Chapter 4His Shadow Vow

My phone vibrated in my palm, Grant’s name flashing on the screen.

I let it ring, and ring, and ring. After the fiftieth missed call, I finally answered.

It was his way. He would never stop calling until I picked up.

“Leah! Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea Audrey would be there.”

I stood in the middle of a public square, watching the people come and go, my voice as light as the wind. “It’s fine. It just got a little stuffy, I needed some air. I’ll be back soon.”

After hanging up, I stood there, letting the evening breeze dry the tear tracks on my face.

Leah, this is the last time you will ever cry for him.

The moment I pushed the door open, a warm embrace enveloped me.

Grant’s chin rested on the crown of my head as he repeated the words over and over.

“I’m sorry, Leah. I promise, this is the last time.”

“I will never, ever let you face something like that alone again.”

He held me so tightly it felt like he was trying to merge me into his very bones. The familiar scent of sandalwood surrounded me. For ten years, this embrace was the only thing I had ever craved.

In the middle of the night, I was awakened by a rustling beside me.

Grant was tiptoeing out of bed, his phone cupped in his hand, his voice a hushed whisper.

“Don’t be scared. I’m on my way.”

He threw on his clothes, and his footsteps disappeared out the door.

I grabbed my coat and followed him.

Outside the emergency room, Grant was draping his suit jacket over Audrey’s shoulders, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a priceless treasure.

I hid in the shadows at the end of the hall, holding my breath.

Audrey, her face pale, leaned against his chest. “You don’t have to be so tense. I just slipped. The baby’s fine.”

Grant’s brow was knitted with worry, his voice thick with a tenderness he couldn't hide. “You need to take care of yourself. Don’t overdo it.”

“I told you I’d handle your family’s business. Even after the divorce, we still have our children.” His hand moved gently to rest on her still-flat stomach. “You had such a difficult birth with Noah, lost a fallopian tube. We have to be so careful now that you’re pregnant again.”

Noah.

So that was their son’s name. Noah.

Audrey shook her head. “The vultures in my family know you’re divorcing me. They’re all circling. I can’t afford to rest.”

Grant made a decision on the spot. “Then we’ll wait until after the baby is born.”

Audrey looked up at him, her expression unreadable. “And what about Miss Evans?”

Grant was silent for two seconds.

Two seconds that stretched into two centuries.

“I’ll talk to her. She can be childish sometimes. I can calm her down. It’ll be fine.”