PLEASURED BY MY ENEMY'S FATHER

Chapter 18 In Control

I didn’t have to look for him. Wallace found me.

I had barely stepped out of the academic building when I saw him leaning against his car, like he had been waiting there long enough to grow impatient, but not enough to leave.

The moment his eyes landed on me, something in his expression shifted. Concern. Real or not, I couldn’t tell anymore.

He straightened immediately and walked toward me. “Hey,” he said, his voice softer than usual. “What happened?”

I blinked, forcing my expression into something lighter before he could look too closely. “Nothing dramatic.”

He stopped in front of me, studying my face. “You look like something happened.”

Of course I do.

For a split second, I wondered if he could see it, if he could see everything I heard, everything I now knew.

But I didn’t give him that chance.

“It’s just the dean,” I said with a small sigh, brushing it off like it was nothing more than an inconvenience. “She called me in about my grades.”

His brows pulled together slightly. “And?”

I shrugged, keeping my tone casual. “They dropped. Not failing, but… not good either.”

I watched him carefully. Too carefully. Because now I knew what to look for.

And I saw it. It was quick… so quick anyone else would’ve missed it. But I didn’t.

For just a fraction of a second, his eyes lit up. Not with concern. Not with surprise. But with something else. Something sharp. Satisfied.

Then it was gone. Replaced instantly with a frown, his expression tightening like he was disappointed.

“That’s not like you,” he said.

No. It isn’t.

“I know,” I replied, keeping my voice steady. “She warned me. If I don’t improve next semester, I’ll lose my scholarship.”

He clicked his tongue softly. “That’s serious.”

“Yeah.”

He stepped a little closer, his voice lowering slightly. “Then you need to focus more.”

Focus.

The word almost made me laugh. But I didn’t.

“I will,” I said instead.

He held my gaze for a moment, like he was trying to read something in it. I made sure there was nothing there.

No suspicion. No anger. Nothing. Just the same girl he thought he had under control.

“Good,” he said finally, nodding once. Then, almost like he remembered something, his expression shifted again. “By the way, my birthday.”

Of course.

I tilted my head slightly. “What about it?”

“You didn’t forget, right?” he asked.

I smiled. Bright. Easy. Like nothing had changed.

“Of course not,” I said. “I told you I’d be there.”

And just like that, I saw it again. That subtle shift in him. Relief. Expectation. That was what he wanted.

Not me. Not really. Just that answer.

“Good,” he said, a faint smile forming on his lips. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

I nodded, holding his gaze just long enough to make it believable.

“Come on,” he added. “Let’s grab lunch.”

“I already did,” I replied, lifting the paper bag slightly.

He glanced at it. “You bought something?”

“I made it,” I said.

That caught his attention.

“You cooked?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

I gave a small shrug. “I had time.”

Another lie.

“I was actually looking for you earlier,” I added casually. “You were at practice, right?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You should’ve just called.”

“It’s fine,” I replied. “We can eat now.”

He studied me for a second, then smiled. “Alright.”

We found a quieter spot nearby, away from most of the students. I set the food down and started unpacking it, my movements steady, controlled.

Normal. Everything had to feel normal.

“This looks good,” he said, watching me.

“It’s not that special,” I replied. “Just something simple.”

He took a bite. Then paused.

“It’s actually really good,” he said, glancing at me.

I smiled faintly. “You don’t have to say that.”

“I’m not,” he replied. “I mean it.”

I nodded, pretending to accept it casually, though my thoughts were already somewhere else.

Watching him. Observing. Every expression. Every reaction.

Because now, every little detail mattered. We ate like we always did.

Talking about classes. About small, unimportant things. About anything that made the moment feel ordinary.

And I played along. I smiled when I was supposed to. I responded when needed. I looked at him the way I always had.

Like I trusted him. Like I cared. Like nothing had changed. But underneath all of that, my mind was already working. Carefully.

Because now I knew what he was planning. And I knew when it would happen.

