I got pregnant, but he wouldn't let me keep the baby.

So, I went behind his back and fled abroad to give birth to the child.

After all, men can be dispensable, but quality genes should not be wasted!

Three years later, when my daughter started to understand things, she pestered me, asking, "Where's Daddy?"

With tears streaming down my face, I said, "He died in a plane crash!"

1,

Thank Goddess.

I'm finally pregnant!

Since the beginning of the summer of my second year, I had been pretending to be weak, acting innocent in front of Jay, and playing the role of his girlfriend for two years, just waiting for the moment when he would lose control.

Good news: I finally got it!

Bad news: He found a positive pregnancy test.

I knew he wouldn't agree to let me keep the baby!

Jay was the heir to a conglomerate worth 500 billion dollars.

My family, on the other hand, ran a small company dependent on Zenith Group.

Jay let me into his bed for two reasons: one, my face resembled his first love's and two, knowing my family relies on his, he was sure I wouldn't dare speak out.

The first thing he said when he came out of the bathroom was, "Give the ten-billion-dollar project of Evershade City to Eastman Group."

The second sentence was, "You'll be in charge of this project."

The third sentence was, "The marriage alliance between Zenith Group and Smith Group is confirmed."

As always, I clung to his waist, pressing against his broad chest, and said softly, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

This was the last time I hugged him.

To be honest, I was quite reluctant to give up this alluring body.

Jay had many reasons for making me his bed partner.

And I allowed him to touch me, for one reason.

That was genetics.

...

Starting from my second year at the university, my mom often complained in front of me, "It would be better if you were a son."

Dad preferred boys over girls, and the mistress he kept outside had given birth to another son.

With two sons, the mistress's status was going up step by step, just one step away from forcing the legitimate daughter and his wife out.

The missing step was that grandma, a retired government official, cared about shame and didn't want family scandals to become public.

That night, when I returned from catching them in the act, Mom repeated her old line.

I snapped back, "You have another child, and I'll just leave."

I lost the game, my boyfriend cheated on me, my friend betrayed me, and on top of that, my mom brought me down.

I felt like a vase about to shatter.

Mom sighed and silently left the game room.

I stared at her sorrowful back as it disappeared, my mind shifting from the closed door to the game screen.

Thinking it over and analyzing the situation, I realized that the only reason Mom and I could still live in luxury was because Grandma was still alive.

No matter how indulgent and irresponsible I was, once Grandma died, the heartless father would probably kick us out.

"Sitting ducks."

I blurted out those words, feeling endless unease and anxiety deep inside.

So, I began to consider Grandma's bad idea.

"Luna, you've got nothing but your looks to show for. Go outside and find a quality man, and give birth to the son. With a son, I will handle the situation for you."

...

I thought of Jay.

He had appeared at my eighteenth birthday party as one of the distinguished guests invited by my dad.

Young and accomplished, cultured and refined, and incredibly handsome.

If it were his sperm, my son would most likely be quite impressive.

The mistress's son was still young. If Mom had a grandson, wouldn't it crush them in terms of presence?

Besides, when he toasted at the banquet, Jay's gaze lingered on me in a way that was anything but weird.

He was polite and courteous. "Happy birthday, Ms. Miller."

The next day, Jay fulfilled his promise from the birthday party and gave me a generous gift.

It was a set of jewelry worth millions dollars, treasured by the Davis family for years.

My father, always greedy for vanity, exclaimed, "You've hit the jackpot!"

Before the summer internship, Jay personally came to Zephyr University to give a recruitment presentation.

After he finished boasting about the greatness of Zenith Group, I raised my hand and asked, "Mr. Davis, with a GPA ranking tenth from the bottom in my department, having spent the first two years of college idling away with no work experience, do I still have a chance to intern at Zenith Group?"

Jay listened to my words, and his expression remained, maintaining that composed professional smile. "No chance."

The entire audience burst into laughter, and I laughed, too.

He then helped me out, "This student is very humorous. I believe she is just joking."

"Yes, I am joking. Because my GPA is actually the worst in the department."

