Baby Cupid: CEO Daddy's Love Crisis

Eliana Pierce's POV:

"Oh, Asher... I want more..."

Erotic gasps came through the crack between the bathroom door and its frame, making one's heart beat faster.

I was standing outside the bathroom, feeling as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head.

I recognized the voices at once. They belonged to my best friend, Erica Duffy, and my fiance, Asher Harrison.

"You are such a temptress," Asher remarked as he gasped for breath. His hoarse voice was full of lust, which I had never heard him speak in before.

Erica replied coquettishly, "Do you like it when I'm being a temptress? I'm more suitable for you than Eliana, aren't I?"

"Don't say her name!" Asher barked.

Erica panted weakly. "Don't be angry. It's all her fault. She would rather sleep with a man whore than sleep with her own fiance..."

"She's a bitch!" Asher interrupted Erica.

"Oh, that's it! Harder, Asher!" Erica kept gasping.

Outside the bathroom, I staggered backward and covered the hickeys on my neck with my trembling hands. My eyes started burning with tears.

"Will you break off your engagement to Eliana for me?"

"Of course. Eliana is not good enough to marry me. Sure enough, like mother, like daughter. Back in the day, her mother was a skittish woman who provoked a big shot and got her husband killed," Asher snorted with disdain.

"What? Didn't Eliana's father commit suicide?"

"It just looked like he committed suicide."

Bang!

As my brain buzzed with resentment and disbelief, I thrust the bathroom door open and stormed in.

"What did you say just now, Asher?"

Asher and Erica turned pale with surprise and fright.

Asher hurriedly grabbed a bath towel and covered himself up. "What are you doing here, Eliana?"

I walked over and gripped Asher's wrist. "Who killed my father?"

"Hey! Let go of him!" Erica, who was still stark naked, pushed me away.

I was caught off guard and fell backward to the floor. My head hit the bathtub hard.

After that, there was nothing but quiet blackness.

I had no idea how long I'd been unconscious. All I knew was that I woke up to the whirring sound of a machine. I was greeted by a blinding pain in my head. After blinking a few times, I realized I was in a yacht. I touched the wound on my head. It hurt so much that I almost screamed.

Before I could prop myself up, somebody grabbed me by the hair.

I cried in pain as that somebody tilted my head up.

Then, a pretty face with a sinister smile came into view. It was Erica.

"How was the escort I hired for you last night? Did he make you feel things you never thought possible?" she asked in a voice dripping with poison.

Fragments of what happened last night flashed in my mind, making my already aching head throb more. I replied through clenched teeth, "So it was you who framed me."

Then, every memory started falling into place. When I woke up this morning in a mess, I should have known what was going on. But I still didn't want to ruin our long-term friendship. I believed that there must be some misunderstanding. Erica wouldn't have done something like that to me.

I went straight to her house as soon as I got out of the hotel.

But I didn't expect to find my best friend having sex with the man I was supposed to marry.

"Yes. Yes, I was. But I didn't want you to be left alone after I'd taken your fiance away, so I hired a high-class gigolo to serve you," Erica sneered. She was grinning, but her eyes were full of hatred. "I wanted you to enjoy yourself before you die."

I looked around in panic. Beside Erica stood two hulking bodyguards, and the yacht we were on was in the middle of the sea. I had no way out.

"Throw her overboard," Erica ordered.

Then, the bodyguards picked me up and tossed me into the ocean like a discarded rag doll.

Before I could scream for help, the surging sea waves already swallowed me whole.

Five years passed.

At the airport, I pushed our luggage cart out. My son, Adrian Pierce, put his hands on the handle bars and tried to keep up with me with his short legs. "Let me help you push our cart, Mommy," he said with determination.

I lowered my head and stroked his soft hair. "Thank you, sweetie. You're so considerate."

"What about me, Mommy?" My daughter, Aileen Pierce, interjected, blinking her big, beautiful eyes. She was sitting in the luggage cart, her little legs dangling in the air. She was the cutest little thing I'd ever seen.

Adrian rolled his eyes and said to his sister, "Yes, you're helping by adding more weight to our cart. Thank you very much."

Aileen glared at her brother and stuck her tongue out at him. Then, she crossed her arms over her chest. I almost laughed out loud.

I looked at my children with a smile and felt a comforting warmth spread through my chest.

When Erica tried to drown me at sea five years ago, I thought that was really my end. But unexpectedly, someone saved my life.

I was in a coma for months after I was rescued. When I woke up, I found out that I was pregnant.

A few more months later, I gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl. I named my son Adrian and my daughter Aileen and gave them my last name, Pierce.

They were the two little angels that rekindled my life. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have powered through.

"Miss Pierce." A woman with a big smile on her face approached us and showed me her ID card. "My name is Kimora. I was sent here by Mr. Jonathan Bowman to take care of you and your children."

While I was checking Kimora's ID card, Aileen jumped down from the luggage cart and started running away.

Before I could stop her, she rushed to a strange man and hugged one of his thighs. Then, she squealed, "Daddy!"

