After my family went bankrupt, I was forced into a marriage with my arch-nemesis. Every day was an exercise in hate. I was his canary for three years. Then I got pregnant. And he got hit by a car and lost his memory. Clutching the ultrasound report, I rushed from the maternity ward to his hospital room, only to hear him screaming in a rage. "A divorce! I want a divorce, right here, right now! "Forcing me to live with my own nemesis—an Alpha, no less—for the rest of my life? You might as well just fucking kill me! It's disgusting..." My hand tightened around the report, a chill seeping into my heart. I turned, ready to head straight for the abortion clinic, but a hand grabbed my ankle. Adrian Sterling, crawling on the floor, looked up at me, rubbing his nose with a bashful grin. "Heh, David Bright, what are you doing here? "I heard my family is bankrupt now. How about you take me home as your trophy husband... and humiliate me to your heart's content?" 1 I was still reeling from the news about Adrian when the doctor’s voice cut through the fog in my head. My hand, slick with sweat, was balled into a fist. "This morning sickness isn't a stomach bug, it's pregnancy," he said, peering at me over his glasses. "You're already three months along. Why are you only just coming in for a check-up? Where's your partner? Why isn't he with you? Are you divorced?" The barrage of questions made the world spin. I clapped a hand over my mouth, another wave of nausea hitting me. It took me a long moment to compose myself in the restroom before I could return, my voice raspy. "Doctor, I'm an Alpha. S-Class." The doctor just pushed his glasses up his nose, unfazed. "And? S-Class Alphas can still conceive if you're… active enough. The reproductive cavity doesn't just vanish. So, I take it you and your partner are intimate quite often?" I averted my gaze, my throat suddenly dry. Often was an understatement. For the past three years, to "humiliate" me, Adrian had fulfilled his duties as my "patron" with a cold, relentless fury. He pinned me down day and night, our encounters filled with a frigid hate. My dormant reproductive system had been practically drilled back into existence by him. The textbooks said the probability of an Alpha pregnancy was infinitesimally small, so I’d never given it a second thought. I didn’t take pills. We didn’t use protection. I never thought I'd hit this particular jackpot. After thanking the doctor, I walked out in a daze, my mind a complete blank. I was debating whether to call Adrian when my phone buzzed with an incoming call from his number. It was his best friend, Leo. "David, you need to get to the downtown hospital, now! Adrian was in a car accident. He has amnesia!" 2 The maternity ward wasn't far from the main hospital wing. When I arrived, Leo stopped me at the door, his face grim. "David, you need to brace yourself before you go in. Adrian hit his head and messed up his leg. He's got a concussion and a limp. But the worst part is... he's lost his memory. He doesn't seem to remember anyone. That probably includes you." I nodded, my mind racing. I just wanted to see him. But as I took a step toward the door, a crash echoed from inside, followed by a roar of pure despair. "A divorce! I want one immediately! Dad, how could I possibly marry a man? My arch-nemesis? An Alpha?! Tell me the truth, did the family go bankrupt? Did you sell your only son to pay off a debt? Tell me!" Adrian's father sounded exhausted, rubbing his temples. "Bankrupt my ass! Do you think I like your husband? Do you think your mother and I supported this marriage? Three years ago, you were the one who was dead set on marrying him! I broke your leg trying to stop you, and you ended up right here, in this very hospital room!" 3 I froze in my tracks. Adrian had gotten his leg broken fighting to marry me? He'd never mentioned a word of it. All I remembered was that before he'd reluctantly flown overseas with me to sign the marriage certificate, he had disappeared for three whole months. The reason he gave was that his parents adored me and wanted me as their son-in-law. He had always acted like he was being forced. "If that's the case, then that bastard Alpha must have some dirt on me! He must have blackmailed me!" Adrian, with a bandage wrapped around his head, slapped his forehead dramatically. "Dad, just pay him off! I don't care how much it costs, I have to divorce him! The smell of another Alpha's pheromones makes me want to puke. How could you just stand by and watch me suffer