They were hardly familiar with each other. Back then, her boyfriend had been Ezekiel Simmons, Kasper's cousin. She would often see Kasper when she accompanied Ezekiel home for family dinners.

Hayden remembered that Kasper had never even spared her a glance.

In their circles, Kasper Avery was a legend. As the CEO of the Avery Group, a tech titan with a background in special ops and high-level government clearances, he was the ultimate prize for every socialite. A man who possessed every conceivable advantage—background, intellect, and raw power—should have been an unapologetic playboy. Yet, he was known to be single-mindedly devoted to only one woman: Charity West.

That alone had made Hayden curious about him.

To see Kasper Avery was to ruin yourself for anyone else. It wasn't until she laid eyes on him for the first time that Hayden realized the old saying was true. She had a boyfriend, yet she had accidentally fallen in love with him at first sight—just as Kasper was preparing to marry Charity.

Kasper’s long, calloused finger lightly swiped across his tablet screen. His tone was flat, yet laced with the absolute, unyielding certainty of a commander.

"You merely bumped your head and suffered a mild concussion, Hayden. Stop pretending to have amnesia."

Hayden froze.

Bumped my head? Amnesia?

Kasper didn't spare her another look. He picked up the landline on the desk and dialed downstairs.

"Come up."

Hayden stood barefoot on the plush carpet. Kasper completely ignored her existence. The atmosphere in the room was heavy, suffocating under the weight of his sheer presence.

A moment later, the door was pushed open from the outside. Mrs. Hayes stood at the threshold, her demeanor strictly respectful.

"Miss Le, please come with me."

Her heart filled with bewilderment, Hayden obediently followed her.

Mrs. Hayes didn't lead her to the adjacent master suites. Instead, she walked her to a small bedroom tucked away in the southwest corner of the sprawling villa.

"Miss Lana was just crying for you," Mrs. Hayes said briskly. "Mr. Avery has to go to the company tomorrow. Don't let Miss Lana's noise disrupt his sleep."

Having delivered her instructions, Mrs. Hayes left Hayden standing at the door and walked away.

Hayden's mind was a complete blur.

Inside the room, a tiny, soft little girl was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and sobbing softly. Hearing the commotion, she immediately dropped her stuffed animal and stumbled forward, throwing herself at Hayden's legs.

"Mommy! Lana doesn't want to sleep alone. I'm scared."

The sweet, sticky voice carried a faint, milky scent. The little girl's features were almost a carbon copy of her own. Hayden's brain short-circuited, nearly causing her to faint on the spot.

She had a daughter?

Forcing down the urge to scream, Hayden crouched down and gathered the little girl into a full embrace.

"Lana?"

The little girl smelled wonderful, soft and warm like a freshly steamed custard bun. It made a person want to take a bite. Her little body was incredibly fragile in Hayden's arms.

Holding Lana carefully, Hayden asked, her voice trembling uncontrollably, "Lana, tell me... who is your daddy?"

Lana reached out with a chubby little hand, gently blowing on the wound on Hayden's forehead. She offered sweet, childish comfort. "Mommy, no pain, no pain~ Did Mommy forget everything? Daddy's last name is Avery. He's Kasper Avery!"

Buzz—

Hayden felt her soul leave her body.

She woke up from a sleep to find that she had not only slept with Kasper Avery, but actually had a child with him?

The next day.

Hayden woke up early and began asking Mrs. Hayes questions.

"You were carried back here yesterday. You experienced a brief coma, but the doctor said it was nothing serious. The mister had someone give you a full-body checkup, and it was just a mild concussion. The doctor didn't mention anything about amnesia. Are you sure you don't remember anything at all?"

Mrs. Hayes looked at Hayden with suspicion in her eyes, not believing a word she said.

"When did I marry Mr. Avery?"

She sat on the sofa, feeling extremely on edge. In this house, she felt she had no presence at all, let alone being married to Kasper Avery and having a child with him.

