Chapter 7

RAINA

Was this even the right thing to do? The question hovered like a ghost as I adjusted my collar in the mirror. Dominic had insisted on me leading this project, not only because it would rile Alexander up—though that alone was enough reason—but because he believed it was time for me to take on something bigger, something that would challenge me.

But this challenge was personal. A test of my endurance, my determinaton, and perhaps even my heart. It was, after all, my first major project, and here I was, staring down the man who once shredded me in ways I never thought possible. The man who still haunted me, whose shadows clung to the darkest corners of my mind.

No. This time, I wasn’t here to fold. Today was about my son. Liam. It still shocked me he’d named the boy the very name we’d picked together, as though it were some token he kept for himself. I felt a swell of sadness, the bitter, familiar ache at my core, but I pushed it down. There was no room for weak