"Emily, make sure the ribeye is medium-rare. Diego likes it that way."

The oak dining table was dressed with fresh flowers, red wine, and candles—every detail a quiet testament to a woman's love and care. Audrey Griffin sat on a kitchen stool, smiling down at the pregnancy test in her hand as she gave the housekeeper instructions.

She was finally carrying Diego Ramos's child.

Her hand drifted over her still-flat stomach—gentle, almost careful, as if she was afraid to break the miracle. Three years of marriage, and she had never once forgotten how badly he wanted a child. Tonight was her birthday, and she'd been saving the news like a gift. For him. For the three years she'd spent loving him.

The phone buzzing on the table interrupted her thoughts. Diego? Audrey smiled and picked it up—then froze. The name on the screen made her stomach drop.

Lila Stone.

Diego's ex. The one who'd walked out on him three years ago for a life abroad. How had she gotten Audrey's number?

Audrey almost put the phone down, but curiosity got the better of her. She opened the message. A photo loaded: a woman tucked into a man's arms, both of them smiling like they were terrified of losing each other. Lila Stone and Diego Ramos.

Before she could process it, the phone buzzed again. "Hello, Audrey. You know who I am. I'm back. Diego just left my place. He's always loved me, and he's going to divorce you. Do yourself a favor—sign the papers and go. You were only ever keeping my seat warm."

The phone slipped out of her hand and cracked against the floor just as the front door opened.

Diego walked in with whiskey on his breath and a manila folder under his arm—something he'd never brought home before.

His eyes—usually sharp enough to hold a boardroom still—were cold now. Distant. Empty of any warmth. Even standing there saying nothing, he drew the eye. He'd drawn Audrey's, three years ago, in a bar she should never have walked into.

Three years together, and she still couldn't survive two words from Lila Stone. I'm back.

Audrey's heart dropped into a deep freeze. A bitter smile tugged at her lips. His smile had never really been hers. It had always belonged to Lila.

Even after three years away—after Lila had been the one to leave—he still loved her. And now he was home to divorce Audrey.

"Diego, I have something to tell you. I'm preg—" She forced the panic down, hoping the baby might pull him back. He'd always claimed he wanted children.

Diego stepped around her reaching hand. He set the folder on the coffee table and cut her off. "That's the divorce agreement. Move out by tomorrow evening. Lila's back."

No explanation. No apology. He didn't spare a glance for the table she'd set or the evening she'd spent building.

Her eyes dropped to the folder. Somehow she swallowed the pain, closed her fist around the pregnancy test, and slid it into her sleeve.

"Don't look so heartbroken. Three years and five million dollars—that wasn't enough for you?" Diego said it on his way to the stairs, cold as a closing door.

He paused long enough to add, over his shoulder, "Amber, the crew comes the day after tomorrow. Clear out anything that belongs to her. Lila won't like it."

Audrey swayed on her feet.

"Ma'am—" Emily caught her elbow.

"Emily, from now on it's Ms. Griffin." Audrey laughed, and there was nothing in it. Ma'am had turned into a joke somewhere between the front door and the stairs.

"Ms. Griffin, aren't you going to fight for him?" Emily knew exactly how much Audrey loved him.

"Emily. Whatever happens, you don't say a word about the pregnancy. Understood?"

"Understood."

Emily had come with her into this house. She'd leave with her too. As for fighting over a man who didn't want her—Audrey wasn't going to stoop that low.

"Start packing. We're gone tonight." Audrey crossed to the coffee table, picked up a pen, and signed her name in bold, sweeping strokes.

If he was this eager to throw her out, why would she linger?

It was the last act of a three-year marriage.

Three years ago, on a night she'd never been able to explain to herself, she'd met a heartbroken Diego in a bar. She'd wanted him from the first look. They'd both had too much. The next morning she woke up beside him and somehow became Mrs. Ramos.

Looking back, she had no regrets. At least she had their child.

When Diego came downstairs, his eyes landed on the signed papers on the table. The handwriting was elegant and unhesitating, just like her.

That was when he noticed the rest of it. Flowers. Wine. Candles burned down an inch.

