Serena sat on the hospital bed, her fingers tracing circles over her still-flat stomach. A smirk played at the corners of her mouth as she watched Michael pack her belongings into a small duffel bag. Everything had changed so fast. Just yesterday, he’d been cold and distant, talking about walking away because he blamed her for what they had both caused. She was glad she didn’t let him. Now he was fussing over her pillows, asking if she needed water, making sure she had everything. All because of the baby. "You comfortable?" Michael asked without looking up. "Yeah." Serena's smirk widened. "Just thinking about how lucky our baby is going to be. Having both of us." Michael's hands paused for just a second on the zipper. "Yeah. Lucky." Inside, he wanted to laugh. Lucky? The kid would be lucky if Serena wasn't around to poison it with her schemes and manipulation. But she didn't need to know that yet. Let her think she'd won. Let her believe the baby had secured her place by his si

Damon got into his car and released a slow breath. It was another day, and he wondered what would happen today, what drama and what problems might come.But he quickly shook the thought away, because no matter what happened, he was going to handle it—or even stop it before it started. He would never let Celia worry again.“Damn it, Anthony hasn’t called me yet,” Damon muttered as he pulled out his phone, ready to dial his number. Just then, it started to ring. It was Anthony.“Damon…” Anthony began. In order not to offend him, he had gotten used to calling him by his name, just as Damon had requested.“I was just about to call you. How is it?” Damon asked.“I needed to make sure everything was ready and perfect before I contacted you. But now it is. All the documents are ready, and everything is officially yours,” Anthony said.“Good,” Damon replied. “I’ll call you if I need anything else.”“Okay, Damon,” Anthony said, and the call ended.“I’m very sure Celia is going to love this, an

Celia's heart pounded as she stared at Hunter. She couldn't believe he was standing right in front of her after all these years. The boy who had been her best friend, the one she had secretly liked before his family moved away without warning."Hunter, what are you doing here?" Celia asked, trying to keep her voice steady.Hunter smiled, but it looked sad. "I live here now. I bought this house six months ago but, Mr. Damon..." Celia spoke up before Hunter could finish."You bought it?" Celia's eyes went wide. "You're the one who owns my family's old house?""I didn’t know it was your family’s house when I bought it," Hunter explained quickly. "I just saw it was for sale, and something about it felt right. I've been searching for you everywhere, Celia. I even hired people to find you, but no one could track you down."Damon stepped closer to Celia, his jaw tight. He didn't like how Hunter was looking at her, and he definitely didn't like the way Celia was looking back at him."Why wer

Damon pulled his car up in front of one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Anthony had just told him that Simon was waiting for him there.Simon had discovered more information about his mother's death, and Damon could not wait to hear what it was. After he learned the truth, the need to lie to Celia about who he really was would finally be over. Then they could start dating for real, not pretending anymore, but only if she had made up her mind about her own feelings.He got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant. One of the waitresses was already standing there, ready to guide him to the private room where Anthony and Simon were waiting.“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to our restaurant. Mr. Williams and Mr. Simon are already waiting for you. Please come with me to the private room,” the waitress said in a polite voice. Damon nodded and followed her inside.They walked down a quiet hallway until they stopped in front of a private room. Anthony and Simon had done an

Damon drove Celia back to her house as the evening settled in. When they pulled up to the curb, he could see lights shining through the windows, which meant her parents had already made it home safely. That eased some of the tension he'd been carrying since they left the safe house. Celia unbuckled her seatbelt but didn't immediately get out of the car. She turned to face Damon with guilt still written across her face. "I'm really sorry about what my mother said earlier," Celia said quietly. "I know she apologized already, but I still feel terrible that you had to hear those words after everything you did for us." "It's nothing," Damon replied, keeping his voice gentle. "Your mother was scared and people say things they don't mean when they're afraid. I'm not holding it against her or you." Celia nodded but still looked troubled. "I just want you to know that I don't think you're bad luck. You're the opposite of that. You've been the best thing that's happened to me in a long time