The Billionaire and the Single Mom

-year-old minivan, each drop a tiny explosion of misery. Inside, Elara Vance gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles w

loe was curled into a ball, her thumb, a habit she'd long since broken, sneaking back into her mouth. And in the two booster seats in the back,

ything. And she ha

o her ear for a decade. "If you ever try to leave, Elara, I'll make sure everyon

hum in their lives, his love conditional and transactional... that was the real theft. He wasn't a monster, not in the way movies portraye

, the long-suffering look, the "I work all day to provide this life and I can't even come home to a d

ce quiet but shaking. "It's impossible to

e, deliberate click. "I see. So this is my fault? My standards are too high? Perhaps you'd prefer

m's creative spark being extinguished as "not practical." She saw Chloe's gentle nature being rid

der, with a force that surprised

assortment of children's clothes, her meager stash of tip money from her part-time waitressing job, and the kids' most cherished stuffed animals into three oversized grocery

87 in her purse wouldn't last a night at a cheap motel, let alone... whatever came next. She was driving blind, g

" Population 8,452. It was nowhere she'd ever heard of. The blinking vacancy sign o

or a long moment, she just sat there, listening to the rain drum on the r

against the cold steering wheel and let the tears come. Silent, desperate sobs that shook her f

moke covered by a cloying floral air freshener. The garish orange and brown floral carpet was

It was warm. A

and Chloe, roused by the movement, were too exhausted to complain. Th

itude of her foolishness threatened to drown her. No plan. No money. No job. Four dependents. A narcissistic ex-husband who w

saw Mark's name flash on the screen. Twenty-three missed calls. A

e house is a mess

me. You're bei

home. Now. Or yo

mporary measure. She knew he could use it to find her. She'

reet, nestled into the base of the dark, looming mountains, was a construction site. Even in the gloom, she coul

place in the sleepy town. A monument to money and ambition. A

t, her world was twelve-by-fifteen feet, contained four slee

ve to start building a