ended with a whisper, "Don't give up, Rora, I'm not giving up either, " the one thing she always gave me courage, even in the dark.

The room was silent again. I peeled my clothes away and stepped into the bathroom, letting the hot shower run until the mirror was clouded with steam. It did nothing to erase the ache, but maybe it cleansed some of the fear. The main issue with finding a donor for Alex was that he had a rare blood type. I had no idea if anyone in my family could help but I was willing to try.

Afterwards, wrapped in a soft robe, I dried my face and picked up my phone. I stared at the blank screen, then, fingers trembling, typed a message to my brother:

"Please. I need your help. It's Alex."

I stared at the message for a long time before finally pressing "send." I didn't expect a response, but maybe just maybe he would reply. We were never close when we were young but we never hated each other either. At least I think so.

I padded back into the room and tossed my phone on the bed, more exhausted than I'd been in years. I barely had time to sit before it began to ring. My heart leapt. Who could be calling? Was it a hospital number? My brother? I grabbed for it, answering with shaking hands.

"Hello?" I breathed, bracing for more bad news.

There was a pause. Then a voice low, steady, and unmistakably Jace's, filled the line.

"I'll do it," he said quietly. "But only on one condition."

Shock bolted through me, and all I could do was whisper, "What condition?"

He didn't hesitate. "You come back."

I frowned, unsure I heard right. "Come back...where?"

His response was a single, loaded word: "Home."

I frowned, confused as to what he was saying "I don't understand."

He paused, then he spoke, "You come back to me. As my wife, with my son. We get to try again."

Um...what the hell?

Chapter 5

Aurora's POV

I paused in shock. For a second, I thought I'd misheard him.

"You want me to... what?" My voice came out shaky, thin as glass.

On the other end of the line, Jace's reply was slow, deliberate. "Come back to me. As my wife. With your son."

The breath hitched in my chest, sharp and unsteady. My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles burned. For one absurd heartbeat, hope dared to flare in me, did this mean he believed me at last? That he had accepted Alex?

"Jace..." My throat constricted. "Does that mean you're saying... he's yours?"

Silence stretched, weighted and suffocating. Then his voice slid through, calm and lethal.

"I don't give a damn if the boy is mine or not. That isn't the point."

My heart cracked all over again. Of course. Stupid me. For a second, I thought maybe he'd changed. That maybe the man who once swore I was his entire world still lived somewhere behind that steel façade. But this wasn't about Alex. It was never about Alex.

"You don't care?" I whispered, heat prickling my eyes. "My son...our son's life is hanging by a thread, and you're..."

"I care about you," he cut in. His tone sharpened, firm as a blade. "The only way I'm lifting a finger, Aurora, is if you come back. To me. To my house. To the life you walked away from."

I staggered a step back, colliding with the edge of the hotel desk. He wants me? I laughed quietly. Perhaps if this had happened the first few days after I'd left years ago, I would have jumped at the opportunity but this was different. This was just a means to capture me, hold me in his stupid cage but it wasn't going to work. Not now, not ever.

"You can't be serious," I told him.

"You know I don't play games." His voice was maddeningly even, the sound of a man used to control, used to obedience. "You want me to help your boy? Fine. Pack your things and bring him home. Otherwise..." He let the pause drag. "Don't waste my time again."

Anger surged in me so hot, so fierce, it threatened to spill over. But beneath it was terror. Especially because of how little time Alex had left, terror that Jace might be his only chance.

"You think you can hold a child's life hostage just to get your way?" My voice trembled, but with fury.

"This isn't about the boy." His tone dropped, rougher now. "It's about you and me. You know it. I know it. I've given you one condition. Agree to it, and Alex will have everything money and medicine can buy. Refuse..." He let the word dangle, poisonous.

I clenched my jaw so hard it ached. "You're unbelievable."

"And yet," he said, dark amusement curling around his words, "you're still on the line."

The sheer arrogance in his voice made my stomach twist. He thought he had me cornered. He thought he could snap his fingers and I'd crawl back into his world, like the desperate, lovesick girl I once was.

Not anymore.

"Have you forgotten, Jace?" I said tightly, searching for the one weapon I had left even if it was fake. "I'm married."

That landed. I could almost hear the way his breath hardened, the sharp scrape of his teeth grinding together.

"You expect me to believe that?" His voice was low, dangerous now.

"You saw the ring in your office, do you think I'm lying?," I asked him calmly.

"Aurora..." he began but I interrupted him.

"I have a husband, Jace. One who would likely do everything in his power to take care of me, one who never neglects me and our son, Alex has a family as do I. I'm not yours to claim anymore."

There was a sound on the other end, not quite a laugh, not quite a growl. Something darker. "Then divorce him."

My heart lurched. He said it so simply, like tearing a life apart was just another deal to close. Like my choices, my dignity meant nothing.

"Go to hell," I snapped.

"Already there," he shot back without hesitation.

"Then stay there," I spat, my voice shaking with rage. "Because I'm not going back to you. Not ever. If you want to help Alex, then do it without your damn strings. If it's a test you want to take then take the fucking test to know if he's yours. If not..." My voice broke, but I forced the words out anyway. "Then fuck off, Jace."

For a second, silence. Then I heard it, the rough exhale of his breath, the faint scrape of his hand against glass. He was angry. More than angry.

"You're still the same stubborn little fool," he said finally, his tone low and guttural. "You think you can walk away from me, build a life, lie to my face, and I'll just stand by? You're wrong, Aurora. Dead wrong."

"Good," I bit out. "Then stay wrong. Because I'm not yours to own, not yours to command. Not anymore. And besides I already did it. What are you going to do about it?"

The fury rolling off him was almost tangible through the phone. "You'll regret this."

"Maybe," I whispered. "But at least the regret will be mine. Not yours."

And with that, I hung up.

The moment the call ended, I collapsed against the wall, phone still clutched in my shaking hand. My lungs fought for air, my chest heaving like I'd just run a marathon.

My eyes stung, but I refused to let tears fall. Not for him. Not again.

But the weight of what just happened pressed down on me. He wasn't bluffing. If Jace said he wouldn't help unless I came back, then he meant it. Which meant Alex's chances...

I shook my head violently. No. I wouldn't let myself spiral. Not yet.

I had to think. I had to find another way.

I tried to sleep that night but the accursed sleep never came. I tossed and turned through the night, replaying every word, every pause, every hint of threat in Jace's voice. The room felt colder, emptier, with his shadow still lingering over me.

By dawn, I was as hollow-eyed as a ghost staring at her own reflection.

He doesn't care if Alex is his.

He just wants me.

The words dug into me like claws, carving out every shred of hope I had left.

Still, I made myself a promise as the first light of morning crept through the curtains: If Jace Carter thought he could buy my soul with my son's life, he was wrong.

I would fight. For Alex. For myself. For the freedom I'd clawed my way into, piece by piece, after he shattered me.

And if I had to go through hell to find another way to save my boy... then so be it.