“I have cancer,” I said—and my husband didn’t even flinch. Dorothy Rain is dying. Not fast, not loudly, but painfully and slowly. And to make things worse? The man she’s legally bound to—billionaire heir Joel Hernandez—isn't just emotionally absent... he’s infertile. Joel’s inheritance depends on Dorothy giving birth to his heir. With time running out and hatred growing between them, Joel brings in a third option: his estranged, broke, and dangerously attractive cousin, Rico. The deal is simple: Rico gets a second chance. Joel gets his heir. Dorothy gets treated like a breeding contract. But nothing is ever simple in a house built on lies. As Dorothy fights for her life and autonomy, she finds herself in between two enemies—one who ruined her and one who might ruin her all over again. Secrets grow. Lust sparks. Love becomes a war. And when hearts break, who will be left holding the child?
View More#Dorothy’s POV#
“I have cancer…”
My breathing steadies even though the sight of his narrowed eyes makes me nervous.
The words hang there, sharp and strange and foreign even to my own ears. The silence that follows is too loud—too thick to breathe in.
“What?” he says and pushes himself off his seat, taking just two steps to reach my radius. The tie dangling loosely from his strong neck is the only thing that distracts me momentarily and gives me the relief to say the next sentence.
“That’s what the doctor said… and… and…” my words falter, and so do my legs. My knees weaken, pulling me faster than gravity to the floor as I collapse. I’m unable to bear the news in my heart or resonate with it, talkless of me telling it to my wayward husband who’s been sleeping out since we got married two years ago and has not noticed his wife's slow health decline.
The marble floor underneath me is cold. I don’t even try to hold myself up anymore. The weight on my chest is heavier than my bones.
I stare up at him, and watch as several emotions run through his face. He wants to punch something, somebody. I can already feel his anger simmering underneath his olive skin, threatening to destroy something, or anybody.
Thank God. I have never been the one to bear the brunt of his anger but I have borne the brunt of another side of his untamed desire.
That’s the thing about Joel—he doesn’t know how to love gently. Only forcefully. Only transactionally. Only on his terms.
A force jolts me out of my train of thoughts and I feel my body shaking. “The doctor said what, woman?! Spit it out!” His hands are wrapped around my arms, and he’s shaking me.
My head jerks from the motion. My teeth clack together. It stings.
“What the fuck can I say, Joel? What the fuck do you want me to say?!” I bark out on his face and he flinches back, as if avoiding my spit from touching him.
He grunts and throws a piece of vase on the table behind him at the wall behind me. When I hear the glass shatter, I flinch.
My heart feels like it shatters too.
“Haven’t I told you to stop answering me as if I’m the cause of all your problems?! Was it my fault your father was a drunkard who gambled all your generational wealth away? Was it my fault your mother and sister sold you to my father for a new Lamborghini? Is it my fault your entire family are selfish fools who only want to live the ‘high life’ without actually having a sensible mindset?” He grabs my hand, “Look, you know very well we made a verbal agreement before we exchanged rings AND vows. You do your shit and I do mine.”
His fingers are squeezing my hand, not in affection. In warning.
I want to slap him. I want to scream and scream until his ears bleed. But I just stare. Numb.
“You don’t love me, do you?”
“Why the fuck are you mentioning love? What the fuck does this have to do with love?”
I sniff. “Why don’t you meet one of those your whores to get you an heir? At this point I don’t even know why the hell I’m still bound to you and your family.”
“You know very fucking well why, Dora. Stop… Urgh… stop making me speak so much to you. You know anytime we exchange more than three sentences it turns into an argument and I get turned on and you push me away and call me a—”
“Sick bastard.” I grit my teeth.
He chuckles darkly. “Haha. And then I force you and you fucking cry and threaten to kill me in your sleep.”
My stomach turns. He says it like a joke. Like we’re not both standing knee-deep in rot.
“I hate you…”
“Darling, I hate you too but we’re bound to each other, are we not? You know very well my useless ass of a father specifically wrote in his will that if the heir doesn’t come from your fucking vagina, those multi BILLION worth of assets aren’t going to be officially given to me. How many fucking times do I have to explain this to you? When you do what we’ve agreed you’ll do, you’ll get your share and you can jump off a fucking cliff with your cheque in your hand for all I care. But for now, just fucking cooperate! Geez!”
My mouth opens but nothing comes out for a second. Then—
“So now I have cancer, how am I gonna cooperate, unh? My womb is fucking useless now.”
His jaw clenches. His nostrils flare. Then—just like that—he slips back into control. That cold, strategizing mask he wears like an extra layer of skin.
“No, not if I can help it. Pack your bags. We’re going to New Jersey first thing tomorrow to see a specialist.”
I blink. “What? But—”
“What is it now? At least you got diagnosed early. It’s treatable, isn’t it?”
“I….”
I shake my head. My chest tightens. It’s not that simple. It’s never been that simple.
“Oh… don’t fucking tell me you willingly want to sabotage this shit for me? You wanna die of cancer, Dora?”
“That’s not what I said!”
“Good. Don’t say anything more. Pack your fucking bags.”
“But Joel…”
“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow by 7. I’m going to Hillary’s.”
And just like that, he grabs his car keys, slides on that ridiculous designer blazer, and leaves me there on the floor.
The front door slams.
One of his stupid side chicks.
Of course.
