The Billionaire CEO Rejected Every Man for One Single Dad — Until Her Sister Revealed Why She Could Never Forget Him
Chapter 2
Ethan Cole had become a single father when he was twenty-eight.
His son, Noah, was three years old.
The child’s mother had died unexpectedly after a sudden illness.
Ethan had never blamed fate.
He had simply learned to survive.
He worked as a civil engineer during the day and spent evenings helping Noah with homework, cooking dinner, and keeping the little boy’s world stable.
He wasn’t rich.
He wasn’t famous.
He rented a comfortable house outside the city.
His life was ordinary.
And he liked it that way.
Then the letter arrived.
It came from a law firm Ethan had never heard of.
Inside was a photograph.
His mother.
Victoria’s mother.
And two children.
The photograph was taken twenty years earlier.
Ethan stared at it.
A letter accompanied it.
You deserve to know what happened before you decide whether to return to Hartwell.
The name Hartwell made his stomach tighten.
He hadn’t heard it spoken in years.
The letter explained that Victoria’s father had deliberately separated the two families.
He had believed Ethan’s family was beneath them.
He had threatened Ethan’s father.
He had also manipulated a business dispute that eventually forced Ethan to leave the city.
Ethan read the final paragraph twice.
Victoria never knew the truth.
He sat down.
For ten years, he had believed Victoria had chosen her family over him.
Now he realized the opposite might be true.
The person who had broken them apart had been someone Victoria trusted.
Noah entered the room.
“Dad?”
Ethan folded the letter.
“Yeah?”
“What’s that?”
“Something from a long time ago.”
Noah climbed onto the sofa.
“Is it bad?”
Ethan looked at his son.
“I don’t know yet.”
Noah studied him.
“You look sad.”
Ethan smiled.
“I’m remembering someone.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“Someone I loved.”
Noah smiled.
“Do you still love her?”
Ethan looked toward the window.
“Yes.”
Noah thought for a moment.
“Then you should find her.”
Ethan laughed softly.
“Life isn’t that simple.”
“It should be.”
The little boy stood.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“If she made you happy, don’t be scared.”
Ethan stared at him.
Children had a way of saying the things adults spent years avoiding.
The next morning, Ethan booked a flight.
For the first time in a decade, he was going back.
