Chapter 1 1

The heavy silk sheets slipped off Eleanor's bare skin, replaced instantly by the biting chill of the air conditioning.

Alistair Montgomery rose from the mattress. His movements were efficient, mechanical, and entirely devoid of the heat they had just shared.

Eleanor shifted against the pillows. Her chest still heaved with uneven breaths. She reached out, her fingertips brushing the warm space on the mattress where he had just been.

"Alistair," she whispered.

He didn't look back. He stepped away from the bed, his broad back a wall of muscle and impenetrable distance.

He walked straight into the master bathroom. The heavy oak door clicked shut.

A second later, the harsh sound of running water echoed through the silent bedroom.

Eleanor pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped the thick duvet around her shoulders, but the cold had already seeped into her bones. A heavy stone dropped into her stomach, pulling her down into the mattress.

Ten minutes later, Alistair walked out.

He was already dressed in a crisp charcoal suit. His handsome face was a mask of smooth, unreadable stone. He didn't glance at the bed. He stood in front of the full-length mirror, his long fingers methodically adjusting his silver cufflinks.

It was as if the last hour had never happened.

Eleanor forced herself to sit up. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat.

"Alistair," she tried again, her voice barely above a breath. "Could we maybe..."

His fingers stopped on his left cufflink. His dark eyes met hers in the reflection of the mirror. They were sharp enough to draw blood.

"Could we what?" he asked.

Eleanor pressed her thumb hard into her opposite palm, using the physical pain to ground herself. "Have another baby. To make the house... warmer."

Alistair turned around. A humorless smirk twisted the corner of his mouth.

"Warmer?" The word dripped with sarcasm. "You want to bring another child into this house just to make it noisier?"

The air in Eleanor's lungs vanished.

"Eleanor, remember your place," Alistair said. His voice was a flat, clinical line. "We have Ethan. That is enough. I don't need another distraction in my life."

Three sharp knocks on the bedroom door shattered the suffocating silence.

"Mr. Montgomery, Mrs. Montgomery," Maria, the head maid, called out from the hallway. "Breakfast is served."

Alistair grabbed his watch from the dresser. He strapped it to his wrist and walked toward the door without a single backward glance.

Eleanor sat alone in the massive bed, her fingernails digging so hard into her palms that the skin turned white.

Twenty minutes later, Eleanor walked down the grand staircase. She wore a simple beige dress, her hair pulled back tightly.

The dining room was cavernous. At the far end of the mahogany table sat Alistair, his eyes already glued to a financial newspaper.

To his right sat his mother, Evelyn Montgomery.

And right beside Evelyn sat five-year-old Ethan.

Evelyn was holding a silver spoon, carefully feeding a piece of scrambled egg into Ethan's mouth.

Eleanor's chest tightened. She walked toward them, forcing a soft smile onto her face.

"Ethan, baby," Eleanor said softly, reaching out to stroke her son's dark hair.

Ethan flinched. His small shoulders shrank away from her hand. He turned his head quickly, his wide eyes darting up to his grandmother.

Eleanor's hand froze in mid-air. A sharp pain twisted in her gut.

Clink.

Evelyn picked up her silver butter knife and tapped it sharply against her porcelain plate. The sound cut through the room like a gunshot.

Evelyn didn't look at Eleanor. She kept her eyes on Ethan, wiping his mouth with a linen napkin.

"Eleanor," Evelyn said, her voice dripping with aristocratic ice. "As the lady of this house, you should know the breakfast rules better than anyone. Do not interrupt the child while he is eating."

Eleanor looked at Alistair. He slowly turned a page of his newspaper. The rustle of the paper was his only response. He saw nothing. He heard nothing.

Eleanor pulled her hand back. The tips of her fingers felt numb. She walked to the opposite end of the table, pulling out a chair as far away from her son as physically possible.

The rest of the meal passed in a suffocating, chewing silence. Eleanor stared at her black coffee. Her stomach churned too violently to handle food.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the black Rolls-Royce pulled up to the driveway. Victor Kowalski, the driver, stepped out and stood by the rear door.

Eleanor pushed her chair back and stood up.

"Ethan," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Mommy will take you to kindergarten today."

Evelyn set her coffee cup down. The porcelain rattled against the saucer.

"That won't be necessary," Evelyn stated. Her tone left zero room for argument. "Ethan is staying with me today. I pulled him out of classes. We have important family friends to visit."

Eleanor's eyes widened. Her heart hammered against her ribs. "But I wasn't told. I didn't agree to-"

"You weren't told because your permission is not required," Evelyn cut her off. She finally looked at Eleanor, her eyes flat and victorious. "I am Ethan's primary caregiver. Alistair signed the internal family decree making that very clear."

The words hit Eleanor like a physical blow to the chest. She stopped breathing.

Evelyn stood up. She took Ethan's small hand. Ethan didn't look back at his mother. He just followed his grandmother out of the dining room.

Alistair folded his newspaper. He set it down on the table and stood up, adjusting his suit jacket.

"I have to go to the country house outside the city today," Alistair said, looking at his phone. "Get your things ready. You're coming with me."

Eleanor stood frozen by her chair. She looked at the empty space where her son had just been.

The memory hit her with violent force. Three years ago. The sterile hospital room. Evelyn's lawyers handing over the internal family custody transfer. Evelyn physically pulling the crying toddler out of Eleanor's arms.

The phantom pain ripped through her chest all over again. Her knees shook.

She looked at Alistair's retreating back, the silence of the massive dining room swallowing her whole.