The Billionaire's Ex-Convict Nanny

Chapter 1

Adrian's POV

"Wake up! Wake up! Last meal of the day, Martinez, unless you want to stay here forever," the officer said, his tone flat and mocking...

"Thank you." I said with the pains in my dry throat

He shoved the tray in front of me, his eyes not meeting mine, "Eat up, Martinez," he said with a cold voice.

There's absolutely no difference between his dry cold voice and the dusty walls of the prison that surrounds me. Then he stormed out of the cell as usual. Never expecting a warm treatment from the officer... I'm used to the coldness from them.

The smell of disinfectant filled the air and the main door slammed shut again, leaving me alone again.

I looked at the plate of food on the floor...A lump of hard bread and watery soup. Tasteless and cold. This was the food I had eaten since the first day I stepped foot into this prison. My stomach twisted, but not from hunger but from the emptiness that I had learned to live with.

Then, I forced myself to eat , as I tore the bread with shaking hands. The bread was so hard it hurt to swallow. It tasted dry and lifeless, like giving up.

Ten months of staying here for a crime I didn't commit. I lost my freedom and a little while to lose my sanity.

The walls around me were cracked and wet from the morning's rain. They smelled like rush just like every forgotten thing left in this prison to rot. I pressed my back on the cold concrete and exhaled watching the mist of my breath fade away.

No bed. Just a slab of rusted iron frame that was as rough as stone. With the bed sheet that was too thin to cover me from cold nights. Each time I lay on it, the metal pressed into my back, leaving angry red marks on my back.

Being here has taught me one thing, you don't need a real prison to feel broken - losing trust in others is enough to make you feel trapped and alone.

***

Maybe I should start from the beginning before the prison walls, the officer, the cold meals and the sleepless nights.

My name is Adrian Martinez... twenty-three, and I would be honest my life has been nothing but a life filled with a lot of uncalmed storms.

I lost my parents at the age of 10. I was just a child; I was too young, I didn't understand what death was, what I knew was that they were not coming back. Then life became unfair.

My aunt-my mother's sister- took me in after my parents' death. She was supposed to take care of me, supposed to be my last surviving family but she treated me like an outcast in her home. I didn't attend the best school just like her children did, she barely gave me food to eat, I scrub the floor and wash into late hours. Even when I was shivering in sickness I still did my house chorus without any help from her children.

When I was old enough to escape her bad treatment towards me. I ran into the street with nothing. No money. No family.

Just determination to succeed.

Then I took a job at the bar, dancing to catch men's attention for tips. When this wasn't enough for survival. I started stripping in a club for a bar to entice customers and to survive...just to feed myself and to save up enough for my university fees and then my rent.

This was not the life I dreamt to have but I continue knowing this would change one day.

Then came Martins.

***

He appeared to me like a saviour. He really helped me out when I thought I'd died. As I was walking down the street after work. Thugs came after me, cornered me in an alley.Their laughter was cruel and I perceived alcohol and smokes on their breathe when they gathered me.They wanted to take advantage of me and to take my innocence, which I wasn't ready to give out, but out of nowhere, when I thought all hope was lost, Martin appeared. night when thugs

He fought against them and sustained some wounds, but he succeeded in driving them away...He held my trembling body tight and assured me that I was safe... For the first time, I felt valued.

He became my everything.

When he asked me out, our love story began.

We started dating. Our love grew rapidly, and I became his girlfriend...he was the only reason why I kept breathing. He made love promises to me that he would take care of me and shield me. He said he loved me.

Not long after, he moved in with me, that felt like a new beginning of our love. He didn't have any work because he claimed that he lost his job. I could handle things until he found something to do. With the little money I made, I paid our bills, made sure he was comfortable and even paid his debt when those he was owing came for him. I didn't complain.

We did everything together as a couple, and in my heart, he was my husband and father of my unborn children.

