Lewis Gordon says he likes older women. Seeing that he's young, energetic, and good in bed, I agree to be his girlfriend.

But when he runs into me with his friends while I'm dressed in business attire, he is stunned and doesn't know how to react.

Then, he quickly introduces me. "She's just a neighbor like an auntie."

What? Middle-aged? I immediately break up with him.

He sends a clumsy explanation, "When you dress like a middle-aged woman, it's really embarrassing for me."

I block him and don't bother replying.

Five years later, I bring my son along to celebrate my husband's godfather's birthday.

Lewis shows up, holding hands with his girlfriend.

When he hears my son call Johann Tucker "Grandpa Johann," he pulls a long face.

He blurts, "This is my son, right? He should be calling him great-grandfather."

I shoot him a look of pure disgust. "He's not your son."

Lewis points at my son's face and sneers, "Look at his eyes and his face. He looks exactly like me. How can you still insist he's not my son?"

All I can think of is my extremely jealous husband. If he hears Lewis claiming that he's my son's father, will he go crazy and kill him?

I rubbed my forehead in frustration.

In front of me stood my ex, Lewis Gordon, whom I hadn't seen in five years. He looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

I took a deep breath and said again, "Lewis, I'm telling you again. He is not your son. We are over, so please stop pestering me. After all, the best exes are the ones who are as good as dead. If you run into them, the most respectful thing is to act like you've never met."

I glanced over at my son, Damon Bauer.

It was the 90th birthday of Johann Tucker, my husband's godfather. He hadn't met me and Damon yet, so he insisted my husband, Elliot Bauer, bring both of us along.

But halfway there, Elliot had an urgent matter to take care of, so I came ahead with Damon.

Damon sweetly called out "Grandpa Johann", which made Johann so happy that he immediately gave Damon some pocket money. He pulled Damon close and wouldn't let go.

Damon was smiling sweetly in Johann's arms, making the old man blush with joy.

When I turned my gaze back to Lewis, I saw the mocking smile in his eyes.

"Alicia Chapman, you're something else. Back when I was young and naive, you played me into being your boyfriend. I can't believe I actually dated an older woman like you. I never would've guessed you'd secretly gotten pregnant with my kid.

"And you've raised him to be such a sweet-talker. You're trying to use him to win over Grandpa Johann and keep a leash on me, aren't you?"

I rolled my eyes at him. I'd already told him Damon wasn't his son, so why couldn't he understand?

I didn't want to waste time with someone who couldn't understand simple words.

I turned to leave, but Lewis grabbed my arm. "What's the matter? Feeling embarrassed after I exposed you? Trying to run away? You don't want your son anymore?"

"Let go of me."

I jerked my arm free and glanced around the hall.

Luckily, everyone was too busy socializing to notice us.

Otherwise, if word got back to my possessive husband that I was tangled up with another man, I honestly feared he wouldn't let me out of bed tonight.

Suddenly, Damon broke free from Johann's embrace and shot toward me like a little cannonball. With his arms outstretched, he stood in front of me.

He barked at Lewis with fierce intensity, "Who are you? Don't bully my mommy, or my daddy will make you regret it."

As Damon stood next to Lewis, I couldn't help but notice how much they looked alike.

A flash of doubt crept into my mind.

Lewis' gaze was fixed on Damon's face, and then he sneered. "Didn't your mom tell you who I am?"

"Lewis, don't talk nonsense," I warned him, pulling Damon behind me.

He smirked coldly. "Little brat, you sure are talking big in front of me. Your dad won't make me regret it, but I can make you regret it right now."

With that, he grabbed Damon's chubby cheek and pinched it. "Nice and soft."

"Lewis!"

I rushed forward to grab Damon, but he accidentally bumped into Katherine Poole, Lewis' girlfriend.

She was caught off guard, and her ankle twisted in her high heels. She yelled, "Ah! Lewis, it hurts! Your son is such a brat! He pushed me on purpose."

When Lewis saw Katherine on the floor, his expression darkened. He helped her up and pulled her into his arms before slapping Damon across the face.

"Damn you! How dare you push her? Apologize to her."

Damon's face instantly turned red and swollen from the slap, and my heart broke for him. I raised my hand to strike Lewis back, but he grabbed my wrist tightly.

He scanned the hall. Probably not wanting to make a scene, he dragged me and Damon out toward the garden. "Come with me."

"Let go of Mommy, you bad—"

Damon struggled in my arms, trying to bite Lewis, but Katherine quickly snatched him away and covered his mouth tightly.

They dragged us into the garden.

As soon as we reached the garden, Lewis roughly shoved me, sending me crashing into a flowerbed.

The branches scraped my hand, sending a sharp pain through me.

But seeing Damon struggle in Katherine's arms made me feel worse.

I pushed myself up, trying to grab Damon, but Lewis snatched him up into his arms.

Damon fought back with everything he had, his arms and legs flailing as he tried to break free and reach me.

But Lewis held him tightly and slapped him hard on his backside. "You brat, how dare you challenge your father? Pushing people at your age? How vicious. Your mother clearly failed to raise you right. I'll do the job for her."

As he said that, he raised his hand again, ready to hit Damon.

I rushed forward and slapped him across the face. "Are you out of your mind? I've told you he's not your son!"

"Alicia, how dare you slap me?" Lewis stared at me in disbelief.

"You were the perfect image of a virtuous woman five years ago. How did you end up like this? Is this how you've been raising my son all this time? I'm so disappointed.

