The Domineering CEO's Love Puzzle

"Congratulations! You're one month pregnant and everything looks normal," the doctor announced.

Hearing this, Lena Yates was in disbelief. She snatched the pregnancy test report and feverishly scanned through to the last page.

Shock rooted her to the spot for nearly two full minutes from what she saw. Regaining her composure, she flung the papers away as if they burned her hands and blurted out, "You must have made a mistake. I've been on birth control. How can I possibly be pregnant?"

The revelation struck her harder than any dire diagnosis could have. How could she be one month pregnant?

Lena's face was drained of color as panic surged through her veins. She sputtered, trying to finish her thought while her eyes searched the doctor's face for any sign of jest.

"Ms. Yates, birth control pills aren't 100% effective," the doctor explained gently.

Lena didn't process the words that followed. Her reality had just shifted-unmarried, pregnant, and the father was her ex-boyfriend's uncle! Her nails pressed into her palms, her hands slick with sweat as her mind raced through a blur of memories-a messy room, a large bed, bodies intertwined.

That night was chaos incarnate. After being dumped by Roderick Barton, she had lost herself in alcohol for the first time in her twenty-three years, which led to an unthinkable mistake with his uncle.

Now, as images of that stern, impressive face flashed back her mind, Lena dreaded the consequences if he discovered her pregnancy.

She shuddered involuntarily. She touched her belly, her eyes drifting towards the entrance of the gynecology department. The thought of an abortion crossed her mind. Yet, the life inside her stirred a wave of hesitation across her features.

As she wavered, her phone erupted with a sudden ring.

"You need to come back immediately," the voice demanded sharply. "Lena, if I don't see you within an hour, forget about any help for your grandmother's illness."

The call was cut off abruptly after just seven seconds, leaving no room for Lena to object.

The caller was her father, Zander Yates.

Following her parents' divorce, the court had placed Lena in Zander's care. Zander, a man of striking appearance, had once married into the wealthy Anderson family after divorce. Thus, Lena had grown up in the opulent surroundings of the Anderson family's residence.

Now, her grandmother's health was failing, a situation that demanded more money than Lena could muster.

It seemed the dilemma of her pregnancy would have to wait.

With a heavy sigh, she exited the hospital and headed towards Serenity Villas.

She entered the home smoothly and was immediately escorted by a servant to Zander's study.

"What do you want?" Lena asked bluntly once the servant had departed. She watched the middle-aged man as he practiced his calligraphy.

Zander's strokes carried a certain majesty, making him appear every inch the master of the art. However, Lena secretly considered his script so unpleasing to the eye that she felt it merited a formal complaint for the sheer waste of paper and ink.

Three tense minutes ticked by before he finally ceased his writing and signed his name to the paper, looking quite pleased with himself.

As Lena observed, Zander retrieved a thick manila envelope from his drawer with a flourish.

"Take this money," he declared, sliding the envelope across the desk toward her.

By its bulk, it seemed to contain merely fifty thousand-a pittance compared to her grandmother's daily medical expenses of over ten thousand, not to mention the looming, exorbitant surgery fees.

Lena didn't reach for the envelope. "What do you mean by this?" she queried.

"Nothing special," Zander replied, his attention drifting back to the fresh ink on his calligraphy, a hint of pride in his eyes. "I heard you were out drinking with some investors last night? While I appreciate your dedication to your grandmother, I must step in if you're compromising yourself for her medical bills. The Anderson family has supported you for years. You shouldn't be ungrateful. It's time you put an end to this. The money here should suffice for a respectable funeral."

Stunned, Lena fixed her gaze on Zander. He was actually suggesting they stop her grandmother's treatment!

"Zander Yates, you're an asshole!" Lena exclaimed, her voice crackling with rage.

As soon as the words escaped her lips, a cold wetness splashed across Zander's face.

Lena, clutching the ink bottle that had previously rested on the desk, had flung its contents at him, drenching him in ink.

Zander's ink-smeared face contorted, his temples throbbing visibly. However, before he could respond, Lena was already pointing the bottle right at his nose, nearly touching it.

She restrained herself from hitting him with it, thinking it might somehow bring good luck to her grandmother's plight. "Do you know why I chose your face instead of your writing? Even though your writing is hideous, it doesn't disgust me as much as your face does. One glance at you is enough to make me sick!"

With a loud thud, she set the ink bottle back on the desk, upending it and ruining the calligraphy.

She then deliberately wiped her stained fingers on a blank section of the paper, declaring, "Now, it looks much better."

"Y-You!" Zander, spluttering and visibly shaken, struggled to form words, his anger nearly sending him to an early grave.

Lena, uninterested in lingering, turned on her heel and strode away.

Zander called for assistance.

The final act of the study room drama concluded with Lena being intercepted before she could even make it to the stairs. Her phone was seized, and she found herself confined in a tiny, windowless attic at the top of the villa, which doubled as a storage space.

After futilely pounding on the door for a response, she discovered a cherished childhood doll of Regina Anderson, her half-sister, flung it to the floor, and sat defiantly on it.

Given her past experience, Lena anticipated a confinement of two or three days. Yet, the thought of her grandmother filled her with dread.

As she was isolated without her phone, Lena's anxiety grew in the pitch-dark attic.

Curled up in a corner, she wrapped her arms around her knees, the oppressive heat making it difficult to rest.

By the next morning, her stepmother, Evie Anderson, burst in, her face seething with fury. "Come out now," she commanded.

Lena rose to her feet.

"Where's Regina? Where did she go?" In the living room below, Evie slammed a piece of paper on the table, her voice sharp with accusation. "Lena, what were you thinking? Posing as Regina on a blind date? Do you really think you're suitable for that?"

