The Billionaire’s Virgin Surrogate

Gregory's POV

The ballroom glittered with decorations and chandeliers that dropped with crystal and wealth. It was the kind of event where champagne flowed like water and the smile of everyone present hid an agenda. Gregory stood at the edge of the ballroom, came in hand, eyes scanning the polished and bright faces around.

He'd spent a lifetime building an empire, navigating men who smiled with knives hidden behind them. Tonight was no different, beautiful women and men covering up with philanthropy but wrapped in silk and suit of deceit.

Gregory's thoughts spiralled around his conversation with Damian.

An heir. A secured bloodline.

His son thought he could defy him, thought he could ignore his legacy for the sake of stubborn pride. Gregory's jaw tightened at the thought of Damian's icy resistance. The boy has everything but sense, which makes Gregory wonder where he got his senselessness from. He doesn't understand that love is weakness and only lineage survives, and one doesn't need love to keep the lineage.

As he moved through the crowd, nodding at investors and rivals alike, his eyes caught someone unexpected, and he was instantly blown away by her simplicity and beauty.

She wasn't dressed like the others, dripping in diamonds or parading their wealth. She wore a simple gown, elegant but modest, her hair packed up in a neat ponytail. She stood at the volunteer table, arranging auction items with careful precision. No one paid her much attention, but Gregory did.

Her movements were slow, graceful. And her smile, genuine.

“Now,that is rare”. He thought,his lips pressing into a thin line.

Something about her interested him.

He studied her posture, her calmness, the way she carried herself with dignity even though she clearly didn't belong among the wealthy elites. And for the first time, Gregory felt satisfied seeing someone different from the elites in the same space.

Yes, he thought. She isn't like the others.

Evelyn's POV

Evelyn tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears, forcing herself to focus on the task in front of her. The charity event wasn't her world,but Carmen convinced her to come, promising she'd make a little extra cash from volunteering. Evelyn needed every penny she could get.

So here she was, standing beneath chandeliers that cost more than her entire apartment. She felt small and unseen in the gown she borrowed from Carmen's cousin, but she held herself tall.

She smiled at the donors that walked past her table, though most of them didn't spare her a glance or acknowledge her. To them, she's invisible, and she honestly prefers it that way.

But then, she felt it. Someone has been watching her.

Her eyes lifted, and she caught an elderly man across the room studying her with unsettling intensity. Their eyes met. His gaze wasn't leering like many others she'd dealt with while working shifts at the restaurant, his was different. Calculating, measuring.

Evelyn's breath hitched. She quickly lowered her gaze, focusing on arranging the table and doing everything and anything not to look in the man's direction. She didn't want trouble. She didn't want attention.

But something kept telling her that this man isn't someone who noticed people by accident.

Gregory's POV

Gregory adjusted his cufflinks, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He saw the flicker of unease on her face when their eyes met. She wasn't used to being stared at, wasn't used to being observed, wasn't used to being considered. That alone made her interesting.

She wasn't chasing wealth. She wasn't draped in vanity. She carried herself with humility, and yet he could see the visible traits of strength in the way she straightened her shoulders after faltering beneath his stare.

Gregory tapped his cane lightly with the ring on his finger. Yes, he thought with certainty. This one has the right kind of purity. The right kind of aura and character. “She could be the one”.

Gregory turned away with the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. And, he felt a flicker of something he hadn't felt in a long time: approval.