Chapter 006

~LANA~

When we got to Dax's meeting venue, he took my hand and boldly walked with me in the boardroom.

His father and brother were there. Together with a group of boardroom members who lifted their eyes and studied me carefully as I walked in with Dax.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My apologies for being late. You know how it is living with a woman. They take time getting ready," Dax chuckled softly as he helped me to sit down.

The people in the boardroom chuckled.

"Oh. This is my wife, Lana." He finally introduced me, taking my hand into his and kissing it.

If that was not all a pretense, I had to commend Dax for being such a perfect gentleman and husband.

He knew exactly how to make me feel like a lady and make people envious of our union.

A part of me wished to find something as beautiful as our fake marriage someday.

"We are pleased to meet you, Lana. Though you and I have made acquaintance, I believe that everyone here is also pleased to know you as my son's wife." His father answered.

His father was such an exceptionally good man, according to the articles that I read about him.

He was a widowed man who lost his wife during the birth of Xavier many years ago.

So, he took it upon himself to raise his sons all by himself and never reconsidered to marry again because Judith Salvatore was the love of his life.

They were high school sweethearts and married before Dax's father became rich and became a very well-known businessperson.

They were the envy of many and an example of how true love conquers all.

Everyone in town knew their story and how Dax and Xavier were raised by two amazing lovebirds.

People hoped that the two boys would follow in their parent's footsteps and be hopeless lovers, but the opposite happened to them.

They found pleasure in dating different women occasionally and hardly committing themselves to any of them.

No wonder their father wanted Dax to marry before he could hand over his company to him.

I made sure to read all about the Salvatore family so that I would not be in the dark about their history and how Dax's father became the great businessperson that he was.

It made sense that I had to know about them since Dax and I had known each other for a year or more, according to our contract marriage.

"We are very pleased to know you, sister-in-law," Xavier smirked. My tummy got butterflies.

For a moment, I remembered Xavier's lips on mine.

The vivid memory of him groaning as he was thrusting inside me made my heart race.

I felt my throat getting dry, and I swallowed hard. It was such a bad idea that he had to be here.

"Thank you all. I am very pleased to meet you," I finally answered.

"And now, to the agenda of the meeting," Dax's father straightened up and fixed his tie. "I am appointing my son, Dax, as the next CEO after I leave for my retirement in 2 days," he continued.

Everyone cheered and clapped their hands. Dax squeezed my hand and looked incredibly pleased with himself.

It was obvious how much this meant to him that he decided to get a fake wife to get his father to hand over his company to him.

"But there is a catch, Dax," his father interrupted.

We all looked at him. Shocked as we anticipated to hear the condition.

Dax let go of my hand as he looked at his father.

I looked at him and saw that he was now holding his breath.

He looked at his father, and his eyes almost looked teary, but it could have also been from the angle I was looking at him.

His brother, Xavier, was crossing his arms. Looking at their father without any worry in the world.

He always looked like he got everything figured out. I could not even read his mind or know what he was thinking.

"I will need you and your wife to bear me a grandchild within a year," his father stated the condition.

I gasped and looked at Dax in total shock. Dax squirmed in his chair and cleared his throat.

"I beg your pardon, Father?" He looked distorted just like I was.

We might have misheard him for some reason, which was for sure because there was no way that Dax could include a baby in our contract.

Besides, I had heart problems and needed to get that fixed within a year.

"Yes, son. I will need a grandchild from you and Lana here. This is to ensure that another generation carries on our name and legacy. And if you two produce an heir for me, I will give all my shares of the company to you, even after I have retired." His father explained.

I could not believe what I had just heard. This was absurd, and it was not what I signed up for.

There was no way that I was going to carry a child and bear Dax an heir for him to inherit his father's shares. What about me?

I signed a contract to be his wife, and that was not going to change.

If he needed a child, he had to sign another contract with someone else to get that child.

As soon as the meeting was over, I got up from the chair and rushed to the restroom to catch my breath.

I felt like I was suffocating in that room and could not breathe.

It felt like my lungs were being sucked out of air. I could not believe what I had gotten myself into.

I stood in front of the mirror in the restroom and stared at myself. Lost in thought.

I was wondering how I even got myself into such a situation.

I needed the money, yes. And I was in desperate need of it, but this was not what I signed up for.

Having a baby for Dax was not part of the plan.

I needed to think. Of anything I could do. Because there was no way that I was going to get pregnant for Dax.

Not when it was going to put my life in danger and ruin everything for me.

In just a few seconds, the door in the restroom creaked open, and I gasped in shock when I saw Dax.

"We need to talk," he walked closer to me.

I took a deep breath as I looked at him. "Your father was joking, wasn't he?"

He sighed. "This means everything to me, Lana. I worked my ass off for years to get where I am today, and I can not just lose it over some kid."

I scoffed. "What are you trying to say to me?"

"You only have to think about it. I will double the amount if you have a baby with me." He answered.

He gave me a tiny nod, turned on his way, and left the restroom. I stood there, speechless.

I didn't want to admit to myself that I had failed to get myself a new heart to live.

If I could not give Dax the baby his father wanted, there was no telling what he was going to do with our contract.

He had every right to terminate it and get someone else for the contract.

Just when I was heading out of the restroom, Xavier was at the door. Looking down at me with those bedroom eyes.

Gosh, he was at the wrong place and at the wrong time. With just a look like that from him, I would strip naked and let him do whatever he wanted to do with me.

"Can I pass, please?" I asked, out of breath.

"I thought I'd never see you again, Lana. When I left college, I never thought I would see you again," he said lustfully, looking at my breasts.

I swallowed. Crossed my arms across my chest and looked him in the eye. "I'm married to your brother now."

He chuckled softly. "Come on, do you think I do not know that you're on a contract marriage with him?"

"Either way, he is my husband on paper," I answered, hoping that it was not obvious that my heart was beating fast against my chest in his presence.

He stepped even closer to me. Closing the little gap between us, my hands loosened from my chest and fell on the sides.

It was annoying how weak I was when he was near me. It was as if I could not think when he was that close to me.

I felt trapped by his gaze and had nowhere to run and escape him.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "I still remember how you taste. I hope you remember my length inside you."

"I forgot everything about you," I replied to him.

He scoffed. "Oh. So, tell me... Why is your heart beating fast?"

"There is nothing wrong with the way my heart is beating," I tried to convince myself and him.

"That's not true, and you know it. You still feel it, too, Lana. And you know that's true."

He looked into my eyes for a minute, smirked, and walked out of the restroom.

For the longest second, I could not breathe. It was impossible to breathe when I could remember exactly how Xavier's strokes used to feel inside me.

And I stood there, thinking of what I was going to do.

'How am I going to ignore my feelings for Dax's brother and have his baby?'