Chapter 4 Chapter 4- The Scandal

“Kristine Iglesias is pregnant with Zayne Nightwood’s child!

Yes! She was in love with his rival, Edric Carton, but their breakup led to a twisted one night stand where she is now pregnant with Mr. Nightwood’s baby.

Was it revenge... or the beginning of something far more dangerous?

We are waiting to hear further from Miss Kristine and Mr. Nightwood.

Are they going to keep the child? Stay tuned with us to find more!”

The headline glared at me from every digital billboard in the city. Two weeks. That's all it took for my lie to become the city's biggest scandal.

We were the new hot topic, a vicious headline plastered across every digital and print tabloid.

I sat in Zayne’s high-rise office, legs crossed elegantly, watching the news cycle churn.

SMASH.

The remote shattered against the massive LED screen on the wall. He turned, his blue eyes burning with an intense fury.

“What the hell is this, Kristine?”

“Who told you not to wear a condom?”

“You are telling me,” He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous hiss, “That after one night, you are carrying my child?”

“Biology is a funny thing,” I smiled coldly.

He glared for a long time before regaining his composure and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Look at the reports yourself. Check the date, two weeks after our sweet time,”

The reports were a masterpiece.

A hefty bribe to my doctor had shifted the gestation date from five weeks to two.

On paper, this baby was a Nightwood. In reality, it was that motherfucker’s.

After confirming, he threw the papers away outrageously, “Shit!”

He dragged a hand through his dark hair before loosening his tie.

We both were staring at each other. He was attempting to decrypt my intention but failed to do so.

After a piercing silence, Zayne finally asked in a sigh.

“What do you want?” He finally asked.

“I want a father for my child,” I said, my voice steady, like it was the most obvious thing.

“And I want a husband who can help me burn Edric Carton to the ground. I want him to watch us together, grovel and lose everything, including his dignity,”

Zayne’s eyes narrowed, jaw clenching, “So, I am just a weapon to you against him? An asset?”

“... Maybe,”

The second I trailed off, he snapped his fingers twice and pointed at his door dominantly.

“Out,”

“Huh?”

“Get the fuck out of my office, Kristine Iglesias. I am not a pawn in someone's revenge fantasy.” He declared, eyes sharply narrowed at me with disgust.

I returned the same gesture, glaring back at him.

“Then you should have thought about your actions before, asshole,”

I stood up, smoothed my skirt, and walked out without a word because I knew he would call.

Men like Zayne didn't let their ‘blood’ walk around unprotected.

He would take the responsibility and I would take advantage of that.

Depraved of me, I know.

But, that is life, no one had mercy for the other, everyone was an asset to use for another.

After a tiresome day, ignoring the looks I received during work, I returned home. Too exhausted to discuss things.

The next day, humming to myself, I walked toward my car, and a group of women–Zayne’s obsessed followers–surrounded my path.

“You liar!!”

“Social climber!”

They were screaming, insulting me. One of them even reached down, grabbed a stone, and hurled it at me.

I braced for the impact, my hands instinctively flying to cover my stomach.

But, the blow never came.

The man with an addictive scent and dominating aura appeared.

He stepped between us without hesitation, shielding me with his body.

Gasping inaudibly, I looked up and saw Zayne.

“Touch her again,” Zayne growled at the crowd, sending daggers at them for daring to forget their place, his warning cutting through the air.

“And I will make sure you never see the light of day.” A single warning was all it took for him to send them away.

“Zayne…?”

“Are you hurt?” He asked, hesitantly placing his hand over my stomach, gaze softening with a tremble I knew would exist in him.

Forming my lips in a thin line, I nodded, “Yes,”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back toward my apartment building, not giving me enough time to comprehend.

He shoved his way inside, slamming the door shut behind us.

He didn't give me space to breathe, to register, to speak.

He simply pushed me against the door, a large hand clasped my wrist before securing it beside my head.

His eyes never left mine. There was hunger there… But something else too.

Something dangerously close to obsession.

His other hand took a strand of my hair between his fingers, caressing it.

“You want your revenge?” His voice was low, seductive.

I nodded hesitantly, “Uh-huh.”

“Fine.” He enunciated. “I will give you a wedding that will make Edric choke on his own heart. But, I don’t do charity, Kristine.”

I blinked, “Come again?”

“I have my conditions,” He demanded strictly.

His features were hardened, holding no place for jokes or refusal, seeking nothing but submission from me.

I gulped, “What… conditions?”

“Be mine. All mine.”

Wrapping his hand around my throat perfectly, he brought me closer, emerging the heat from his hot body into mine.

“From your emotions to your body, all of it shall belong to me. I will have you whenever, however I want.”

His eyes moved all over my body, giving my throat a squeeze–enough to steal my breaths.

“And you won't resist.”

I tried to get back but he didn’t allow me and pressed me into him, forcing me to maintain the intense eye-contact.

“....Why?”

He smirked maliciously, “Offers should be made equal. And I want every. single. piece.”

I began to have second thoughts but when I had taken a step forward, giving up became no longer an option.

Inhaling sharply, I held his wrist to remove it from my throat.

“Will you truly help me, Zayne?”

“Yes, I will, Kristine.”

Taking a step back, holding his chin up in pride, he offered his hand to me, making the terms crystal-clear.

I get my revenge.

He gets me.

“Offer your heart, your body, your soul to me, Kristine, and I shall ensure you get anything you want.”

I realized then that I wasn't just making a deal with a billionaire. I was signing a contract with the devil.

He had a motive, something darker than just wanting a family.

But I had already stepped into the fire. There was no going back.

My heart picked pace, hands turned cold in anticipation but at the same time, an equal amount of thrill filled me.

Glancing at his handsome face, and back to his hand, I clasped his hand in mine.

“From this moment onwards, I am all yours, My Dear Husband.”

Smirking darkly, I kissed his knuckles, My pulse thundered. Somewhere deep inside… I knew this marriage wouldn't save me.

It would destroy us both.