Pregnant for my husband's brother

The Bargain Amelia sat by her bedroom window, observing the rain beat steadily against the glass, the pounding in her heart. She'd barely heard her father's words when he'd said them, and now they echoed in her mind, clear but unbelievable. "Amelia, you know our company… it's falling. I have no other choice. I need you to marry him. I need you to marry Damian Cross.” Damian Cross. Even the name was hard and unyielding, just like the man himself. He was known across the business world as ruthless, a billionaire who had crushed competitors without mercy. A man who didn't care about anything except building his empire. Now, he was supposed to be her husband. Amelia closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing as flashes of memories crisscrossed her mind: all the years she'd dreamed about her future, all those set goals to do everything on her own, and the life she'd determined to build on her terms. She had never in her life expected herself to be in the middle of an arranged marriage, not with a man like Damian Cross. But now she stood before an ultimatum, and somehow, it felt like betrayal in the form of the one she trusted most in this world. "It's for the family," her father had said in despair, lacing his voice with desperation, his eyes refusing to meet hers. "If you marry him, Amelia, it will save everything. You have to understand that is the only way." Amelia had been silent for a long moment, the news chipping pieces of her with each word. Her father's company, which once was an empire she had grown up believing in, had fallen on hard times. He had put everything into it-their whole family's legacy was at stake. She knew that if she refused, they would lose everything: the company, their home, the only world she'd ever known. But to give up her freedom, her future, her dreams… Was it worth it? All her life, she had been the dutiful daughter, supportive of her family's needs, but she now felt torn in two. Her heart wanted to scream out in refusal, to walk away from this marriage that felt so like a sentence. Yet again, there was the conviction that her father had sacrificed so much for her, and there was no easy choice. Amelia took a shaky breath and stared into the glass at her reflection. It wasn't supposed to go this way. She was supposed to finish her degree, build a career, and carve out a life for herself. Yet, trapped was how she felt as if every door into the future had somehow slipped beyond her grasp. Yet even as despair weighed upon her, Amelia's determination slowly rose from deep within her. If she was going to do this, it would be on her terms. She might be forced into this marriage, but she would not be a pawn in someone else's game. What Amelia still possessed was her strength, her mind, and her willpower. No one could take those from her. “I might not have a say in this marriage,” she told herself, the jaw beginning to harden as the decision was starting to set in. “But I do have a choice in just how I live my life in it.” She stood and brushed the tears from her cheeks. The Amelia that Damian Cross would meet would be no victim. She'd be his equal, one way or another if it meant learning to navigate a world she'd never chosen. Thus, with a heavy heart yet a burning glint in her eye, Amelia settled her will and resolved to make the most of the tempest she was about to walk into. Amelia hadn't expected her wedding day to feel so hollow. Damian Cross had been charming enough in a cold, practiced way when they stood before the altar. His smile was polished, his demeanor poised; he looked every bit the billionaire mogul the world knew him to be. But when he'd taken her hand, Amelia could feel the lack of warmth behind the gesture. They had been strangers unto themselves, bound together by a deal, and he shook hands because it was much about sealing a contract rather than beginning life together. Immediately after the ceremony, Amelia was whisked away to the estate of the Cross family. It was huge and sprawling, high on a hill, with dark woods surrounding it. She would have thought that she'd feel some sort of connection with it, but everything about the estate felt cold-much like her new husband. The marble floors were spotless, the artwork grand, but the emptiness of its vast halls was unmistakable. She soon learned that he was away most of the time on business trips, he said, “leaving at a moment's notice, returning in fits and starts.” And when he did, his presence was almost worse than his absence. He'd find fault in everything from how she arranged the furniture to how she managed the household staff. Where Amelia had expected him to allow her to become accustomed to this new life, he began cutting comments and cruel, sarcastic judgments on her every choice. "Amelia, I thought you'd at least have some taste," he murmured, the corners of his eyes narrowed as he surveyed her with thinly veiled disdain. He was treating her more and more as if she were some kind of property thing he had bought on impulse and soon afterward regretted. She hadn't expected love, but neither had she expected the day-to-day criticism. And the knowledge that he hardly bothered to disguise his affairs-flings with women who flirted brazenly with him, whom he entertained in private suites during his business trips only made it even more unbearable. Damian considered their marriage no more than a convenience, something to take care of his needs without the ties and tangles of a romantic relationship. Yet, the mansion wasn't exactly empty. Damian's younger brother, Leo, was also a resident in the house, and since day one, he was her only hope of comfort. Unlike Damian, Leo seemed friendly and affable. There was a softness in him that didn't fit within the Cross estate walls openness that surprised her. Whenever Damian had to go away, Leo would look in on her, bringing a cup of tea into her sitting room or joining her for a quiet dinner in the kitchen. They talked about books and travel, and Leo listened in a manner that made her feel seen, something she hadn't felt in quite a while. She found herself laughing at him, her defenses down, and her heart lightened. Leo would shoot her a comforting smile; his eyes filled with a tenderness she never knew she needed. He had always been there during the quiet times when the weight of her marriage bore down on her hardest. And over time, Amelia knew she had come to lean on him in ways that didn't have roots in friendship. And from the way he held his gaze on her, it seemed likely he felt the same. The connection between them grew with slow largesse, in blossoming silences and exchanged looks, in the warmth he showed her when she felt cold and alone. One evening, after yet another of Damian's furious tirades on the "lack of charm" in her demeanor, Amelia felt shattered. Straight out the front door, she ran to the library, hoping to be able to clear her head among the silent rows of books away from Damian's judgments. She sat deep in an armchair, staring blankly at the pages of a novel with being heavy enough to grasp the weight of the words. That's where Leo found her, his face softening into concern as he approached. "Rough day?" he asked, his tone low and soothing. Amelia could only manage a sad smile. "Rough is an understatement." He sank into the armchair across from her, his gaze unwavering. "You deserve better than this, Amelia. You don't have to put up with Damian's behavior.” His words hit a raw nerve, and she looked down, fighting off the sudden need to cry that had been dammed up inside her all day. "It's complicated. I married him to my father. And Damian-he. doesn't care about that. I'm just a convenience. I don't even know what I am to him." "You are worth more than being someone's convenience," Leo said with firmness and warmth. "You're. Worth so much more, Amelia.” Their eyes met, and the room shrunk until it was only the two of them. She found herself, for a moment, leaning into that warmth, the security Leo brought. It felt dangerously close to something she hadn't allowed herself to feel since this arrangement began: hope. The space between them felt too close and not close enough, a tenuous line they seemed both willing and afraid to cross. "I don't know what I'd do here without you, Leo," she managed to whisper; her voice was inaudible, yet still enough for him to hear. "You're not alone," he returned his tone like a promise. And in that instant, Amelia felt the tiniest prick of happiness within the pain prick she had not known she was still capable of feeling. They were caught in something they couldn't name, a shared understanding that neither of them dared speak out loud. But as Amelia sat there, the gentle strength of Leo's presence beside her, she felt a stirring in her heart that reminded her of the dreams she'd once had. And in that quiet instant, wrapped in the isolating expansiveness of Cross estate, Amelia allowed herself to dream, for one fleeting second, that she, too, might just discover her happ iness-though possibly not exactly as she had foreseen it.