Chapter 18 CEO Caius
I pull him into my arms and hold him as tight as I can without hurting him.
"I'm not going anywhere," I whisper into his soft hair. "I promise, Leo. I promise I'm not leaving you."
He wraps his small arms around my neck and holds on like I'm the only solid thing in his entire world. Like if he lets go, he'll fall into darkness and never find his way back.
Maybe I am the only solid thing he has right now.
Maybe that's the problem.
This little boy has already lost so much. More than any child should ever have to lose. His parents. His home. His sense of safety. And now he's attached himself to me, a stranger who stumbled into his life two days ago. A stranger who's only here because of a contract. A stranger who might not be able to keep the promises she's making.
But I can't tell him that
I can't explain that his Uncle Caius's ex-girlfriend showed up this morning with pictures and threats and claims of pregnancy. I can't explain that everything might fall apart in the next twenty-four hours. I can't explain that the courts might take him away and place him with someone else.
I can't put that burden on a four-year-old who's already carrying too much.
So instead, I just hold him.
I hold him and try to pour all my love and protection into this embrace. Try to make him feel safe even though I don't feel safe myself.
"I promise," I say again, even though I don't know if I can keep it. "I'm staying right here with you."
Leo pulls back just enough to look at my face.
"R... really?" he asks.
"Really," I say.
I force myself to smile even though my heart is breaking. Even though I have no idea how I'm going to fix any of this.
"Really... really promise?" Leo asks.
He holds out his pinky finger.
I link my pinky with his.
"Really, really promise," I say.
Leo's face breaks into a small smile. The first real smile I've seen from him since Vanessa walked into our lives this morning.
"Okay," he says, still smiling and I smile back.
If only it were that simple.
If only a pinky promise could actually fix everything. Could make Vanessa's recording disappear. Could make the pregnancy claim go away.
But it can't.
Nothing can.
Except maybe time. And figuring out what the hell I'm going to do in the next twenty-three hours.
"You... Play cars... Now?" Leo asks hopefully.
I look at his eager face. At the toy car still clutched in his other hand. At this sweet boy who just wants everything to be normal.
And I realize that's exactly what he needs right now.
Normal.
Or as close to normal as I can give him.
"Yes," I say, managing a real smile this time. "Let's play cars."
\~~~
Hours later, after we've built an elaborate race track across the living room floor, after I've made Leo lunch that he actually ate, after I've read him three stories and tucked him in for his afternoon nap, I finally retreat to my bedroom and close the door.
Then I sink down onto the floor with my back against it and let the tears come.
They stream down my face, soaking into my t-shirt.
What am I going to do?
I could call Caius. Tell him everything. Explain about Vanessa and the recording and the pregnancy claim and the twenty-four-hour deadline.
But what would that accomplish? He's in Boston. He can't do anything from there. And knowing Caius, he'd probably just try to throw money at the problem. Buy Vanessa off. Make it go away.
Except I don't think Vanessa can be bought off.
She doesn't want money. She wants Caius. She wants her old life back. She wants to be the one wearing this ring and living in this penthouse and raising Leo.
And maybe she should be.
Maybe she's right. Maybe they belong together. Maybe they can give Leo what he really needs, a real family. A real mother and father. Not a fake wife who's just playing pretend for six months.
My phone buzzes on the bed where I left it.
I drag myself up off the floor and grab it, half hoping and half dreading that it might be Caius.
But it's not.
It's the hospital.
My heart stops.
Mom. Something's wrong. Something's happened. They're calling to tell me she took a turn for the worse. That the treatment failed. That she's dying. That I need to come right now if I want to say goodbye.
All of these thoughts flash through my mind in the split second before I answer.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Sterling?" A nurse's voice. "This is County General. I'm calling with an update on your mother's condition."
"Is she okay?" The words burst out of me. "Please, is she okay?"
"She's stable," the nurse says quickly. "The treatment is progressing as expected. Dr. Reeves wanted me to let you know that her vitals have actually improved slightly since this morning."
I sink down onto the bed, feeling relieved immediately.
"That's... that's good. That's really good."
"It is," the nurse agrees. "Of course, it's still very early in the treatment process, but the initial response is encouraging."
"Thank you," I whisper. "Thank you for calling."
"Of course. Dr. Reeves will have a more detailed update for you if you visit tomorrow."
I end the call and stare at my phone.
Mom is stable. The treatment is working. She might actually survive this.
But only if I can keep up my end of the bargain.
Only if I can stay married to Caius for the next six months.
Only if Vanessa doesn't destroy everything first.
I look at the time. 3:47 PM.