After three years, we continued our lifestyle living as couples, the weight of responsibilities on me. Telling myself we were building something together. Ignoring the way he reacts whenever he gets angry. Ignored the way he snapped at me in every little thing I did, instead of correcting my mistakes he would shout at me. Because I loved him, I keep making excuses that everybody gets angry. But then his anger got cold.

Two weeks before my birthday, his behavior became so weird and strange; he got angry at every little thing I did and nagged me frequently... His eyes grew darker anytime he saw me, and he started distancing himself from me and coming home late. When I asked him what was wrong, he said he was fine, gave me a fake smile and kisses that didn't feel like love anymore.

Still I had hoped he was going to change.

On the day of my 22nd birthday, he surprised me with a bunch of rose flowers, and told me to dress up so that he would take me out. He said he wants to celebrate it in a restaurant and in a special way and he would take care of the bills. This was his first time trying to do something special for me so I hopped on the idea believing he had started caring. He had changed.

When we got to the location, I noticed it wasn't a dinner restaurant he took me to but a bar. It was crowded with loud music heard everywhere.

I felt disturbed but didn't want to complain on our first outing. He said it was part of the plan so I followed him not showing how disappointed I was.

He ordered drinks for our table as we watched people dancing. After the third drink, the whole room began to tilt around and my body got heavy and my eyes dizzy... Martin wrapped his hands around me

"Let's go upstairs," he said, "Another surprise awaits there."

My pulse quickened, " Martin, I... I... thought this was just dinner."

He didn't answer, he guided me through the dark hallway.

"Why are we here?" I mumbled again, my voice weak. "Please stop, I'm not yet ready for this."

His expression changed as he carried me to the bed. He went back to lock the door.

My heart skipped

When he came back he climbed on top of my body. I tried to reject him.

"Adrian, Please don't start," he said, "I've waited for three years and the only thing we did was kissing."

"No, stop..." my voice was weak, "not yet..."

"Let's have fun together as couples for the first time." He said tracing kisses on my neck, but I pushed him back.

I struggled with him for a while... He slapped my face, but I felt so powerless and knew that he wouldn't listen to me, so I let him have his way... Tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Fine... I'll do it. But promise me we'll get married, like you said."

Instantly, he gave out a cold smile, "Of course. We'll get married. Forever, Adrian. You're mine."

My sight became dull, and slowly, my body got weak, and I couldn't fight or talk anymore...

The only thing I noticed was a strong hand trailing all over my body that had a strange fragrance, his strong body on mine, then his lips on my body, traced to my breast, his hands roaming me, then my tears rolling down to my ear sides, and the sound of my own broken moans.

***

I woke up, still in that room as the sunlight filled the room through the thin curtains.

The bed was empty. My clothes were on the floor. I called his name once... twice... he didn't answer.

He might have gone out to get breakfast for us, I told myself everything was fine.

My head aches. I was having a hang over and I could barely stand. I felt body pains from the sex last night.

Then the knock came. It was thunderous.

Police! Open up!

I quickly put on my clothes and before I could get to the door , it burst open and Two officers stormed in holding a gun.

"Hands on your head! You are under arrest for possession and distribution of illegal drugs."

"What?" I asked, "There must be a mistake somewhere..."

They didn't let me finish my words, they handcuffed my hands.

"Please...there ìs a mistake somewhere...! I don't even know..."

"Tell it to the court," the officer said flatly.

My wrists burned from the tight cuff.

As they dragged me out of the room as we went downstairs. Hotel guests stopped to stare at me. People's judgmental eyes were on me. I kept asking for Martins. I screamed his name. No answer.

****

And then days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, but day after day I still hold that courage that he will come back. No one came. No lawyer. No visitors.

The judge read the sentence like reading a grocery list. Four years in prison. The evidence-the drugs "found" in my bag-was enough to condemn me.

The walls of the prison became my reality. Fellow prisoners added to making my life a living hell. That was how I ended up here eating some bread and cold soup. I thought about Martin constantly. Hoping he would come and save me but after a few months, the hope started fading away.

