The rain in Manhattan didn’t just fall; it felt like the sky was trying to wash the city clean of its sins. For Keira Knight, standing under the awning of St. Jude’s Hospital, the downpour mirrored the storm inside her chest.
She stared at the crumpled paper in her hand. Positive. Twins.
She was nineteen. A sophomore at NYU on a scholarship that barely covered her books. And now, she was pregnant.
“The abortion requires a guardian’s signature,” the nurse had said, her voice devoid of sympathy. “Or the father’s.”
The father. Keira laughed bitterly, a sound that was swallowed by the traffic noise of 5th Avenue. The father was a mistake. A one-night stand from a month ago when she had been working a catering gig at a masquerade ball. She didn’t even know his name, only that he had sad eyes and smelled of expensive whiskey and sandalwood.
Her phone buzzed. It was her mother, Brenda.
“Keira, where are you? Leo needs those new limited-edition sneakers. Did you get your paycheck from the cafe yet?”
Keira’s grip on the phone tightened. “Mom, I told you. That money is for my tuition next semester. Leo is eighteen; he can get a job.”
“Don’t be selfish! Your brother is sensitive. I already promised him. Transfer the money now, or don’t bother coming home.”
The line went dead. Keira checked her bank balance. Zero. Her mother had already accessed her joint account and drained the $5,000 she had spent six months saving.
She slid down the brick wall, burying her face in her hands. No money. No home. And two heartbeats growing inside her.
A sleek, matte-black Maybach pulled up to the curb, splashing a puddle onto the sidewalk. The back window rolled down.
“Get in.”
The voice was deep, commanding, and terrifyingly familiar. Keira looked up. Sitting in the leather interior was a man who looked like he owned the darkness. Sharp jawline, ice-blue eyes, and a tailored suit that cost more than her life’s earnings.
It was him. The man from the masquerade.
“I… I can’t,” Keira stammered.
“You’re pregnant,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “And based on the fact that you’re crying on a sidewalk in the rain, I assume you’re broke.”
Keira’s jaw dropped. “How do you know?”
“I’m Ethan Sterling. I know everything that happens in this city.” He opened the door. “Get in, Keira. My grandmother is dying to meet you, and I’m tired of waiting.”
The Deal
The interior of the car was warm and smelled of leather. Keira sat as far away from him as possible.
“Ethan Sterling…” she whispered. The CEO of Sterling Global. The shark of Wall Street. The man who ruthlessly acquired companies for sport.
“Here’s the situation,” Ethan said, looking at his iPad rather than her. “I’m thirty-two. My grandmother, the matriarch of the family, thinks I’m gay or impotent because I haven’t brought a woman home in a decade. She’s threatening to cut me out of the will if I don’t produce an heir within the year.”
He turned to her, his gaze calculating. “You’re pregnant with my children. It’s convenient.”
“Convenient?” Keira felt a flash of anger. “These are babies, not stocks.”
“To me, it’s a merger,” Ethan replied smoothly. “I need heirs; you need money and protection. Marry me. I’ll pay off your mother’s debts, cover your tuition, and give you a monthly allowance of $50,000. In exchange, you live in my penthouse, act like you adore me in front of Grandma, and give birth to the children.”
“And after that?”
“We divorce. You get a settlement. I get custody. You can visit whenever you want.”
It was cold. It was transactional. It was exactly what she needed to survive.
“Deal,” Keira whispered.
The Sterling Estate
The penthouse was a glass box in the sky, overlooking Central Park. It was beautiful and utterly soulless. Ethan had separate bedrooms prepared.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he told her on their first night. “This is business. I don’t do romance.”
But life at the top wasn’t easy. The next day, Keira was summoned to the Sterling Global headquarters to bring Ethan some documents he’d left behind.
As she entered the gleaming lobby, she saw a commotion near the reception. An elderly woman in a janitor’s uniform was being berated by a young, glamorous woman in a red dress.
“You clumsy old hag!” the woman in red shrieked. A shattered blue-and-white porcelain vase lay on the marble floor. “Do you know what you just did? That is a Yuan Dynasty vase! It’s worth five million dollars! You’ll be scrubbing floors in prison for the rest of your life!”
The old woman looked terrified. “I… I was just sweeping. You bumped into me, Miss.”
“Liar!” The woman raised her hand to slap the janitor.
“Stop!” Keira rushed forward, catching the woman’s wrist.
The woman glared at her. “Who do you think you are? Security! Get this trash out of here.”
