Chapter 2. Meeting Ethan

Avery’s POV

My eyes slowly open, and an expensive chandelier dangling from the ceiling is the first thing that enters my vision. Where am I? I sit up on the bed, my heart hammering against my chest in panic, and memories of how I was knocked unconscious on the kindergarten playground flood my mind.

My eyes scan the expensively furnished bedroom, and a scream almost escapes my throat when I see a man seated on a couch not far from the bed where I am sitting.

He is fiercely handsome. He has dark hair that is perfectly slicked back, and his deep-set features are like those of a fallen angel. The first three buttons of his long sleeve are left open, and I can see a peek of a tattoo on his hard chest. He exudes an intimidating aura, and for some reason, I am very wary of him.

I quickly climb down from the bed. “W…who… are you?” I ask, my voice shaking.

A dark chuckle reverberates across the room. “Avery Rosaline Williams.” He calls my full name, and I wonder why his voice sounds familiar.

“How do you know my name?” I ask clearly, my voice raising.

He picks up his phone. “Send the lawyer in.” He barks his instructions into the phone, ignoring my question.

Lawyer? I stand in confusion, and the sound of the door opening momentarily distracts me from my wild thoughts. A man wearing glasses and a well-ironed suit walks in. He has a gentle aura, and I unknowingly sigh in relief at the presence of another person in the room with me. I feel overwhelmed by this man’s presence.

“Good afternoon, Miss Avery.” The lawyer greets me, his eyes studying me.

Why does everyone here know my name? I gather myself and wear a calm expression. “Good afternoon, Mr.…” I trail off, and he speaks up.

“I am Mr. Steve, and Mr. Ethan here is my client.”

I could not wrap my head around what was going on, and I felt anger rising in me when I remembered how I was kidnapped in this place. “Did you bring me here to introduce yourselves?”

I hear a scoff. “For someone who breached a contract, you sure have a lot of things to say.” Mr. Ethan speaks, his voice calm with a hint of danger lacing it.

My heart races, and I feel the breath knocked out of me as my brain processes Mr. Ethan’s words. The only contract I have ever signed was the surrogacy contract from five years ago.

“You are the twins’ father.” I state breathlessly as a realization dawns on me. That’s why I felt his voice was familiar.

Scenes where I was blindfolded and underneath him five years ago flood my memories, and I quickly shift my attention to clear my mind of those unwanted thoughts.

The lawyer clears his throat, breaking my train of thought. “As stated in the contract, you have to pay the sum of two billion dollars for breaking the contract, or we will have to take legal action against you.”

If not for the seriousness of the atmosphere, I would have burst into laughter. I could barely afford to put my expenses together, not to mention paying two billion dollars. “I don’t understand—”

Mr. Steve interrupts me. “We have evidence of you stalking the children in kindergarten.”

He hands me a brown folder, and I open it to see several photos of me at the children’s kindergarten. My palms turn sweaty, and the loud drumming of my heart fills my ears as the seriousness of the situation dawns on me.

I turn to Ethan, who is still seated with an unreadable expression visible on his face as his eyes study me. I quickly avert my gaze to the floor, avoiding his scrutinizing gaze. My chest tightens, and I can barely breathe freely from all the tension that I feel.

“Excuse us.” Ethan instructs, facing the lawyer, who glances at me briefly before walking outside the room, leaving just me and Ethan alone.

“Why exactly have you been stalking my kids?” He questions coldly, his eyes void of any emotion.

I want to say that the kids are also mine, but who am I to say that to this man with such a powerful aura?

Besides, that might sound stupid since I signed away my rights to the children in a surrogacy contract for one billion dollars. I stand in silence, unable to answer his question, for fear of breaking down in front of him from the different emotions that I feel from his question.

I hear footsteps, and soon his well-polished leather shoes come into sight. A gasp escapes my lips when his fingers lightly grasp my chin, so that we are both staring into each other’s eyes. I notice he has light blue eyes that highlight his exquisite features.

“You were so fierce some minutes ago, hmm?” His deep voice mocks, amusement dancing in his blue eyes. That condescending look of his has me feeling vulnerable, and I feel my emotions start to get hold of me.

“I miss them.” I mutter, finally gaining courage, my voice barely a whisper as my tears finally stream down my face. I see the twins in my dreams most of the time, and it pains me that I can never be close to them. It is pure torture, and the thought hurts me more than the guilt I feel every day for my father’s death.

Ethan releases my chin before returning to the couch he was previously seated on. “Unfortunately, that’s not enough reason to stalk my kids—” he starts to say, but I interrupt him.

“I gave birth to them.” I argue weakly, causing the man to chuckle.

“It seems you do not understand the contract you signed, young woman. Whatever rights you think you have were taken away the moment you signed the document, and you are now owing me two billion dollars for breaching the contract or facing a legal battle with my team of lawyers.”

Hearing Ethan’s harsh words makes me feel helpless over and over again. How could I even pay such an amount or even hire a lawyer? All I wanted was to get close to the twins, even if it meant watching them from a distance.

“I don’t have the ability to pay the penalty fee or even a legal battle, but I will do anything to be with my kids, please!” I plead, falling to my knees, and tears stream down my face.

Ethan smirks and walks towards me. His strides are powerful and precise, like those of some regal king. He glances down at me like a king would his servant, and I am literally at his mercy.

“You would do anything to be with them?” He asks, a smirk on his lips.

I always hated being at anyone’s mercy, but seeing where life has thrown me and the love I have for my kids, I would do anything at this point. With determination, I match his gaze and give him my answer.

“Yes. I would do anything.”

“Then strip.”

I whip my head so fast as soon as I register his words that I almost feel my neck snap. “What?” I ask, unable to hide my disbelief.

“You heard me loud and clear. Satisfy me, and I will not only forgive the penalty but let you access the children.” He replies as if it were the most casual thing to say.

There are a lot of questions I want to ask, but I can’t even form a single sentence. I manage to find my voice. “I just need to strip.” I mutter, feeling dispirited.

“We will be doing more of what happened between us five years ago.” He pauses and fixes his gaze on me as if to study my reaction, but I mask my surprise. He actually wants to sleep with me.

“Have you been in a relationship since these years?” He questions, a frown on his handsome face.

I almost roll my eyes at his question. He probably wants to ask if I have had a sexual life all this time. My life has not really been smooth since that time, and I barely have time for myself to talk about investing my time and energy in a relationship.

“No,” I reply curtly, and I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but I see relief cross his features. He hands me a card. “Tomorrow, go to the hotel and show the receptionist at the front desk this card.”

I glance at the card, and I see the name of the hotel. Royalty Hotel. “Alright.”

The devil doesn’t say anything and strides towards the door, stopping when he is almost outside. “Time is eight in the evening. Dress nicely.”

He disappears through the door, and I stand up to my feet, my legs weak from kneeling on the floor. I see my bag on the nightstand, and I quickly rummage through it, relief washing through me as I find my phone inside. The screen has a crack, and I guess it is from the struggle that occurred earlier on the playground.

I unlock my phone, and my mouth opens in surprise at the number of missed calls, all from one person—Jake. I guess he was so worried. I am about to dial his number when I hear footsteps behind me.