"Liora,are you okay?" Saskia,her friend who also works as a nurse in the hospital also came in to use the restroom when she noticed her friend looking at a particular spot.

"Saskia,how long have you been standing here?"

"Not quite long,I know you are worried about him but trust me,he is going to get better."

"I am trying but he is giving up,how do you expect me to be fine? He wants death,I have tried a lot of means to encourage him not to give up but none is working."

"Then try again,Liora I know you as someone that never gives up,not now,your husband truly needs you and I understand he is so worried about you that's why he thinks dying as the best option to set you free."

"He made a vow to me Saskia,how can he just forget so quickly and choose to leave me alone?"

"Then persuade him to choose life,give him a reason to live." She said to Liora.

Liora couldn't sleep throughout the night,she remained awake thinking about the only solution she has now to keep her husband alive,she needs to deceive him,she has no choice.

They have been married for two years and have been trying to conceive for six months, but there has been no news of pregnancy. Liora knows that Leander has been looking forward to her being pregnant, and he even picked out names for a boy and a girl.

Unfortunately, she has not been able to conceive.

She sits in the bathroom, looking at the pregnancy test in her hand. Fifteen minutes have passed, but the test still shows a single red line.

It seems like God hasn't heard her prayers.

She stares blankly at the pregnancy test. It has been seventeen days since her husband's accident. She hasn't slept well, haunted by nightmares every night. Either she dreams of him crying and pleading for death or she dreams of doctors declaring him dead.

Her heart has become numb.

But there is a string in her mind pulling her, not allowing her to give up any chance.

"I guess I am doing this if I want my husband to live."

She takes a deep breath and picks up her phone to call her friend at the hospital, Saskia, "Saskia, I need a favor."

"Okay,I am all ears."

Saskia agreed to help her and she got dressed and headed to the hospital.

Visiting hours for Leander are only from 4:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon. Only one family member can visit, and Fiammetta is resting on a bench, giving today's visiting opportunity to Liora.

Liora puts on a sterile suit, mask, and cap. She puts the fake ultrasound slip provided by Saskia into a sterile bag.

"Thank you so much Saskia,I'm in your debt."

"What are friends for? Stop thanking me but are you sure about this? Won't you regret it?"

"It's the only way."

"You are so young and it hurts me seeing you going through all this pain,soon all these will be over."

"I hope so too,I miss him so much." She held herself from crying.

She was led by a nurse, enters the ICU. Leander is lying on the bed, still unconscious. A small hole has been made at the back of his neck, and a plastic tube has been inserted, with the other end connected to a ventilator. He has seven stitches on his head, and the wound is healing well. After the nurse checks the equipment and changes his medicine, she leaves, giving Liora the space.

Liora stands outside the ICU observation window, watching Leander helplessly and despairingly with tears streaming down his face. The nurse hands him a tissue to wipe his tears, but he doesn't even have the strength to move away.

She holds his hand, still warm and dry, though he has lost a lot of weight, and his skin has become dry. She leans in and gently rubs her face against his.

Leander doesn't respond, still deeply asleep.

Liora whispers, "Leander, I'm pregnant."

"Haven't you always wanted our child?" She strokes his hand slowly, "Do you think it will be a boy or a girl? Don't you want to see our child born? Promise me, stay with me and watch our child be born, okay?"

The golden recovery period for high-level paraplegia is six months.

She needs to fight for those six months. If she can, there is hope for Leander's treatment, even if the chances of success are low. She will try her best.

There is hope as long as he is alive.

"Will you?" She kisses his hand, tears silently falling into her mask. She's about to wipe them away when she hears Leander's hoarse voice say, "Okay."

Liora turns her head to look. Leander has awakened at some point and is staring at her with red eyes.

"It...will...be...hard." His speech is slow and weak, and Liora needs to get close to hear him clearly.

After saying these four words, he can't say anything more. He tries to speak but doesn't have the strength, just looking at her with increasing redness in his eyes. Liora understands what he means. Without this child, she could find another man after a divorce, to start a new relationship and find a new love, but she doesn't want to.

She leans down to kiss his cheek, her voice soft and heavy, "I love you, Leander."

This is her answer to all the voices from the outside world.

She took out the ultrasound report to show him, told him the expected due date, advised him to rest well, and was about to say something more when a nurse came in to inform her that her time was up. Liora squeezed his hand once more before getting up to leave.

As she walked out the door, she looked back and saw Leander crying, tears streaming down his face.

Fiammetta was almost in tears upon learning of Liora's pregnancy.

"Is it true? You are carrying Leander child?"

