Shattered Ring: The Secret Surgeon Returns

Charlie stood in front of the cold marble vanity.

Her eyes were locked on the small plastic stick in her hand.

Two stark red lines.

Her breath hitched, trapping the air in her lungs. Her fingers trembled so violently that the pregnancy test slipped from her grasp.

It clattered against the edge of the porcelain sink.

She scrambled to catch it, the frantic movement causing a splash of cold water to soak the cuff of her silk pajama top.

She didn't care.

Charlie let out a shaky exhale. The rims of her eyes burned, but a smile broke through the tension on her face.

She pressed her free hand flat against her lower abdomen. It was still perfectly flat, but the warmth radiating from her palm felt like a lifeline.

A child. Kayson's child.

The heavy thud of the electronic lock disengaging echoed through the quiet penthouse.

Charlie's heart slammed against her ribs. He was home. After three months of being away on a business trip, Kayson was finally home. He had grown so distant, so suffocatingly cold over the past ninety days, barely answering her calls and treating their marriage like an expiring contract. But this changed everything. This tiny heartbeat was the miracle she needed. It would fix them. It had to.

Panic and joy collided in her chest. She shoved the pregnancy test into the hidden drawer beneath the sink, slamming it shut.

She turned and practically ran out of the bathroom, her bare feet silent against the hardwood floor of the hallway.

The living room was swallowed in shadows, the only light bleeding in from the Manhattan skyline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Kayson Logan stood in the entryway.

He shrugged off his custom-tailored suit jacket, tossing it carelessly onto the back of the leather sofa.

Charlie stepped forward, forcing her racing heart to slow down. She painted a soft, welcoming smile on her lips.

"You're back," she breathed out.

She took another step, closing the distance between them.

Then, it hit her.

The scent wasn't his usual sharp cedar and bergamot. It was cloying. Sweet. Floral.

Chanel No. 5.

It clung to his crisp white shirt like a second skin. A scent that did not belong to her.

Charlie's smile froze. The muscles in her face went rigid, and the words she wanted to say dissolved into ash on her tongue.

Kayson turned to face her.

The dim light caught the sharp angles of his jaw. His dark eyes locked onto hers, but there was no warmth in them. Only a cold, restless aggression.

He didn't offer a greeting. He didn't ask how she had been.

He just closed the distance between them with long, predatory strides.

Charlie instinctively took a step back. Her spine collided with the freezing glass of the window.

Kayson's large hands clamped down on her waist. His grip was bruising. He lifted her slightly, crushing her body against his solid frame.

A gasp tore from Charlie's throat. She brought her hands