The Day I Found Her Pregnancy Test, I Sold Everything to Her Rival

Five years ago, I nearly died pulling Bella Simmons from a landslide. The rescue destroyed my kidneys and left me permanently infertile.

She knelt at my bedside, sobbing, and signed over seventy percent of Simmons Corp to me. She swore she would never betray me, that she would take care of me for the rest of her life. And if she ever had a change of heart, I could sell every last share and leave her with nothing.

Five years later, I received a prenatal exam report from her assistant, Daniel Donaldson.

Thanks for saving Ms. Simmons five years ago, and thanks for taking such good care of her since. You can bow out now. From here on, I'll be the one in her life.

I smiled and typed back: I should be the one thanking you. You just set me free.

Then I called Bella's sworn rival, Melody Gilbert.

"Interested in buying my seventy percent stake in Simmons Corp?"

……

"Owen Fox, it's not April Fools' Day!"

"Exactly why I'm calling."

Silence on the other end. A long stretch of it before Melody's voice returned.

"Owen. You're serious?"

"I don't recall saying I was joking."

"But... you... she..." Melody struggled to find the words. "Owen, what are you thinking? You loved Bella to the bone. Five years ago you nearly threw your life away to save her. And now, after only five years, you've had a change of heart?"

The one whose heart changed was never me.

I pressed my lips together, impatient. "Since when did you turn into a nosy gossip? Simple question. Do you want the shares or not?"

"Yes!"

Her answer came so fast it nearly overlapped my last word.

"I have no idea what's going on, but anything that makes Bella Simmons miserable, I'm in."

"Seventy percent. Name your price."

"Tomorrow morning, ten o'clock, my office," I said. "We'll talk in person."

"Done. I'll be waiting."

I hung up. The sound of running water in the bathroom cut off at the same moment. Perfect timing.

I knew Bella inside and out. She liked her tea at exactly the right temperature, kept her showers to a strict twenty minutes, never spent more than half an hour on a meal.

Five years. I knew every last one of her little habits by heart.

Click.

The bathroom door swung open. Bella Simmons stepped out in a robe, toweling off her hair as she glanced my way.

"Honey, who were you on the phone with just now?"

"A friend."

"Oh."

She nodded and didn't press further. She tossed the towel onto the couch, walked over to me with her hair still half-damp, and put on an expression full of guilt.

"I'm sorry, honey. This trip abroad didn't turn up any new treatments for you either. I know that's not what you wanted to hear."

My gaze dropped to the waterproof bandage on her knee. My voice stayed even.

"You got hurt at the hospital again?"

Ever since Bella had hired Daniel Donaldson as her assistant a year ago, she'd been flying overseas with him several times a month, always claiming she was searching for a way to treat my condition.

Every time she came back, her knees were either scraped raw or mottled with bruises.

When I asked what happened, the first few times she wouldn't meet my eyes, mumbling that she'd tripped at the hospital. After that, she grew bolder about it.

This time was no different.

"Yeah, the good hospitals overseas are so crowded. Honey, you have no idea, those people have zero manners. I got shoved and fell down multiple times."

Bella's face was full of indignation. Then, just as quickly, she flashed me a bright smile.

"But it's all worth it for you. A few scrapes are nothing. Besides, Daniel was there looking out for me the whole time, so you really don't need to worry."

"Is that so? Then I really should thank him properly."

I lowered my head so she wouldn't see the contempt curling at the corner of my mouth.