The whole room exploded with laughter. Jay's smile faded for a second before forcibly reappearing.

He paid extra attention to me for another three seconds, smiling gently as he said, "Don't learn from her. Her family must own a mine."

My class monitor teased me, "Luna, a poor wretch."

Yes, yes, how could my family compare to his noble family?

I gave him a glare.

Luckily, Jay heard the name Luna once more.

...

I saw Jay again at the beginning of summer in his office.

He remembered me and said bluntly while reviewing documents, "What? You suddenly made a huge leap in GPA within a week?"

This man was sarcastically implying that I used connections to get into Zenith Group.

I raised my voice, trying to squeeze out a sickly sweet smile, "Mr. Davis, I'm here to deliver the product information."

Jay glanced at the document cover, "Interning at your own family's company?"

I answered coyly, "Yes."

Great, now he was questioning Eastman Group's hiring standards.

Jay closed his laptop and stood up, preparing to go to the conference room.

I followed him behind.

He sat in the head seat, and shamelessly, I took the first seat.

As the meeting began, I regretted it so much that I wanted to dig a hole and jump in.

I did not expect the class monitor to also show up at this meeting.

I remembered that he did mention that he would intern at Zenith Group.

Daniel knew my thoughts too well.

He sat in the back, scrutinizing me with sharp eyes, occasionally glancing at Jay at the head seat.

He intended to send me a greeting on WhatsApp, quickly typing a few words on his phone. After seeing the red exclamation mark indicating he was blocked, his face grew even darker.

I couldn't help but be amused by his fluctuating facial expressions.

Jay beside me seemed to emphasize for the first time, "Speak."

I was dumbfounded, "Speak?"

"The product!" Jay added some urgency to his gentle tone, blaming my distraction for wasting his time.

No wonder he could manage two hundred thousand employees at such a young age. When he showed his authority, his presence could make one forget their words.

Amid stammering and stumbling, I finished the project product introduction.

Out of respect, Jay listened to my ten-minute presentation. Out of professional habit, he smiled reluctantly, but to me, it looked sinister.

Jay was polite in his wording. "Next time, let Eastman's project manager be present. Why has the heir come up personally?"

He meant, "If you're bad at it, practice more, but do it privately, don't waste my time here."

Jay was fully attentive during the fifty-minute meeting. The employees followed suit, not daring to slack off, as if wasting a second in this conference room was unforgivable.

For a moment, my lazy instincts urged me to retreat, but the harsh reality forced me to move forward.

After the meeting, I found my classmates interning at Zenith Group to join them in the cafeteria.

I pulled my classmate along and, shamelessly, sat next to Jay, pretending to bump into him. "What a coincidence, Mr. Davis."

He was highly intelligent, both emotionally and intellectually. How could he not understand my words?

This time, I was closer to him, and it was obvious he smelled my perfume.

It was the perfume the informant said was loved by the woman who had been entangled with Jay for ten years, "Rose in the Wilderness."

Indeed, his handsome brows furrowed slightly, and after a short breath, he continued eating without a word.

...

In the midsummer, sweat soaked my black shirt.

Every evening after clocking out from the workshop, I felt unbearably smelly, and the first thing I did when I got home was take a shower.

My mentor often exclaimed in disbelief, "How can that be? Luna smells great!"

In this vast world, I was still happy.

Five years ago, I was just a freshman in high school.

My dad went to great lengths to curry favor with the chairman of Zenith Group.

He traveled daily from Evershade City to Willow City, flattering Jay's father with sweet words and compliments, playing chess, fishing, and drinking wine with him, making him laugh and smile.

Eastman Group had been rooted in the electromechanical industry for years. With the rise of semiconductors and support from Zenith Group, its business was going up.

My dad was such a strong ally. If I continued to be useless, I'd be overtaken in no time.

Knowing I was learning in the workshop, he even pretended to visit and praised me for being hardworking, without revealing my identity in front of the other employees.

Privately, while having dinner with my grandma at the residence, he remarked, "Girls are meant to marry; you don't need to work so hard."

I said unwillingly, "What if I don't marry?"

