Chapter 4

​All afternoon, Christopher couldn't concentrate on a single financial report resting on his mahogany desk. The word ‘Baby’ replayed in his mind like a persistent, suffocating knot. He tried reviewing quarterly earnings, reading risk assessment sheets, and signing off on multi-million-dollar land acquisitions, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Valerie’s radiant, tender smile as she answered that call. She had never smiled at him like that.  

​His executive assistant, Luke, stood beside the desk, sweating profusely as he watched his boss blindly sign three crucial financial documents in the wrong execution boxes. The air in the top-floor executive suite felt so thick and freezing that Luke barely dared to breathe.  

​By six in the evening, unable to take the agonizing uncertainty a second longer, Christopher slammed his Montblanc pen onto the polished surface with a loud, echoey thud.  

​“Investigate who she was talking to,” Christopher commanded, his voice dropping into a cold, chilling tone that sent a shiver straight down Luke’s spine. “Find out who this ‘Baby’ is. Every single detail. By tonight.”  

​“Y-Yes, Mr. Blackwood!” Luke stammered, bowing frantically before hurrying out of the office as fast as his feet could carry him.  

​Later that evening, as Christopher was being driven out of the building's underground garage in his private Maybach, he caught sight of a familiar figure near the main glass entrance. Valerie was walking toward the street, her coat wrapped tightly around her shoulders.  

​Before the car could roll past, a tall, young man with sharp, striking features ran up to her from behind. Without warning, the man caught her around the waist, lifted her completely off her feet, and spun her around in a joyful, tight hug. Valerie didn't push him away; instead, she threw her arms around his neck, laughing brightly and hugging him back with equal passion.  

​Inside the blacked-out vehicle, Christopher’s blood boiled. His hands clenched into tight fists on his lap, his knuckles turning ghostly white against his dark trousers. A dangerous, territorial rage surged through his veins.  

​“Who is he?” Christopher asked, his voice low and raspy enough to instantly drop the temperature inside the vehicle to sub-zero.  

​Luke frantically pulled up the building's exterior street surveillance on his tablet, his hands trembling. “It’s dark out, sir, and he’s wearing a thick black hoodie,” Luke replied nervously, zooming in on the feed. “I... I can’t make out his face clearly through the lens yet, but I’m actively tracing their cell location right now!”  

​“Follow them,” Christopher ordered sharply, his gray eyes fixed on the couple in the distance.  

​The driver pulled out smoothly, trailing the young man and Valerie as they walked down the avenue hand-in-hand. They arrived at Le Ciel, one of the city's most exclusive, ultra-romantic rooftop restaurants—a venue typically reserved for high-end couples, anniversaries, and private dates.  

​Seeing them walk into such a venue made Christopher’s jaw set into a rigid, lethal line. He immediately had Luke use the Blackwood corporate priority access to book the private dining booth directly adjacent to theirs.  

​For two straight, grueling hours, Christopher sat in the dark, secluded booth. He poured himself glass after glass of aged whiskey, sitting in total silence while listening to Valerie’s soft, melodic laughter ringing clearly through the thin, decorative wall partition. Every chuckle, every sweet sigh, felt like a deliberate twist of a knife in his chest. He had spent five years waiting, watching from afar, only to sit in the dark while she gave her heart to someone else.  

​“Brother, I missed you so much!” Valerie’s clear, affectionate voice suddenly rang out from the other side of the screen. “Is that why you’re clinging to me like a koala and trying to suffocate me with this oversized bear hug?”  

​The young man laughed loudly, clinking his glass against hers. “Hey! I haven't seen my favorite big sister in five long years! You can’t blame me for being clingy! Mom and Dad said you looked stunning today!”  

​In the adjacent dark booth, Christopher froze, his whiskey glass halting halfway to his lips.  

​Brother...?  

​Across the table, Luke let out a massive, audible sigh of relief, slumping back into his seat and wiping a thick coat of cold sweat from his forehead. He felt as if he had just narrowly avoided a firing squad.  

After finishing dinner, Valerie and her younger brother exited the restaurant together, chatting warmly about their parents. Christopher remained seated in his booth long after they left, staring down at his amber drink imagining what it will be like if they came here together.  

​The next morning, at precisely eight o'clock, Luke entered the CEO’s top-floor suite carrying a thick, leather-bound background check folder.  

​“Sir, the full background investigation on Miss Sterling and her family is complete,” Luke reported carefully, stepping up to the desk. “First, to clarify last night... the young man from the rooftop venue was indeed her younger brother, Julian Sterling. Regarding the term ‘Baby’... it is simply her childhood nickname for him. No record of any romantic partner was found in her profile.”  

​Christopher raised an eyebrow, a subtle, unreadable glint returning to his dark gray eyes. “And the rest?”  

​“There is something far more critical you need to know, sir,” Luke continued, his expression turning deeply serious as he opened the folder. “The Sterling family business, Sterling Global, is currently on the very brink of absolute bankruptcy. The commercial banks have frozen all of their credit lines because Trevor’s family—the main branch—has been secretly putting heavy pressure on local financial institutions to deny them every single loan application.”  

​Christopher’s face darkened instantly, the faint trace of relief vanishing under a wave of sharp anger. “Trevor’s side did this?”  

​“Yes, Mr. Blackwood,” Luke confirmed, turning a page. “The Sterlings have been frantically attempting to form a corporate marriage alliance to secure emergency capital, but Trevor’s family has scared off every respectable suitor in the city, spreading vicious rumors and labeling Miss Valerie as disgraced. At this rate, the only families left willing to even consider an alliance are either notorious playboys or abusive, bankrupt socialites looking to exploit her.”  

​As Luke read through the grotesque list of crude suitors line by line, Christopher’s expression grew increasingly terrifying. His eyes narrowed into icy slits, his breathing heavy and measured as his anger peaked.  

​Fearing he might be summarily reassigned to manage an obscure, remote overseas branch if he didn't solve his boss's visible frustration, Luke quickly offered a desperate, bold suggestion.  

​“Sir... your grandmother has also been relentlessly pressuring you to settle down and enter an arranged marriage for the past two years. What if... what if you offered a formal marriage proposal to the Sterling family yourself?”  

​Christopher stared at Luke in total silence for a long, heavy moment. The raw, burning anger on his face slowly settled, morphing into a sharp, calculated, and dangerously handsome smile.  

​“Prepare the car,” Christopher commanded, standing up seamlessly and buttoning his tailored suit jacket. “We are paying a personal visit to the Sterlings.”