Chapter 1

My brother's company went bankrupt, and I became the debt payment sent straight to Edward Pierce, the infamous big shot in Elarwyn that everyone feared.

Everyone thought I was just a helpless sacrifice, but only I knew the truth. This was a carefully orchestrated gamble I'd been plotting for ages.

I was betting that Edward still cherished our past, that I was still the unforgettable mark in his heart.

For three years, I clung to him, completely dependent and fragile, carefully playing the role of a docile lover.

But the two glaring red lines on the pregnancy test shattered everything. When I nervously asked if he liked kids, he just said, "No, they're a hassle. And having one out of wedlock is even more trouble." His words hit me like a bucket of ice water, crushing every last bit of hope I had.

But I never expected that just when I thought I could finally start a new life, running away with the baby growing inside me, Edward would come after me like a madman.

He cornered me in a foreign land, eyes red with fury, jaw clenched tight. "You think you can run off before you've paid back what you owe? You think you can just run? Not a chance."

*****

I'd stayed by Edward's side for three years.

Back then, when my brother Michael Linley's company went bankrupt and owed Edward a fortune, I became the debt payment.

Or at least, that was what everyone else believed.

Back then, the succulent I'd been nurturing on the windowsill for half a year had just put out fresh, dazzling green shoots. Michael's eyes were rimmed red as he said, "Sophia, I'm so sorry."

I patted his hand and said softly, "It's okay, Michael. I'm willing to help you."

But deep down, only I knew that this was mostly my own choice, my plan.

I'd had a crush on Edward for years, ever since he was just a nobody, a fresh-faced kid trying to make it in the world, long before he became the big shot in Elarwyn who could call the shots and turn the tides with a single word.

For those three years, I lived in his penthouse that overlooked half of Elarwyn. I was like a pampered pet, carefully looked after but always kept in a gilded cage.

When Edward was in a good mood, he'd bring me along to some not-so-important private parties. He'd introduce me in a vague way, and everyone knew the score. Nobody ever asked any questions.

But when Edward got busy, it was perfectly normal not to see him for ten days, even half a month.

That night, I was half-asleep when I heard the soft click of the bedroom door opening.

Then, his familiar scent, tinged with a trace of alcohol, drifted over me.

I knew he was back.

I stayed perfectly still, pretending to be sound asleep.

Edward seemed to stand by the bed for a while, then lifted the edge of the blanket and quietly slipped in beside me.

His slightly cool, damp arms pulled me in, his chin pressing lightly against the top of my head.

"You've been drinking again?" I mumbled sleepily.

I could already smell the expensive liquor and cigarettes clinging to him.

"Yes," Edward murmured, his voice rough and tired from a long night. "Had to talk business, and just had a couple of drinks."

I snuggled deeper into his arms, shifting around until I found a comfortable spot.

But he couldn't keep his hands to himself. His rough fingers gave my waist a gentle squeeze, then trailed beneath the hem of my pajamas.

"No, please," I murmured, grabbing his hand, my voice heavy with sleep. "I'm exhausted. Let's do this tomorrow."

Edward gave a low laugh, his chest vibrating against me, his warm breath tickling my ear. "I won't be free tomorrow."

With that, Edward rolled over, pressing me beneath him.

The curtains weren't fully drawn, and the neon lights slipped through the gaps, painting shifting patterns of light and shadow across his chiseled face.

*****

By the time I woke up, it was nearly noon.

Edward was long gone, and the other side of the bed was cold.

I still felt clean, so I guess he took care of me before he left.

Supporting my sore waist, I sat up and saw a glass of warm water and a sticky note on the nightstand. His bold scrawl read: [Mr. Armstrong will come by this afternoon. There's a document for you to sign.]

I sneered. There was another set of documents to sign.

It was either a transfer of shares or some meaningless authorization forms. Anyway, it was all stuff I couldn't understand and didn't need to.

I rubbed my temples and shuffled into the bathroom.

Through the mirror, I saw that my face was a bit pale, with faint shadows under my eyes.

Just as I was about to brush my teeth, my stomach suddenly turned upside down. I gripped the sink, dry heaving a few times, but nothing came up. It just brought tears to my eyes.

This feeling was familiar.

My heart skipped a beat, and my hand instinctively rested on my stomach.

Last month, I thought my period was late.

At the time, I'd been too busy helping Michael with his new company to pay a lot of attention. Plus, Edward had been swamped with work, and we barely saw each other. So I hadn't really thought much of it.

My hands were trembling as I dug out an unopened pregnancy test from the bathroom cabinet.

Five minutes later, I stared at those two glaring red lines. My mind went completely blank.

The test slipped from my fingers and hit the cold tile with a sharp clatter, the sound echoing through the empty bathroom.

Huh? I-I was actually pregnant?

Edward and I always used protection, except for that one night. A little over a month ago, he'd come home from a celebration, clearly upset and more than a little drunk, and kept me up in bed nearly the whole night.

That time, we didn't use protection.

I leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, my mind turning into a complete mess.

This baby really couldn't have come at a worse time.

