My Husband is Sterile, But His Mistress is Pregnant

PROLOGUE

My husband has azoospermia.

But the mistress he once kept showed up before me, cradling her swollen belly.

Ms. Roth, I m carrying his child. I d advise you not to be foolish and continue occupying the position of Mrs. Carmichael.

A dry chuckle escaped me.

Calmly, I dialed Leland Carmichael s number.

When he arrived, he slapped the mistress across the face without a shred of mercy.

Whose bastard are you even carrying, you bitch? he snarled, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper. Don t you dare try and pin that trash on me.

Just then, as I stood aside with my arms crossed, watching the show, a sudden wave of nausea hit me.

I gagged.

His eyes, dark and menacing, snapped to me.

He ground his teeth.

What? he said. You re pregnant, too?

A cold spike of dread shot through my stomach.

Shit.

01

Ms. Roth, you don t have to divorce Leland, but you ll need to give me one million dollars.

Once I have the money, I ll not only get rid of the baby, but I ll also leave New York and never bother you again.

A million is nothing to you. But if my child ends up inheriting the Carmichael fortune, you ll lose far more than that.

The woman slid the coffee cup towards me, a triumphant smile plastered on her face.

I nodded slowly, lifted the cup, and took a delicate sip.

My gaze drifted to the slight curve of her abdomen.

Honestly, I d lost count of how many women Leland had been with.

But she was the first to show up pregnant.

The thought made me suppress a smirk.

It was true.

One million dollars to eliminate the possibility of an illegitimate child competing for my future children s inheritance.

It was a surefire investment.

But I refused.

I calmly picked up my phone, dialed Leland s number, and gave him the woman s location and the situation.

Leland s ragged breathing hissed through the phone.

Stay there. I m on my way.

The woman snorted, her confidence unwavering.

Go ahead. This is Leland s first child. He ll give me much more than a million.

I nodded again and pushed a glass of water towards her.

You shouldn t be drinking coffee when you re pregnant.

02

Leland Carmichael and I were a couple bound by hatred.

On my eighteenth birthday, the plane carrying my parents went down.

There were no survivors.

Our darling, Mom and Dad will love you forever.

That was the last message they ever sent me.

The weight of a vast corporate empire fell squarely on my shoulders, surrounded by the circling sharks of greedy board members.

To keep the company from being torn apart, I had no choice but to agree to a marriage of convenience with the Carmichael family.

With the Carmichaels backing, the board wouldn t dare make a move.

In return, Carmichael Corp. siphoned off numerous lucrative contracts from Roth Industries.

It was a win-win situation.

Except on our wedding day, Leland never showed up.

In front of hundreds of guests, I walked the aisle and went through the motions alone.

It was only then that I learned Leland had a woman he loved, who had flown out of the country that very day.

That night, he got blackout drunk at some downtown bar.

His assistant called, asking me to pick him up.

Under the dim, strobing lights, Leland was wrapped around some barely-dressed woman, kissing her with a desperate passion.

The slick, wet connection of their lips glistened under the neon glow.

I approached him, my voice a soft coo.

We just got married today. Everyone is watching. We need to maintain a basic level of decency.

Leland, let s go home.

He raised an eyebrow, a cruel smirk on his face, and pushed a bottle of expensive single malt scotch towards me.

Drink this. The whole bottle. Then I ll go with you.

A wave of jeers and hoots erupted from his friends.

Their mocking, contemptuous eyes were all on me.

I dug my nails into my palm, fighting back the sting in my eyes, and downed the bottle in one long, burning swallow.

It was the first time I realized just how bitter, how vile alcohol could be.

Every nerve, every cell in my body screamed in protest.

Leland collapsed onto the sofa, laughing, his eyes dripping with scorn.

Avery Roth, you really will do anything to please me, won t you?

So what s the difference between you and these whores?

He paused, then let out a sharp, derisive laugh.

A whore, daring to talk about decency with me?

The insult slammed into my ears, making them ring.

The room started to spin.

In that instant, the armor of strength I had so carefully constructed shattered into a million pieces.

I turned stiffly, letting the tears stream down my face, oblivious to the blood welling up where my nails broke the skin of my palms.

Overnight, I became gossip fodder for Page Six and every charity gala in the tri-state area.

03

You said you re pregnant?

Leland had appeared behind me, silent as a predator.

He leaned against the doorframe, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

The cherry pulsed, a tiny red ember in the dim light, and a ribbon of blue smoke curled upwards, momentarily obscuring the cold malice in his eyes.