"Yes mom."

"Thank you heavenly father,I feel so happy hearing this news,so finally I will become a grandma!!" She opened her arms for Liora to dive in.

This child came just in time.

She clasped her hands in gratitude to the heavens, then thanked Liora and sent a driver to take her home. She also called the housekeeper to hire a family nutritionist to specially prepared Liora's meals.

Once back home, Liora locked herself in the bathroom. For the first time, she told a massive lie, feeling extremely uneasy, fearing that her mother-in-law might find out, worried that Leander might discover, and even more fearful of the unknown. But she had no way out now.

If Leander doesn't recover, he would never get a chance to be a father.

She had to get pregnant now to fulfill Leander's wish to become a father.

The success rate of artificial insemination is only between thirty to fifty percent. Time-wise, Liora couldn't afford to wait. There's screening to be done, and the embryo needs to develop before implantation. If the child has any chromosomal abnormalities, the baby could be born deformed.

She couldn't take any risks.

The only option left, which she was reluctant but had to accept, was to find a man to have sex with and let him ejaculate inside her.

If she's lucky, it might happen in one go.

She stepped out from the bathroom and rested on the bed with her husband's picture,"I am so sorry I went that far but trust me,I did this for you,I want you to live so please forgive me."

Liora needs to get pregnant by all means to back up her lies,she didn't want to just meet any male and have sex but ever since this idea came to her mind, she had someone in mind – and that person was none other than Leander's older brother, Dashiell.

The two of them share some resemblance in appearance, especially their eyes. Dashiell's eyes are colder, while Leander's always appear gentle and warm.

If it's Dashiell, the child would surely bear some resemblance to Leander.

She was so restless and walked back to the bathroom, immediately she finished washing her face, she stared at herself in the mirror for a while. After taking a deep breath, she took out her phone and messaged Dashiell: [Brother, do you have some time? I need your help with something.] "I can't believe I will be doing this,there is no going back now."

The Abernathy family started their business with jewelry in Spain and later moved to Italy, establishing a chain of jewelry stores. When Dashiell took over, the first thing he did was to create a unique brand 'marry me'. They even got a popular actor to endorse it, making it instantly recognizable nationwide.

Currently, 'marry me' has over two hundred stores in major cities. Every time Liora passes through the city center, she sees the advertisement on the scrolling screen: [Love one person, be loyal to one person.]

Would the person who created such a loyal brand agree to such an absurd request?

Liora was uncertain.

She had almost no bargaining chips.

She could only gamble – gamble on Dashiell's brotherly love for Leander and hope he wouldn't turn a blind eye.

Just before six in the evening, Dashiell finally called. His voice was indifferent, "What's the matter?"

"I... want to talk to you in person,it's really important." Hearing his voice, Liora immediately thought of his usual cold demeanor at home, with eyes that often looked indifferent. If you accidentally made eye contact, you'd feel an unprecedented sense of oppression.

"I'll wait for you in your office. After you're done with your work, it won't take too much of your time."

Dashiell responded with a simple "okay" and hung up. Liora was dazed for a while before snapping back to reality.

"I hope he doesn't decline,if he loves his brother,he will agree to have sex with me to get me pregnant,gosh what kind of a woman am I becoming?"

TBC

Sitting on the bed, she found her fingers trembling. Without giving herself a chance to overthink, she grabbed some fresh clothes, headed to the bathroom, took a shower, blow-dried her hair, changed her clothes, and left the house.

Sable was in the kitchen with the newly hired family nutritionist preparing dinner. Seeing Liora rushing out, she followed, "Mrs. Liora, where are you going? Dinner isn't ready yet!"

"I'm not hungry yet, I'll eat when I get back."

"But it isn't right for you to step out on an empty stomach."

"Like I said,when I return,I am going to eat."

Liora got into the car and told the driver, "Go to the office."

The driver was personally chosen by Dashiell, a man of few words. Upon hearing the address Liora gave, he started the car without a second word and drove directly into the underground parking lot of the company.

The elevator to the CEO's office required fingerprint access. Liora took the staff elevator, checked in at the reception desk first, probably as instructed by Dashiell and his assistant. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, a familiar male assistant was waiting by the elevator door.

"Welcome Mrs Liora,come with me please!"

"Thank you."

He respectfully led her into the special elevator for the leaders on the left, scanned his fingerprint, and the elevator went straight up, stopping at the 26th floor.

The top floor of the building.

"Thank you once more," Liora said politely.

"You're welcome." The assistant's name was Calix. Apart from him, there was a personal assistant named Gideon and a special assistant named Finlo. Outside the CEO's office, there were also two female secretaries responsible for answering internal calls and printing documents.