Then one morning, I started feeling nauseous. I had lots of morning sickness, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep too and then I was taken to the doctor, who conducted a test on me.

"Congratulations...You're pregnant," he said gently.

The words hit me like lightning...

Pregnant?

With this I became hopeful. I rubbed my hands on my tummy. Martin's child is growing in me.

"If Martin knows... if he knows I'm carrying his child, he won't abandon me. I know he can't.... No man who abandons his blood. He'll come back to me when he hears I'm preganant.Maybe love would fix it all."

But I have one question running through my mind, why haven't Martin visited or asked about me?

I couldn't tell....but I just smiled through the tears in my eyes, whispering to the child I couldn't feel yet, "He'll come back...he promised to marry me, and you won't be a bastard... We will survive this, I promise.

Chapter 2

Adrian's POV

Time in prison didn't feel like normal time.

I was still caged by the walls and strong doors, which made me stop counting as days went by.

It's been nine months already, but every single night, that fateful day keeps on replaying in my head-his shocking betrayal hurts, and he has never visited me or sent a letter since that night.

Could it be that Martin abandoned me here alone to be accused of a crime I didn't commit? My mind raced with these thoughts, flashbacks to what led me here, and the hope I'd carried for nine months.

I didn't even realize when the door creaked open... The loud clang echoed inside my cell, and I stood up on my feet immediately.

Two officers stood in front of me with their cold faces; one of them stepped inside the cell with a very stern face like a carved stone, while the other officer waited outside, tapping a baton against her leg impatiently.

"Miss Adrian, get up; you have a visitor," he said. "Someone is waiting for you."

I froze.

A visitor?

It had been almost ten months since I entered this place. No one had ever come. Not even my aunt-she disappeared the day I was sentenced, as if I never existed. I had long accepted that I was forgotten.

But now... Someone was here to see me?

My heart jumped. "Martins?" I asked.

"When you get there, you will see."

Martin! He probably has changed his mind and has come back for me and his unborn child even though he never knew I was pregnant. Maybe when he found out, he would take us back home.

I pulled myself away from the iron bed, completely ignoring the sharp pain in between my legs, but I wasn't sure it was labor; the date the doctor gave is in three weeks' time. But for days I've been feeling tight under my stomach-little signs of labor-but I ignored it.

They fixed a handcuff on me, and I struggled with my legs and followed them down the hall to the visiting room. My stomach was heavier under the thin prison clothes I wore.

"Walk faster," one officer snapped, shoving my shoulder roughly.

I stumbled, almost reaching the floor, but I caught myself and continued walking.

"You only have fifteen minutes left, and you haven't gotten to the visitor's room. If you waste time, you won't get the replacement for it," she barked in anger.

That was life here-no kindness, no patience, no mercy. Just orders, punishment, and pain. In this prison, I've been beaten, mocked because of pregnancy, and starved of sleep most nights.

Months ago, I was stabbed in the leg by a fellow prisoner for no reason. Every day I pay for a crime I know nothing about.

The door to the visiting room opened, and I was pushed inside by the officers... My breathing hitched immediately.

He was there...

Martin was seated at the metal chair and had that ever-dangerous smirk on his face. He was cleaner and more handsome. His hair was well cut. His eyes had that same cold look I had forced myself to ignore so many times before.

"Adrian," he called my name softly.

I froze. My chest tightened. I wanted to run to him and thank him for coming to see me and knowing we're having a baby, but the glass separated us from touching each other.

But beside him sat Amelia, my cousin's sister.

She never liked me at all. She always mocked me when I was living in her house and was so cold to me.

But wait... Why was she here with him?

Anyway, I cared less; all I knew was that Martin was here, and I felt happy seeing him again!.

But I was still confused because I already knew that Amelia and Martin were never on good terms in the past, but here they are together. Maybe they are finally getting along. Maybe this was a good sign.

