Prologue

Two Months Ago

Ceaser paced back and forth in his spacious, well-decorated living room. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. He had woken up this morning to Tom—his private investigator—telling him that he had a lead and was going to check it out. It was just by God's grace that Ceasar hadn't had a heart attack.

He'd been married to Beatrice for over two years. Eight months after they got married, she disappeared into thin air. She had been behaving weirdly just a few days before she vanished, and no one knew where she was now.

Beatrice, he thought, was the lovely girl he had met at the charity gala just months before they were forced together. Well, she was forced to marry him. It was a necessity for him, seeing as it would make Palmer—Beatrice's father, a man he wanted to go into business with—pleased. She was very sweet the few times they had met, but her true nature began to show when they started dating. She was temperamental, quick to judge, always jumping to conclusions, and many other things that pissed him off. He had seen all the warning signs not to get married to her flashing in neon lights, but he ignored every single one of them. After they got married, things only got worse for him because now, she figured she owned him. He began to spend nights at the office, which only made things worse because she had thought he was cheating on her. That was when the weirdness began; she became oddly quiet and only talked when he asked her a question, which he seldom did.

Ceaser combed his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily.

That was why he had hired Tom, who had been on the case for over a year. His thoughts went back to the day he last saw her, and he remembered the last thing she had said to him before she walked out of their house. She had lied straight to his face, saying that she was going to stay with her mum for a while. He had offered to give her a ride, but she declined, saying she needed to make a few stops on the way. Even though he knew the latter part was just an excuse, it was typical of Bea; she always did things her way, not caring about the repercussions, and no one could stop her. So he let her leave, no questions asked.

That same day, after he had gotten home, he called Bea's mum, Mary, who said she hadn't seen Bea since she visited two weeks ago.

Just then, Ceaser's phone rang, snapping him out of his thoughts and making him stop in his tracks. "Yea?" he answered the call.

"I've found her, Mr. Thompson, and she doesn't look too good," Tom said.

Ceasar sighed in relief, a frown on his tired-looking stubble-covered face. "Bring her home, Tom." He ended the call and fell onto one of the sofas, his head falling backward.

Somewhere in the same city, Jules struggled with the door as she tried to keep the groceries from falling to the ground. She finally got the door unlocked and nudged the door wide open. Entering her 600-square-foot house, she kicked the door shut behind her, walking briskly but carefully through the medium-sized, all-white parlor into the kitchen. She dumped everything on the kitchen counter, then began sorting it out.

Today was the day. A smile made its way to her lips; she was excited and nervous at the same time. Today was the day she got to know the verdict. The odds seemed to be in her favor, but she couldn't be sure.

Since Jules's parents died almost two years ago, she had tried to drown herself in work to prevent herself from breaking down until she realized that lifestyle wasn't right, and her parents wouldn't want that for her. They would want her to be happy. So a year ago, she had made the best decision to go along with her old plans. She had always loved children, and somewhere between babysitting for neighbors and family friends in her teens through to college, she decided she was going to adopt a girl when she was ready.

Since her first and last relationship in college had ended tragically after two years, which put her permanently in the single ladies' section of the population, it had taken her a very long time to get over catching her boyfriend at that time cheating on her… with her roommate… in her bed… on her birthday.

Yeah. Ta-da! Happy Birthday, Jules.

She'd sworn off men since then. They just brought havoc into her peaceful life. Relationships were complications.

Been there, done that.

Her phone rang. She placed the carton of milk in her hand on the counter and picked up her phone. "Hello?" she answered.

"Jules." It was her lawyer, Bethany.

"Yes? How's it looking?" Jules skipped right to it.

After nine months of searching for the perfect child, going to court, filing documents, and all the important stuff—baby-proofing the house, buying a baby cot, and many other things—just in case it came through. It all came down to this.

She had found the perfect child to adopt a month after her search began. The baby girl was just two months old, and she couldn't look at any other child after seeing her. Her mind was made up, and she had proceeded with the adoption. Bethany had been helpful through it all. The closed adoption was easier than they had both expected because the child's mother had given her up willingly, and the father was not listed. Jules had worked right alongside Bethany, even though Bethany had offered to do it all and contact her when she was needed. Jules had politely declined her offer because she wanted to have all hands on deck.

"Well, the final papers just arrived, and the adoption has been approved! So all you need to do is come over anytime to sign them. Then, you'll officially and legally become a mother," Bethany said on the other end joyfully.

Jules grinned from ear to ear, her heart bubbling with joy. "I'm on my way," she said, hanging up immediately and abandoning the groceries.

She couldn't wait any longer. She picked up the keys to her convertible and ran out the door.

This was it. She was finally going to be a mother. She got into her car and drove off to Bethany's office to sign the documents.

It felt like Christmas.