Chapter 1

Ryan studied the stack of cash before him.

"Two thousand. Is that still not enough?"

The man was trying to negotiate a deal with the servant who worked in their home.

Ryan, a thirty-five-year-old widowed father of three, seemed to weigh the decision a thousand times before answering. He worked as a live-in servant for Richard Johnson and Vanessa Sterling, a wealthy married couple who had been desperately searching for a way to have a child.

"You only have one job. Get my wife pregnant," Richard, Vanessa's husband, said.

Vanessa stood beside her husband, her face filled with discomfort.

How could she possibly sleep with the man who worked as a servant in her own home?

Richard made his intentions even clearer. He knew Ryan desperately needed money to support his three children back in his hometown.

"This is the advance payment. Once Vanessa is truly pregnant, I'll make it ten thousand. That should be more than enough to take care of your kids back home. So, are you interested?

"Don't worry. I won't hold you responsible. After Vanessa gets pregnant, you can go back to living your life as usual. There's just one condition. You have to keep our arrangement a secret. No one can ever find out," Richard said casually.

Ryan had a rugged, masculine face that was plain but striking. His sharp eyes, thick black curls, and nearly perfect physique made him stand out.

His athletic build rivaled that of a bodybuilder, thanks to the years he had spent working as a gym attendant in his hometown. As a result, he had a powerful, well-proportioned frame.

"But, sir... isn't this going too far? Mrs. Johnson is your wife. Are you really willing to let a man like me touch her? I just... I can't believe you'd ask something like this," Ryan replied, trying to preserve his employer's dignity.

"Hah. To hell with that. All we want is a child. If we don't make this work, our marriage will fall apart. I'll lose everything I've built. I won't let that happen," Richard said firmly.

Vanessa lowered her head. In truth, she had never agreed with her husband's proposal. It meant she and Ryan would have to cross an intimate line that never should have existed between them.

"Richard... are you sure you want me to do this? I don't know. I have a bad feeling about it," Vanessa said.

The beautiful daughter of one of the city's wealthiest businessmen looked to her husband for reassurance.

"We don't have another choice. You know your father has been desperate for us to have a child. And you know what the doctors said after my accident. They told me I was infertile. There's no way I can give you a baby. But I love you so much, Vanessa. I don't want to lose you. This is the only way."

Vanessa tried to understand. Her husband truly had suffered severe damage to his reproductive system.

After the accident two years earlier, Richard had been diagnosed with permanent infertility. Exposure to hazardous chemicals had left his testicles irreparably damaged.

On top of that, both of their parents had been pressuring them to produce an heir as soon as possible.

Five years had passed since their wedding, yet Vanessa still hadn't become pregnant.

Vanessa loved her husband deeply and couldn't bear the thought of Richard's career falling apart. After all, he worked for her family's company.

Left with no other choice, she reluctantly agreed to her husband's request. Somehow, she had to accept Ryan as the man who would give her the child she couldn't have with Richard.

Even so, she still couldn't shake her doubts. To her, Ryan was nothing more than the family's servant.

"Fine, I'll do it. But, Richard, I honestly don't know if Ryan can give us a healthy child. You know he's just a country boy. He even looks like one," Vanessa said, eyeing Ryan's plain appearance.

Ryan could tell they were talking about him.

He glanced down at himself before discreetly sniffing his shirt. After spending the day cleaning the house, he caught the sour scent of sweat clinging to his body.

Then there were the cropped work pants he always wore while doing chores. It was obvious he wasn't the kind of man most women would find attractive.

'Would Mrs. Johnson even want to be anywhere near a guy like me? She's beautiful, but me... I smell like a goat half the time. How could I possibly get her pregnant?' Ryan wondered, completely bewildered.

It wasn't surprising that Vanessa felt turned off by him. She was a socialite who spent her days among the city's elite. How could she possibly accept carrying the child of the servant who worked in her own home?

Richard tried once more to persuade his wife.

"Come on, honey. It isn't as bad as you think. Ryan may be a servant from a small town, but I don't doubt him for a second. If it weren't for him, those thugs would've beaten me to death. I know he can help us.

"Besides, he already has three kids, so we know there's nothing wrong with him. It'll probably only take a night or two before you're pregnant."

Richard never stopped to consider the consequences. The only thing on his mind was protecting the successful career he had worked so hard to build.

Vanessa finally gave in. She loved her husband too much to refuse him.

"Fine. Do whatever you want. But don't blame me if the baby ends up looking more like him than you," she replied weakly.

Richard smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry about that. All that matters is that you get pregnant and give birth to a child. That's been our goal all along, hasn't it?"

He then walked back over to Ryan, who stood with his head lowered.

Ryan looked visibly nervous. This wasn't an ordinary job. It sounded simple enough, but the risks were enormous. At the same time, he had promised his second child he would buy them a new bicycle.

"So, Ryan, what do you think about my offer? My wife has already agreed. Now I'm waiting for your answer. Remember, you need a lot of money to put your children through school.

"Don't you want to make your parents happy too? With that money, you could renovate your house so your kids wouldn't have to worry about the roof leaking every time it rained. Think it over carefully. I'm making this offer because I know you're the only one who can help me."

As a servant, the idea of touching his employer's wife was unthinkable. It crossed every line of decency and loyalty.

But after seeing how desperate Richard and Vanessa's marriage had become, Ryan finally found himself wavering.

He had often overheard them arguing over their inability to have children. More than once, he had seen Vanessa crying after those bitter fights, and he couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

After agonizing over the decision countless times, Ryan finally agreed to help them.

"All right, sir. I'll help you. Just... tell me what I'm supposed to do," he said innocently.

Richard burst out laughing.

"Good grief, Ryan. You've already got three kids, and you're asking me how it works?"

Even Vanessa couldn't help letting out a small laugh.