The silence afterward is louder than anything he could’ve shouted.
#Rico’s POV#I zip the small bag with a long sigh. It’s barely got much inside—just the essentials. A shirt. Jeans. A power bank. Toothbrush. My hoodie. One I actually stole from Victor’s place months ago but never returned.The garage is still dim, just peeks of early sunlight sneaking in through the high windows, painting thin shadows across the walls. My breath fogs a little, it’s colder than usual this morning. Or maybe that’s just me.I rub my palm down my face, slowly. I didn’t sleep. Not a damn wink.I kept replaying Dorothy’s head in my lap, the way her voice shook when she said she wouldn’t stop me this time. The way I almost kissed her. And the way I didn’t. Because I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to leave this morning.But I have to. Even if it kills me. I have to go.It’s not just about space. It’s about breath. I can’t breathe here. Not properly. Not when every hallway holds a memory. Not when Joel is still Joel and every damn second I spend near Dorothy I start think
#Dorothy’s POV#I stare at the ceiling. Just lie there, with my eyes open and my arms on either side of me like I’m frozen in a snow globe I can’t break out of. I haven’t even changed out of my house clothes. Haven’t brushed my hair. My mind’s a full warehouse of unfinished thoughts and heavy silence, and I don’t know which box to unpack first.The day started sweet. Dr. Malik’s visit felt comforting in a way I haven’t known since childhood. But then Paulina happened. And then Joel. And now… now I’m here again. Back in this room that used to feel like a cage and somehow now feels like the safest part of the entire villa.Except it’s not. Because my head is a mess.I hear something. Muffled arguing.Joel’s low but commanding voice. He’s not yelling but you can hear the tension through the walls. He's arguing with someone. Probably one of his business people. It’s not Rico. Rico never speaks that fast or that clipped. And thank God it’s not Rico. I couldn’t take more testosterone-fueled
#Rico's POV#There’s something off about her.She hugged me, sure. Smiled like always, soft and small and trying not to let it tremble. But I know her well enough now to know when her lips are saying one thing and her body’s spelling another. Her shoulders were tense. Her hands lingered too long. Her eyes—shit—her eyes darted like she was worried someone else was listening.And the way she touched her stomach during that hug?Nah.Something happened while I was out. And if it’s what I’m thinking, and if that bastard Joel put his hands on her again, I swear I’ll punch his teeth into his throat and keep going till his mother can’t recognize him in hell.I’m pacing the hallway now. Phone in my palm, waiting for a damn call that’s supposed to come any second. I haven’t even had lunch. Hell, I haven’t even sat down since I got back. I’ve been chasing investors, negotiating contracts, begging dealerships to consider my pitch in Atlanta, and trying to clean up this mess of a life I used to c
#Dorothy’s POV#I don’t know when my heart got so heavy, but it’s been sitting on my chest like wet fabric all morning.It started fine. Actually, great. The solarium smelled like fresh roses and chamomile after the maids cleaned it for Dr. Malik’s visit. The way he hugged me before leaving, told me I could always count on him, told me he’d be there as long as I needed him… God, it made my throat sting. It made the world feel safe for a split second.But the moment he drove off?Everything spiraled.It was the call. That damn call.#Flashback.#“Oh, splendid,” the woman said in that oozing voice. “Well, this is Paulina Voss… I’m guessing you already know who I am.”The name froze in my ear like an ice cube.I didn’t say anything immediately. My voice was stuttering like a toddler learning to lie.“I—I’m sorry, who?”“Oh, come off it,” she scoffed. “No need to pretend. You’re Dorothy, right? The poor little lamb they dumped in Rico’s path to play dress-up wife.”My stomach clenched. My
#Joel’s POV#You know what’s funny?I built this entire house. Oversaw every goddamn detail—from the imported tiles to the tech-embedded furniture to the placement of every last security cam—and now I sit here watching it all like some outsider needing confirmation of what he already knows.The clip replays.No sound. Just the daunting, silent loop of betrayal.Rico… carrying Dorothy. Like some fucking hero from a slow-burn romance movie. Her arms limp around his neck. Her head resting against his chest. Her body… his responsibility.My hand spins the Rubik’s cube faster.Click. Click. Click.It’s solved already. I’m not solving anything. Just... stalling.I lean forward again, watching as Rico walks through the foyer with her, straight past the entrance of our bedroom.The security guards behind me shift on their feet. Two of them. Young and dumb. Standing stiff like they walked into the wrong room at the wrong time. They’re silent. I haven’t said anything yet.But they know.They al
#Dorothy’s POV#When I woke up, the first thing I remembered was his bare, rough, and low voice near my ear.“I don’t need your body. I need your peace.”I didn’t even know I was smiling until I caught myself humming in the bathroom.That one line somehow held me together in a way nothing else has in a while. It didn’t fix me. But it made the air feel easier to breathe. Like maybe something doesn’t have to break to feel real.I didn’t see him this morning, though. He was already gone before I came out. I texted him asking if he’d eaten before he left, and he replied with “I’ll grab something out.”Typical Rico. Short and annoyingly casual.Still, I find myself replaying that whisper more than once as I move about the villa. No tests today. No appointments. No poking, no scans, no freezing lights and questions I don’t know how to answer.Just... peace.Sort of.Dr. Malik texted earlier to say he’d stop by for a home visit—off hours. Which meant I got up and told the maids to prep the s
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