He frowned. "Where's my wife?"

"She left with Emily." Amber cleared the table fast, before he could say anything else.

Diego picked up the papers. Something heavy settled behind his ribs. She'd really gone, without one backward look? Where would she go this late?

It occurred to him then that he had never actually known his wife of three years. Independent. Self-sufficient to the point of being unreachable.

He was reaching for his keys when his phone rang.

"Diego, I'm scared. I hate being alone here. Can you come stay with me? Please." Lila's crying spilled through the line.

He hesitated, picked up the divorce agreement, and went. A credit card slid out of the folder and landed on the floor. He stopped. "She didn't take any money?"

Amber shook her head. "A few personal things, that's all."

His chest tightened. Without money, where could she possibly go?

"Don't touch anything in this house," he said coldly, and left.

Across the city, at a gated estate up in the hills, a guard waved a car through and opened the rear door for Audrey Griffin.

Audrey walked in and dropped her bag on the coat rack without breaking stride. "Nancy, take these upstairs for me?"

She'd barely sunk into the couch when the television lit up with an incoming video call.

"Ms. Griffin. Before we start, there's something that needs you personally. Ramos Enterprises' security system is due for its upgrade. When can you come by?"

Six years ago, Audrey had founded her security company. It was one of the leading firms in the industry now. Her partner's reminder pulled up a memory she'd been trying to bury.

After marrying Diego Ramos, she had personally designed and maintained Ramos Enterprises' security architecture for three years.

"Pull every system we run at Ramos Enterprises," Audrey said without hesitation. After a divorce, a clean cut was best.

It had been a private arrangement. No contracts, no formal agreements. No reason to make it messier than it already was.

"What?" Reid Medina stared at her, shock flickering across his face. "Ms. Griffin, what happened? That's the most advanced system we've ever built. If we tear it out wrong, it could cause real damage."

Audrey went quiet. Thinking about Diego still stung, but he was the past now. She cleared her throat and let some steel into her voice. "Diego and I are divorcing. From today, Ramos Enterprises' security isn't our concern. If they want something, they can come through the front door like everyone else."

"So does that mean you're coming back to the company?" Reid couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. He'd been waiting three years for this.

"Yes. So get ready."

"Honestly, I think it's Ramos Enterprises that should be getting ready. That place is about to turn into a circus." Reid laughed, already savoring it. How did a man like Diego Ramos have Audrey Griffin under his roof and never once look up?

---

Meanwhile, across town, at Lila Stone's apartment.

"I'm scared, Diego," Lila whispered, leaning into him. The fact that he hadn't married her yet sat in her stomach like a stone. If she couldn't lock him down, what future did she have?

She looped her arms around his neck and settled onto his lap. "Don't leave tonight. I'm still new here, I don't know anyone. You promised you'd always look after me." She kissed his cheek.

Diego drew back without meaning to. For some reason, Audrey surfaced in his mind. She had never hung on him like this. She'd been gentle, steady, easy to be around. And when he handed her divorce papers, she hadn't begged. She hadn't cried. She'd signed and walked out.

His expression hardened.

Lila faltered. "Diego? Is something wrong?"

"I—" His phone cut him off. He answered.

"What? Say that again." His face went to stone as he ended the call. He eased Lila off his lap and stood. "Stay here. There's a problem at the company."

He grabbed his coat and was gone.

"How does an entire security system fail at once?" he demanded as Jason drove them across the city.

Ramos Enterprises had always put security first. After the breaches years ago, everything had run clean—right around the time he married Audrey. Now it was falling over again.

"Mr. Ramos, Vanguard Security says they haven't touched our system. It's the same build they've always maintained. They say they don't know anything about an outage." Jason sounded as lost as Diego felt. "I've called in an emergency team. We should have answers shortly."

"You have five minutes."

By the time Diego reached the office, the results were waiting.

"Mr. Ramos, you need to see this." Jason handed him a report. "For the past three years, a firm called SecureTech has quietly been running our security. They routed everything so it looked like Vanguard. It was SecureTech the whole time. As of this afternoon they've pulled all support. That's why everything's coming apart."

