Chapter 1

"You don't ever give up, do you?" Avery crossed her arms and looked up at the man in a blue tuxedo, who had yet again waited for her in front of her company building like he had done every day for the past two weeks.

No matter how many times she pretended not to have noticed him or outrightly ignored him, Markus would show up the next day, all dressed up and with a fresh bouquet of flowers in his hands.

The man smiled through his handsome lips and closed in on her. He felt as though he had finally accomplished a great feat since she had finally spared him a glance. Heaven knew how embarrassed he was to be ignored by the same woman every day despite his vehement pursuit.

"Haven't you heard of the saying? There isn't any such thing as giving up when pursuing a beautiful woman—especially one as beautiful as you." He smiled as he offered the large bouquet or white and red roses which were still dripping with dew.

She waved at her assistant to take the bouquet and didn't spare it a glance, and her assistant received it from the man and went to find a place to keep it.

The man frowned slightly at her spiteful gesture but cleared his throat. "I'll get out of your hair if you have dinner with me."

"Mr. Blanc, I am a busy woman." She had the urge to roll her eyes. Why did everyone like to assume that she had all the time in the world to give in to their whims and wants?

"Well, then you can continue to have me as a hair accessory. I was starting to think that you didn't want me waiting for you anymore." Came his sneaky words.

She sucked in a breath as she checked the time. "One dinner and you will get the hell out of my life. Deal?"

"Deal." He agreed even though he didn't mean it. How could he get out of her life when he had waited for this chance ever since he first saw her? It was even more convenient that their parents thought of them as a perfect match and had been pestering him to pursue her so they could be together. If she blamed him for not leaving her alone later, he could simply pin the blame on her parents.

She gave her assistant some instructions and followed Markus into the bugatti veyron that was parked outside the office building of Vaillant Telecommunications.

"Why do beautiful women like to stay single?" He checked her out with a side glance as he started the car. She possesed a beautiful face that every woman was jealous of and every man wanted to worship. Her blue eyes made it seem like she looked down on every living creature on the earth's surface but no one could blame her for that. She was, after all, one of the most talented businesswomen in Olphire. Her telephone production and telecommunications empire was unrivaled in the whole country and she was said to be able to earn millions within the time she took to take a short power nap.

She was almost always busy, which might explain why she took out her laptop to continue working soon after entering his car.

That didn't sit well with him—since she might as well be doing that to ignore him—so he asked through a joke, "Do beautiful and capable women look down on men? Is it because you think you are too good for anyone to deserve you?"

She stopped typing whatever she was typing and tilted her head to him, her blue eyes not flinching as she enunciated each of her words. "It's because we are certain that no man deserves us."

"How can you say that? My heart is broken." He did not expect her to be so sharp tongued.

Hearing his complaint, she let off a snicker as a slight frown formed on her beautiful face. "Isn't that what you wanted me to say?"

He pulled over into a nearby restaurant and stopped the car. Before he could get down to help her out, she had long gotten off on her own and stood aside. His throat bobbed. "Well, I prefer a fiesty miss tycoon, I guess. It's a total upgrade, much better than being forced to marry a dumped bride."

"Mmh." Her response was a hum of disinterest, and he thought she would not say anything else until he heard her ask, "A dumped bride?"

His eyebrows raised in intrigue. Was she jealous? He had simply mentioned it in passing and thought that she wouldn't pay attention to a word he said. As expected, women were all the same in this aspect. They would never tolerate it if the man who liked them got close to another woman, even if they didn't like him back. Of course, he was happy that she was jealous so he briefly explained, "My parents tried to match me up with a woman I didn't like. Her husband-to-be dumped her on her wedding day. I was disgusted as soon as I lay my eyes on her."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she started walking into the restaurant.

"Forgive my manners." He quickly caught up so he would lead the way. At the same time he continued telling his tale. "Don't worry, I have no interest in used goods."

"Used goods." She repeated his words in a tone he could not quite place, and he assumed it to be jealousy.

"Yeah, you know, a woman who has been with someone else." He explained. "They were even about to get married so heaven knows how far the relationship had progressed. Who would want to accidentally end up as the father of someone else's child?"

"You wouldn't father another man's child?" She asked in a casual tone, still keeping some distance between them which looked like she was his boss and he was her bodyguard-rendering him displeased.

"Count me out." He ignored her arrogance and explained his view, happy that she was finally interested in his likes and dislikes. "Only a scumbag would leave his child fatherless, and I wouldn't want to clean after the mess of a jerk."

"I see." She didn't ask anything else but she had a smile plastered on her pink lips. She must be impressed by him.

He had already reserved a table in the VIP section so he led her in.

As soon as she sat down, her phone rang and she had panic written all over her face when she answered it.

"I'll be right there." She answered whoever it was and hung up, standing at the same time. "Something happened at home. Sorry, I have to go."

"I'll drop you off." He was displeased about her leaving even before the meals were served but he grabbed the chance to be the hero to save the belle. He would later pester her to make up for the failed dinner and that would be a golden chance to get closer to her.

Her car was still at Vaillant Telecommunications and it would take time for the chauffeur to get here so she told him the address and rushed back into his car.

He didn't know what the emergency was but he floored the accelerator and ran several red lights to arrive at the villa complex within twenty minutes.

As soon as the car came to a stop, she jumped out and rushed into the house while he followed her in case she needed help.

"Baby! What happened to him?" He heard her panicked voice as he made his way through the door, making his heart skip a beat.

His throat tightened when he saw a little boy snuggling into Avery's arms while bawling his eyes out as she checked him all over in fright. "Baby, did something happen?" She asked worriedly.

"Mommy…" The little boy cried, and when Markus' eyes met his, he finally jolted from the trance caused by his shock.

Did that boy just call Avery… his mother?!

Avery had a son?!

No matter how much he hated it, he had to admit that they did look like a mother and her son.

She turned around to face him while patting the back of the crying boy, her lips raising on both sides. "What a coincidence, Markus Blanc. I wouldn't want you cleaning after the mess left behind by my scumbag. The door is right behind you, and I hope you don't appear at my company if you don't have official matters to talk about."

Hello Darlings, this is my new entry for Webnovel Spirity Awards 2021. I would appreciate your support.

If you fancy a hot romance with a pinch—or a few pinches—of fantasy, check out my other WSA Entry:

Reborn As The Daemon's Wife.

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