Keira looked at the shards on the floor. She knelt down, picking up a piece. “You’re Tiffany Vance, right? The daughter of the Vance Hotel chain?”
“So you know who I am. Then back off.”
“Well, Tiffany,” Keira said loudly, her voice ringing through the lobby. “If you actually knew anything about antiques, you’d know that a real Yuan Dynasty vase has a distinct, thick glaze and an uneven texture. This…” she snapped the shard, revealing bright white plaster inside, “is a cheap knockoff. Probably bought in Chinatown for fifty bucks. You’re trying to scam an old lady over a fake.”
The crowd gasped. Tiffany’s face turned crimson. “You… you little…”
“Enough.”
The elevator doors pinged open. Ethan Sterling stepped out, flanked by his security team. The lobby fell instantly silent.
“Ethan!” Tiffany changed her demeanor instantly, rushing over to him. “This crazy girl and this janitor attacked me! Look at your expensive vase!”
Ethan didn’t even look at the vase. He walked straight to the old janitor and bowed his head.
“Grandma,” he said softly. “I told you to stop playing ‘Undercover Boss’. You’re going to give the HR department a heart attack.”
Tiffany froze. “Grand…ma?”
The old woman pulled off her cap, revealing perfectly coiffed silver hair. She straightened her back, radiating authority. “I just wanted to see if the staff were treating people with respect. Clearly, Miss Vance failed the test.” She turned to Keira and beamed. “But this one… this one has fire. I like her.”
Ethan looked at Keira, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “Grandma Victoria, meet Keira. My wife.”
The Poisoning
Weeks passed. Keira settled into a routine. She went to classes, and in the evenings, she avoided Ethan. But she couldn’t help noticing things. The way he rubbed his temples when he thought no one was looking. The way he ate dinner alone at the long mahogany table.
One evening, Ethan came home early, stumbling through the door. His face was pale, sweat beading on his forehead.
“Ethan?” Keira dropped her sketchbook.
He collapsed onto the sofa, clutching his stomach. “Water…” he rasped.
Keira rushed to the kitchen, but when she returned, he was convulsing. Panic surged through her. She dialed 911, then grabbed a trash can just as he began to retch violently.
“It’s… it’s the drink…” he muttered. “Someone spiked my scotch…”
For the next three hours, Keira didn’t leave his side. The ambulance arrived, but the paramedics said his vitals were stabilizing thanks to her quick action to keep him hydrated and upright. They wanted to take him in, but Ethan refused. “No press,” he growled. “Treat me here.”
Keira spent the night wiping his forehead with cool cloths, holding his hand when the pain made him groan. She saw the vulnerability behind the billionaire mask.
“Why are you staying?” he asked in the middle of the night, his voice weak. “You’re just an employee.”
“Employees clock out at five,” Keira said softly, brushing hair off his damp forehead. “I’m your wife. Even if it’s fake.”
Ethan looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time. He reached out and placed a hand on her stomach. “Are they okay?”
“They’re fine,” she whispered. “They have a tough dad.”
The Mother
The peace didn’t last. Two days later, Keira’s mother, Brenda, and her brother, Leo, stormed into the private VIP ward where Ethan was recovering (he had finally agreed to go to the hospital for observation).
“Keira!” Brenda screamed. “You ungrateful brat! You marry a billionaire and leave your mother to rot?”
Keira stood up, blocking the door. “Mom, keep your voice down. He’s sick.”
“I don’t care! I owe the loan sharks $500,000. If I don’t pay by tomorrow, they’re going to break Leo’s legs!” Brenda pointed a shaking finger at Ethan. “You! Mr. Moneybags! Give me two million dollars, and I’ll sign over my rights to her. You can keep her.”
Keira felt like she had been slapped. “Mom… you’re selling me?”
“I’m surviving!” Brenda spat.
Ethan sat up in bed. Despite his IV drip, he looked lethal. “Two million?” he asked calmly.
“Yes! And a car!” Leo added.
“Deal,” Ethan said. He snapped his fingers. His assistant, Wesley, appeared with a document. “Sign here.”
Brenda’s eyes lit up with greed. She scribbled her name without reading.
“Excellent,” Ethan said. “Wesley, explain the terms.”
Wesley smiled thinly. “Mrs. Knight, you just signed a binding labor contract. To pay off the ‘loan’ Mr. Sterling is giving you to cover your gambling debts, you and your son have agreed to work at Sterling Industries’ remote manufacturing plant in Alaska. Room and board included. No internet. No gambling. You’ll be there for approximately… eight years.”
