Chapter 2 Sophia

I'd been running for so long that I couldn't even remember what it felt like to have a place where I could stay in peace. I was so happy when I finally got that job at the diner, and I didn't hesitate to save every penny so I'd have enough money to rent a place of my own.

But there I was, being chased by him once again. I didn't know how he'd found me so quickly this time. I didn't know what else to do, where to run, or where to hide from him.

That's why, when that stranger-who had just saved my life-extended his hand and assured me that no one would bother me again, I accepted.

People might call me crazy for trusting a man I didn't know, but to be honest, the people I'd known my whole life were the ones responsible for putting me where I am today.

I looked at the man beside me: impeccable clothes, perfectly straight posture. He was rich, and I didn't even need to glance at the fancy car or the designer watch on his wrist.

"Why did you help me? Why did you chase after me and pull me back from there? You could have just let me fall, and everything would be over."

He clenched his jaw even tighter when he heard my last words, making the muscles stand out.

"You could have let go and fallen before I reached you," he said, turning to face me. "That's because you didn't want to kill yourself. No one who truly wants to die would hold onto the edge that hard to support their own weight."

"I..."

"And about helping you-I saw you last night, sleeping on the bench in the park. As much as I wanted to help you then, something made me follow you today, watching your routine. So when I saw you about to jump, I had to intervene." He confessed it as if stalking me wasn't a big deal.

"I think I'm getting out now," I murmured, turning to the door, afraid of what he might do to me. After all, who follows someone all day for no reason?

"You don't need to be afraid. I won't hurt you..."

"And you expect me to believe the word of someone I just met?" I questioned the obvious while still trying to open the car door.

"You're right not to trust a stranger, but again, I could have let you fall from that rooftop..."

"Which only proves you have some ulterior motive behind your help!" I yelled, interrupting him and lowering the window, ready to jump if necessary. "Let me out-let me out now! You saw me on the street yesterday, alone, and followed me, waiting for the perfect opportunity to approach. And you got it..."

"I'm dying!" he exclaimed, cutting off my words and leaving me in shock. "That's why I was walking in the park that late at night. When I saw you there with so little, it moved me. Of course, I could have given you some money and gone on with my life for the next year I have left, but I think I can do more for you. Actually, we can do more for each other."

I swallowed hard, sitting back properly in the seat and looking at the man again. He didn't look sick, nor was he old-maybe around forty-but he didn't seem at all like someone with a death sentence.

"Help each other? How? How could I help a man who has everything?"

"I don't have everything. More money than I can spend, properties around the world, successful companies-yes, I have all that. But I don't have the most important thing: time!" he said sincerely, not in a boastful way; he was just stating facts.

I could suspect the story wasn't true, and I'd definitely keep an eye on it if I accepted whatever he was offering. But the sadness reflected on his face, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he said he had no time-it seemed genuine.

"And how can I give you time?" I asked, still not understanding where he was going with this.

My eyes were drawn outside as we left the poor part of the city and entered the area with grand properties, designer stores, and most of the country's wealth.

"You can't give me time, but you can give me a way to preserve my legacy." My furrowed brows must have given away my confusion because he continued. "My great-grandfather fought to lift my family out of poverty, and my grandfather continued the work after him, passing it to my father and then to me. Their hard work paid off-we made our name in the market, and now it's all about to end with me in a year."

"You're saying you want..."

"A child! An heir for the entire fortune and to carry on my family's name..." I raised my hand and slapped him across the face.

"I knew it! I knew you wanted something sexual!" I yelled, pulling at the door lock again, trying to open it. "You men are all the same. All you think about is taking whatever you want without caring about anything! You thought it'd be easy with the poor, lonely, stupid girl. You found me pretty and already imagined getting me into your bed."

"For God's sake, girl-shut up for a second!" he roared, speaking over me instantly. "You're beautiful, but at no point did I say I wanted to take you to bed. I didn't even think about it, to be honest!"

"But you..."

"A child-that's what I want. And for that, I don't even need to touch you. The whole procedure can be done through fertilization. I would want to closely follow the pregnancy, so you'd have to live with me, but I would never touch you. In exchange, you'd have everything that belongs to me. You'd take my last name."

I looked around as the car entered an enormous property, passing through golden gates. The place was so vast that I got lost gazing at the garden and the perfectly manicured lawn stretching as far as the eye could see. The house rising in the background was an imposing structure-an old mansion that looked like it was taken straight from a period film.

The car stopped right in front of the main door, and a security guard came down the entrance steps, opening the car door and waiting for the man beside me to get out.

"But you could have anyone. You could hire a surrogate and be done with it."

"I don't want a surrogate. I want my child to have a mother-someone who will care for him, be present." He got out of the car but stayed by the door. "And from all your yelling and refusal, despite knowing I have money, I know you'll take very good care of it until my child can take over everything."

"Men have never been trustworthy. Actually, no one in my life has been. So forgive me if I don't believe your words."

And yet, he had saved my life, even though he didn't know me. But in my experience, nothing comes without a price.

"The choice is yours." He extended his hand into the car as an invitation. "You can stay and have a good life, make a man happy in his final days, and continue my family's legacy-or you can go."

I might regret it deeply later. I might just be being lured into a trap. But for the second time that day, I took his hand and let him help me out of the car.

"By the way, my name is Sophia," I murmured as we climbed the steps into the house.

"William. My name is William," he replied, flashing a wide smile that, surprisingly, gave me a sense of trust.