From Prison To Prominence: Too Late, Ex-Hubby

"Prisoner 9305, you're free now. Take care of your baby, stay out of trouble, and don't come back here!" the corrections officer said.

Without saying a word, Emma Clark walked through the prison gates.

She walked away without looking back, determined never to return.

Dead leaves littered the road outside the prison, crunching beneath her feet with every step.

Late autumn had already settled in. Cold wind swept past Emma and sent a shiver through her body.

Ellie Clark, her daughter, stirred at the touch of fresh air. The baby soon began to squirm and cry.

"Easy, Ellie. Mommy's here, so please don't cry..." Emma tucked the baby securely against her chest and blocked the wind with her body. A bitter ache filled her chest as she looked down at her daughter.

Emma entered prison unaware of her pregnancy. She didn't discover the pregnancy until three months into her sentence.

Life behind bars had been brutal, and the constant bullying only made it worse. Ellie arrived far too early. Six months after her birth, she remained painfully tiny and weak. Her cries barely rose above the faint mew of a kitten.

Emma's eyes filled with tears as she leaned her forehead against Ellie's soft hair and whispered, "It's over, sweetheart. Mommy's bringing you home, and no one can keep us here anymore."

She carried Ellie onto the bus parked nearby.

At nearly the same moment, a black Cayenne glided to a stop outside the prison. Its rear window lowered and revealed Shane Holt's cold, sharply defined profile.

Shane watched the prison entrance while his fingers slowly traced his wedding band. His eyes revealed no emotion.

Someone on the bus looked familiar to the driver. He leaned forward and quickly said, "Mr. Holt, there she is. Ms. Clark has already been released."

He took another look, hesitated and quickly corrected himself. "No, that can't be her. She's carrying a baby."

Shane's attention shifted toward the woman on the bus. Something in her profile resembled Emma, yet her body looked far too thin and fragile.

That frail stranger could not be the stubborn, sharp-tongued woman he remembered.

His gaze moved away almost at once. Memory soon dragged him back eighteen months.

Eighteen months earlier, Emma and Shane had fought more viciously than ever before.

The reason alone didn't justify that much anger. It had all started because Emma believed the rumors accusing Shane of having an affair with her adopted sister, Joelle Clark.

Emma had caused an ugly scene and shoved divorce papers at him. Nothing he said could make her abandon her demand to end the marriage.

Her groundless accusations had already worn through Shane's patience, and her refusal to back down pushed him past restraint. Alcohol destroyed what little restraint he had left, and he forced himself on her.

That night's chaos returned to Shane's mind as he pressed tired fingers to his temples. Even now, he couldn't make sense of his conflicted feelings.

Their marriage had always been a practical arrangement. Shane needed an ideal wife to satisfy his family's demands and silence the public rumors surrounding his private life. For three years after their wedding, he'd never taken Emma to bed.

After the sex, Shane found himself disturbed by the realization that he wanted Emma closer than he'd expected. He'd assumed the encounter might finally ease the distance between them.

That hope didn't even last a day. By the next morning, news had spread that Emma had stolen confidential information from Holt Group.

The witness statements and physical evidence all implicated her, yet she still refused to admit any wrongdoing.

Shane's anger only intensified, but disappointment cut even deeper. Emma was already his wife. Why wasn't that enough for her? Why had she betrayed him?

Blinded by rage, Shane ordered the legal department to seek the maximum penalty. He rejected every settlement offer and insisted on the harshest sentence possible.

He'd always believed guilt deserved punishment, and that was how he excused what he'd done.

Eighteen months behind bars should've been enough to make Emma admit what she'd done and think twice before crossing him again.

His anger had cooled by now. If Emma accepted responsibility and showed that she'd changed, Shane was prepared to put everything behind them.

"We've been here for more than thirty minutes, Mr. Holt. Do you want to wait any longer?" the driver asked quietly.

The question dragged Shane back to the present. His expression immediately darkened.

He had even canceled an important meeting so he could collect Emma himself. Her failure to appear could only mean she was still trying to punish him with another act of defiance.

He gave a derisive laugh. If prison hadn't taught her to soften, he wouldn't lower himself any further.

"Take us back to Seashell Villa." Shane spoke coldly and raised the window. His face revealed nothing.

No one else would take Emma in after her release. Eventually, she'd have no choice but to return home, and Shane intended to see what she tried next.

When the Cayenne entered the villa courtyard, light from Emma's bedroom immediately caught Shane's attention.

So she'd returned on her own after all.

Shane climbed the stairs faster than usual, unable to suppress his urgency. All he wanted was to see what excuse that lying woman would offer after eighteen months apart.