Tears welled in the mistress s eyes. She stood up, clutching her stomach, and began to sob quietly.

Leland, I m three months along. I was too scared to tell you before.

I ve only ever been with you. If you don t believe me, we can wait until sixteen weeks and I ll do an amniocentesis, I&

CRACK.

The sound of his palm striking her cheek cut her off mid-sentence.

She screamed, stumbling back onto the sofa.

The glass of water on the table beside her tipped over, splashing across the floor and onto my brand-new designer heels.

I narrowed my eyes, glancing at the water spots.

At least it wasn t coffee.

Leland adjusted his cuffs, flicking the half-smoked cigarette onto the woman s face.

She yelped, a fresh wave of tears streaming from her eyes.

Whose bastard are you even carrying, you bitch? he snarled. Don t you dare try and pin that trash on me.

The woman trembled, covering her stinging cheek, trying to defend herself through her sobs.

No, it s really your baby! It is!

Leland s patience snapped.

He kicked her hard in the thigh, holding nothing back.

Slut.

She cried out in agony, her face pale as she clutched her stomach, her eyes wide with disbelief.

She thought she could use this belly to secure a payday.

Logically, a man like Leland, married for years without a child, should have cherished the baby in her womb.

At the very least, he would have kept her comfortable until the amniocentesis.

Once she hit sixteen weeks, she could have staged a "miscarriage," banking on his sympathy and guilt to set herself up for life.

The plan was risky, but the odds seemed in her favor.

But that was all based on logic.

And Leland wasn't logical.

He had azoospermia.

He would never have children.

She would have had a better chance claiming her uncle needed money for a life-saving surgery than claiming she was pregnant with his child.

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a faint smile playing on my lips as I enjoyed the unfolding drama.

Suddenly, my stomach churned violently.

I braced a hand against the wall, unable to stop the dry heave that escaped my throat.

Two pairs of eyes shot towards me in unison.

Leland s gaze was a physical blow, dark and heavy with suspicion.

He ground his teeth.

What? he said. You re pregnant, too?

04

A jolt went through me.

You know, now that you mention it&

My period was two months late.

Answer me, Avery.

Leland stared at me, his eyes deep and probing, a dangerous light swirling in their depths.

I quickly straightened up, forcing a steady breath.

It s my gastritis acting up.

Leland s brow furrowed.

He opened his mouth to say something more, but his phone rang.

A unique ringtone.

His expression softened instantly as he answered, the harsh lines around his mouth easing.

Wait for me there. I ll be right over.

A lazy, sweet female voice drifted from the other end.

Don t forget to bring me a slice of that strawberry cake I love~

I knew that voice.

It belonged to Sabrina Valenti, Leland s new flavor of the month.

A college student, supposedly untouched by the cynicism of our world.

She had a personality, they said.

She didn't grovel before Leland; instead, she scolded him for drinking too much.

Everyone was saying that this time, Leland Carmichael had truly fallen.

The voice on the phone chattered on, and Leland agreed to every whim.

His wife and his old mistress were right here, listening to him coo at his new girlfriend.

The scene was utterly absurd.

Unwilling to stay a moment longer, I grabbed my bag and walked out, driving straight to the hospital.

When I emerged, I was holding a diagnostic report.

It really was just gastritis.

The recent chaos at the company had me working around the clock.

The stress had thrown my whole system out of whack, including my cycle.

My phone vibrated in my purse.

I pulled it out and tapped on my pinned conversation.

The latest message was a photo.

He was in a racing suit, the fabric clinging to his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

Sweat plastered stray strands of his dark hair to his forehead.

It was just like that night, months ago.

The bedroom was dark, his breathing heavy as he pushed me over the edge.

My fingers tangled in his sweat-drenched hair, pulling gently.

He let out a low groan, arching his neck, revealing the sharp, clean line of his jaw.

I reached out and pressed my thumb against his Adam s apple.

His pupils dilated.

He caught my lower lip between his teeth, his voice a raw whisper.

Don t touch me there.

I snapped back to the present, scrolling up through our chat history.

0Ate at that Italian place we went to last time& 0

0Which one should I wear? The blue or the white?0

...

0Are you busy?0

0Am I bothering you?0

0Sorry T^T0

...

0Going to the track this afternoon. Care to ride shotgun?0

Attached was the location of a private motor club upstate.

The suffocating frustration I d been feeling all day evaporated.

A slow smile spread across my face.

I sent him a voice message.

Wait for me, baby.

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