Outside the CEO's office was a semi-circular working area. The two female secretaries were busy working. After greeting Liora, they immediately lowered their heads to continue their work. The phone rang incessantly, but they were organized and efficient.

The pantry was spacious, with the aroma of coffee permeating the entire office floor. Next to the pantry were two lounges. What stood out from other companies was the lack of any green plants here.

"What would you like to drink?" Calix handed Liora a tablet, took her bag, and led her towards the office. "Please choose, I'll bring it to you shortly."

"Just warm water is fine, thank you." Liora glanced at the tablet. It listed over a dozen rare and precious teas on the market, each costing tens of thousands for just ten grams.

It wasn't just tea they were drinking; it was a display of wealth.

Liora stared at the warm water cups on the coffee table. The transparent glass cups were engraved with vintage patterns. She traced the patterns with her thumb. From the moment she entered the office, her heart was in turmoil.

She feared rejection, but she feared acceptance even more.

Regardless of the outcome, she wasn't willing.

"This was a mistake,I shouldn't be doing this!" She stood on her feet and planned to leave after spending an unknown amount of time but the sound of the door opening came from the entrance. Liora looked up and saw Dashiell just entering, making eye contact with her.

"I guess this is a sign for me to stay and do it,I can do this!!" She kept encouraging herself and returned to her sitting position maintaining a straight face.

Dashie was dressed in a black suit, with broad shoulders and long legs, exuding a dominating presence. The profile of his face was sharp as a knife, his eyes and eyebrows pitch black, and his lips were pursed straight, showing no extra emotion. He swept a glance back after lowering his eyelids, and the assistant understood, promptly closing the door behind him and leaving.

After the door closed, he finally walked towards her with long strides.

The familiar sense of oppression followed closely, and Liora's heart suddenly races.

Her ears buzzed, and all she could hear was the intense sound of her heart beating.

First came the cold scent of cedar, followed by the lingering smell of tobacco on Dashiell, probably from a client or from him spending a long time outside. The smell was faint and not overpowering.

Liora lifted her eyes slightly. Dashiell had already sat on the other side of the sofa. He unfastened his cufflinks, turned his face slightly, his eyelids slightly raised, waiting for her to speak first.

The words she had prepared so many times felt stuck in her throat. She fidgeted with the glass in her hand, swallowed hard, and said, "I..."

Dashiell unfastened his second cufflink, didn't look at her, just checked his wristwatch, a silent hint.

It was as if he was indicating his patience was running out.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me despite your busy schedule!!" She said politely avoiding his eyes but getting no answers from him made her a bit uncomfortable.

"I want to ask for your help..." She finally forced herself to look directly into his eyes. The pounding of her heart was too loud, and she could barely hear herself speak, repeating the same words, "I know it might sound crazy but I need a child."

Dashiell's face showed no emotion, just a slight furrowing of his brow, his pitch-black eyes staring at her, his tone calm, "A child? What does a child have to do with me? Stop beating around the bush and cut to the chase,stop wasting my time,time is precious to me."

"I need you to give me a child!!" Thinking of Leander, Liora suddenly calmed down, "You know, Leander is desperate to die, his will to live is weak. The doctors say that this is not good for his recovery, he needs to adjust his mindset as soon as possible... I lied to him that I am pregnant, so he has the motivation to live."

"I know, even if he recovers, he won't be able to become a father."

"He has always hoped to have a child. I want to fulfill his wish." Thinking of Leander crying on the hospital bed, her heart ached unbearably. With a pleading tone mixed with indescribable bitterness, she said, "So, I came to you, hoping you could help me."

Silence filled the air.

Dashiell stared at her without saying a word.

His eyes were very dark, the brow ridge descended straight down from his brow bone without any curves, giving off an overwhelming sense of pressure. His features were more refined than Leander's, with a sharp and elegant appearance in his suit. The aura he emitted was aloof and proud, his expression always cold, appearing indifferent.

Just like now.

Liora wasn't afraid of him, but she couldn't communicate with him calmly. Even if they were sitting at the same table for a meal, she would try to avoid eye contact with him.

Some people naturally exude a strong presence, even their peripheral vision carries a sense of aggression, just like Dashiell.

He just raised his eyes, and his dominating aura filled the room, "Enough of your narration,this is not an orphanage,how do you expect me to give you one? This is a total waste of time"

She hesitated for a moment, blinked her eyes in disbelief, opened her mouth slightly but made no sound.

