I was the ward of the Sterling family, taken in when I had nothing. During the time Julian Sterling was blind from a car accident, we had a chaotic, accidental one-night stand. I gave birth to his son, left the baby with the Sterling family as arranged, and fled the country. Julian became a single father without ever knowing who the mother was. Five years later, I returned and married him. Everyone says I’m generous and open-minded, willing to become a stepmother at such a young age. What they don’t know—what even Julian still doesn't know—is that I am the biological mother of his son, Joey. 1 It was lunch hour in the break room of Sterling Corp’s legal department. I stood by the counter, brewing coffee. A few colleagues were gossiping about the big boss, the company's young CEO. "I saw a wedding band on Mr. Sterling's ring finger two months ago." "The CEO got married? Just like that?" "It's a wealthy family thing. You think they'd send you an invite? It’s probably a private union." "I’m just curious what kind of woman could tame someone as cold as Julian Sterling. Maybe it’s a business merger." "But here's the kicker... his new wife is instantly a stepmom." Julian Sterling, the ruthless head of the group, is only twenty-seven. Young, capable, and intimidating. But everyone knows he has a five-year-old son. Mrs. Sterling, his mother, used to bring the boy to the office. He’s a carbon copy of Julian—undeniably his. Checking the timeline, Julian graduated from an Ivy League school the same year Joey was born. He became a father the moment he stepped out of university. He raised the boy alone. The mother’s identity has always been a mystery. One of the colleagues lowered her voice. "Forget the new wife. I’m more curious about the bio-mom. What kind of woman had the power to make Julian Sterling a dad at twenty-two?" Just as I stepped out of the break room, my manager called out, "Joanna, grab your files. We have a meeting upstairs." 2 I returned to the States about three months ago. One month later, I married Julian. It wasn't a business merger. I was adopted into the family, and Julian's mother adored me. She was the one who insisted Julian marry me. To keep our professional lives separate, almost no one at the company knew about our relationship. Upstairs in the conference room, I stood in high heels at the front, presenting a risk assessment report. Seated at the head of the table was a man in an impeccably tailored suit. He was handsome, dignified, and radiated a cold, untouchable aura. His gaze barely lingered on me. To the room, we were strangers. But after work, inside the Maybach leaving the underground garage, we sat side-by-side in the back seat. When we got home, Joey wasn't there. "Where's the kid?" I asked the butler. Julian, handing his jacket to the staff, answered in a low voice, "Mom took him to the Estate. He’s not coming back tonight." Not coming back. Late that night, I walked out of the bathroom after a shower. Julian was leaning against the headboard. Unlike his flawless corporate persona, his hair was half-dry, one long leg bent at the knee, his posture lazy. He wore dark silk pajamas, the top button undone, hinting at the firm muscle beneath. By day, Julian is so ascetic it feels like a sin to look at him too long. You’d think a face that cold couldn't possibly show lust. I used to think that too. But after two months of marriage, I learned that Julian has desires. Dominant ones. He glanced at me, setting his tablet on the nightstand. As he leaned over me in bed, he didn't start immediately. instead, he asked, "Has Mom been pressuring you for a baby lately?" My silence was my answer. "Your body is your choice," he said bluntly. "If you want one, I’ll cooperate completely. If you don’t, I’ll shut my parents down." We’d never spoken so plainly about this. Years ago, when I was still just the "little sister" visiting on weekends, he’d ask about my college grades. Now, he was asking if I wanted to breed. The jump was too big. My face heated up. Thinking of Joey, I shook my head. "I don't want one yet." "Alright." Julian reached for the protection. Later, when the sensation became too intense, I tilted my head back, bit my lip, and accidentally let the old nickname slip out. "Brother... please, stop." Julian paused. He had been burying his face in the crook of my sweaty neck. He lifted his head, kissed my lips, and whispered my name, his voice dark and heavy. "Joanna." He ground my name between his teeth. "Don't call me that. It makes me feel like I'm committing a crime." Maybe it was the talk about children, but afterward, as he was cleaning up, he said, "You don't have to force yourself into the role of a stepmother. If you don't like Joey, or if you can't get along, don't force it." I refuted him instinctively. "I like Joey." "Oh?" Even Julian was surprised. I opened my heavy eyelids and tested the waters. "He's cute. Maybe one day his mother will regret leaving..." "Her existence," he cut me off, "served one purpose: providing biological material for Joey." I could feel the sudden oppression radiating from him in the dark. It was rare for Julian to lose his cool like this. Joey’s biological mother was his taboo. "She