I sat slowly on the metal chair across from them. My hair was scattered; it fell on my face.

Then I touched his hands, but he pulled away.

"Martin, I'm so happy you came," I said, feeling relieved. "I knew you would come to see me."

"I knew that you'd come to see me. I knew you couldn't just leave me like that, right? But at the same time I don't know why you have to put the blame on me. I love you so much, Martin."

He chuckled.

"We're having a baby, Martin. Look..." I can feel our baby always kicking, and I will give birth soon. And, you know, I can't wait to be your wife. Thank you so much for coming to bail me out. Let's get out of here...please."

But then his facial expression changed. The piercing eyes seemed cruel, which made my heart skip, but I smiled.

"Oh really? Why are you smiling like a fool?" He said with a voice dripping with mockery, "You think I am here to bail your ass out, bitch? It seems like you did not understand why you were arrested years ago..."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. My smile faded. "What are you saying?

He leaned back in his seat. "Well, I had cocaine slipped inside your bag while you were asleep," he said, his voice slicing through me like a knife.

The world stopped spinning. My throat got dry. "W...What?"

He turned to Amelia, and they laughed at me.

Tears blurred my eyes; I felt broken. "You...you did this to me, Martin? You let me take the blame and stay in the prison for your crimes? I loved you! I thought we were getting married!?"

Martin only shrugged as if my pains meant nothing.

"Oh please, stop crying like a baby," her voice sounded like venom as she drew closer. "It doesn't suit you, slutty pregnant whore! You look pathetic. You're just stupid for spreading your legs for the wrong man."

Her words cut deep; my body trembled. My lips parted, but no words came out.

She smirked, "You want the truth, darling? Martin isn't marrying you; he's marrying me."

I blinked, not understanding. "What are you saying?"

She smirked and glanced at Martin, then turned back to me.

"I and Martin are getting married," she repeated. "He is way too big to mingle with someone like you. And trust me, my fiancé can't get married to an ex-convict who has such a bad reputation."

"You're lying."

"No darling," she said with a sweet tone, "We're here to invite you to our wedding. Consider it... a courtesy visit."

My world crashed. "You're marrying my fiancé?"

Martin looked away, expression cold.

He didn't flinch.

Then Amelia turned to him and kissed him passionately in front of me, rolling her tongue in his, and they gave out a cruel laugh.

Enough!" I screamed as I hit my hand on the table; I couldn't stand both of them kissing. It irritated me and broke my heart.

Amelia giggled. "She's losing it," she said mockingly.

Martin smirked. "She was always just a mistake."

I burst into tears. "Martin, you do this to me after everything I've done for you? You both are monsters. After going to jail for you? For love!"

Amelia rolled her eyes. "You went to jail because you're stupid. He never loved you. He loved me. He was using you to cover for him. You took the blame, and we took the money."

I froze.

She went on proudly, "He and I were together for three years while you thought he was yours. You were nothing but a toy."

"Three years? After all we have been through. All the sacrifices I made, and right now... you're telling me that you're getting married to your cousin sister?"

She laughed. "Stupid orphan, you'll rot in jail."

Her words destroyed me. My vision blurred with tears as rage surged through me. My hands slammed against the metal table.

"You stupid woman! How dare you..."

I felt so much pain in my stomach that I sat down on the chair.

"No..." I screamed, breathing heavily.

"Say something, Martin!" I begged. "Even if you hate me, please don't hate your child. Please... come back for our baby."

He stood up, disgust in his eyes. "That bastard isn't mine. I used you, Adrian. You're just a dirty criminal now."

My heart stopped. "No... that's not true. That night, you said you loved me-"

He cut me off. "That night? I drugged you, Adrian. I left you there. Someone else paid me to use you. I sold you. And now do you know your record? A drug dealer. A criminal. And that's what you are."

"No... no," I shook my head violently, "that's not true. You used me?"

He laughed. "You were just a bet. A stupid one."

