Chapter 5 ALEXANDER LUCAS

How time flies. A year later, when Ava's baby was a month old, my father had announced that he has two more years to live according to the medical report about his illness, and now, he wants me to get a wife, not just a child from anywhere.

I was forced to break the news to Ava and explained everything to her.

"You are the best one for it since you are my baby mama." I'd said to her two days ago and she agreed again, I guess that's because I increased her pay for the contract. And in forty-eight hours she signed another two years contract.

On this day, as I sat in my office, my fingers traced the edge of a photograph absentmindedly. Ava's face in the photo stared back at me. While I stared at her, my lips curved out an unknowing smile as I recalled the first day she had come for the interview, demanding for the impossible. It made me laugh while remembering those memories. She's got so much confidence. Now, was my wife.

Ava was more than just my son's mother. She was the one person I couldn't ignore, the one who made it difficult to stick to the rules I had set for myself. No feelings. No attachments. Yet, here I was, staring at her picture like a fool. I smiled again.

In just one year, my father would finalize his will and decide his successor. one year to prove that I was a family man, the perfect heir. One year of pretending that this marriage was only a matter of convenience. It wasn't a pretense anymore. I was starting to develop a soft spot for her.

I exhaled sharply and pulled out my phone, quickly typing a message.

"Come over with the baby. We'll go home together."

Ava responded almost instantly.

"You told me that before I left for the baby care hospital. I'm almost there.. besides, He's been crying since he got the immunization"

"He's still a month old," I texted back. "It'll get better as he grows."

I could already picture her exhausted expression, the way she cradled him close even when he was wailing. Despite everything, she was an incredible mother and also an incredible wife.

Before I could dwell on that thought, the door to my office swung open without a knock. I looked up to see Steven.

My stepbrother strolled in, the usual smugness etched onto his face. He carried a laptop in one hand, the other stuffed into the pocket of his tailored suit. I watched him as he closed the door behind him.

"What do you want?" I asked flatly.

He smirked. "To watch you squirm."

I frowned as he placed the laptop on my desk, flipping the screen open. A video file was already queued up. I didn't need to ask what it was because The video began playing in less than a second.

It was a recording of my conversation with my doctor, the one person I had trusted with my greatest secret.

"There's no chance of your sperm being able to make her conceive, Alex, because of your impotence. The procedure has to be done with a donor since your sperm can't be used for Ava's insemination. You have to get a donor as fast as possible."

"That shouldn't be a problem.. I'll request for my bodyguard's own while keeping this a secret" I replied.

Steven tapped the keyboard, pausing the video. "It's now a problem, I guess." His voice was laced with satisfaction as he pulled out a folder and slid it across the desk.

My lips shook in shock.

"How did you -"

"Because the sperm the doctor used on Ava to give you a son belongs to me" he interrupted

I froze.

He leaned forward. "I planned it all out? Did you think you could just waltz around with my child, claim my heir as your own, and get away with it?"

My hands curled into fists with no words.

Steven let out a slow, mocking chuckle. "I have proof. DNA results. Everything." He gestured to the folder, but I couldn't bring myself to open it. My pulse roared in my ears.

At that exact moment, the door creaked open.

I turned just as Ava stepped inside, our son nestled in her arms.

She wasn't looking at me.

She was staring at the laptop, her face drained. Her lips trembled, her arms tightening around our baby.

I knew immediately that she had heard everything.

For a moment, she didn't speak. The silence stretched.

Then, her gaze locked onto mine. "You're... impotent?" Her voice was barely above disbelief.

I opened my mouth to respond, to explain, but Steven beat me to it.

"Not just that, sweetheart." He smiled, a predator basking in his victory. "The baby you've been raising? The one you think belongs to him?" He turned back to me. "Tell her, Alex. Or should I?"

Ava's grip on the baby faltered.

Steven took a step closer. "He's mine."

Ava sucked in a sharp breath, clutching the baby protectively against her chest as if someone was going to rip him away from her. Her legs wobbled, and I instinctively moved forward to steady her, but she flinched away from me.

The betrayal in her eyes, the way she was looking at me now, it was worse than anything I had imagined.

Steven exhaled dramatically. "Now, here's the deal." He straightened, looking between the both of us. "I'll make this easy. Since our dear father will be deciding his heir soon, I need what's rightfully mine."

He smiled again.

"Option one: Give me my son or option two." His gaze shifted to Ava. "You marry me instead."

Her eyes widened in horror.

I stepped forward, my jaw clenched. "Over my dead body."

Steven raised an eyebrow. "It's not like you have a choice, do you?"

Ava finally found her voice. "You're insane," she yelled, clutching the baby tighter.

"Am I?" Steven shrugged. "You're already in a contract marriage, as I found out, Ava. What's another swap, hmm? At least with me, you'll be with the baby's actual father and someone who will love you truly."

I saw the way her grip tightened on the baby, the way her shoulders trembled. She was terrified, trying to process everything all at once.

I had never seen her look so... broken.

Steven turned back to me. "You have just seven weeks. Make the right choice."

With that, he snapped the laptop shut, grabbed his folder, and strolled out as if he hadn't just detonated a bomb in the middle of my life.

I turned to Ava, but she took a step back. "Don't." Tears blurred her vision.

"Ava, listen to me..."

"What do you take me for?," she choked out, shaking her head.

"Wait.." she paused.

"Do you think I agreed to marry you because of your money? Of course you don't get it, do you?" She took a few steps forward and stood in front of me, her gaze boring into mine.

"It is because I have broken the contract rule! I love you Alex Lucas!" she cried, hitting my chest.

"Ava, I –"

She hit my cheeks hard before I could speak nor touch her.

"Thanks for playing with my life and heart!"

Those were her last words before she turned and left..

...with the baby that now belonged to my enemy..