"It's just..." She took a deep breath, plucked up her courage, and said, "Be with me..."

She couldn't bring herself to say that word, her face turned red with embarrassment, and she lowered her head.

"What??" He stood up with rage and she felt it in his aura,but she wasn't willing to give up.

"It's your younger brother we are talking about here so please do this favor for us,I beg you."

"I see you have lost your senses,I will pretend I didn't hear anything from you and we never met today so leave at once!!!"

"Brother, please,you are the only hope I have right now,I don't want to lose him please!! Just this one once!!" She went on her knees pleading.

Things didn't go right for Liora,she returned home and couldn't even eat more than four spoons from her meal. She locked herself in the room thinking of what she is going to do now he rejected her,does this mean he hates his brother? Why didn't he consider the fact that his brother will live with this as the only hope.

The following day,Dashiell finished a few meetings with some top clients, and his secretary informed him his next schedule was to see his younger brother at the hospital.

He arrived at the hospital and watched his brother who looked a bit bright despite being in pain, he managed to say a few words to him, "Brother,I will be a father soon!!" the only words he could say at that moment.

"Congratulations!!" He said briefly.

He didn't waste any more time immediately after he finished seeing the doctors in charge. He took note of his mother having a phone conversation talking about Liora pregnancy with excitement.

He returned to the office and saw Liora still waiting for him.

He gave a deadly glare to the others that came in with him to give him some privacy. Dashiel was someone with no emotions,he cares about his brother but his cold nature has eaten the best of him already.

"Do you want your younger brother to die?" Liora braces herself up just to face him.

"He is your only brother and you are going to let him die? All I ask for is for you to give me a child."

He kept her mute, walked to the fridge in his office,he brought out a bottle of whiskey and took a shot of it.

Liora thinking of her dying husband at the hospital gave her more hopes not to quit now,she got this and won't leave without him accepting. She took out a box from her bag. Inside was a ruby given by her mother-in-law Fiammetta during their wedding. Fiammetta had always favored Leander and had given him a unique red ruby, saying it was meant to be passed down through generations and given to Liora's future daughter-in-law.

"This is for you." She approached the desk quickly as Dashiell sat down. She opened the box and placed the red ruby on the table, "I know this request is absurd, I know... but I have no other options, I can only... I can only do this... Please, brother..."

Dashiell stared at the ruby on the table, his emotions hard to discern.

The ruby passed down through the Abernathy family was unique, and Fiammetta's favoritism towards Leander had reached an extreme. Even though it was Dashiell who had built up the Abernathy family's fortune, all her affection was given to Leander. Liora loved Leander to the bone, and she was willing to do this unethical thing for him.

He suddenly wondered what expression Fiammetta would make if she found out the truth.

"Let's play a game!"

Liora was confused,this was a serious issue and all he could say after all her talking was for them to play a game.

"What game?"

"Say yes master I want to play."Dashiell looked at Liora, his pitch-black gaze seemingly substantial, piercing straight into her heart, "Yes Master,I want to play,I am ready to do anything as long as you consider my request.."

"You have five minutes,turn me on!!"

He seemed to be teasing her on purpose.

But Liora saw no hint of jest in his face.

She was pleading for something, with no room for negotiation. He also set a time limit, only giving her five minutes to arouse him. Her brain was suppressed by the time constraint, unable to release even the excess embarrassment and tension. She hesitated for a few seconds and then moved in front of him.

Dashiell sat in his office chair. Even in a relaxed posture, he still emanate an undeniable sense of oppression. His two long legs, encased in suit trousers, bent, the firm muscles beneath clearly outlined through the thin fabric.

She knelt down and reached for the zipper of his trousers.

She rarely did this kind of thing. Most of her intimate moments with Leander were initiated by him. Kissing, hugging, touching – he provided ample foreplay, tenderly and meticulously attending to all her feelings. Even when she offered to perform oral sex on him, he always declined, out of concern for her feelings.

As soon as her fingers touched his trousers, Dashiell brushed her hand away, perhaps only her index finger had made contact. His body temperature was much higher than hers; his fingertips were warm, but his voice was icy cold: "Pleasure yourself."

"What?" Liora looked at him in confusion, thinking he wanted her to help him with oral sex.

But that wasn't the case.

Pleasure herself?

How?

She looked at him, almost in disbelief. His features were sharp, his skin cold and pale. The motion of tilting his face accentuated his straight and handsome jawline. His pupils were dark, but his emotions seemed light. His thin lips moved, and his textured voice carried a hint of mockery, "How on earth did you seduce my brother into marrying you?Don't you know how to seduce men?" She felt hurt by his statement but there is no room to argue with him.

