The unfavorable deal

Nicholas Kurt sat in his office after calling both his sons many times yet no answer. A bitter-sweet day today seemed to be, to relive past memories, one was the birth of his sons and the other was the death of his formally beloved wife.

For the past five years, Nicholas had been separated from his sons due to a misunderstanding he was not ready to make right.

However, it's almost time to hand over the reins of his Kurt corporation since he has to think of retirement.

Yet, he had no idea how to convince either of his sons to take over as heir to the Kurt Corporation and continue the family business.

After the unfortunate incident with Rachel, their Nanny's disappearance ten years ago, his relationship with his sons hadn't been that great.

Even though Nicholas knew why his sons distanced themselves away from him or never set foot inside the Kurt Mansion, all because of the sudden suspension of his handiwork regarding Rachel's sudden disappearance.

And it didn't help when they later blamed him for being the reason behind her abandoning them, which may be true.

He was to blame for giving Clara all the liberty to do as she pleased.

Even he himself had no idea how and why Rachel left, and he didn't bother to find the truth behind it.

Clara made him believe that Rachel threatened her for money after finding out the truth behind the twins' birth, so she paid her for her silence and Rachel left on her own, which he doubted but didn't pay any attention to.

But it's been long enough! How long would both his sons hold unto these anger and accusations of the past?

Especially when he thought time would settle matters, but it was rather getting worse.

"How long?" Nicholas uttered with a sigh.

He reached for the telecom on his table to signal his secretary who came rushing into the office after a single ring.

She knew from experience never to keep her boss waiting. Especially since he had been in an awful mood lately, as this particular day approached... His deceased wife died.

And also, the foul relationship between his wife and sons.

"Yes sir...you called for me!" Anita uttered upon arrival before her boss.

"Find out today's schedule of both my sons and report to me immediately." Nicholas ordered sternly.

"Yes sir...right away!" Anita moved to hurry towards her order and shut the door quietly behind her.

These were a frequent occurrence among the countless attempts Nicholas had tried to bring his family together through a family dinner at the Kurt Mansion on his sons' birthdays, and that too seemed to be difficult.

And he knew this time around wouldn't be different from his past measures.

Moreover, Clara his wife, doesn't seem to be making an effort to make it easier. She still had no idea how to be a real mother to his sons after all these years.

"Oh, Caroline...Did we make a mistake in choosing Clara as a mother for our sons.?" Nicholas whispered to himself deeply in thought.

Even though he can't disclose the truth behind the real reason he married Clara, which might end with both his sons getting hurt and maybe, create further distance away than it already was at the moment.

However, if not for his solemn promise to his wife Caroline, he wouldn't have looked any woman in the eyes after her death, and Caroline knew that.

That was why she forced him into getting married to Clara on her deathbed, and he had also promised to abide by it because he knew the logic behind the reason Caroline proposed that...For their sons to have a mother.

Until now, Nicholas had never disclosed to his sons the real truth behind their birth and he would love to keep it that way.

Caroline...his first wife!

The thoughts of her still brought tears to his eyes. Even after twenty-two years after her death, her memories were still fresh in his mind.

As a once notorious and ruthless business legend of the Kurt corporation whose business rivals were always awestruck at him as an opponent in the competitive business world, and growing up in the bosom of his reputable parents,

Nicholas met his deceased wife...Caroline through an arranged marriage with his parents.

Well, it was more like a forced marriage to reap business benefits with the Billionaire Walker Empire, since his parents threatened him into getting married or lose his position in the company.

Meanwhile, he was then in an intimate relationship with Clara Johnson since his college days and wanted to marry her.

He and Clara were so much in love until his parents deny his relationship with her and proposed to marry Caroline, who was the adopted daughter of the Walker Empire.

He could understand why his parents denied his relationship with Clara, but they claimed Clara was ambitious and appeared like a gold digger, which he strongly denied since he was sure of Clara's love for him.

However, Nicholas was so blinded by his love for Clara he could barely see her true nature, and he couldn't see it from his parents' perspective until he tried to test her with a breakup, and he used the marriage proposal to Caroline to his advantage in testing her.

One faithful day, he surprised Clara to dinner to push through with his test.

"I would lose my position if I do not marry her...do you want that?" Nicholas uttered calmly, looking attentively at Clara's reaction.

The expression on Clara's face suddenly changed from her innocent nature to irritation which he understood.

"They are your parents and there is no way they would stick to that threat since you are an only child. Who else would they give your position other than yourself!" Clara argued, suddenly angry at him for what he just told her.

"But still I can't go against my parents! I am sorry but this relationship is going nowhere!.." Nicholas emphasized.

"What! What do you mean by that...Are you breaking up with me? I thought you loved me." Clara stood up in anger to confront him.

"Do you mean all these years I invested my time in you was all in vain? Someone else would reap all the benefits as your wife and not me?" Clara didn't realize what she just said until it registered after the words were out of her mouth.

Nicholas was shocked at the tone of her voice. It wasn't like the innocent Clara he knew all these years.

Benefits eh! So she was only with him because of the benefits she would reap out of his background. His parents were right all along.

But why didn't he ever see it?

Nicholas was so hurt as his thoughts rendered him speechless.

It was true what his parents meant by Clara being a gold digger..she wasn't worried about losing him or their relationship. All she cared about was the benefits she would get in the long run as the wife of the heir to the Kurt Corporation, which seemed to be slipping out of her hands.