That evening, Edward came home unusually early.

He tossed his suit jacket onto the couch, loosened his tie, and walked straight to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a glass of whiskey.

I sat across from him in the armchair, fidgeting with the tassels on the throw pillow without even realizing it.

He took a sip of his drink, his gaze lingering on me, like he could tell I wasn't quite myself.

"What's wrong?" he asked. His tone was flat, completely unreadable.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. "Edward, do you like kids?"

His hand holding the glass paused for a moment, the ice cubes making a sharp clink against the side.

Then he looked up at me, his gaze piercing, like he was trying to see straight into my soul. After a long pause, he finally spoke without any hesitation, his voice colder than the ice in his glass. "No."

My heart sank, and I gripped the tassels of the pillow even tighter.

He set down his glass, picked up a financial magazine from the coffee table, and flipped it open, making it obvious he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"They're a hassle." He barely spared a word, his eyes still fixed on the magazine, as if those stock charts mattered more than anything I had to say.

Seconds passed, and the silence was so thick I could almost hear my heartbeat.

Just when I thought the conversation was over, he flipped a page without even looking up and threw out another offhand remark. "And having one out of wedlock is even more trouble."

His words felt like a knife dipped in ice, plunging straight into my heart.

I could almost feel the warmth draining from me, my whole body turning cold.

I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, but my throat was so tight that not a single word would come out.

In the end, I just forced a smile worse than tears. "Oh, I was just asking, you know, kind of curious. What would you be like if you had a kid?"

He didn't respond, just kept his eyes glued to the magazine.

I slowly stood up. "I'm a bit tired. I'm going to bed."

Back in the bedroom, I buried myself under the covers, and finally, the tears I'd been holding back came pouring out.

I couldn't cry, and I absolutely couldn't let him find out I was pregnant.

What would a patron do if he found out his pet was pregnant? I didn't even dare imagine it.

At that moment, that last bit of unrealistic fantasy I'd been clinging to shattered completely, not even a trace left.

I thought it was time to go.

*****

A few days later, the weekend rolled around. Edward had an important business forum to attend, so he was out the door at the crack of dawn.

Left alone in the empty apartment, the place felt even more suffocating than usual.

My bestie, Vivian Downton, texted me, asking if I wanted to go out shopping.

Vivian was pretty much the only person I could be truly honest with these past three years.

She was in pretty much the same boat as me, kept by another powerful man in Elarwyn.

As she liked to put it, "We're in exactly the same situation. We can truly empathize with each other."

We met up at the swankiest mall in the city center.

Vivian had just scored a generous allowance from her sugar daddy, Jason Grant, and was in high spirits. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along, shopping from the ground floor all the way to the top.

"Sophia, what do you think of this dress?" Vivian held up a champagne-colored slip dress, holding it up against me. "This color would look gorgeous on you."

I just shook my head, not feeling it at all. That wave of nausea was starting to creep up on me again.

Vivian noticed right away. "What's up? You don't look so great."

She set the dress aside, her eyes full of concern as she looked me over, then gently squeezed my wrist. "Have you been skipping meals again?"

I was about to say I was fine when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something, and my feet felt glued to the floor.

Not far away, in front of a newly opened custom suit shop, stood Edward. He was wearing a perfectly tailored dark gray suit, standing tall and sharp. Wasn't he supposed to be at that forum?

But what really made my breath hitch was the woman standing next to him.

She was dressed in a well-fitted white dress, her long hair softly curled, giving off a gentle, elegant vibe. She was looking up at Edward, smiling, her eyes crinkling with her smile.

The sunlight poured through the mall's massive glass dome, bathing the two of them in a soft halo, making them look like they belonged together, almost like a perfect couple.

It wasn't his mother or his sister. It was a woman I'd never seen before.

Vivian followed my gaze, her face falling a little as she instinctively tried to pull me away.

The more Vivian tried to pull me away, the more uneasy I felt.

"Vivian, who is she?" I grabbed Vivian's hand, staring straight into her eyes as I asked.

Vivian's gaze darted away, and she hesitated for a long moment. Only after I pressed her again and again did she finally lower her voice and say, "I heard a bit from Jason. That's Edward's first crush, Emily Monroe. She's a few years older than him and married overseas years ago. Just recently, she got divorced and moved back."

His first crush? What a joke.

A wave of sour heartache welled up inside me, so strong that it felt suffocating.

I should be happy, right? His beloved girl was back. Maybe now he would finally let me go. I was free. But why did it hurt this much inside?

"Sophia, are you okay?" Vivian asked softly, her voice full of concern.

She watched me anxiously, gripping the edge of her sleeve so tightly her knuckles had gone pale.

I took a deep breath, forcing a smile and making my tone as breezy as I could. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry. His first crush is back. That's good, right? I was just the stand-in, after all. Now that she is here, it's only right for me to step aside."

I said all the right things, but only I knew how much it hurt, like someone was dragging a dull knife across my heart, one cut at a time.

"It was always just about sex, never about feelings, right?" I told her.

Vivian let out a sigh, a bit of sadness flickering in her eyes.

