Chapter 1

My ex‑boyfriend wasn't in the best of health.

I bailed out just in time, took the huge sum his father, Clay Sterling, handed me, and made a run for it.

With my first windfall, I launched my own company, had a boy toy on the side, and lived the high life.

But good times never lasted.

Half a year later, I was pregnant, arm in arm with my new boyfriend, when I ran into him in the ultrasound room.

He was dressed in a white coat and held a medical device.

His gaze was as cold and sharp as a snake's when he sized up my new boyfriend.

"Looks like this one's in good shape," he said.

*****

I never imagined I'd run into Michael Sterling again under these circumstances.

Suddenly, I wished I'd checked my luck before heading out today.

I forced a nervous laugh, trying to hide my awkwardness. "Wow, what a coincidence. So, you switched careers?"

I remembered he used to take over Sterling Technologies, working on high-tech product development.

Michael gave me a look that said he had zero interest in talking to someone like me.

He glanced at the bed. "Lie down for the checkup. Pull up your shirt."

My face turned red, and I couldn't move.

My new boyfriend snapped, "Hey, watch your mouth! Are you trying to take advantage of my girlfriend?"

Michael kept a straight face. "Prenatal abdominal ultrasound. Family members must wait outside."

My new boyfriend shot back, "I... I know that!"

He snatched up my bag and stomped out, grumbling under his breath.

I instinctively wanted to follow him, but Michael's cold voice rang out again. "Come here and lie down. We have other patients waiting."

That suffocating pressure made me freeze in my tracks by reflex.

I turned around and lay down on the bed.

Michael reached over with the device, giving me a look. "Pull up your shirt."

I stayed still.

He tried to lift my shirt, but I held onto the hem and resisted.

After two minutes, he released his grip. "If you don't want this, get out."

Why did that sound so wrong?

In one dazed instant, a chill swept across my abdomen.

When I snapped back to my senses, my heavily rounded belly lay fully exposed.

Michael's face was cold as ice, as if he'd thought my belly was fake until now.

"So you really are pregnant. Whose kid is it?" Michael asked.

He still had my pregnancy booklet in his hand.

He flipped it open, and it showed I was already 30 weeks along.

The conception date didn't fall within the six months since I'd left him.

I stayed silent.

His expression softened a bit. "Be honest."

I lowered my head. "Fine, I admit it. I cheated on you six months ago."

Michael's face was a mix of disbelief and something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I had no choice but to remind him. "We never actually... you know."

Seriously, how could he forget about his own issues?

Michael snapped out of it, his face turning ashen as he hurled the pregnancy booklet at my feet. "Get out!"

I flinched. "Come on, don't be so pissed. If you want, I can pay back the two million dollars your dad gave me. It's not like you really lost out, right?"

Michael looked like he was about to blow up.

I jumped off the bed, slipped on my shoes without even bothering to tie the laces, and bolted out of there.

Honestly, the only reason I ever ended up with Michael was pure luck.

Five years ago, my dad was riding his electric moped and crashed right into Michael's car.

It was a wide road, six lanes total.

At the intersection, my dad crossed four lanes and slammed straight into Michael's car.

My dad was lying on the ground, convulsing.

Michael's car was stopped at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn green.

How should I put it? Even a five‑or‑six‑year‑old kid at the scene pointed at my dad, yelling, "Bad guy's faking the crash!"

But Michael didn't say a word. He just drove my dad straight to the hospital.

When I got to the hospital, my dad was still in the ER, and Michael was sitting outside.

Dressed head‑to‑toe in designer wear, he was not yet twenty back then.

Yet he held none of a young man's vitality. His skin was cold and pale, his features deep‑set, and every strand of his hair perfectly groomed.

My first impression of Michael was simple: handsome and rich.

My dad was out of the ER soon after, and the doctor said he was fine.

I'd already heard it was my dad who crashed into Michael's car.

I figured Michael was here to ask for money to fix his car.

But instead of asking for money, he left a check for 30 thousand dollars.

I felt like I'd just met a real-life saint.

I had no clue that reporters were secretly taking pictures the whole time.

Michael didn't hold it against my dad for crashing into his car. Instead, he drove him to the hospital and left a check behind.

My grandma was paralyzed, and my dad's health was falling apart.

Thirty thousand dollars was a huge deal, a lifesaver for us.

But for Michael, spending a mere thirty thousand dollars to send Sterling Technologies' stock price soaring was an absolute bargain.

I appreciated his kindness and went to great lengths to find out that he was a student at Harborview University.

He was only nineteen, a sophomore, three years younger than me.

I used the thirty thousand dollars to cover my dad's medical bills, so there was no way I could pay him back right away.

So, I went with the most old-school, shoestring way possible. I cooked a homemade meal and brought it to him myself.

I still remember the look on his face back then.

He gave me a gentle smile and said, "Miss, you really don't have to be so nice."

But there was a trace of disdain and contempt in his eyes. I thought I was just imagining it back then.

After that, I'd bring him little gifts every now and then.

And I'd gently remind him that I hadn't forgotten about the money and would pay him back soon.

Thirty thousand dollars was a lot to me.

It wasn't like I could just give it away and forget about getting it back.

He was always polite, thanking me every time, and sometimes he'd give me some small gifts in return, such as health supplements, asking me to give them to my dad.

I felt even more guilty, so I did everything I could to raise the money.

More than a year later, combining my savings and borrowed funds, I scraped together 30 thousand dollars and paid him back at once.

But instead of taking the money, he came right out and said he'd had a thing for me all along.