This came as a wake-up call for Nicholas, and more than ever, he decided to push forward with his breakup to please his parents and marry Caroline instead.

So he came clean to Clara about everything including his test to her and he felt so disappointed he made a hasty decision and left her.

And he never turned even once to look back, which further infuriated Clara's anger.

That was when he realized her true colors and the extent of her awful character. She followed behind him screaming in anger and cursing him.

Clara even threatened to make him and his so-called wife-to-be pay, to make him regret that decision for as long as she lived, which he ignored and still left.

During that time, the news of the impending marriage with Caroline became the talk of the entire media, because both Kurt and the Walkers were extraordinary business legendary tycoons, even though there was some extent of rivalry between their families.

But it was more like a bittersweet competitive relationship between them.

It wasn't personal, but plainly from what the media portrayed their relationship in a competitive business world.

Both their empire's prices skyrocketed at an extremely high rate at the news of their bond through marriage, so nobody cared about the couple's actual feelings though. All that mattered was the bond and the healthy relationship between both families that were about to be taken to the next level.

Ever since Nicholas gave his consent to his parents to proceed with the marriage after his break up, Clara couldn't succumb to the break.

She claimed it was a cruel betrayal for all the years she had invested in their relationship.

The filthy rich lifestyle she had dreamed and built around her relationship with Nicholas came crashing down.

This filled her with a fit of extreme jealousy and contempt, at the thought of her guy marrying another woman.

To an extent, her spite knew no limits but to make Caroline and Nicholas's lives a living hell.

Nevertheless, Nicholas pushed through with his plans and married Caroline Walker.

The couple lived in a loveless marriage for a few years, but there was respect and co-existence between them which soon generated into love without any of them realizing it.

Nicholas later began to notice some changes within himself anytime he was around Caroline.

He found himself fantasizing about her when he was not around her, and how he suddenly became eager to finish work early and go home to spend time with her.

It was a strange feeling that he had never felt before, especially during all the years he and Clara dated, which made him ponder whether he had ever loved Clara.

At home, he and Caroline would have an amazing time at dinner with her delicious mouthwatering dishes which he missed to this date.

But their happiness was short-lived when Clara decided to make good on her threats. She created lots of obstacles between him and Caroline's marriage life.

Amongst them was making threats to Caroline to divorce him, as well as her aim in creating compromising situations to make him appear unfaithful so Caroline would leave him.

But he was lucky to have Caroline's trust which stood the test of all those unfortunate situations in their lives.

Meanwhile, all those incidents seemed to tighten his marriage bond with Caroline and they soon found themselves completely in love, and even confessed their feelings to each other.

Since then, their home was filled with love and affection...a peaceful married life, until Caroline began to yearn for a baby.

But the agony of not being able to bear a child became a depressing situation for her after countless miscarriages, especially when they later found out about her terminal illness and everything began to fall apart.

Despite all that, Caroline had continued trying to get pregnant but to no avail. Then one day, she came across a doctor who wanted them to try out surrogacy, which Caroline quickly agreed to. She truly wanted to birth an heir for Nicholas before she dies and also have a chance to hold a baby in her arms.

Meanwhile, the candidate Caroline chose for the surrogacy was none other than her greatest rival in the competition of her husband's love...Clara Johnson.

"She is the best candidate and I am going to try to convince her." Caroline uttered to her worried husband after their appointment with the doctor.

"But why would you choose Clara? She is unpredictable and careless...It could be anyone but please not Clara." Nicholas emphasized his denial.

"That's the reason I chose her.. she is Clara, irresponsible, crazy, but she loved you to the point of getting that crazy, so she is the best candidate who would agree." Caroline convinced her husband.

Even though Nicholas was saddened by his wife's choice, he had no option but to accept it...anything to make his wife happy and bring her out of her depressed state.

So he agreed to the surrogacy his wife suggested, even though he wasn't convinced about the choice of girl his wife picked.

Clara Johnson was the only one Caroline could go to for help since she knew about Clara's feelings for him.

During Caroline's talk with Clara, in order to convince her to help her with the surrogacy, Caroline promised to give Clara anything she would ever desire.

But then, Clara was a hot-blooded young girl who cares more about life, fun, and living in luxury.

She abhorred the idea of getting pregnant or having a child since she couldn't stand the thought of being a mother and losing her strikingly hot figure...

An asset she valued about herself more than anything.

"I am sorry...but I can't! I don't see myself becoming a mother or giving birth." Clara uttered, disgusted by the idea.

"I know! But nobody would ever find out about it. I would make sure everyone believes I am their mother and not you...you just have to accept and I will make all the arrangements. I promise to make sure you never lack anything for as long as you live.?" Caroline stressed to convince a reluctant Clara.

This finally caught Clara's attention.

She finally had an opportunity to fund her luxurious lifestyle and she realized a nine months contract deal with pregnancy was a minor price to pay for what she will soon achieve later as the mother to Kurt Corporation heir.

"How amazing...!" Clara's mind began to make various calculations about the opportunities this decision would benefit her, and how greatly it will impact greatly in her life with a secure future.

It was her chance to get back everything Caroline took from her.

"Okay agreed! so where do we start?!" Clara stated pretentiously, as if she was rather doing Caroline a favor, but instead, it's all to fill her selfish desires.

Upon Clara's agreement, Caroline got so excited at the outcome and began to make preparations for her grand plan to have Clara pregnant with her husband's semen. Even though she never confessed to Clara about her terminal illness yet.!