for three years...?" "Suffer? Want to puke?" Mr. Sterling scoffed, a humorless laugh escaping him. "Every time I came to see you, you were practically draped all over him! A so-called Alpha, reeking of another man's scent from head to toe. How did I end up with such a pathetic excuse for a son..." Adrian clutched his head, completely breaking down. "What kind of blackmail could make me act so spineless?! I don't care, whatever it takes, this marriage is over! Forcing me to live with my nemesis for the rest of my life? You might as well just fucking kill me! It's disgusting..." My fingers tightened around the ultrasound report, my body rigid. A storm of conflicting emotions churned inside me. It seemed our arrangement was truly at its end. And I knew what I had to do about the baby. I rubbed my stinging eyes, crumpled the report into a tight ball, and tossed it into a nearby trash can without a second thought. But as I turned to head for the abortion clinic, something latched onto my ankle, holding me fast. I looked down, confused. Adrian had crawled over to me. He rubbed his nose, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "Heh, David Bright, what are you doing here? You're the only one I remember! I heard my family's bankrupt now. How about you take me home as your trophy husband... and humiliate me to your heart's content?" Me: "?" 4 Adrian's father: "??" He stormed over and slapped Adrian square across the face. "You ungrateful brat! We're still on the goddamn Forbes list! Don't you dare curse your old man!" Adrian, with his injured leg, couldn't fight back. He just clung to my leg for dear life, refusing to let go. "David, you're the only one I remember! You can't leave!" Another slap from his father. "So you don't even remember your own dad, but you remember your nemesis? You're really trying to kill me with filial piety, aren't you..." "Sir, I'm sorry, it's my fault." Fearing Adrian would be beaten into a permanent vegetative state, I quickly stepped in front of him, shielding him from his father's wrath. But the already brain-damaged Adrian just stared at me, bewildered. "David, why did you call my father 'sir'? What's your relationship with him?!" His voice rose to a shrill shriek. "Dad! Please tell me he's not my long-lost brother! Tell me—Ah!" "..." The third slap came, not from his father, but from me. His screeching was making me nauseous. 5 Mr. Sterling and the others soon cleared out of the room. Once they were gone, Adrian fell silent, his head bowed. I swallowed down my nausea, swept up the broken glass, and sat on the edge of his bed. "Are you okay?" After all that screaming, he couldn't be too badly hurt. But as I leaned closer, I saw it. ...Adrian was crying. Fat, silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. In the three years I'd known him, he had always been a fortress of cold indifference, his emotions only ever breaking free in the heat of the bedroom. This was a first. He clutched my hand, his voice choked with sobs. "David... even though I was blackmailed into marrying an Alpha... even though I'm not divorced yet... even though I'm... tainted... you're the only one I remember! I only remember... when we were sixteen, you pinned me to the ground and beat me until my nose bled..." I covered my ears. I didn't want to relive that. Before my family's bankruptcy, Adrian and I were true arch-nemeses. We were constantly at each other's throats. Of course, he was weaker, so he rarely managed to hurt me. Which is probably why, when he finally got his chance for revenge, he nearly fucked me to death... day after day, night after night. Snapping back to the present, I grabbed a tissue and wiped his tears. "What are you trying to say?" He sat up straight instantly. "You were top of the class in high school. You must be richer than my family now, right? You beat me into an idiot back then, so you have to take me home and take responsibility! I don't want my dad to hit me anymore. I want to be your trophy husband..." "My family went bankrupt a long time ago," I sighed. "And also... I'm the wife you were talking about. The Alpha who blackmailed you, the one who disgusts you so much you want to puke." 6 Adrian's brain short-circuited. His memory had reverted to when we were sixteen, the peak of our mutual hatred. Back then, I had just presented as an S-Class Alpha, and the mere scent of my pheromones would send him running to the bathroom to vomit for half an hour. It infuriated me so much I'd beat him up on sight. Telling him