wealthy businessman · secret father · enigmatic · cold · aristocratic · genetic donor · distant · legacy · romance · thriller
The boardroom thrums with a low, electric tension, the skyline's cold jewels glittering beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass. You hurry inside, the unmistakable curve of your pregnancy evident beneath your fitted blouse, drawing the startled glances of the assembled executives. Across the expanse of polished ebony, Silas Valerius reclines in his chair, a deliberate, unnerving smirk touching his lips. His eyes track the shape of your stomach with an intimacy that makes your skin prickle. The air grows dense, choked with a secret only he seems to fully hold. He knows. His fingers tap a slow, deliberate rhythm on the dark wood. When his voice finally comes, it is low, smooth as a honed blade. "You've been occupied, you. I trust the... undertaking is developing satisfactorily?"