Yeah, we were just these caged pets, not even qualified to talk about love.

That afternoon, I just wasn't in the mood to shop anymore. I made up an excuse and parted ways with Vivian.

Instead of going home, I grabbed a cab and went straight to the hospital.

I checked in at the OB-GYN and sat on the cold waiting room bench, feeling like I was waiting for a verdict.

When I got the slip that said [5 weeks pregnant,] the world spun around me.

The slip of paper in my hand felt light as a feather, but somehow, it weighed a ton.

I walked out of the exam room in a daze, still reeling from this surprise, when I spotted the hospital director personally leading two people toward the VIP section of the OB-GYN department.

And those two people were Edward and Emily.

Emily was holding onto Edward's arm, her face lit up with a soft, gentle smile. Edward turned his head to listen to her, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

The scene was so dazzling that it almost hurt to look at it.

Before I knew it, I was trailing after them, hiding just around the corner in the hallway.

After about half an hour, they finally came out of the exam room.

Emily was holding her own test slip, giving it a little wave, her eyes shining brightly as she looked up at Edward.

They were a little too far away, and with the crowd and all the noise, I couldn't make out their conversation clearly.

But a few words pierced my ears like needles.

"This baby couldn't have come at a better time. It's the product of our love." It was Edward's voice.

Emily's smile grew even brighter, and she excitedly hugged Edward's arm, clinging to him.

Edward was briefly taken aback, but then his features softened, and he reached up to gently pat her hand.

They looked like a perfect match, suited for each other in every way.

I slumped against the cold wall, feeling as if every ounce of strength had been drained from my body.

So, it turned out he didn't hate kids. He just couldn't stand the idea of having a child with me.

It was just because the mother wasn't the woman in his heart that he didn't want a baby and thought it was a hassle.

A sharp pain shot through my chest, my vision went black, and I almost fainted.

Luckily, someone caught me before I could fall. It was Vivian.

Vivian must have followed me at some point, but I hadn't even noticed.

"Sophia," Vivian called out, her voice trembling with worry.

She was on the verge of tears. "Are you okay? Please, don't scare me like that."

I just shook my head, unable to get a single word out.

My tears just wouldn't stop, falling like beads from a broken string.

Vivian helped me over to a chair and hugged me tight, cursing out Edward and Emily nonstop.

I heard her, but inside, I was just numb.

I was too naive. I never should've let myself hope for anything.

He only ever wanted my body, never my heart. Not once did he give me even a shred of real affection.

That night, I sat on the couch waiting for Edward, staying up until it was way past midnight.

When he finally came home, there was a faint trace of women's perfume on him, not mine, and not his usual cologne, but a gentle jasmine scent I didn't recognize.

I stood up, walked over to him, and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek against his wrinkled shirt, desperately trying to soak in whatever was left of him that still belonged to me.

He seemed a bit surprised by me taking the initiative, his body tensing for a moment before he then wrapped his arms around me.

"Why are you still up?" he asked, his voice rough with exhaustion.

I smiled, looking up at him, doing my best to look like nothing was wrong. "I wanted to wait for you to come home, so we could fall asleep together."

After his shower, he came out rubbing his hair dry with a towel, making his way over to the bed.

I looked at him from the side, mustering up all my courage, and asked him the same question just in a different way. "Edward, if I ended up pregnant with your baby, what would you do?"

His hand stilled mid-motion, water dripping from his damp hair onto his bare shoulders.

Edward turned his head, his deep-set eyes looking even more unfathomable in the dim light, locking onto me as he could see straight through my soul.

I forced myself to meet his gaze, but my heart was pounding out of control, and cold sweat was beading on my palms.

After what felt like forever, he finally spoke, his voice calm and steady, but it hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. "Sophia, there shouldn't be anything like that between us."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I've already told you. I don't like kids. And—"

He looked straight into my eyes, his tone clear. "I won't let a child born out of wedlock disrupt my life."

I looked at him, and suddenly, I laughed.

And as I laughed, tears started to fall.

It turned out that he couldn't even be bothered to give me a perfunctory answer.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, sniffling hard, my voice all stuffed up from crying. "Yeah, I know. I just had a nightmare. I dreamed I was pregnant, and it freaked me out. It's nothing, really. Let's just get some sleep."

After saying that, I dove under the covers, pulling them over my head, not daring to look at him again.

Outside the blanket, Edward just stood there for a long time.

Then, I felt the other side of the bed dip under his weight.

He lay down, but didn't hold me like he usually did.

In the darkness, I bit down hard on my lip, not letting myself make a sound as I fought back the urge to cry.

Yes, it was time to go. This time, I really had to leave.

I secretly called my brother Michael. After I told him everything, he was silent for a long time. All I could hear was his heavy breathing on the other end of the line.

Finally, he said, "Sophia, come home. I might not be as successful as Edward, but I can still take care of you and the kid."

Tears blurred my vision again.

I started paying close attention to Edward's schedule. My chance came quickly. He'd be away in Gustrelie on business all next week.

A week was more than enough.