Chapter Three
709 Words
Lora's POV.
I never thought my life would fall apart this fast.
One month after that night, I found out I was pregnant. The doctor’s words hit me like a storm. Pregnant. My hands turned cold, my heart sank. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want this.
“Doctor,” I whispered, my voice shaking, “I want to stop it.”
He looked at me carefully. “If that’s your decision, come back tomorrow. We need to prepare.”
Tomorrow. Just one day between me and a life I wasn’t ready to face.
I walked out of the hospital like a ghost. My chest felt empty, but heavy at the same time. I couldn’t think of anything except my mother. I had to see her.
At the hospital ward, I was ready to hear the worst. Another unpaid bill. But instead, the doctor smiled at me.
“Miss Lora, good news. Your mother’s surgery and treatment have been fully paid. All her bills are cleared.”
I froze. “What? Are you sure? Carla Jade, my mother?”
“Yes. Everything. Ten thousand dollars. Already settled.”
Ten thousand. My breath caught. That money was more than I could ever gather. Who would do this? “Please check again,” I begged. “It must be a mistake.”
But the doctor only shook his head. “No mistake.”
I stood there with my knees weak. Relief rushed through me, but shame came right after. Someone had saved me. Someone had stepped into my life when I had nothing.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept asking myself, who?
The next day, I head to the hospital to have the pregnancy. I can’t afford to nurse an illegitimate child in my current situation.
However, I bumped into someone who seemed familiar and was shocked when the doctor introduced the person to me as the person who saved my mother.
It turns out to be him. That man. From that night. The stranger.
I froze. “It was you? You paid my mother’s bills?”
“Yes.” His tone was flat, like it meant nothing to him.
My chest tightened. “Why? That’s a lot of money. I can’t accept it. I’ll pay you back, I promise..”
“Stop.” His voice cut through me. “You can’t pay me back. Not with your life. Not in ten years. Don’t waste my time.”
I swallowed hard, my pride burning. “Then what do you want?”
He didn’t blink. “Marry me. A contract. On paper.”
I stared at him. “Marry you? Are you crazy?”
“You’ll get five million dollars every month,” he said coldly. “Enough to change everything for you, your mother.”
My eyes widened. Five million. It was impossible, unreal.
“Why me?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“I don’t want to sell myself,” I said, my throat tight.
He stepped closer, his voice hard. “You don’t have a choice. Without me, your mom’s life will be at stake.. Your mother will suffer again. And your baby…” His eyes dropped to my stomach. “He will grow up in misery, and I don’t want that for the baby. At least, he is innocent.”
My body went still. He knew. Somehow, he knew I was pregnant.
Tears burned my eyes. “You have no right…”
“I have every right,” he said sharply. “Because I’m the only one who can save you. Sign the contract, Lora. Just one year. Or refuse me, and go back to your pathetic life.”
His words cut deep. Cruel, but true.
I pressed my hand to my stomach. For the first time, I wasn’t only thinking about myself. My mother. My unborn child. They needed more than I could ever give.
Drake stretched out his hand, his expression cold, commanding.
“So what will it be, Lora? Stay poor and weak? Or take my deal?”
I looked at his hand. My pulse raced. Was this really the only way?
I took a deep breath and I finally made my decision. “Yes, I will marry you. Just for a year.”
- Writer
