After Betrayed, I Married My Boss

“Good morning, everyone,” Claire greeted as soon as she arrived at the office.

“Morning, Claire,” her colleagues replied.

Claire glanced toward Damian’s office, where the man was already sitting comfortably on his throne, his sharp gaze fixed directly on her. She quickly looked away and took her seat.

“Word is someone’s being sent to the field today,” Sunny whispered.

“Why? Is there a network issue?” Claire asked.

“No, but I heard there's a site visit for the project,” Sunny replied.

“It’ll probably be Derek again, right?” Claire asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Claire, in my office,” Damian called out.

Claire and Sunny exchanged meaningful looks. Claire was confused as to why she was being summoned; usually, Derek was the one who accompanied Damian to field visits.

“You called for me, Sir?” Claire asked once she stepped inside Damian’s office.

Damian looked at her intently. “You’re coming with me to the field site.”

“Why me?” Claire asked, looking perplexed.

“Why not you? Are you disobeying your manager’s order?” Damian asked, his eyes narrowing sharply.

“It’s not that. Derek usually accompanies you, Sir.”

“Honestly, it’s really bothering me listening to you call me ‘Sir.’”

Claire blinked, confused by Damian’s sudden remark.

“It’s not like I can call you Honey here, right?” Claire teased sarcastically.

“Whatever. Go get ready. We leave in five minutes,” Damian instructed.

Without arguing further, Claire turned and walked out of his office.

“What happened?” Sunny asked.

“I’ve been assigned to accompany Mr. Damian to the field,” Claire answered with a slumped face.

“That’s unusual. Don’t male employees usually go with him? Derek is his go-to guy,” Sunny said.

“Who knows? Maybe he’s in a bad mood with Derek, or maybe he just wants to mess with me,” Claire grumbled, making Sunny chuckle.

“Hang in there. Mentally prepare yourself and brace your ears for his outbursts,” Sunny giggled, to which Claire simply responded with a shrug.

“Clair, hurry up!” Damian called, already walking out of the department suite.

“Ugh, such a Mr. Bossy!” Claire muttered under her breath and rushed after Damian.

“Sir, wait!” Claire called out just as the elevator doors were about to close. A moment later, the doors slid back open, revealing Damian standing alone inside.

“Tsk. Such a slow turtle.”

Claire stepped into the elevator, annoyed. “Zebra-legged horse,” she grumbled silently.

“Log in to the company portal and access our division’s account. You’ll see a tab labeled 'Projects.' Open it and fill out all the reports later,” Damian commanded.

“Understood,” Claire replied.

“You should be glad I’m taking you out of the office. Consider it a little getaway after being dumped at the altar,” Damian added coldly.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, and she followed Damian out into the basement parking lot, heading straight toward his car.

Inside the car, both remained silent. Neither made a move to speak until a loud rumble suddenly resonated from Claire’s stomach, causing her face to flush bright red with embarrassment. How on earth, in the middle of traffic and complete silence, could her stomach be so loud?

Damian held back a smile. “How many days have you gone without food? Is the heartbreak effect really this severe?” Damian remarked, prompting Claire to glare at him.

“If you don’t plan on buying me food, you don’t need to criticize,” Claire countered sarcastically.

“Fine. After all, I’m a boss who cares about his team. What do you want to eat?” Damian asked.

“Aren’t we going to the project site? We’ll be late,” Claire said, not wanting to disrupt their work schedule.

“We have thirty minutes. We can eat first before heading over. What do you want, Turtle?” Damian asked.

“Why do you enjoy changing people’s names so much?” Claire demanded, thoroughly annoyed.

“Once we’re married, I’ll call you Khayr. How’s that?” Damian asked—acting like a complete comedian disguised as a stoic block of wood.

“Who said I want to marry you?” Claire scoffed. “I’m afraid after marrying you, I’ll end up skin and bones from being yelled at every day.”

Damian chuckled at her response. “You don’t know me yet,” he said, pulling his car into a restaurant open early for breakfast.

“Let's get out. They have plenty of breakfast options here,” Damian said, stepping out first.

Claire followed Damian into the restaurant, which was already filled with people enjoying their breakfast.

“What would you like to order?” Damian asked as Claire flipped through the menu.

“I’ll just have the yellow rice with a plain omelet, no spicy chili sauce, please,” Claire told the waitress.

“Understood,” the waitress replied.

“And warm tea to drink,” Claire added.

“And what about you?” the waitress asked Damian.

“Just coffee,” Damian answered before the waitress walked away.

“See that? Even the waitress has normal eyesight. She called me Damian, not Sir, because I still look very young,” Damian remarked, making Claire roll her eyes in exhaustion.

“You really are an authentic Sundanese girl, aren't you? Breakfast has to include rice,” Damian noted.

“Well, eating bread doesn't fill me up,” Claire replied candidly, causing Damian to laugh softly.

“I want to ask about your offer,” Claire spoke up, bringing Damian’s gaze back to her.

“Yes, what about it?” Damian asked.

“Why did you choose me to bear your child? And why does it have to be a contract marriage just to have a kid? Don’t you have a girlfriend or a female friend you could marry? You could build a happy marriage together and have as many children as you want,” Claire pressed.

“I only need a child, not a wife,” Damian replied simply, making Claire let out a sigh.

“Why not just adopt? There are plenty of orphanages taking care of parentless children,” Claire argued.

“I want a biological child—my own blood,” Damian answered.

“Why not just get married normally then? And why did it have to be me out of all women to give birth to your child?” Claire asked, growing increasingly curious because none of Damian’s answers seemed believable to her.

“You’re certainly not as quiet as your face suggests,” Damian remarked. “Bottom line: you need someone to help you get revenge on Jeremi, don’t you? Look at me—my job is far better than Jeremi’s, I’m more mature than Jeremi, and my looks? Obviously, I’m much handsomer than Jeremi,” Damian declared with such supreme confidence that Claire was left staring in utter disbelief.

Their conversation paused as the waitress delivered their orders and placed them on the table.

“So, what do you say?” Damian asked once the waitress left.

“I want to eat first,” Claire replied, digging into her food immediately.

Damian took a sip of his coffee, his gaze occasionally lingering on Claire, who was eating heartily, her cheeks puffing out with food.

After a few minutes, the food was completely cleared. Claire gulped down her drink until the glass was empty.

“Full?” Damian asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“Good. It looks like we still have fifteen minutes left. I want your answer now—don't waste time,” Damian stated firmly.

Claire went quiet for a moment. “Alright, I agree. But I have my own conditions,” Claire said.

“What conditions?” Damian asked.

“I’ll write them down later. Just wait,” Claire answered. “We should get to the project site now.”

“Fine. I’ll wait for your conditions,” Damian said, rising from his seat.

“Thanks for the breakfast treat, Ka-ivan,” Claire said with a beaming smile, turning around to walk out ahead of him.

“Sheesh... Heartbroken, yet still asking for a free meal,” Damian muttered, shaking his head.

***