Audrey's Pov
My family and I had just shared a meal when, all at once, there was an emergency. Everyone had to leave. Mum rushed off to the foundation, Dad to the law firm, Andrew to the tech company, and Eden needed to register for her course. They asked me several times if I'd be okay alone at home. I said yes. I wanted to be alone anyway.
I was in my room when my uncle, Uncle Steve, Mum's elder brother and my favorite uncle growing up —called. He had heard everything and wanted to check in. As always, he made me laugh and reminded me of the strong, unstoppable girl I used to be.
After the call, I made a promise to myself: from today onward, I wouldn't shed another tear. Everyone who owed me, in any way, had their debt due.
I took a long shower, washing off the lingering scent of the hospital, then got dressed for work. It was mid-afternoon. Yes, I had just been discharged, but my position had been vacant for far too long.
Dressed in a black suit, hair pulled neatly back, I stepped outside where my personal driver was already waiting. "To the Anderson Law Firm," I said.
I chose Anderson over Shepherd, though both firms were in my family, because that's where my mother began her career. I wanted to follow in her footsteps.
Just as I settled into the car seat, someone opened the door and slipped in beside me.
My driver looked startled but didn't move, which meant whoever it was had already cleared security.
I turned my head, ready to demand what was happening, when I saw him.
Simon.
He looked... different. The same sharp suit, the same clean lines, but his eyes carried something darker, heavier. He didn't say anything at first, just stared at me, his presence filling the car with a silence that felt charged, almost electric.
"You shouldn't be out of the hospital yet," he finally said, voice low and measured.
I rolled my eyes slightly. "You sound like my mother. I'm fine, Simon."
"You lost a baby, Audrey," he said, the words almost a whisper, as if speaking them too loud might break me again. "That's not something you walk off."
I clenched my jaw and looked out the window. The city blurred past, loud, alive, oblivious to everything that had just happened to me. "I've done enough lying around," I said. "I need to be back where I belong."
He sighed, leaning back in his seat. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone."
"Actually, I don't," I said, turning to face him now. "But I'm a Shepherd. And we don't stay broken."
He studied me for a long moment, then a faint smirk ghosted his lips. "There she is," he said softly. "The Audrey who used to make the world spin just to keep up with her."
I tried not to smile, but the corners of my mouth betrayed me. "Flattery won't work this time."
He chuckled. "Wasn't trying to. Just reminding you of what's still there."
The driver started the engine. Simon didn't move, didn't say where he was going.
"Why are you here, Simon?" I asked finally.
He turned his gaze on me again, steady, unreadable. "Because I know you," he said. "You'll pretend you're fine until you collapse again. So if you're walking back into the lion's den, I'm walking with you."
I wanted to protest, to tell him I didn't need anyone, but when his hand brushed mine, just a small, quiet touch, I didn't pull away.
"Plus, I have a surprise for you," Simon said.
"What surprise?" I asked.
He opened his briefcase and brought out a file. I rolled my eyes and flipped it open, already guessing what scheme he'd cooked up this time. "You bought Skylight Corporation?" I joked, and then felt my pulse ricochet. I could have kissed him for this. Skylight meant everything to Jeremy and the Gillian family; he'd done everything he could to stay in the CEO's position.
"Yes. What better way to punish Jeremy for what he did to you than to take what he loves most?" Simon said. "If you sign, Skylight will be yours."
"What?" I breathed, stunned.
"Listen, Audrey, I know you don't need the company. You have plenty," Simon added. But before he finished the sentence, I'd already pulled out a pen and signed. I'd been planning how to hurt Jeremy where it would hurt most: take his company.
"That's my girl," Simon said, grinning. "If you want the Gillian mansion, I'll give that to you, too. Those freeloaders have spent my money long enough. Jeremy's father, Arnold, isn't even a Gillian; he was adopted. I didn't care about the properties before, but not after what they did. I'm taking everything from them for my queen."
The company was perfect.