His birthday.

I lowered my gaze slightly, picking at my food as I let the thought settle.

Fine.

If that was the game he wanted to play, then I would let him. I would show up. I would smile. I would make him believe everything was exactly the way he wanted it to be.

And then, I would ruin it. Just like he planned to ruin me. Only difference was, I wouldn’t underestimate him.

The way he underestimated me.

I didn’t go back to the dorm right away. I kept walking, letting my feet carry me wherever they wanted while my mind stayed trapped in the same place… behind that half-closed door, listening to words I wished I had never heard.

She trusts me.

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, my chest tightening all over again. The memory didn’t fade. It didn’t soften. It only grew sharper the more I tried to ignore it.

Eight months.

Eight months of trust, of effort, of letting someone matter more than I ever planned to… and for what?

I let out a slow breath, pressing my lips together as I forced the emotion down. Crying wouldn’t fix anything.

It wouldn’t change what I heard. It wouldn’t undo the way he looked at me like I was nothing more than something to use.

No.

If anything, I needed to stop feeling and start thinking.

I resumed walking, slower this time, my thoughts gradually shifting from pain to something more controlled.

Wallace had a plan. A detailed one. Carefully timed. And I had walked straight into it.

My fingers curled slightly at my sides.

Fine.

If he wanted to play games, then I would play, too. But not his way.

I needed something he couldn’t predict. Something that would completely throw him off balance.

Something bigger than him.

I let out a quiet breath and stepped into a small convenience store, more out of habit than intention.

The cool air hit my skin, grounding me slightly as I wandered toward the back, grabbing a bottled drink just to have something in my hands.

When I reached the counter, I noticed the small digital stand beside it… news headlines and online announcements scrolling endlessly.

I wasn’t really paying attention at first. Until something caught my eye.

A name.

Rachford.

My gaze snapped back to the screen. And there it was.

Rachford Corporation Announces Private Search for Surrogate Candidate

My brows furrowed slightly as I read.

Wilthon Rachford.

The article was brief but clear, discreet recruitment, strict qualifications, direct screening handled personally.

It wasn’t publicized widely, likely meant for a specific circle, but somehow it had made its way into a smaller publication feed.

I stared at it longer than I should have. A surrogate. For him.

The thought alone felt… strange. Unexpected. But that wasn’t what held my attention.

It was what came after. A slow realization. A possibility.

I straightened slightly, my grip tightening around the bottle in my hand as my thoughts began to shift… faster now, sharper.

Wilthon Rachford.

Wallace’s father.

A man Wallace clearly respected… or feared.

A man who held more power than anyone else in his life. And now, a man actively looking for someone. Someone he would bring into his personal space.

His private life. My heartbeat picked up. Not from fear. From understanding. This wasn’t just an opportunity.

It was an opening.

Wallace had built his entire plan around control. Around privacy. Around the certainty that no one would interfere.

But what if I inserted myself into a place he couldn’t control? Into his own home. His own family.

My breath slowed as the idea settled, becoming clearer the more I thought about it.

If I got close to Wilthon, really close, then Wallace wouldn’t just lose control of the situation.

He would be forced to watch it unravel. And there would be nothing he could do about it.

A faint, humorless smile touched my lips. You wanted to ruin me?

Fine.

Let’s see how you handle this.

I paid for the drink without really thinking, my mind already set somewhere else entirely as I stepped back out into the evening air.

This wasn’t safe. I knew that.

Getting involved with someone like Wilthon Rachford, especially like this, came with risks I couldn’t fully measure.

But doing nothing? That would guarantee my loss. And I didn’t survive everything in my life just to be destroyed by someone like Wallace.

I lifted my chin slightly, my expression settling into something calm, controlled.

Tomorrow. I would go to Rachford Corporation. Not as someone desperate. Not as someone broken.

But as someone who knew exactly what she was doing.

If Wallace wanted a game, then I was about to change the rules. And this time, I would be the one in control.