Noah’s POV I stared at the email for so long that the screen eventually dimmed, forcing me to touch it again.
I read the message one more time, hoping that somehow the words would change if I looked at them differently.
They didn’t.
Beginning tomorrow, I would report directly to Adrian Ashford.
I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath.
I had spent two years building a life where Adrian existed only in the part of my memory I refused to visit.
I had moved to another town, raised Ethan, worked until my body was exhausted, and finally found the courage to return.
Now, after less than a week in the city, fate had placed me directly in his path again.
“Daddy?” I looked down.
Ethan was awake, his cheek resting against my shoulder as he watched me with sleepy eyes.
“What is it?” “Are we going home?” I smiled and adjusted him in my arms.
“Yes.
We’re going home.” He rested his head against my chest again, and I started walking toward the bus stop.
I didn’t tell him about the email.
He was too young to understand why the name Ashford made my heart hurt.
For the rest of the evening, I tried to focus on ordinary things.
I made dinner, helped Ethan with his bath, listened to him tell me an unnecessarily detailed story about a dinosaur that apparently knew how to cook, and tucked him into bed.
But when the apartment became quiet, my thoughts returned to the email.
I opened my laptop again.
There had to be a way around this.
I checked the employment agreement, searching for anything that would allow me to request a different supervisor.
Unfortunately, the company had already classified me as part of the President’s Research Division.
Refusing the assignment during my probationary period could easily cost me the job.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.
I needed this job.
I couldn’t afford to lose it.
Not now.
My gaze moved toward the bedroom where Ethan was sleeping.
He needed daycare fees, food, clothes, medicine, and a hundred other things that seemed to become more expensive every month.
I couldn’t run away again.
So I made myself a promise.
I would treat Adrian like any other employer.
Nothing more.
The past would remain in the past.
At least, that was what I told myself.
The next morning, I arrived at Ashford Biotech twenty minutes early.
I had barely stepped into the laboratory when Marcus looked up from his computer.
“You’re early.” “I didn’t sleep much.” He laughed.
“First week nerves?” “Something like that.” He handed me a folder.
“President Ashford wants you in his office at eight.” My fingers tightened around the folder.
“Eight?” “Apparently, he wants to discuss the new assignment personally.” Of course he did.
I checked the clock.
7:42.
That gave me eighteen minutes to prepare myself.
I spent those eighteen minutes pretending to read the research documents while remembering every reason I needed to remain calm.
Adrian was my employer.
I was his employee.
That was all.
At exactly eight, I walked toward the executive floor.
The receptionist greeted me before I could say anything.
“Mr.
Everhart?
President Ashford is expecting you.” I nodded.
The elevator carried me upward in silence.
When the doors opened, I stepped into the quiet hallway and followed the receptionist’s instructions until I reached Adrian’s office.
I knocked.
“Come in.” His voice immediately made my shoulders tense.
I opened the door.
Adrian stood beside his desk, looking through several documents.
He glanced up when I entered.
“Good morning.” “Good morning, President Ashford.” “Sit.” I took the chair opposite him.
He remained standing for a moment before placing a file on the desk.
“Your supervisor has been reassigned to another project.
Until further notice, you’ll be working directly with me.” “I understand.” “You’ll assist with data analysis, research documentation, and laboratory preparation.
Nothing outside your qualifications.” I nodded.
“I can handle it.” “I know.” The simple answer caught me off guard.
Adrian sat down and opened another file.
“Your previous research work was impressive.” “Thank you.” “You were particularly good at genetic sequencing.” I looked at him.
“You remember that?” His eyes lifted to mine.
“I remember excellent work.” Something about the answer made my chest tighten.
He continued, “That’s one reason I approved your appointment.” I lowered my gaze.
“Then I’ll do my best.” “I expect more than your best.” I almost smiled.
Some things really hadn’t changed.
“Understood.” For the first time, something faint appeared in his eyes.
Not quite amusement.
But close.
He pushed a document toward me.
“There’s another reason I called you here.” I looked down at the file.
The title immediately caught my attention.
Project E-17: Restricted Research Proposal.
I frowned.
“What is this?” “My most important research project.” I looked back at him.
“Why are you showing me?” “Because someone has been trying to access it without authorization.” The room suddenly felt colder.
Adrian’s expression became serious.
“Three weeks ago, confidential data from this project was copied from one of our internal servers.” I slowly closed the folder.
“Do you know who did it?” “No.” “Then why involve me?” His silver-gray eyes remained fixed on mine.
“Because the person who stole it understands biotechnology well enough to know exactly what they were looking for.” He paused.
“And I need someone I can trust.” My heart skipped.
I didn’t know why those words affected me so deeply.
Maybe because trust was something I had struggled with for two years.
Maybe because I had spent so long believing that Adrian would never understand me.
Or maybe because, despite everything, some part of me had always wanted him to trust me.
I looked down at the folder again.
“I’ll help.” Adrian nodded.
“Good.” I reached for the documents.
Then he spoke again.
“But there’s one rule.” I looked up.
“Do not discuss this project with anyone.” “Understood.” “Not even your coworkers.” “I understand.” He held my gaze for a moment before adding quietly, “Especially if anyone asks you about your past connection to Ashford University.” My hand stopped on the folder.
My heart began beating faster.
Why would he mention that?
I slowly looked up.
Adrian’s expression was unreadable.
But his next words made my blood run cold.
“I’ve been looking through the university archives.” He paused.
“And I found something about you.” My fingers remained frozen against the edge of the folder.
For a few seconds, I couldn’t even breathe properly.