"SecureTech? Dig into them. Now. How did Vanguard miss this?" Diego loosened his tie, unease crawling under his skin.

"We tried. SecureTech is the largest security firm in the world, and tracing them is close to impossible. We only found them because of a monitoring stub we caught. The second we identified it, it was gone. We can't even sue—technically they were protecting us." Jason sounded almost impressed.

"Set up a meeting. I'll go myself."

"You? Personally?" Jason blinked. Diego never handled things like this himself.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

At SecureTech's headquarters, Diego was taken straight to the executive floor.

The office door was open. A chair sat turned away from him, and the woman in it felt eerily familiar. He knocked once. "Hello?"

At his voice, the chair swiveled.

"Audrey?" His breath caught. It couldn't be her.

Behind her, a sharply dressed man watched with quiet interest, his eyes lingering on her in a way Diego couldn't read. Diego's chest tightened. All this time, he'd had no idea she was connected to this company. And she'd clearly wasted no time moving on.

The confusion in his head twisted into something ugly. "You and another man—"

Audrey rose, cutting him off. "Mr. Ramos, it's Ms. Griffin." Cool. Detached. Like he was a stranger who'd wandered off the elevator.

"You run this place? Why didn't you tell me?"

She laughed, with no warmth in it. "Because you never once asked. What brings you to my office?"

The change in her hit him harder than it should have. The soft, accommodating woman he'd married was gone, and whoever this was, he couldn't reach her.

"I'm here about the security failure."

Audrey sat back down and glanced at her watch. "Out of respect for the marriage, you have five minutes."

Diego pulled at his tie. He hated this. Was she enjoying it?

"Why did you rip every system out of Ramos Enterprises overnight?" If she hadn't wanted the divorce, why had she signed so fast?

She took a slow sip of coffee, face calm, eyes indifferent. "Don't read too much into it, Mr. Ramos. Ms. Stone is back. I want a clean break. I'd hate for her to get the wrong idea, or make life difficult for you."

She smiled, bright and charming. Inside, her heart ached.

Diego's expression went tight. "Lila wouldn't do that."

He'd always known the woman across the desk was beautiful—the kind of beautiful that didn't announce itself and didn't need to. But something about her today was different, and he felt an unexpected, unwelcome urge to reach across and pull her out of that chair.

"Friendly reminder, Mr. Ramos—three minutes left. Sure you want to spend them on small talk?" Her voice cut through it, brisk and anything but polite.

"What's your angle here?" The words came out tight, slow and measured, like he was holding something down. Under her steady gaze, the irritation went out of him. "We want your firm on Ramos Enterprises' security. Can we discuss it?"

Audrey straightened her collar, pushing down the wave of sadness rising in her chest. "As a goodwill gesture, we'll cover your immediate needs today. Anything long-term goes through our deputy director, Reid Medina. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another meeting."

She rose and walked out, leaving Diego with nowhere to put his anger. She'd taken those systems down on purpose. She had to have.

Almost without deciding to, he caught her arm in the corridor and backed her against the wall. "Audrey—"

The door swung open. Jason came in fast and stopped dead. "Mr. Ramos. We have a situation."

"What?" Diego turned, ice-cold.

Jason stammered, staring at Audrey like he couldn't unsee it. "It's Lila. She tried to hurt herself. She's at the hospital."

"What?" Diego's whole bearing sharpened. He shot an accusing look at Audrey, then turned back to Jason. "Stay here. Finish the security negotiation." He was already moving toward the elevator.

Lila had been struggling with depression for years, and today had pushed her under. Had she found out he'd gone to see Audrey?

He needed to get to her.

"Yes, Mr. Ramos." Jason nodded, the weight of it settling on his shoulders.

Audrey watched him go, and the wall she'd spent two days building came down all at once. She slid to the floor, tears spilling over before she could stop them.

Whatever she did, somehow it was always her fault. She was starting to understand how that worked: when a man has already decided he doesn't want you, everything you do is the wrong thing.

