Chapter 1

Five years later, I ran into Ethan again at Daisy's parent-teacher conference.

The hallway was almost empty.

I was kneeling by the classroom door, tying Daisy's shoelaces.

When I looked up, a pair of custom-made, dark leather Oxford shoes stopped just three feet away.

My hand instinctively pressed down on the thick silver cuff on my left wrist.

Daisy grabbed the edge of my skirt and shrank back behind me.

I patted her hand gently and stood up.

He stood there, one hand slipped casually into his tailored suit pocket.

His voice was low, laced with a familiar, controlled tension.

"Cassie, you've been throwing this tantrum for five years. Haven't you had enough? Come home with me."

The metal buckle of the cuff on my left wrist felt icy cold against my skin.

Suddenly, the freezing air of that winter night five years ago seemed to wrap around me all over again.

I didn't look at him.

I zipped Daisy's coat all the way up to her chin, took her hand, and walked right past him.

"Mommy, who was that man?" Daisy asked in her sweet, small voice.

I paused for a second.

I honestly didn't know how to introduce him.