I had known Adrian would eventually ask questions about my disappearance, but hearing him say that he had already started searching through the university archives made every carefully buried fear rise to the surface.
“What did you find?” I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady.
Adrian leaned back in his chair, studying me with that same unreadable expression that had always made it impossible to know what he was thinking.
“Your withdrawal record.” My heart sank.
“I don’t understand.” “You were one of the top students in your department.
Your final research evaluation was excellent.
You were weeks away from completing your degree, yet you suddenly withdrew.” I looked down at the folder between us.
“There wasn’t anything complicated about it.
I had personal reasons.” “Personal reasons serious enough to abandon your education?” I swallowed.
“Yes.” He didn’t look convinced.
“Did someone pressure you to leave?” “No.” “Did the university threaten you?” “No.” “Then why?” I lifted my eyes to his.
“Because I had to.” The words came out before I could stop them.
Adrian’s expression changed slightly.
“Had to?” I immediately looked away.
“I don’t want to discuss it.” Silence filled the office.
I expected him to push harder, but he didn’t.
Instead, he closed the file.
“Fine.” I looked at him in surprise.
“You’re not going to ask again?” “Not today.” Something about the answer unsettled me more than if he had continued questioning me.
He stood and walked toward the window.
“I understand what it’s like to have something in your past that you don’t want to discuss.” I stared at his back.
For the first time, he sounded less like the cold businessman everyone described and more like an ordinary person carrying his own secrets.
I wanted to ask what he meant.
I didn’t.
He turned around.
“Take the research file with you.
Read everything before tomorrow.” I picked it up.
“Alright.” I stood and walked toward the door.
“Mr.
Everhart.” I stopped.
“Yes?” His gaze rested on me for a moment.
“Yesterday, you said your son is two years old.” My heart immediately tightened.
“Yes.” “What’s his name?” I hesitated.
“Ethan.” “Ethan Everhart?” “Yes.” Something flickered across Adrian’s face.
“That’s a nice name.” “Thank you.” I reached for the door.
Then his voice stopped me again.
“Does he look like you?” My hand tightened around the handle.
I couldn’t turn around.
Not immediately.
Because the answer was complicated.
Ethan had my red hair, my eyes, and some of my expressions.
But his silver-gray eyes belonged to someone else.
Someone standing behind me.
“He’s a little bit of both,” I finally answered.
Adrian didn’t respond.
I opened the door and walked away.
I didn’t stop until the elevator doors closed between us.
Only then did I allow myself to breathe.
Why was he asking about Ethan?
Why was he looking at me like that?
I pressed the button for the laboratory floor and stared at the numbers above the elevator.
I had to be careful.
Very careful.
The truth was no longer just mine.
If Adrian discovered Ethan was his son before I was ready, everything would change.
And I wasn’t prepared for that.
Not yet.
When I returned to the laboratory, Marcus was already waiting.
“You survived.” I gave him a confused look.
“What?” He laughed.
“Your first meeting with the president.
Most new employees come back looking terrified.” “I was fine.” “Sure.” I placed the research file on my desk.
“Can we focus on work?” “Of course.” For the next few hours, I buried myself in data.
It helped.
Numbers were easier than emotions.
Research didn’t ask why I had disappeared.
Research didn’t look at me with familiar silver-gray eyes.
Research didn’t remind me of the life I had tried to leave behind.
By late afternoon, I had finished reviewing the first section of Project E-17.
There was something strange about it.
The research involved advanced genetic compatibility and the relationship between biological markers and pheromone responses.
It was brilliant work, but some of the data appeared incomplete.
I compared the original files with the updated reports.
Someone had removed several sections.
“Marcus.” He walked over.
“What?” “Look at this.” He leaned over my computer.
“That’s strange.” “Right?” “These figures don’t match the original sequence.” “Do you know who changed them?” “No.” I stared at the screen.
“Someone deliberately altered the data.” Before Marcus could answer, the laboratory lights flickered.
Everyone looked up.
A second later, the computers went dark.
The room fell silent.
Then the emergency lights came on.
“What happened?” Marcus checked his workstation.
“The system just went offline.” My phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
Stop looking into Project E-17.
My blood ran cold.
I quickly locked the screen.
Marcus noticed my expression.
“Everything okay?” I slipped the phone into my pocket.
“Yes.” But I knew that wasn’t true.
Someone was watching the project.
Someone knew I was involved.
And somehow…
I had a feeling this was connected to the reason Adrian had been investigating the university in the first place.
Across the laboratory, the doors suddenly opened.
Adrian walked in.
His eyes immediately swept across the room before settling on me.
“Everyone stay where you are.” His voice was calm, but there was something dangerous beneath it.
The security team rushed in behind him.
Adrian walked directly toward my workstation.
“Did anyone touch your computer?” “No.” “Did you receive anything unusual?” I hesitated.
Then I remembered his warning.
I need someone I can trust.
I took out my phone and showed him the message.
His expression hardened as he read it.
For the first time since I had returned to his life, I saw something in Adrian’s eyes that wasn’t confusion.
It was fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
He looked at me and quietly said, “From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Ari1 Hi everyone!
I’m really sorry for not updating for the past 6 days.
I know some of you have been waiting for the next chapters, and I truly appreciate your patience and understanding.
Thank you so much for staying with An Accidental Mark: My Cold Professor Is the Father of My Baby and continuing to support Noah, Adrian, and little Ethan.
We’re finally back, and things are about to get much more interesting!
Adrian and Noah are going to be working together, and that definitely won’t be easy for Noah.
And now there’s someone threatening the research…
I’ll do my best to keep the updates coming!
See you in Chapter 6!
— Ari1