Chapter 5 An Unexpected Encounter

Aira tried to bury herself in work for the rest of the week, determined to forget Jason Blackwood's piercing gaze and unsettling words. She stayed late at the office, stacked her desk with files, and drowned herself in endless marketing reports. If she could just stay busy enough, perhaps her heart would stop remembering the way he had looked at her-like she was the only person in the room.

But Jason wasn't a man who disappeared into memory.

He lingered in her thoughts at odd moments: when she poured coffee, when she tucked Liro into bed, even when she passed her own reflection in the mirror. She hated it-hated that a stranger could disrupt her carefully built walls with nothing more than a smile and an unshakable determination.

By Friday afternoon, her exhaustion finally caught up with her. She decided to give herself a small reward-picking up Liro early from daycare. Just seeing her son's face would be enough to remind her why she couldn't let herself be distracted by men like Jason Blackwood.

The moment she stepped into the daycare center, Liro's delighted squeal filled the air.

"Mommy!"

He ran straight into her arms, his little backpack bouncing against his shoulders, and Aira bent down, scooping him up. She inhaled the familiar scent of crayons and baby shampoo, her heart softening instantly. No matter how chaotic her days were, no matter what storms threatened to enter her world, this-her son's joy-was the anchor that kept her steady.

"Did you have fun today?" she asked, smoothing his curls back from his forehead.

"I painted a dinosaur!" Liro said proudly, holding up a slightly smudged paper he had been gripping all day.

Aira laughed, her chest warming. "A dinosaur? That's amazing. We'll hang it on the fridge so everyone can see."

He grinned, showing the little gap where his baby tooth had recently fallen out. "The teacher said mine was the scariest!"

"Oh, I bet it was," she teased, kissing his cheek.

They walked hand in hand down the street, Liro's chatter filling the air with stories about finger paints, snack time, and the boy who had stolen his toy car. Aira listened with half a smile, her gaze sweeping the street out of habit. She had grown used to being cautious-being both mother and father had taught her to keep her eyes open.

Which was why the sleek black car parked by the curb immediately caught her attention.

At first, she thought it was a coincidence. Expensive cars weren't unusual in the city. But then the tinted window slid down, and her heart sank into her stomach.

Jason.

He was seated in the backseat, jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up, exuding the kind of effortless command that drew eyes without even trying. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes-those dark, unyielding eyes-were fixed on her as if he had been waiting.

Aira's breath caught. She froze for a fraction of a second before instinct tightened her grip on Liro's small hand. Her son glanced up at her curiously, sensing the shift in her body.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Daniels," Jason said smoothly, as though this were the most natural encounter in the world. His gaze flicked down to the little boy at her side, and something in his expression softened. "And who's this?"

Her throat tightened. Not here. Not like this.

"This is my son," she said quickly, keeping her tone neutral, as if she were announcing the weather. "Liro."

Jason's brows lifted, but there was no judgment in his face, only interest-genuine, focused interest. "Hello, Liro." His voice gentled in a way Aira had never heard. "That's a strong name."

Liro hesitated, pressing closer to his mother's leg. He was shy with strangers, and Aira braced herself, ready to tug him away. But children had a way of sensing sincerity, and after a pause, Liro loosened his grip just enough to look up.

"I like dinosaurs," he offered shyly, as though testing Jason's worthiness with the most important fact about himself.

Jason's lips curved into a smile. Not the polished, calculated one Aira had seen him use in boardrooms and galas, but a real one-soft at the edges, unguarded. "Dinosaurs, huh? My favorite was always the Triceratops. Strong, steady, with three horns like a little warrior. What's yours?"

Liro's face lit up instantly. "The T-Rex!" he declared, his small voice full of excitement.

Jason chuckled, the sound low and rich. "Of course. The king of dinosaurs." He leaned slightly forward, his expression warm. "But you know what? The Triceratops could hold its own against a T. Rex. Stubborn little fighter."

Liro giggled, and for a strange, fleeting second, Aira felt something inside her ache. Jason looked so natural in that moment, so at ease talking to her son, as though he belonged in the picture she had painted for years of just herself and Liro.

Dangerous, her mind whispered. Too dangerous.

She straightened her shoulders, her voice firm. "We should go." She tugged gently on Liro's hand. "Say goodbye, sweetheart."

Liro waved a small hand. "Bye, mister."

Jason's gaze lingered on them both. "Goodbye, Aira. Goodbye, Liro."

Her name rolled off his tongue as if it belonged to him, and she hated how her pulse betrayed her by racing at the sound. She pulled her son along, forcing her steps to remain steady, though her chest felt as if it were caving in.

That night, after Liro had fallen asleep clutching his stuffed rabbit, Aira stood by the window of their small apartment, staring out at the city lights. Her reflection in the glass looked tired-too young to feel this weary, too determined to admit defeat.

Jason had seen her son.

The secret she had guarded so carefully, the line she had drawn so clearly between her world and his-it was no longer intact. And the worst part?

Jason hadn't reacted with arrogance or distance. He hadn't been mocked or dismissed. He had smiled at Liro, really smiled, in a way that had seemed startlingly genuine.

And that terrified her more than anything.

Because if Jason Blackwood could be kind-if he could look at her son and see more than a complication-then he was far more dangerous than she had ever imagined.