Understanding what he meant, a minute had passed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, removing her long skirt, followed by her pure white underwear. Initially feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable, under Dashiell's indifferent gaze, she slowly released her hands again, forcing herself to calmly remove her panties.

Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, a strand falling over her chest, vaguely revealing a pink tip in the center of her breast. Her breasts were peach-shaped, full and round, glowing white. The tender flesh of her breasts swayed with the movement of her removing her panties.

She had a great figure, curvy in the right places, a slim waist, and long legs. Her legs were exceptional, straight and slender. Even her toes were exquisitely beautiful. Although she wore no nail polish, her natural pink nails made her feet look exceptionally appealing.

After removing her panties, she covered her lower body with her hand, residual shame taking over. She closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself, and finally removed her hand. She was naturally hairless, and her clean lower body revealed a reddish slit between her tightly closed legs.

There was no time.

Liora recalled her intimate moments with Leander, imagining the man sitting opposite her was Leander. She slowly reached out with one hand, grasping her breast and began to rub it. With her other hand, she touched herself, forcing herself to approach Dashiell and get closer to him.

She perched on her tiptoes on his desk, opened her legs and stepped onto his office chair, exposing herself completely. She then lightly touched herself with her finger, gathering some wetness and spreading it along her pussy.

Her body felt nothing, just mechanically rubbing her flesh.

Until Dashiell raised his wrist to check his watch, "One minute left."

Liora finally tensed up, fearing the opportunity would slip away. In her haste, she sat on Dashiell's lap. His hand was against her inner thigh. She tried to move away, but in her attempt to avoid his hand, she unknowingly shifted her hips, positioning herself against his hand.

Dashiell felt a warm, damp sensation on his palm. Liora moved her hips, rubbing against his hand as she leaned on his shoulders with her hands, her eyes inevitably meeting his dark, deep eyes.

That's when the pleasure hit.

Dashiell's thumb brushed against her sensitive spot, and the coldness of his wristwatch followed by the warmth made her body respond. He rubbed a few times, and soon her wetness coated his entire palm. As Dashiell pulled his hand away, she urgently grabbed it, panting, "Brother..."

She should be begging him to give her a baby, or not to take his hands off her. She felt so ashamed because she was about to commit a grave sin,having sex with her husband's elder brother.

"Forty seconds left!!"

Liora's heart fluttered, and not caring anymore, she grabbed Dashiell's right hand and pressed it against her breasts. As she repositioned herself in the palm of his left hand, unprecedented nervousness and panic made her movements unruly. She shrugged twice and then stopped, grabbing his fingers and standing them up. Slowly, her thin, narrow pussy pressed against one of his fingers.

Her vagina was hot, wet, and tight. With only one finger inside, she frowned with difficulty.

Their bodies were close together, and their lines of sight inevitably collided. She looked into his eyes without hiding. She wanted to say, "Please have sex with me once," but she couldn't get the words out. Seeing that time was running out, she urgently called out to him again, "Brother..."

Oddly enough, Dashiell was reacting at that moment. He even raised his eyebrows a few times imperceptibly.

The crotch encased in his suit trousers bulged and swelled with unstoppable speed. Liora felt the searing heat through it. She didn't reach out to probe, but it was obvious to the naked eye that Dashiell was aroused.

The crotch was stretched into a noticeable bulge.

"Can you consider my request now?" She didn't fidget, still with his finger inside her, and she looked straight at him when she asked, not blinking.

Dashiell didn't show any emotional changes on his face, even when aroused. His extreme three-dimensional skeletal profile gave him a strong sense of aggression. When he raised his eyes slightly, the oppressive feeling forced Liora to hold her breath.

"Yes, but I'll set the rules."

From the moment she made this choice, Liora had no room for maneuver. As long as Dashiell agreed, she was unconditionally willing to do whatever he asked. In her mind, Leander's life was more important than anything else.

She let out a shallow breath, allowing her previously tense nerves to relax a little before she spoke, "Go ahead,state your rules."

He spanked her ass hard making her scream,"When you speak to me,add master."

"Yes master,state your rules!" She got frightened but didn't show it.

"In bed, obey me in every way." Dashiell pulled his finger out of her, his fingertips stained with her wetness. He looked askance at the wetness, his eyelids flicking up, his tone carrying an imperious commanding tone, "Anytime, anywhere, on call, until you get pregnant and then you can end the rules."

Liora's purpose was to get pregnant, and she nodded without objection, "Yes Master."

"Now bark like a dog!!" He gave his order.