"You and Amelia would regret your actions, I promise you." I screamed, crying.

Then a sharp pain hit me between my legs. I cried out in pain-not just from heartbreak, but from the sudden burst of contraction. My water broke.

The officers rushed in as I screamed.

"She's in labor! Get her to the infirmary now!"

They lifted me to the stretcher. My cries were heard through the hallway as they carried me away.

Amelia's cruel laughter followed behind me.

The pain was at its peak; it made my body convulse. I screamed and pushed. The nurse's voice was sharp in my ears: "Push, Adrian! Breathe! Don't give up!"

Through the pain I was passing through, one truth crashed into my mind. Martin had lied to me; he sold me. He said the child isn't his. A stranger had taken my innocence, and Martin had left me for Amelia.

Tears and blood mixed up as the contractions tore me apart with force.

"Arrrrrhhhh!" I screamed, pushing with all my strength.

"I won't let you worry. I'll take care of you," I told myself. "Baby, I can't wait to have you. We'll go through this phase together, and one day we'll have our revenge."

"Breathe and push, Adrian!" the nurse urged. I tried, sweat running down my face, and pushed again.

The doctor shouted about blood pressure and surgery, his voice sounded urgent. But I kept pushing.

And through my tears, through my pain, I made a promise:

"Martin... Amelia... "I'll return stronger, take back everything you stole, and make you feel my pain. I swear I'll have my revenge."

And that was when I felt so weak I passed out.

Chapter 3

Adrian's POV

I finally opened my eyes, looking around to know where I was. Everything felt strange; the ceiling above was white in color.

Antiseptic and methylated spirit smells filled the air. My head throbbed softly, and my throat was dry from screaming and swallowing every pain. For a while I didn't remember why I was brought there or what had happened.

Then slowly I remembered. Martin. Amelia. The pain. The birth. The baby.

I remembered the doctor saying something about doing an operation. I moved my hand to check my lower tummy, but I was relieved that I didn't give birth through cesarean section. Somehow I made it through the delivery.

Then I turned my head slightly, trying to sit up, but I felt heavy like a cloth deep in the water, making it wet. There was an IV line running into my hand, and also the beep of a machine was heard in the room. One was closer to me, calm and steady. My head was still spinning, but I was searching for the most important thing.

Then my eyes found it, the baby cradle, and I was relieved.

My baby! I looked at the cradle bed beside me, but it was empty... My baby is supposed to be there. Where is my baby!?

My heart skipped.

I cleaned my eyes with my hands. Maybe I wasn't seeing clearly, but it appeared empty. The cradle's white bedsheet was neatly spread and untouched. There was no tiny body wrapped and kept inside it. I didn't hear the cry of a baby anyway.

A cold fear ran through me. Where is my baby? What happened to my baby? My heartbeat increased.

Then the door opened and a nurse entered with a smile. Calm and looking cheerful, holding some files. I turned quickly to her, almost falling off the bed.

"Nurse!" I called out desperately in panic. "Where-where is my baby? Where's my child?" My voice cracked into a plea.

The nurse walked in and got to my side, then she smiled as though that smile could soothe the storm raging in my chest.

"Relax, Adrian," she said gently. "It was a girl."

Immediately after I heard her say that, I breathed out in relief... a girl... My little girl. My lips trembled as I whispered to myself, "Thank God. Thank God my baby is here." I forced a smile, and tears rolled down.

Ever since I got pregnant with my baby, I've thought of carrying my baby in my arms, touching her soft hair, and feeling her close, but my dreams were cut short.

As I looked at the cradle again, I realized that it was empty and my baby was supposed to be there.... Fear clawed at me again.

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice shaking again, "Did you take her to the doctor? Why isn't she lying next to me?"

The nurse's expression shifted instantly, and at that moment her smiles faded. Her eyes showed that of sadness. Her shoulders dropped instantly.

"Adrian, I'm sorry, your baby had a breathing problem, and we couldn't save her," she said. "We tried to save her, but she didn't make it."

