The grand concourse of Grand Central Station was a roaring ocean of sound. Three small boys with identical blond hair and startlingly blue eyes stood close to their mother, a tiny island in the current of commuters.
"Mommy, there are so many people," whispered Julian, the youngest, his hand tightening its grip on Harlow's jeans.
"I know, sweetie." She stroked his hair, her own heart pounding a nervous rhythm against her ribs. Six years.
The marble floor beneath her feet was the same.
Back then, Alistair Sterling’s remark about her “immoral behavior” pushed her into the center of controversy.
A month later, she found out she was pregnant, confirming Alistair Sterling’s claims. The rumors and gossip almost destroyed her.
She remembered her adoptive parents, the Parkers, standing here, shoving a one—way ticket and a check into her hand. Their faces were tight with disgust. The Sterling—Vanderbilt lawyers had contacted them, accusing Harlow of infidelity.
She had become a liability.
She knew the child was from that strange man. She considered having an abortion, but after thinking it over for a long time, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
That’s also her own flesh and blood!
When a child finds her as their mother, it’s fate. No matter how difficult it is, she must give birth to the child and raise them.
"Get out of New York," her adoptive father had hissed. "And don't ever come back."
Fearing that her reputation would affect her child’s future, she left this city and went to live in the countryside.
When she’d called the Parkers, desperate and scared, they had unleashed a torrent of abuse. She had lost her value. She was nothing to them now but a source of shame.
Alone and pregnant, she had boarded a bus heading west, ending up in Montana.
The pregnancy was difficult.It’s really difficult for a pregnant woman to live on her own. Finding a job is the biggest challenge. Many employers refuse to hire her because she’s pregnant.
But she has to work; she needs money.
She needs to eat, go to the hospital to give birth, and also pay for formula and school expenses for her child…
Later, she finally managed to get a job at a restaurant. Afraid of getting fired, she worked harder than anyone else and never took time off from work.
This also led to malnutrition and excessive fatigue in her.
In the final trimester, her car broke down in a blizzard. She had tried to walk for help, collapsing in the snow.
She woke up in a small, warm cabin. An old man with kind eyes named Caleb Stone had found her. A recluse who had turned his back on the world, but not on her. In that cabin, with Caleb's steady hands assisting, she had brought three tiny, perfect boys into the world.
For the next five years, that mountain had been their sanctuary. A hard life, but a happy one.
Harlow looked down at her sons. Leo, her serious, watchful eldest. Max, her fiery, protective middle child. And Julian, her sweet, sensitive youngest. They were school—aged now. They deserved a future.
For that, she had to return to the city that had broken her.
She didn’t want to go to that city at all. She still hadn’t forgotten what happened there six years ago.
Who would have thought that when she went to register the children’s births, she’d accidentally discover that she was still married.
Her first stop had been a city office to apply for their social security numbers. The clerk had looked at her paperwork, then at her, with a confused frown. The process was complicated, she was told, because according to the state of New York, Harlow Rowe was still a married woman.
The divorce had never been finalized. Because she had fled, because she had never been served papers, the legal bond to Alistair Sterling—Vanderbilt IV remained.
To give her sons a legal identity, she had to do the one thing she had spent six years avoiding. She had to find her husband.
Her primary mission was clear: find the man who was a myth and sever the tie for good.
The pure, undiluted hatred, she saved for someone else. The anonymous bastard at JFK who had assaulted her. The man who was the biological father of her children.
It’s true that men’s mouths are full of lies. Not a bit wrong.
Back then, that wild man kept saying that he would make her the happiest and most noble woman in the world. But what happened in reality?
Heh!
She was devastated by him!
Thinking about all those grievances… she just wanted to kill him!For years, she thought he had ruined her life. But then she would look at Leo, Max, and Julian, and a confusing mix of gratitude and rage would war within her.
She made a silent vow. First, the divorce. Then, she would find him. And she would make him pay.
"Mom," Leo's calm voice broke through her reverie. He tugged on her sleeve. "You're thinking about sad things again. We should go."
Harlow blinked and forced a smile. "You're right."
Max puffed out his little chest. "Don't worry, Mom! Leo and I will protect you!"
The chill of her memories receded. She had her three little knights.
"Okay, my brave protectors," she said, her voice firm with renewed purpose. She took their hands. "Let's go find a place to stay."
