Chapter 1

Ethan Miller stepped off the train, the Washington D.C. air thick and familiar.

Five years.

Five years since he' d last been in this city, the city that had built him up and then torn him down.

Clara was beside him, her hand slipping into his, her presence a calm anchor.

Lily, their three-year-old, chattered excitedly from his other side, pointing at the grand station ceiling.

"Big house, Daddy!"

Ethan smiled, a genuine smile that reached his eyes, "Yes, sweetie, a very big house."

He was back, not as the broken young man who had fled, but as a husband, a father, an architect with a quiet new government contract.

His Uncle Joe was supposed to meet them, a detail Ethan wasn't entirely thrilled about.

"Ethan! Over here!"

Uncle Joe waved, his face a mixture of surprise and something else Ethan couldn't quite place. Cousin Mike stood beside him, looking awkward.

"Ethan, my boy, you finally made it back," Uncle Joe boomed, pulling him into a rough hug, then his eyes landed on Clara and Lily.

He paused, his smile faltering for a split second.

"And this is...?"

"My wife, Clara," Ethan said, his voice steady, "and our daughter, Lily."

Uncle Joe' s eyebrows shot up, "Wife? Daughter? Well, I'll be."

Mike just stared, mouth slightly open.

The air crackled with unspoken questions, with the weight of a past Ethan had tried to bury.

Later, after settling Clara and Lily into their temporary apartment, Uncle Joe cornered Ethan.

"So, a wife, huh? And a kid. You sure move fast, Ethan. Last I heard, you were still pining for Sera."

Ethan flinched internally at the name. Seraphina Vance. His first love, his everything, once upon a time.

"That was a long time ago, Uncle Joe."

"Five years ain't that long, son. Especially not for something like what you two had. Folks around here still talk about it, you know. That gala."

Ethan didn't need the reminder.

The memory was seared into his brain: the glittering chandeliers of the National Charity Gala, the culmination of his young career. He' d just won the prestigious National Design Award, his future bright, Sera on his arm.

Then, the whispers, the sudden appearance of Captain Marcus Thorne, Sera's war-hero cousin, just back from deployment, radiating charisma.

Sera' s face, pale, then flushed.

Her voice, usually so sweet, sharp and cold as she announced her choice, right there, in front of everyone.

The slap. Her hand connecting with his cheek, the sound echoing in the sudden silence.

Then her turning, taking Marcus's arm, walking away, leaving Ethan humiliated, his award forgotten.

The next day, Senator Vance, Sera's powerful father, had "informally" broken off their unspoken engagement. Ethan's promising new project in D.C.? Cancelled. Instead, he was "reassigned" to a grueling, isolated government project deep in rural West Virginia. A punishment, a banishment.

Uncle Joe leaned in, his voice conspiratorial.

"You know, after she married Marcus, Sera, well, she had me pass on a message. Said if you apologized, really groveled, she might consider keeping you on. As her, uh, 'kept architect,' she called it. For old times' sake."

Ethan felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach. Kept architect. The arrogance was breathtaking, or perhaps it was Marcus' s poison, he couldn't tell anymore.

He looked at his uncle, a man star-struck by the Vances, always pushing Ethan to leverage that connection.

"Uncle Joe," Ethan said, his voice quiet but firm. "I've been married to Clara for three years. Lily is our daughter."

Uncle Joe blinked, the information slowly sinking in. "Three years? Married? So, you weren't... you didn't even consider Sera's offer?"

Ethan almost laughed. "Consider it? I was building a life, Uncle Joe. A real life."

He thought of Sera, probably still believing he was out there, broken and waiting for her crumbs. She had no idea. No one in D.C. did. He' d made sure of that. His life with Clara, their quiet happiness in the small Appalachian town where they'd met, it was a world away from the Vances and their glittering, shallow existence. He'd kept his marriage, his daughter, a secret from this world. Until now.