My dad got angry and said, "I still want to live well. I have a reputation to uphold! Don't give me that equality nonsense. It's embarrassing! Men are born noble!"

"Dad, you're getting old. Don't get upset. Go to bed early."

I scoffed and drove out.

I originally planned to go to a bar, but due to my newly adopted goody-two-shoes persona, I drove two hours to Zenith Group's campus in Willow City.

At night, the campus was brightly lit.

Zenith Group started with the internet. In recent years, the e-commerce industry has stagnated, so Jay led the group's transformation, investing heavily in emerging industries, which eventually paid off.

Thus, he juggled both ends, busy every day. In an interview, he said the shocking phrase, "Even sleeping time is a waste."

If I had such vigor, would I still worry about handling that mistress and her two brats?

However, even a workaholic has a private life.

I felt like a paparazzi when I saw his car being stopped by his first love, making me hide my face on the steering wheel in guilt.

Then, my car honked loudly from the impact on my forehead.

Hey, why are you honking? Disobedient!

Once I take over Eastman Group, you'll be replaced!

No...

So, why am I so panicking? They didn't even see me!

How pathetic...

Just one peek, and I got caught by Jay.

After work, he changed into casual clothes, adding a touch of youthfulness.

But this man left his car with his first love, walked towards me unhurriedly, and knocked on my car window three times, signaling me to open the door.

My first reaction was, "Who are you? Ordering me?"

Then, my brain reminded me this was Jay.

My second personality took over, and I sweetly greeted, "Hello, Jay."

Calling him Jay again was really bold.

On the one hand, I wanted to test his private preferences; on the other hand, I wanted to get closer to him.

Jay got into my car!

He!

Got into my car!

I understood this was him drawing a line with his first love!

"Go home."

Jay was not ordering me with a superior's tone but speaking to me with the familiarity of an old friend.

He was saying this for Eva to hear.

I'm an actress; there's no way I'd give myself away.

So, I started my car, stepped on the gas pedal, and drove away.

I remembered the dossier that stated Eva and Jay were childhood sweethearts, having a complicated love-hate relationship for over ten years and always being entangled.

After college, Eva married another man early on.

This old relationship ended two years ago, yet she still came to find Jay.

Jay was a normal person; he definitely wouldn't want to get involved in this mess.

However, despite saying to go home, I didn't know where Jay's home was.

Next to me, he was silently sitting.

I just kept driving in circles.

Seeing that my car was running out of gas and my stomach was growling, I had a sudden idea and handed him a tissue, feeling so sorry. "Jay, if you want to cry, just cry. It's not a crime for a man to cry."

If I didn't mishear, a suppressed chuckle reached my ears.

I saw the red light and slammed on the brakes, blinking twice and leaning closer in disbelief, "Was that you laughing?"

Jay, being petty, refused to admit it and coldly said, "No."

I began to ask, "Where's your home? I'll take you there."

He didn't fall for it, "Take me to your home, and give me your car to drive."

"What, are you afraid I'll camp outside your house?"

"That's exactly what I fear."

I wanted to retort but couldn't, swallowing my frustration, "I would never do something you don't want me to!"

"What about things I want you to do?"

"I've been learning diligently in the workshop."

Jay had nothing more to say. I realized he wanted me to take him to my home.

Chasing a top-tier man like him really required not showing any force; the only option was to subtly align with his wishes.

I drove into the flat I usually stayed at near Zephyr University.

In the underground parking lot, as I was packing up to leave, Jay got out of the car, too.

This shocked me to the core.

Jay, with a smile in his eyes, asked, "You're not going back to Evershade City?"

I truthfully replied, "I fought with my dad, so I'm not going back."

He was very cautious, "This house is?"

"A coming-of-age gift from my mom." I gave him a meaningful look for a few seconds, then casually asked, "Want to come up?"

"Yes."

Oh no...

I was stunned...

Anyone would understand...

But I wasn't planning to become a mom so soon.

Jay flicked my forehead, and as our eyes met, he leaned in slightly, hugging me, "Driving all this way, didn't you notice?"