Her words hit me like knives. My heart froze, trying to take in what she'd just said.

"What?!" My screams were heard all through the room. "My baby?! No-no! You're wrong. My baby can't be dead! No... no... she's the only thing I have in this world. Please! I want to see my baby!"

My voice rose into a sob that filled the whole room. I tried to get off the bed, but pain shot from my stomach, tearing from inside, but the nurse held my shoulders firmly.

"I want to see her!" I cried, my voice raw with grief. "She's alive! I want to see where she was buried. Please, I beg you, let me just hold her."

The nurse shook her head. Her pitying eyes dropped to the floor. "We're so sorry. The moment when we found out that she was dead, the police came and took care of everything," she said quietly. "They buried her. We're sorry you weren't able to see her before... before it happened. Please accept my condolences."

Her words made all the noise fade away. I only heard my heart beating. She was buried? She was buried without her mother?

"No! No!" I screamed, holding the white sheets. My whole body shook with despair.

The nurse tried to calm me down. She tried to comfort me in her arms, but that didn't help. I wished I was awake to see my baby. The thought of my little baby dead broke something inside of me.

As my sob slowed down, something deep inside me said with a faint voice that the nurse was lying and my baby was alive.

My heart tells me my baby is still alive, staying with new people far from here. Sometimes I felt my baby was close to me; other times I felt she was close to my bed crying.

But I was hopeless as I sat here, and there was nothing I could do. The next day they took me back to prison, but this time they showed me pity. They gave me a softer bed and showed me a small kindness because I had just given birth and lost my baby. But prison was still prison. Cold. Lonely. Quiet in chains.

I couldn't eat anymore and didn't feel like waking up the next day. I spent most nights looking at the ceiling. Losing my child is bad, but the worst is I couldn't do anything to save her.

Maybe this was how I was meant to rot in here...alone. The only thing I had in this world was gone. Emptiness filled me in.

Every night, I lay down on my bed with tears, and I prayed:

"Dear God," I said, "protect my baby. I know my baby is still alive. Somewhere. I can feel her. Please... please keep her safe for me." I cried myself to sleep believing that one day I will get the revenge I deserve.

***

Meanwhile, somewhere far away...

A car stopped beside the trees in the dark. Then, a woman walked out of a car; she was wearing a black hoodie.

"Darcy's whore had given birth to the heir of the Rodrigos..." she whispered with venom in her voice. , "I won't allow that baby to rot in jail or worse, be raised by a criminal mother...never!"

A faint, tiny cry of a baby broke the night silence as footsteps approached her with the sound of a stroller rolling on the floor.

The nurse stopped in front of her, pushing a baby who was crying in a stroller... Her hands trembled as she handed over the stroller to the woman. The woman pulled out a fat envelope filled with money while the nurse smiled in excitement.

"This is extra for the money I sent you," the stranger in the hoodie said. "This is for doing a perfect job."

"Thank you, Madame, here is the baby," the nurse said. "I made sure no one saw me coming out, and please, madam..." Don't ever mention my name if anything happens. I only did this for the money."

The woman in the black hoodie came closer to the nurse. "Don't worry. Just keep your mouth shut. Remember the plan: her baby died from a breathing problem. If you talk... you'll regret it."

The nurse's face lost its color as she nodded her head. She took the envelope and ran away into the dark.

The woman stood there for a while looking down at the tiny baby wrapped up in white sheets that was inside the stroller. The baby was calm and sleeping now.

"No one would ever know your mother was a criminal, a whore, or that you're still alive," she whispered, "not while I'm still breathing."

She reached for the baby, gently carrying her out of the stroller, then rolled the stroller quietly into the car ... She ignited the car engine, which hummed quietly, and drove off at speed into the lonely roads.

The child was laid down sleeping peacefully while she was surrounded with lies.

Taken far away from her mother, far away from the truth that would one day return.