Maurice Moran's POV:

I looked down at the little girl who was hugging my leg.

She looked lovely, and her big round eyes were so clear that I could see my reflection in them.

I couldn't take my eyes off her.

I had never seen such a pretty kid. She was so cute that I even considered picking her up and taking her away.

I looked at her and asked in a low voice, "Where's your family?"

"You're my family, Daddy!" the girl replied excitedly, keeping her eyes fixed on me. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her smile was as sweet as candy, which melted my heart.

She murmured, "Can you carry me, Daddy? I don't want to walk."

I almost reached out to pick her up in my arms.

But suddenly, a woman, whose perfume caught my attention, snatched the little girl away. "I'm so sorry. My daughter likes to call every handsome man she meets her dad. She didn't mean to offend you. I'm really sorry."

Then, the woman bowed slightly and left with the little girl.

I stood there and watched them walk away, and my heart suddenly skipped a beat. I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if I had seen that woman before.

Eliana's POV:

I held Aileen in my arms and gently pinched her face. "Didn't we agree that you'd stop doing that, honey?"

"But he's so handsome!" Aileen pouted, looking wronged. But when I locked eyes with her, she dipped her chin and stopped talking.

We went to the parking lot with Kimora.

I put the twins in the van and went to help Kimora with our luggage. But as soon as I got out of the van, I ran into two familiar people.

I stopped and stared at Asher and Erica.

They stopped to look at me as well. Asher dropped his keys as well as his jaw in shock.

He gaped at me as if he'd seen a ghost.

I sneered at the panicked expression on his face.

"Eliana? You... You're alive?" Asher blurted out in disbelief.

I curled my lips. I glanced at my ex-fiance and my ex-best friend behind him.

"Yes. I suppose I wasn't destined to die five years ago. Do you agree, Erica?" I put an ugly emphasis on her name.

Erica took a step back, her face white as paper. She met uneven ground and toppled backward. She started screaming in pain. It looked like she twisted an ankle.

I looked down at her and put on a mocking smile.

But she was too flustered to look back at me.

"Why didn't you contact me in the last five years?" Asher asked and slowly walked toward me. He even extended his arms as if offering me a consoling hug.

I took a step back to avoid his touch. "Don't touch me. You disgust me."

Asher blinked at me twice. He obviously wasn't expecting me to say something like that to him after disappearing on him for half a decade.

I darted my eyes between them and said, "I haven't forgotten. You just wait and see. Now that I'm back, we'll see each other around. I will make you two pay for what you've done to me."

Just then, Kimora slammed the trunk shut, and the sudden bang made Asher and Erica tremble.

I scoffed and got in the van. Then, we left.

When we arrived at our new residence, Kimora helped me carry our luggage and unpack and sort out our stuff.

"Mommy, we're here to help you." The twins ran over and each planted a kiss on my cheek.

My heart melted. I kissed them back and handed them some things that were easy to sort out.

"Look at this handsome man. He's my grandpa."

I was stunned for a few seconds. When I looked over, I found that Aileen had opened an old album. She pointed at one of my father's photos where he was young, and giggling about something.

"Let me have a look."

Aileen handed the album to me.

I ran my fingertips over the photos one by one and looked at my parents' smiling faces. My eyes started to burn with nostalgic fondness and grief.

I hadn't forgotten what Asher had said all those years ago. There was something suspicious surrounding the circumstances of my parents' death.

After the Pierce Group went bankrupt, the Moran Group was the first to swoop in and buy it out. There should be some employees in the Moran Group now that worked for the Pierce Group before.

I had to seek out the truth.

I read the job offer from the Moran Group on my phone and made up my mind.

The next day, I got dressed and went to the Moran Group for my first day of work.

The company's location was excellent, and its tall Twin Towers were magnificent.

I walked in, and the receptionist greeted me and led me to an office. Before opening the door for me, she said, "You're about to meet Gabrielle Aston, the director of our Design Department."

I nodded. The receptionist opened the door, and I walked inside.

Gabrielle was sitting on the sofa in the center of the room. Hearing me enter, she raised her head and looked at me up and down.

Inexplicably, her probing gaze made me feel uncomfortable. I calmed myself down and put on a professional smile. "Hello, I'm Eliana Pierce. It's my first day."

"Pleased to meet you, Eliana. My name is Gabrielle. Welcome to the Moran Group." Gabrielle smiled, but her eyes glinted with something else. "I have a project to pitch tonight. I want you to come with me."

"Tonight?" I blurted out without thinking, but I immediately corrected myself. "Of course."

Gabrielle nodded with satisfaction and rose from her seat. She started walking out and told me, "Follow me."

I followed Gabrielle out of her office, assuming that we were going to handle my employment formalities. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I saw that everyone looked serious, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Then, a tall gentleman walked out of the office area, surrounded by a group of people.

He was wearing a dark, expensive-looking suit that matched the aura he gave off. He was obviously someone important.

I looked at him carefully, and he registered to me as familiar.

Suddenly, the man stopped in the corridor and turned his head.

"Eliana," Gabrielle suddenly called out my name.

