Chapter 1 - The Question That Stopped Time
The string quartet was playing a flawless rendition of Pachelbel’s Canon. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, illuminating Sloane Kensington’s million-dollar couture gown. Harrison stood at the altar, his face a mask of wealthy indifference.
Then, the heavy oak doors at the back of the cathedral swung open.
The heavy thud echoed over the music. Maya Linwood stood in the doorway, wearing a simple, elegant emerald dress. But she wasn't alone. Holding her left hand was a little boy in a tiny suit. Holding her right was another boy, identical to the first. And clutching the fabric of Maya’s dress was a little girl with Harrison’s unmistakable piercing blue eyes.
Four-year-old triplets.
Eleanor Sterling, sitting in the front pew, went entirely rigid. Whispers erupted across the four hundred elite guests like a sudden wildfire. Harrison’s breath hitched, his chest freezing as he stared at the woman he had never stopped thinking about, and the three children he had no idea existed.
The music faltered to a screeching halt. The silence in the church was deafening.
Maya didn't flinch. She walked halfway down the aisle, her head held high.
Then, little Lily tugged on Maya’s dress, her sweet, high-pitched voice echoing in the dead silent cathedral.
May you like
"Mommy? Is that the man who didn't want us because we were too difficult?"
The cathedral erupted. Cameras flashed. Sloane dropped her bouquet. Harrison stepped off the altar, his face completely pale, his eyes locked on the little girl who shared his face.