Nineteen hours and thirteen minutes left until Vanessa's deadline..
The afternoon drags.
I check on Leo every twenty minutes even though he's sleeping peacefully. I try to eat something but can't get food past the knot in my throat. I attempt to watch TV but can't focus on anything.
At some point, Caius's mother passes through the living room.
She glances at me sitting on the couch, probably looking like death warmed over with my red eyes and pale face.
"Are you alright?" she asks.
"Fine," I reply.
She studies me for a moment like she's trying to decide whether to push for more information.
But then she just nods and continues on her way to wherever she was going.
If only she knew the mess I'm in.
If only I could tell her what happened with Vanessa. Ask her for advice. Get her help.
But I can't.
Because what would I say? That I let her son's ex-girlfriend manipulate me into confessing that our marriage is fake? That I'm so stupid I didn't realize I was being recorded?
She already thinks I'm not good enough for Caius. This would just confirm all her worst suspicions.
So I keep my mouth shut and let her leave.
My mind keeps cycling through the same impossible scenarios.
Stay and risk everything.
Leave and lose everything.
There has to be another option. There has to be a way out of this that doesn't end in complete disaster.
But I can't see it.
By the time evening rolls around, I'm exhausted but nowhere near sleep. My mind won't stop racing. My heart won't stop pounding.
I'm standing at my bedroom window, staring out at the city below, when I hear rain.
It starts lightly, then builds quickly. Within minutes, it's a downpour.
The weather matches my mood perfectly.
Dark and overwhelming.
I press my forehead against the cool glass and close my eyes.
Tomorrow, I'll figure this out. Tomorrow, I'll come up with a plan. Tomorrow, I'll find a way to fix everything.
But right now, I'm just so tired.
So tired of being strong. Of making impossible choices. Of carrying weight that feels too heavy for my shoulders.
That's when I hear something else.
A car engine.
I open my eyes and look down.
Through the rain, I can see a black car pulling into the private garage entrance. The same entrance Vanessa used this morning.
My heart starts pounding.
Who is that?
It very well can't be Caius.
Unless...
Unless Vanessa called him. Told him everything. Told him about the recording and the threats and the pregnancy.
Unless he's coming home early because his fake wife just destroyed everything.
The car disappears into the garage.
I stand frozen at the window, my mind racing.
Is it him? Is it Caius?
What if Vanessa already told him? What if he already knows about the recording? What if he's furious?
What if he's coming home to fire me? To void the contract? To tell me to pack my things and get out?
My mother. The treatment. The money.
Everything could be over before Vanessa's deadline even arrives.
I need to explain. I need to tell him what happened before Vanessa gets to him with her version of events.
I need to make him understand that I didn't mean to say those things. That Vanessa tricked me. Manipulated me. Recorded me without my knowledge.
I need to fix this.
I leave my room before I can second-guess myself.
All the lights are off except for the dim glow coming from Leo's nightlight down the hall.
I reach the living room and stop.
My heart is in my throat now. Pounding so hard I can feel it in my ears.
The door opens and Caius steps out.
Even in the dim light, I can see that something is wrong.
His suit is wrinkled. His tie is gone. His hair is disheveled like he's been running his hands through it repeatedly.
And his face.
His face looks... furious.
No, not just furious.
Livid.
I've seen Caius angry before. I've seen him tear apart presentations in board meetings. I've seen him fire people with a single sentence. I've seen him reduce grown men to stammering apologies.
But I've never seen him like this.
This is different.
He doesn't see me at first. He's too focused on something in his hand. His phone, I realize. He's staring at his phone screen with an angry expression.
Then he looks up.
Our eyes meet across the darkened living room.
"Good evening," I say, biting my lower lips. "I—" I start to say.
But he holds up one hand.
"Not now," he says.
His voice is cold.
This isn't the man who gently asked me to marry him to help save Leo. This isn't the man who transferred nearly a million dollars to save my mother without hesitation.
This is CEO Caius. The Caius who destroys people who get in his way.
And right now, I'm in his way.
"We need to discuss something important." I try again.
"I said not now, Lia," he says. "I lost the deal."
He lost it.
I feel a tiny flutter of relief in my chest.
It's about the business deal. Not about Vanessa or about the recording.
He doesn't know about that yet.
I let out a small sigh.
He moves past me toward his bedroom.
I follow him without thinking.
"Caius, please," I say to his back. "It's important and I really need to—"
He spins around so fast I nearly crash into him.
"I don't want to hear it," he says through gritted teeth. "Are you deaf, Lia Sterling?"
My throat runs dry.
Before I can process anything, he turns his back and enters his room, slamming the door shut in my face.