Before I could react, she dragged me to the side.

Her face darkened, and her eyes were full of disdain. "Don't crave what you're not worthy of. Our CEO is renowned for his coldness and ruthlessness. If you so much as swoon in his direction, you will get fired."

It turned out that the tall gentleman was Maurice, the CEO of the Moran Group.

I immediately averted my gaze and replied, "I see."

Gabrielle shook her head and walked into a nearby office.

But I didn't move. I looked up at the direction of the corridor.

Maurice's POV:

I sensed someone was looking at me from behind, so I suddenly stopped walking.

My assistant immediately asked, "Is there a problem, Mr. Moran?"

I frowned, looked back ahead, and proceeded forward.

I supposed I was just tired and overwhelmed that I was beginning to overanalyze things and felt that woman I just met was familiar.

In the evening, my driver pulled over my Maybach in front of the Imperial Golden Club.

I straightened my cuffs, got out of the car, and strode into the club.

"There can be miracles indeed! You're only ten minutes late, man. That's gotten to be a world record or something," Wyatt Todd smirked, playing with an adorning ring. He was leaning leisurely against the reception desk.

From the shy, red-faced look on the receptionist's face, I assumed that Wyatt had been flirting with her.

"My last meeting didn't take that long," I muttered and walked inside. "If you don't want to go to the private room, you can replace the receptionist."

Wyatt chortled and fell into step beside me. "Wow, you're awfully irritable. I didn't blame you for being late, but why are you wearing a long face?"

Used to Wyatt's brand of humor and conversation, I decided to ignore him and continued to walk inside.

Wyatt looked at me up and down and murmured, "The simulation mask is indeed different. It looks just like a real face."

I marched all the way to one of the private rooms and shut the door. Then, I asked Wyatt, "Have you found the ring?"

"I have sent a few of my men out to look for it," Wyatt answered seriously. "But I have no news for you at this time."

He poured me a glass of wine. "Haven't you found some clues at least?"

Five years ago, I had a one-night stand with a strange woman.

The next day, she vanished into thin air along with my family signet ring.

"I thought it was Gerald who did it," I said, lazily raised my glass, and took a sip. "But I found that his people were also looking for the ring. I don't know what tricks he's playing."

Wyatt put back on his bright, teasing smile and commented, "You really suffered great losses that night, my friend. You didn't only lose your ring. You also lost your virginity."

I leaned back on the sofa and flashed Wyatt a death glare.

He coughed and changed the subject.

Eliana's POV:

After work, Gabrielle and I went to the Imperial Golden Club and entered a private room.

The room was dimly lit, and the table in the middle was full of wine bottles.

A fat man was lounging on the sofa, and he was undressing us with his eyes.

I frowned, instantly feeling uneasy.

Gabrielle smiled coquettishly, approached the fat man, and sat beside him. "You're here early, Mr. Blake."

"I never let women wait. It's basic courtesy."

The so-called Mr. Blake grinned and touched Gabrielle's thigh with his chunky hand.

Gabrielle dodged his hand and waved at me. "Come on, say hello to Mr. Antwan Blake."

Antwan turned to me and beamed. He rose from his seat, extended a hand, and ushered me forward. "Come sit with me, my dear."

I took a step back and fearfully darted my eyes at Gabrielle.

"Why are you dawdling? Mr. Blake is waiting for you," Gabrielle said and put a glass of wine in my hand. Then, she leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Antwan holds the fate of our project in his hands. This is your first task. Win his approval or don't bother coming into work tomorrow."

That was when I completely understood what was going on.

I wanted to leave, but I couldn't lose my job at the Moran Group just yet. I needed to know the truth about my family's past. I clenched my fists and bit down my impulse to run away.

I took a deep breath, put on a smile, and sat beside Antwan. I clinked glasses with him and drank up.

"Wow. I didn't know you could drink, Eliana," Gabrielle cheered, clapped her hands, and filled my glass again.

I drank up one glass after another until I was tipsy.

Soon, I was no longer in control, and I dropped my glass on the floor.

I held my head and leaned against the sofa. I muttered, "No, I can't drink anymore..."

In a daze, I saw Gabrielle leave the room.

Bang! The door slammed shut behind her.

I had a bad feeling.

I tried my best to smile and politely told Antwan that I should go follow Gabrielle, but Antwan held me down.

"Let's have a good time first, sweetheart. Then we can talk about the project."

Without really thinking, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

The crisp sound my palm made against his cheek echoed in the room.

I couldn't believe what I'd just done.

My slap caught Antwan off guard, so he lost his balance and slammed right on the table. "Damn it! You bitch! How dare you hit me?"

I jumped off the sofa and rushed out.

"Come back here!" Antwan roared, but I kept going.

The private room next to the one I just left was open, so I staggered in and closed the door, fearing that Antwan was close behind.

That was when the alcohol finally overpowered me. My knees buckled and I started to fall, but someone caught me.

I struggled to raise my head to look at the person who broke my fall. I didn't recognize his face, but his eyes looked very familiar.