Chosen by the billionaire

chapter 4

After signing the contract, Adeline said goodbye to the old man and left the room. She was walking along the corridor, heading towards the exit, when suddenly a man stood in front of her.

,,Good morning, Mr. Noah" She bowed before him.

"Good morning, Adeline. Let's skip the formalities." He smiled, gesturing at the girl not to bow.

"How did the conversation go?" He asked

"Good. Short, concise and to the point." She smiled.

"Yes... my grandfather is like that." He laughed nervously.

"Maybe you'd like to go out somewhere tonight?" Addie's heart started beating faster.

"um.. sure, why not" She smiled and quickly moved behind him.

"Till later!" He threw it at her as a farewell.

Adeline didn't really want to go out with him, but she was afraid that if she refused, it would make things worse at work.At least she already knew why he had invited her to work so immediately. He liked her.

As she walked out the gate, she felt her cheeks turn red. She had never dated a guy before. She had many admirers but was not interested in dating. She didn't even have time for that.

In the orphanage, there was a boy she liked. He always helped her, tried to protect her, and even gave her his dinner when she didn't get hers as a punishment. He probably treated her like a younger sister due to their age difference. When they met, she was 12 and he was 16. Their acquaintance lasted only 2 years. After his 18th birthday he left the orphanage. Adeline never saw him again.

...

,,Hey Ada, where have you been? Ivy asked, greeting her at the door.

"Um... you know, I was considering that guy's proposal yesterday and..."

"No! You can't be serious!" Ivy turned pale and grabbed the doorframe.

"But you know.." Adeline tried to continue.

"No! Don't tell me you signed the papers?!"

Ivy was already screaming. She looked devastated. Ada was concerned about this exaggerated reaction.

"I signed, why are you so upset?" She asked, closing the door behind her.

"I've vetted this family, found everything I could. You're right, the Vanderlyn family are billionaires." She spoke, trying to catch her breath.

"So what's the problem?" She didn't understand her friend's emotions.

"They used to live in another state, they moved here recently. That's why I didn't know him." Ivy rolled her eyes and continued.

"They've had a lot of housekeepers. Most of them disappeared without a trace."

The girl looked at her with tears in her eyes.

Adeline went from surprise to concern.

"How did they disappear?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know, there aren't many articles about it. Anyone who talks about it gets silenced. All I know is that they move every few months to avoid drama." Ada pondered this. Their grandfather seemed cold and formal, but Noah and the man in the garden seemed warm and friendly. The rules were strange, but not cruel.

Then she remembered the old man's words.

"Well... Mr. Vanderlyn told me that terminating their contract isn't that simple. The council has to approve it. Maybe those girls were just running away?" She made suggestions. This seemed the most plausible. But Ivy didn't even listen and hyperventilated.

,,Hey, calm down.. one more thing, I'm going on a date with Noah tonight." Ivy panicked even more.

"I'll ask him about it and..."

"No! No, for God's sake, no!" She screamed, grabbing her friend's hands.

"If it's more serious, they'll be very upset that you know about it."

Adeline thought for a moment. She didn't believe anything bad could have happened to these women, but Ivy was right. If something like that had theoretically happened, she should have pretended she didn't know.

"It's okay, Ivy. I won't mention it." She assured her.

...

While they were eating dinner, Ivy's foster parents arrived.

"I'm going, I'm going" The girl repeated, running to the door to let them in.

"Hey honey! Oh, Ada is at your place!" Ivy's parents came over and hugged us.

"Hey mom, dad" She smiled.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

,,Okay... what brings you here today? Do you want to eat with us?"

"No honey...we're only here for a moment."

They exchanged glances.

"We would like to tell you something."

Said Ivy's father, Malcolm Hollings.

"Well, we're all ears" Adeline laughed.

The Hollings looked at each other again, as if to make sure this was the right moment.

"Well... remember when we adopted you? Ivy?" They asked tenderly.

"You were such a sweet little teenager. It was an honor for us to usher you into adulthood."

Mr. Malcolm added.

"All my life we thought I was infertile." Mrs. Mary said with a touch of elation.

"But that's how the miracle happened, and.."

Ada and Ivy exchanged glances.

"Mom, are you pregnant?!" The girl stood up from the table. She was very shocked.

"Yes darling, I am" She said, laughing nervously as she held her husband's hand.

"But... you're 45, don't you think that's a bit... late?" She asked with excitement.

"Yes, Ivy, it's late" Mr. Hollings said quietly.

"But we will try our best."

"I believe... but I can't imagine you with a baby now." She said anxiously. Adeline nodded.

"So does that mean I'll have step-siblings?"

She said to herself.

"Everything will work out" Mrs. Hollings smiled warmly.

"Well, we have to go for tests now... so you know, we'll talk to you later."

...

"I can't believe it, my mom is pregnant, you're going to a job where you could die, what else?!" Ivy paced nervously around the room while Adeline got ready for her date.

"Calm down, it'll be fine" She repeated while fixing her eyelashes.

,,You know... my mother is no longer in her prime, pregnancy is very taxing on the body." She sounded worried.

,,The risk of child illnesses also increases"

"Don't worry Ivy, for God's sake, calm down!"

"Well, I was already planning a baby, but now that my siblings are about to be born... I can't get pregnant at that time, what will it be like..." She fell onto the couch exhausted.

"Ivy, why would that look bad? And besides, you, baby? With whom?" Ada broke away from the mirror and looked suspiciously at her friend.

"I don't know with whom. Whatever." Ada looked at her as if she were crazy.

,,I even thought about just finding a sperm donor."

,,Do you really want a baby? You never talked about it." Addie noticed.

"Yeah... I thought it was stupid." She looked out the window.

"Not at all." Adeline corrected.

"I just knew you didn't want to have a husband and all... I thought you didn't want children either."

"I dream of being a mother" She smiled to herself.

...

Ada was almost there. Noah invited her to an exclusive restaurant, under the name "all for you.". She had never had the opportunity to eat at a place like this before, so she was a little nervous. She adjusted the dress Ivy had lent her and slowly walked inside. The decor looked really rich. Elegantly dressed people sat at the tables, everyone looked perfect. She looked around for Noah.

He waved at her from the end of the room.

"Hi Noah." She shook the man's hand.

"Hello, Adeline, nice to see you." He smiled and kissed her hand.

"You look beautiful." He looked at her from top to bottom.

,,Thank you." She said, feeling warmth in her cheeks.

Even though she didn't want to date Noah, she thought he was really handsome. His gaze pierced her entire being. She felt a bit intimidated.

"What would you like to eat?" He ask while handing her the menu.