My Husband, My Hero, My Baby

e air before me, her synthesized voice echoing a pre

, high-probability outcome. At the age of twenty, you will face

us like a circuit board. My father, the renowned tech mogul Mr. Miller, wrung his

aid, his voice tight. "We'

vetted to an impossible standard by my father' s security team. The catch, the one that made this more than just a rich girl' s gam

ry so sharp it felt real. In my past life

ger had landed on him. Brandon Hayes. The charismatic startup CEO with a

at me, the way he made me feel like the center of the

company. The carefully orchestrated press conferences where he painted my fath

m in his new, sprawling off

n? Why would

me from the building, pushing me into his car. He drove me to a cemetery,

ife. Tiffany was my childhood sweetheart. The pressure of our forced marriage, the public eye... she couldn't

A beautiful, tra

e for corporate espionage, leaking false documents that made me look like a tra

e news celebrate Brandon Hayes as a visionary

.. now I

father' s office, the app open on t

Are you alright?

his face etched with genuine concern, and a fierce, protective love surged through

s just as I remembered. A handsome photo, a list of impressive accomplishment

profile to the side, dragging it into the dig

andon Hayes looked like a prime candidate.

him," I said,

domly on the screen, on one of the ninety-e

Bulldog" Riley. The bio was short, almost blunt. Former Navy SEAL. Honorably discharged after a career-endin

e you sure? The file says he was involved in a mission that went

dy. A ghost. Anyone but Brandon Hayes. I looked at the hardened face on the

protective instincts on high alert

thing I had ever said. The feeling wasn' t about Jake. It was about Brandon. The feel

locking in the selection. Jake "Bulldog

board members were in an uproar. The media had a field day. "Tech Heiress Picks Disgraced Sold

rapping me around his finger with practiced ease. He must have thought this life would be the same. The idea of him, stewing in his own arrogant fury, brought a grim smile

ars ago. A fire had broken out in the kitchens, causing panic. In my past life, Brandon had claim

different man. Someone strong, silent, moving with purpose through the chaos. He had grabbed my arm, his grip firm but not painful, a

eling of his presence.

o of that night wasn't Brandon at all? What if it was someone else? So

oto of Jake Riley. It was impossible to be sure, bu

choice wasn' t s