“What?!” Brenda screeched. “Alaska?! I’m not going to Alaska!”
Two massive bodyguards stepped forward. “The private jet is waiting, ma’am.”
As they dragged her screaming mother away, Keira turned to Ethan, tears in her eyes. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“They were hurting you,” Ethan said simply. “Nobody hurts what’s mine.”
The Misunderstanding
Keira’s heart began to do dangerous things. She was falling for him. She started making him bento boxes for lunch. She picked out his ties. They watched movies together on the weekends.
But then, the phone calls started.
“Alice,” Ethan would say into the phone, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “I know, darling. I’ll be there soon. I can’t wait to see you. Don’t worry about her; she’s just… temporary.”
Keira heard it from the hallway. Temporary.
Of course. She was just the incubator. Alice was the love of his life.
The final straw came the night of the Sterling Charity Gala. It was the biggest event of the year. Keira wore a stunning silver gown, but she felt like she was wearing a shroud.
Ethan was on his phone in the limo. “Yes, Alice. I’m almost there. I have a surprise for you.”
He hung up and turned to Keira. “I need you to behave tonight. Someone very special is flying in from Paris.”
Keira felt nausea rise in her throat. He was bringing his mistress to the gala? To humiliate her publicly?
At the event, the auction began. Wealthy socialites bid on paintings and vintage wines.
“And now,” the auctioneer announced, “a surprise donation.”
Keira walked onto the stage. Her hands were shaking. She unclasped the heavy diamond-and-emerald bracelet from her wrist—the “Dragon & Phoenix” bracelet Grandma Victoria had given her. It was the symbol of the Sterling Matriarch.
“I am auctioning this,” Keira announced into the microphone. Her voice cracked.
The room went silent. Ethan stood up from the front row, his face thunderous. “Keira! What are you doing?”
“I’m selling it!” Keira yelled back, tears finally spilling over. “It doesn’t belong to me! It belongs to your real wife! It belongs to Alice!”
“Alice?” The crowd murmured.
“You talk to her every night!” Keira sobbed, pointing an accusing finger at Ethan. “You tell her you love her! You tell her I’m temporary! Well, fine! I’m done being temporary! Take your bracelet, take your money, I’m leaving!”
“I bid ten million dollars!” Ethan roared, stepping onto the stage.
He grabbed Keira’s arms. “Stop this madness.”
“Let me go! Go to your Alice!”
“I intend to!” Ethan turned to the entrance. “Mother! Get in here!”
The double doors swung open. A beautiful, elegant woman in her fifties walked in. She looked confused, holding a glass of champagne.
“Ethan?” she asked. “Why is everyone screaming my name?”
Keira froze. She looked at the woman, then at Ethan. “That… that is Alice?”
“Yes,” Ethan gritted out. “Alice Sterling. My mother. She’s been living in France for twenty years. I was planning to introduce you tonight.”
Keira blinked. “Your… mother?”
“I was telling her I love her because she’s my mother, Keira! And I said the situation was temporary because I was planning to end the contract!”
Keira’s heart stopped. “You… you’re firing me?”
Ethan looked at the crowd, then back at his weeping, confused, incredibly messy wife. He sighed, realizing this was going to be on the front page of the New York Times.
“No, you idiot,” he said softly, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I’m ending the contract so I can replace it with a real marriage license.”
He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. He had been planning to do this privately, over dinner, but apparently, his wife preferred dramatic public spectacles.
He dropped to one knee.
The crowd gasped.
“Keira Knight,” Ethan said, his voice projecting to the back of the room. “I don’t want a contract. I don’t want an employee. I want you. I want our twins to have their mother and father under the same roof, in the same bed, for the rest of our lives. I love you. I loved you from the moment you stood up to Tiffany in the lobby. I loved you when you stayed up all night to save me.”
He opened the box. Inside sat a massive blue diamond ring—the ‘Heart of the Ocean’.
“Will you marry me? For real this time?”
Keira looked at Alice, who was giving her a thumbs up. She looked at Grandma Victoria, who was cackling with delight in the corner. She looked at Ethan, the man who had saved her, and whom she had saved in return.
“Yes,” she sobbed. “Yes, you stupid, wonderful man.”
Ethan stood up and kissed her, a deep, passionate kiss that promised forever. The room erupted in applause.
“By the way,” he whispered against her lips. “You still owe me for that bracelet. I had to buy it back from myself for ten million dollars.”
Keira laughed, burying her face in his chest. “Put it on my tab.”
THE END