"Luckily for him, I'm back, or he would've grown up to be a killer. Now I have to take on the role of a father and teach this disrespectful brat a lesson."

He threw Damon to the ground and shoved him toward Katherine. "Get on your knees and apologize to Katherine."

Damon had never been treated this way. Furious, he cried out, "My daddy runs Bauer Corp! If he finds out what you're doing to me, he won't let you get away with it! You're a bad guy!"

My heart shattered as I moved to comfort him, but Katherine held me back, stopping me from reaching him.

Damon's words only made Lewis glare at me with even more disdain and revulsion.

"Alicia, you really disgust me. I can't believe you've known about my identity all this time. Was that why you got close to me? To secretly get pregnant with my child and use him to threaten me at Grandpa Johann's birthday party?"

I was confused. What was he talking about? I couldn't understand a thing.

Was he connected to the Bauer family?

A terrible feeling surged inside me. My voice trembled as I asked, "Who are you? What's your connection to the Bauer family?"

He glanced at me with utter contempt. "Really? You're still playing dumb at this point? You don't know who I am, but you brought my son here to trap me?"

Katherine scoffed. "Older women are always so calculating. You've known all along that Lewis is the heir to Bauer Corp. That's why you secretly gave birth to his son, right? But guess what? Your plan's about to fail."

Her words hit me like a thunderclap.

Oh my god! What kind of nightmare was this?

The awkwardness was off the charts.

I didn't dare stop to think. I wrenched myself free from Katherine's grip. Catching them both off guard, I grabbed Damon in my arms and bolted.

This was a high-profile party, filled with the social elite.

If Lewis exposed our relationship, it would cause a scandal that would be disastrous for Bauer Corp.

"Stop right there!"

Katherine suddenly grabbed Lewis and whispered something in his ear.

Lewis' expression changed, and he stormed forward, grabbing both me and Damon by the arms. "You want to leave? Fine, but leave my son here."

My eyes burned with anger, and I spoke clearly. "Lewis, what we had back then was nothing more than a childish game of house. We never slept together. Damon is not your son."

"Shut up!" He interrupted coldly. "You old hag, now you don't want to admit it, huh? The night I left, you begged me to sleep with you in that private room. With how desperate you were, you were no different from a prostitute."

I quickly covered Damon's ears, making sure he didn't hear. My eyes locked on Lewis. "Don't spread lies. I left early that night. So, who did you actually sleep with?"

When Lewis heard me, he froze, and his eyes filled with disbelief. But the words that came out of his mouth were vulgar. "Alicia, you just won't admit it, huh?"

He suddenly leaned in, brushing his lips against my ear. "I still remember every filthy thing you whispered in my ear that night. What's the matter? You've already given me a son, yet you don't have the nerve to admit to him how you clung to me, begging for it over and over again?

"With all your skills and that desperate neediness, it was such a contrast to how you usually act so prim and proper. So, how was it? Did I satisfy you that night? I guess that's how you ended up pregnant—"

"Shut up!"

I couldn't believe it. After five years, the once cheerful, naive young man I remembered had become this crude, disgusting man now.

He slowly pulled away, his face twisting into a sinister grin. "Did I strike a nerve? Just leave Damon with me, and I'll give you money. You can go find more men—"

"You shameless—"

I didn't even finish my sentence before he snatched Damon from my arms again.

"Honestly, I thought your scheme of using a kid to threaten me was pretty low. But Katherine actually has a point. My dad is always on my back for being a good-for-nothing.

"If I take Damon home now and get on his good side, the inheritance will be mine. Damon will live the high life with me, and you'll get to ride my coattails."

After he finished, he pointed at Katherine and said to Damon, "How about we let Katherine be your new mom? Your mom is so old. People will laugh at you when you start kindergarten."

Damon tried to bite him, but Lewis gripped his chin tightly, stopping him.

I forced down the boundless rage simmering in my chest and gave him a cold warning. "Lewis, let go of him. If you don't, Damon's dad will make sure you regret it."

With that, I stomped hard on his foot.

He almost screamed in pain.

Taking the chance, I slapped him hard across the face.

With a red handprint on his cheek, his eyes turned red with fury. "Alicia, how dare you slap me again? You doted on me like I was your son five years ago!"

He gripped Damon tightly, his voice full of rage. "I won't let this slide. Just you wait."

Katherine stepped forward, touching the slap mark on his face with sympathy, then turned to strike me.

But I grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.

"You bitch, let go of me. If my father-in-law finds out you hurt Lewis, he won't forgive you."

Her words sent a chill through me.

Father-in-law? Had he accepted her? She was already acting all familiar.

"Let them go!" A sharp command rang out from behind me.

I let out a breath of relief and turned around to see Cody Davidson, the driver, jogging toward us.

"Mrs. Bauer, are you okay? Sorry I'm late."

He spoke quietly. "Mr. Bauer said he's tied up with some business issues and can't come for now."

Taking in the scene before him, he asked softly, "Do you need me to take you and Mr. Damon out of here?"

"Yes. Give me my son back!"

I stepped forward, trying to take Damon from Lewis' arms.

But he glared at Cody, then suddenly grabbed my hand with a tight grip. His eyes blazed with anger and bitterness as he sneered. "Alicia, I really underestimated you. You're this old, and you're still after younger men?

"I'm seven years younger than you, but let me guess. Your lover is probably younger than you by at least ten years, right? You really are something, huh?"