Mrs. Hayes’s suspicion deepened. "Miss Le married the mister five years ago, and Miss Lana is four years old this year."

Hayden frowned slightly. What kind of joke was this?

Today was supposed to be Kasper Avery and Charity West’s big wedding day, yet she had been married to Kasper for five years?

Footsteps echoed from the staircase. Kasper came downstairs, looking elegantly distinguished in a crisp white shirt, with a black suit jacket draped over his arm.

Hayden studied Kasper intently. Only then did she realize that, compared to the man from the supposed five years ago, the Kasper standing before her did indeed exude a subtle aura of a married man.

Kasper walked right past Hayden, exactly as he always did in her memories. His gaze didn’t linger on her for a second longer than necessary, despite the fact that her beauty had long been renowned throughout the entire high society of the capital.

"Brother-in-law—"

She called out. Kasper’s steps faltered slightly. He turned his face a fraction toward Hayden, as if just noticing her.

Mrs. Hayes peeked at Mr. Avery and, sure enough, found his face had darkened considerably. Terrified, Mrs. Hayes didn't dare make a sound.

Kasper shifted his gaze forward again, preparing to head to the dining room.

"Husband?"

At Hayden’s single word, Mrs. Hayes went from being frightened to highly amused. She let out a laugh, then hurriedly covered her mouth.

Kasper looked as if he had reached the absolute limit of his patience. The lines of his face drew taut to the extreme, and the furrow between his brows locked even tighter.

Hayden's expression was incredibly unnatural. She had merely been testing the waters. Calling him 'brother-in-law' displeased him, but calling him 'husband' seemed to make Kasper's expression look even worse.

The man gritted his teeth, the muscles in his cheeks sinking deep. His cold gaze bypassed Hayden and landed squarely on Mrs. Hayes.

Mrs. Hayes instantly stiffened, dropping her hands to her sides.

"Teach her the rules again."

Kasper changed his direction. Instead of going to the dining room, he headed straight for the door and left.

Hayden lightly bit her lower lip, not understanding what he meant by "rules."

Mrs. Hayes sighed. She went upstairs for a few minutes and then came back down. In her hand was a small box.

"Miss Le, this is effective for seventy-two hours. Take it."

Hayden took one look at it, her face flushing bright red. Yesterday, before she had gone to sleep with Lana, Kasper had pressed her fiercely against the bed like a wild beast, tossing and tormenting her for several hours. Her memories of him began with their night of passion.

Mrs. Hayes was handing her a morning-after pill.

Hayden had no idea what was really going on between her and Kasper, but she picked up the pill and swallowed it down with a glass of water without hesitation.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Mrs. Hayes’s eyes. In the past, whenever she gave Hayden the contraceptive pill, she always looked pained. Today, however, she took it quite readily.

Mrs. Hayes checked the time and, noticing Hayden had no intention of leaving yet, reminded her. "Madam, you should take the little miss to school now."

Hayden still wasn’t used to the fact that she already had a daughter. Lana came downstairs wearing a tiny backpack, walking obediently up to her and taking her hand.

Hayden lowered her gaze to look at the little girl in front of her. She smelled sweet, was so tiny, and incredibly adorable.

"Lana... Avery?"

She softly called out Lana's name. Lana paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Mommy got it wrong. My name isn't Lana Avery, I'm Lana Le."

Hayden frowned. Why wouldn't the daughter she had with Kasper take his last name, but instead take her surname, Le?

It was getting late, leaving her no time to overthink it. The family driver had already brought the car to the front door.

Lana sat beside her in the back seat, the little girl seemingly in very high spirits.

"Bye, Mommy. Mwah—"

Once they arrived at the school, she blew Hayden a flying kiss and obediently followed the teacher inside.

Hayden was still in a daze when the driver simply drove the car away. By the time Hayden snapped out of it, she realized she had been left all alone.

Just as she was about to call the driver, another call automatically connected on her phone.

The screen flashed with the name: Manager Brian Reynolds.