A soft knock. "Ms. Griffin? May I come in?" Reid's voice, careful and kind.

She wiped her face, pulled herself together, and got back behind her desk. "Come in."

Love was a bad investment. Work, at least, paid out.

"Ms. Griffin, do we want the Ramos Enterprises job?" Reid asked carefully.

Their calendar was full. Taking it meant overtime for half the floor. And Ramos Enterprises' architecture was top-tier—beating the current build would take Audrey herself, and Reid couldn't tell whether she had the stomach for it.

"Like I said. Standard procedure. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Understood." Reid hurried out with the files.

He was still annoyed when he got back to his own office, and he didn't bother rolling out the welcome mat for Jason. "Ms. Griffin has approved emergency support, out of consideration for her history with Mr. Ramos. Beyond that, we're booked. If Ramos Enterprises wants a full rebuild, you go on the list, and I can't tell you when we'll reach you. Emergency call-out is two hundred thousand. Sign here if that works for you."

He slid the form across the desk and didn't move.

They thought they could push Ms. Griffin around. Not anymore.

Jason felt a headache starting behind his eyes. They were being difficult on purpose, and everybody in the room knew it. This was Diego's mess. Why was he the one mopping it up?

He signed anyway, and decided on the spot that any further dealings with SecureTech belonged to Diego personally.

Once the payment cleared, Jason looked up. "Who are you sending with me?"

Their firewall could go down any minute.

"Ms. Griffin is handling this one herself. Go ahead. We'll be right behind you." Reid gestured for a secretary to walk him out, then went to tell Audrey.

She was the only person alive who knew that system end to end. It had to be her.

SecureTech had become the biggest firm in the world because every build was bespoke, every client had a named specialist, and nobody ever got handed off to a call center.

On his way to the elevator, Jason's phone buzzed. He read the message and called Diego. "Mr. Ramos, the birthday gift you ordered has arrived."

---

Across town, Lila Stone was a wreck.

"Why did you save me?" she whispered. "I heard about the company. It's Audrey, isn't it? If I hadn't come back, she wouldn't be doing this to you. I don't want you hurt because of me." She covered her face and sobbed.

Diego's brow furrowed. He thought of how cold Audrey's eyes had been that afternoon, and the irritation flared again. He stroked Lila's hair. "It's not your fault. I'll handle Audrey. You focus on getting better."

"Really?" Lila looked up, eyes swimming, and burrowed into his chest. "As long as you're all right, that's all I care about. Don't be hard on her. She can do whatever she wants to me, as long as it doesn't touch you."

He patted her back. "You've always been too kind. Get some sleep. I'll go once you're out—there's still work waiting."

Lila curled obediently under the blanket, a small smile tugging at her mouth. As long as Diego still cared, that was enough.

Audrey could meet with him all she liked. In the end, she'd be the one stepping aside.

---

Audrey arrived at Ramos Enterprises with her laptop under her arm.

Three years of marriage, and this was the first time she'd set foot in the building. She almost laughed. She'd never once come here as Mrs. Ramos.

Jason walked her up to IT himself.

The company was usually buttoned-up to the point of dullness. Today it was chaos.

Inside IT, everyone was hunched over a screen, typing fast, patching holes. The tension was thick enough to chew.

The department head—a man in his forties with a buzz cut—was sweating through his shirt as he circled the room, glancing at the door every few seconds, waiting for Jason to come back with the expert.

Then he saw a woman who looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine, carrying nothing but a laptop, and his hopes crashed.

Doug Keller walked over, skepticism all over his face. "Jason. This is who you brought?"

One look and anyone could tell she was decoration. Could she really handle an architecture like theirs?

"Jason, this isn't a joke."

His voice carried. Heads came up around the room. Whispers started.

"She doesn't look as competent as our interns."

"This is a joke. We might not close the breach, but at least we're holding. She'll finish the job the attackers started."

"I have my doubts."

"Jason, you know what security means to this company. If the firewall goes, the losses are more than we can absorb." Keller's voice took on an edge. "This is IT. Are you sure you haven't brought her to the wrong floor?"