The handwriting on the paper was as untidy as Zander's, all slanted and erratic. Lena scanned the lines quickly, her brow furrowing. "She did come to me last night to ask, but I said no."

Indeed, Regina had approached her the previous evening, proposing that Lena attend the blind date in her stead. Lena had declined. She hadn't anticipated Regina would run away!

"You said no?" Evie's sneer cut through the air. "And just who do you think you are to refuse? What? Do you think my choice is beneath you?"

Lena was momentarily at a loss for words.

She wondered what had got into Evie.

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be heading out," Lena said.

Throughout this exchange, Zander had been a silent observer, sitting on the sofa. Lena reached out to him. "I need my phone back."

"You'll have your phone returned later, and we will also continue your grandmother's treatment," Zander responded, his expression dark with barely contained anger. "With Regina gone, you're going to fill in for her."

Lena shot back, "No way!"

"Jean, get her ready and do her makeup," Evie commanded, her teeth clenched.

A servant moved towards her, and as Lena was about to object, Zander issued an ultimatum. "You have two choices: I call the hospital and cut off your grandmother's treatment, or you go on this blind date and I add $200, 000 to your grandmother's medical fund."

The funds currently in her grandmother's account would last barely two days. Without any money of her own, Lena had been desperate enough to take drastic actions the other night. The offer of two hundred thousand was too significant for her to ignore.

"Transfer the money first," she demanded.

Earning two hundred thousand just to play a part? Her stakes were unexpectedly high.

As soon as the transaction was confirmed, Lena was ushered to get her makeup done.

With the expertise of the makeup artist, Lena, who already bore an 80% resemblance to Regina, was transformed to look more than 90% like her. For a moment, even she was fooled into thinking she saw Regina's reflection in the mirror.

Evie looked on with approval. "Lena, today you are stepping into Regina's shoes. You are Regina today. If anyone recognizes you're not her, consider the implications for your grandmother," she warned, reinforcing this as Lena prepared to enter the car.

Imitating Regina's voice, Lena replied, "Understood." She then rolled up the car window.

Lena arrived at the restaurant at 11:30, half an hour before the scheduled meeting.

After she announced herself, a waiter escorted her to a private room set aside for the occasion.

Out of sheer boredom, Lena ordered Regina's preferred watermelon juice and sipped on it.

As the clock struck 11:59, the door swung open, and a figure entered.

Lena looked up and nearly spit out her drink.

She coughed, her shock evident.

"Damn, of all people, why does it have to be him for Regina's blind date?" Lena thought.

Lena stared at the man in disbelief. She had never imagined in her wildest dreams that Regina's blind date would turn out to be Collin Barton-the man she had a one-night stand with. And to make matters worse, he was her ex-boyfriend's uncle.

Feeling a wave of nervousness as she remembered the child she carried, she choked on her watermelon juice, coughing so violently she nearly fainted.

As she struggled to regain her composure, Collin had already taken a seat across from her, his face showing no sign that he noticed her distress.

Lena regretted her decision deeply. Had she known Collin was Regina's blind date, she wouldn't have agreed for even two million dollars, let alone two hundred thousand. But now she was stuck, hoping desperately that he wouldn't recognize her.

"Regina Anderson?" Collin's voice broke through the silence once Lena's coughing subsided.

Though he addressed her as Regina, Lena had an unsettling feeling that he saw right through her disguise.

Before she could reply, Collin continued, exposing her with brutal bluntness, "The Anderson family went through so much trouble just to present me with a fake?"

Lena was at a loss for words. Trying to play dumb, she responded, "Mr. Barton, I don't understand what you're talking about."

Collin, already pulling out his phone, suggested, "Should I have someone buy a bottle of makeup remover?"

Lena fell silent once more. This guy had such a keen eye.

Evie's warning before she got into the car and the two hundred thousand sitting in her grandmother's hospital account made her suppress her panic. "Alright, Mr. Barton, I'm not Regina," she admitted.

Without a moment's hesitation, Collin stood up, ready to leave.

"Mr. Barton..." Lena quickly rose and rushed after him, grabbing his suit sleeve at the door in her panic. "Please, Mr. Barton, hear me out."

His eyes shifted to her delicate fingers, now wrinkling his suit sleeve. The refusal he was about to voice stayed unspoken, and he pressed his lips together, waiting for her to continue.

Lena exhaled in relief. "Mr. Barton, can you pretend you didn't see through my disguise today? It's very important to me." Her eyes pleaded with him.

How important?

To Collin, it didn't matter who showed up today. He was merely going through the motions to get his mother off his back for a few days. But looking into Lena's eyes reminded him of the night they were together, the same pleading look in her eyes.

Something stirred in his heart, a numb, tingling sensation. Just as he was about to respond, his phone rang. He answered the call without stepping away.

"Mr. Barton, our people caught someone taking photos in the building opposite. He was sent by the Anderson family."

Lena noticed that Collin's expression had darkened visibly in just a few seconds.

"Handle it as usual. Let him choose between fewer fingers or fewer eyes," Collin instructed before hanging up.

As she recalled Collin's notorious reputation, bloodthirsty images flashed through Lena's mind, making her shudder. Who had crossed him this time?

She silently pitied that person, but suddenly, Collin leaned in.

She was in grave pain as he gripped her chin so tightly it felt like it might dislocate. But he didn't let go.

"I seem to have underestimated your ambition," he uttered.

Lena was shocked. It turned out she had rubbed him the wrong way. But how had she offended him?

"Go back and tell Evie Anderson that neither you nor Regina Anderson has any chance of entering our family."

Lena was left speechless.

Collin released her without another look and walked out.

Annoyed, Lena wondered who even wanted to be part of his family.

Rubbing her chin, she thought about chasing after him to argue. Just then, her phone rang-it was Johnny Morgan, the producer. "Lena, come to Sunrise Club immediately," he said.