Chapter Four.

Eloise POV

Pushing open the door of the Doctor's office, I saw Ivy sitting across her work desk.

She occasionally tapped her fingers on the desk anxiously while biting hard on her bottom lip. I could tell that something was eating her up, something related to me and my unborn child.

My heart raced, but I tried as much as possible to keep myself in check.

Wasting no further time, I walked into the office in a hurry and pulled a chair out.

“Ivy, are you okay? You seem tense.” I pointed out as I sat down. Ivy flinched at the unexpected sound of my voice, and she cleared her throat as she sat upright.

“I'm fine, Eloise. It's just that-” Ivy paused, staring at my belly while biting her lip.

“It's just what?” I bugged her, my body growing visibly tense, no matter how I tried to conceal it. “You asked me to come here as soon as possible, yet you're keeping me in suspense, Ivy. What's wrong with my baby? Please speak to me.”

Ivy breathed in and out slowly before meeting my curious gaze. “Eloise,” she began. “The sperm we used for your insemination… wasn’t Damian’s. It belonged to someone else.” She revealed, and my eyes widened for a moment, but the next second I was in disbelief.

'What did she just say? How could such a mistake happen? How can I be carrying the child of another man? No … This can't be happening. There's something else that I don't know.'

“W-what, did you say? That the sperm you inseminated me with isn't Damien's? Are you sure of what you're saying, Ivy? If the child doesn't belong to Damien, then who the hell does it belong to?!” I demanded, almost raising my voice.

At my demand to know whose sperm I was inseminated with, Ivy's gaze began darting everywhere in the office but at me which did not only show how hesitant she was to tell me who the father of my child was, but it also proved that she was hiding away a big secret from me.

But I needed answers and not silence, so I slammed my hand against her table.

“Say something, Ivy! What's going on? What are you hiding away from me? Who the hell is my baby's father, Ivy Reid!”

“The sperm does not belong to Damien! It belongs to Dante Romano, a billionaire tycoon with a cold and ruthless reputation, Eloise.” Ivy suddenly yelled out, making my whole body freeze.

'What did she just say?'

“W-what?” I stuttered.

“Yes, Eloise. You heard me right. You were accidentally inseminated with Mr. Romano's sperm.” Ivy confirmed, and I found myself in a greater disbelief because I've always heard about him from almost everywhere!

He owns the Romano Industries, a powerful real estate and tech empire in California and across different states.

He is mysteriously known to be single and never seen with a woman. Rumored to be dangerous, powerful, and secretive.

“Dante needed an heir, not a wife,” Ivy stated calmly, though there was an unmistakable edge to her voice. “That’s why he paid the hospital to find a surrogate. But due to a medical error… you were inseminated instead of the woman I originally selected.”

My breath hitched. “What?”

Ivy exhaled sharply, gripping the edge of the desk. “To make matters worse, the original surrogate’s procedure failed. Which means… you’re the only one successfully carrying his child.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine. “So what do we do now? Should we tell Dante about the mistake and try to—”

“No!” Ivy’s voice rose in a panicked whisper as she shot up from her chair, cutting me off.

Her eyes flashed with urgency. “We can’t tell him. If Dante finds out, I’ll lose my medical license. And worse, Eloise, we could lose our lives.” Her tone was serious, and I realized why she was so tensed and anxious earlier.

“What do we do now?” I asked, my voice steady, though my mind raced for a solution.

Hiding the truth from Dante Romano was nearly impossible. He was ruthless, powerful, and well-connected. If we tried to deceive him, he would find out eventually.

Ivy met my gaze, her expression grim. “You need to terminate the pregnancy. Immediately.”

A sharp gasp escaped me. “What?”

“It’s the only way to fix this before it spirals out of control.” She persuaded.

I drew back my chair from the table, shock, and fury crashing through me. “Never! How could you even suggest that?”

My voice trembled. “You made a mistake, Ivy, not me. And now, you want me to give up the one thing I’ve always dreamed of? Do you have any idea how many years I’ve longed for a child of my own? How many times I’ve prayed for this chance? Now that I have it, you expect me to throw it away just like that?”

I shook my head firmly. “No. I refuse. I’m keeping this baby, and I will tell Dante Romano the truth.”

A sharp intake of breath sounded behind us. “What truth are you about to tell me?” The deep, commanding voice sent a chill down my spine.

The office door had been pushed open without warning.

I saw how Ivy’s entire body stiffened, her face draining of color as she stared behind me, wide-eyed in horror.

“Mr. Dante Romano?” Ivy whispered, her voice barely audible.

I turned slowly, my pulse thundering in my ears.

I went rigid, my breath catching as my gaze locked onto the man standing in the doorway.

He was a 6’3 with jet black neatly styled hair, and a piercing icy blue eyes that showed how cold and ruthless he was in every way. But it also confirmed that he was hotter in person compared to what I had always seen on the TV screen and the magazines.

I swallowed hard. “Mr. Romano?”

He tilted his head to the side, his sharp gaze scanning my whole being. “What do you have to tell me, young lady?”

Ivy quickly rushed to the front as she blocked me away from his view. “Um, it's nothing, Sir. She's just—”

“I am the woman who is carrying your child.” I said firmly, and ivy turned to me with her eyes wide open.

“What?!” She was stunned.

She clearly didn't expect me to say that. But I couldn't be selfish. I couldn't put all of Ivy's hard work to be a licensed medical doctor in vain.

I wasn't that wicked and heartless, so I had to do what I could do best which was telling him the truth about things as I followed my feelings.

“The truth is, there was a medical mix-up in the process of the sperm insemination. I am not the original surrogate whom Doctor Ivy Reid intended to inseminate. But somehow, I was inseminated with your sperm, and now I am carrying your child in your womb.” I said without flinching as he gave me a long calculating stare before breaking eye contact.

He strode past us, going around the desk before settling on the Doctor's chair and spinning casually on it.

“Interesting…" He hummed, cracking his ten fingers with a crooked smile that gave me an unsettling feeling, so I quickly took a step forward.

“Sir, I understand that you might be angry about how careless we were concerning your sperm that you trusted Doctor Ivy Reid with, but please take pity on us. We are only humans and mistakes are common even though it might be a costly one. But it doesn't mean that you should deprive her of her license as a doctor and sue the hospital—”

“Who said that I was going to sue the hospital and deprive her of her license?” He dropped, and I was left speechless and scrambling for words because he was surprisingly so calm and composed about it.

I bowed respectfully “I-i didn't mean to jump into conclusions, sir. I just didn't want—”

“Shh,” he hushed, then stood up from the chair abruptly as he took long strides up to where I stood. “I could possibly do all that you assumed of me but no, I won't because I want something more.” He said while walking around me like a predator, his gaze piercing into my skin.

I could now say that I was nothing less than terrified under his predatory gaze.

“What do you want, sir? I’ll do anything as long as you don’t punish her, please,” I whispered, even as Ivy’s eyes silently pleaded with me to stop, warning that I was putting myself in danger. Yet, I couldn’t retreat now that he had promised to leave Ivy out of this matter.

“I want you to move into my house for the duration of your pregnancy as my supposed wife,” he declared coolly. “In exchange, I won’t take legal actions against this inept hospital or the doctors involved.” He said, and I was shaken to the core as I stared at him without a word.

Ivy took a sudden step forward. “You can sue the hospital, Mr. Romano, but Eloise won't be the one suffering for a mistake that I made. She won't be moving in w—”

“I agree to your terms, Mr. Romano. I will be your wife all through the duration of my pregnancy.”