schemed against me to have that child," he said, his voice slow and dangerous. "I don't care who she is. She better never appear in front of me. If I ever find her... even if she's alive, I'll make her wish she wasn't." 3 When I was in middle school, my family went bankrupt. My parents fled the country and left me behind. Mrs. Sterling, an old friend of my mother’s, took me in. Julian is a year older than me. By the time of his car accident, I had been calling him "Brother" for seven years. The accident wasn't severe physically, but it caused a rare condition—nerve compression that led to temporary blindness. Doctors treated him for six months, but his sight didn't return. Julian became cold and volatile. The whole city whispered that the heir to the Sterling empire was now a cripple. Refusing to bow to reality, he attended a business gala. But without his usual sharp senses, he was drugged. He didn't know that his parents and I, worried about him, had followed him there. I sensed something was wrong and followed him into the resting suite to check on him. That’s when he pinned me down. It was my first time, and after he was done with me, I had a high fever for two days. In the chaos, I threw up the emergency contraceptive pill. When the pregnancy was discovered, the Sterlings almost knelt to beg me. If Julian never recovered, this child might be the family’s only future. Mrs. Sterling asked, "Joanna, you're gentle and caring. Would you stay with him?" Even blind, Julian was breathtakingly handsome. But when he heard the proposal, he shut it down. "Mom, we took her in to raise her as a daughter, not to groom a docile wife for me," he said firmly. "I watched Joanna grow up. I have no romantic feelings for her. She is my sister." "As for the girl from that night..." His expression turned ugly. "Is she dead yet?" He didn't know it was me. He only saw me as a sister. Even his parents didn't dare tell him the truth. Later, while I was hiding away to give birth, I heard about a brilliant young ophthalmologist, Dr. Lin, who spent six months by his side during rehab. Julian trusted her enough to let her perform a risky surgery. It worked. By the time Julian regained his sight, I had already fled abroad to continue my studies. Dr. Lin, despite being brilliant, was seven years older than Julian, who was only twenty-two at the time. His parents didn't approve. They simply presented the six-month-old Joey to Julian. Upon finding out Julian had a son, Dr. Lin quickly married someone else. No wonder he hated the mother of his child so much. Her existence had ruined his chance at love. As for why he married me years later? Probably his mother’s pressure. On our wedding night, I called him Brother. He told me to accept the shift in identity. He wasn't a monk; he wouldn't ignore his wife. The next morning, Joey was brought back. At the breakfast table, the boy glared at me. "Are you here to steal my dad?" "I won't like you. Ever." "Apologize," Julian said, setting down his fork. His eyes held paternal authority. "Where are your manners?" Joey stubbornly stayed silent. Julian ordered the driver to take him to school. I chased after them. "I'll drop him off." At the kindergarten gate, the boy finally spoke to me. "If I bother you guys, Vivi invited me to live at her house." I teased him. "Is Vivi the girl you like?" "I just like her mom," he whispered. "Her mom is a doctor. She's busier than my dad, but she picks Vivi up every day..." 4 That morning at the office, Nathan, the Associate Director of Tech, came over to say hello. Instantly, gossip spread. "Joanna, what's the deal with you and Nathan?! He's the company's 'High Mountain Flower'—Ivy League, successful, handsome. Even Wendy, the CEO's assistant, couldn't land him." I quickly denied everything. Nathan had pursued me when we were studying abroad, but I never agreed. At lunch, I sneaked into Julian’s office to avoid the crowd. He was working but ordered food when he saw me. After we ate, he went to the restroom to freshen up. When he came out, the atmosphere shifted. He pulled me onto his lap, not caring about wrinkling his suit pants. He covered my lips with his. It wasn't a gentle peck. His hand slid under the hem of my chiffon blouse, tucked tightly into my pencil skirt. I gasped against his mouth, glancing at the floor-to-ceiling windows. The blinds were down, and the door was locked. By the time he let me go, I was limp. He wrapped his suit jacket around me. Leaning on his shoulder, I heard him whisper, "Go to the lounge?" I bit his neck lightly, leaving a shallow mark. "We both have meetings this afternoon. Don't go too far." He stroked my waist. "We're newlyweds. Whatever I do to my wife is justified." I was still getting used to the word wife. "Are there people lining up to court my wife at the company?" he asked casually. He had heard about Nathan. "He's just a senior from my university days." Julian paused. "Who else did you know during those years abroad?" I didn't understand. "I know I have no right to ask," he said slowly. "And I don't have some virginity complex. But I still want to know." "Joanna... who was your first man?"
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