Arouse Me

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city's steel forest glittered in the night. Rush hour traffic moved below like rivers of light, showing off the city's wealth.

Inside, the silence was suffocating.

Adrian leaned back in his chair, gesturing for Christine to sit across from his desk. He unbuttoned his cuff, set down his pen, waiting for her to speak.

"I..."

Christine gripped the chair's edge. All her rehearsed words stuck in her throat.

Her request was too absurd, too impossible to voice.

He didn't respond, just glanced at his watch - a silent reminder that his patience had limits.

Seconds ticked by. Christine knew she wouldn't get another chance like this. Gathering her courage, she lowered her head, her black hair falling softly over her shoulders. "I want to save Ethan... I want you to give me a child."

Her carefully chosen words came out slowly, her heart nearly bursting.

"A child?"

Adrian's expression didn't change, but a crease formed between his brows, his long fingers pausing on the document.

"Yes." Thoughts of Ethan steadied her. She looked at Adrian earnestly. "The doctors say Ethan has twelve months at most. He's refusing treatment, won't wait for bone marrow matches. He's asking for euthanasia. Rebecca and I tried everything, but nothing works."

"Ethan always wanted children. He loved them, dreamed of being a father."

"I thought if I could give him a child, fulfill his dream of fatherhood, he might not give up... So yesterday, I lied. I told him I was pregnant. That's the only thing giving him the will to live."

She didn't mention how the child might be a match for Ethan. That felt too selfish - parental love should be unconditional.

"I know even if he recovers, he can't father children anymore."

Remembering Ethan's tears in those eyes that had always looked at her with such love, Christine's heart ached unbearably. Her plea carried profound sadness: "So... I'm asking for your help."

Adrian just stared at her, like a predator studying prey in an arena.

His jawline was sharp, his nose straight, radiating elite authority. But his eyes were too cold, emotions hidden under deep-set brows. His whole being emanated proud isolation - so different from his brother.

The art world's god was himself a work of art.

Christine wasn't exactly afraid of him. They were just in-laws who'd never really talked before today. But Adrian's presence was so cold that at family gatherings, she'd always kept her distance, avoiding even eye contact.

Just sitting there, he radiated an authority she couldn't face directly.

After a brief silence, Adrian tapped the desk. "Help, how?"

"..."

Christine froze. She hadn't expected such a direct question.

Fighting her embarrassment, her cheeks burning red, she stammered: "Please, please…"

"...make love with me."

The huge office fell dead silent, as if all air had been sucked out.

Christine sat there like on pins and needles, head still down.

Seconds later, she heard Adrian stand up and walk to the coffee table, pouring himself coffee.

Over the sound of brewing coffee and her racing heart, he spoke: "Leave now, and I'll forget this happened."

"Adrian... please!"

Christine jumped up. She'd expected rejection, but not so bluntly. She couldn't blame him for being "heartless" - her request was shocking. But she couldn't give up while any hope remained.

"I... I..."

Flustered but forcing herself to stay calm, she pulled out a box from her purse and held it out to Adrian. Under his indifferent gaze, she carefully opened it, revealing a palm-sized, pure gold Baroque clock.

"Your mother gave this to me at my wedding. It's yours now... you know its value."

"I... I'm desperate. Maybe you think I'm disgusting. Yes, I am... but I really... please, Adrian, save Ethan, save our family."

Adrian's eyes narrowed, the golden clock reflecting in his gray pupils.

Of course he recognized it - a 10:1 replica of Fabergé's Peter the Great timepiece. 

Pure gold, fewer than ten pieces worldwide, practically priceless. 

More importantly, it was once the Blackwood Group's collection. His father treasured it during his European years. 

After the divorce, Rebecca got it. Though she had no power in the family, her love for her younger son was unmatched. She'd given away her most precious possession. The pure gold symbolized Ethan's heritage, the clock matched Christine's mathematics background. 

Like time, their love was meant to be eternal.

Everyone loved Ethan.

Their mother saw him as her precious jewel, and his wife... would even do something this morally wrong for him.

Suddenly, Adrian felt curious.

If he agreed to his sister-in-law's absurd request, how would Rebecca react? 

His mother, who doted on his brother... what expression would she make?

Just as Christine was about to break into desperate tears, Adrian's cold voice cut through the silence: "I'll agree."

"But I have a condition."

...Condition?

Before Christine could think, his eyes pierced straight through her like arrows through her heart: "Five minutes. If you can arouse me, I'll agree to your request."