now that we were married was, admittedly, a bit abrupt. I patted his shoulder, intending to give him some space. But he flinched, then threw his head back and burst into hysterical laughter, wiping away tears. "David, are you trying to trick a fool? You, an Alpha with so much pride, would you ever agree to marry me? To be my wife? Do you think I'd fall for such a pathetic lie? You hate my guts! You just don't want to marry this idiot and take responsibility for me!" I rubbed my temples. An S-Class Alpha willingly taking a submissive role did sound absurd. Three years ago, when my family first went bankrupt, I had no intention of asking anyone for help. I entered the entertainment industry alone. The money was fast, but the industry was a shark tank. Powerless and without connections, I was drugged three times and had my room key swapped five times within six months. My self-control was strong, and I always managed to escape. But the sixth time, the company replaced my suppressants with an aphrodisiac and locked me, in the middle of a susceptible period, in a penthouse suite. That time, I thought I was done for. But the person who walked into that suite that night was Adrian Sterling. 7 Adrian had just taken over his family's company. Someone, as a twisted welcome gift, had delivered his old nemesis to his room, gift-wrapped and ready for the taking. But Adrian didn't take the opportunity to humiliate me. His face was a thunderous mask. He simply wrapped me in his coat and carried my disheveled form to the hospital. Afterward, he acquired the company I worked for and dealt with the sleazy boss who had been trying to pimp me out. My agent, thinking Adrian was interested in me, sent me to his bed again during his own susceptible period. Adrian, delirious, kissed me. I was fully conscious, but I didn't push him away. I closed my eyes and let it happen. ... After that night, Adrian became my patron. He threw resources at me, introduced me to powerful people, and elevated me from an unknown nobody to a best-actor award winner. He even helped my father start a new company. And, somewhere along the way, we got married. He said his parents were pressuring him to settle down, and I was exactly what they wanted. He bought me three villas in exchange for a marriage certificate. I still vividly remember the reluctance on his face the day we signed the papers. But now, remembering he'd had his leg broken for me, I forced down my impatience. "So, what will it take for you to believe we're married, Adrian? The certificate is overseas. You couldn't stand the sight of it." "Kiss me," he said, tilting his chin up. "Kiss me with tongue, and I'll believe you." I paused. "Are you sure? I'm a man, your nemesis, an Alpha... It's disgusting, remember?" "David!" He exploded, shamelessly pouting. "If you don't want to kiss me, just say so! Stop making excuses—mmph!" His whining was getting on my nerves. I grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. He really had lost his memory. His kissing was atrocious, his tongue a clumsy mess. Amidst the sterile smell of the hospital, a faint scent of lime began to fill the air... My stomach lurched violently. I shoved him away and ran to the bathroom, dry heaving. Adrian, dragging his bad leg, crawled after me, his ears bright red as fresh tears welled in his eyes. "You are lying to me, David! You're so disgusted you're actually throwing up! If I'd really been with you for three years, how could I not have fucked you into submission by now..." My vision went black. I got up, beat him up again, and then took him for a CT scan. 8 Unfortunately, the CT scan showed nothing abnormal. With no medical reason for his condition, Mr. Sterling had to temporarily take over the company, leaving Adrian to recover in the hospital. I was tasked with taking care of him. I took two weeks off work, which was a welcome break for me too. The morning sickness was getting worse. And Adrian's mind was still stuck at sixteen, making any rational discussion about the baby impossible. All he did was giggle and pester me, asking if we were really married... and if he could kiss me to disgust me. His kissing was terrible now; I wanted no part of it. But his seven-figure monthly allowance was still being deposited into my account, so I had to play along. Once again, he had me pinned to the bed, smearing saliva all over my face. I was dead inside. If it weren't for that handsome face, I would have beaten him senseless. Half an hour later, he was still going at it, trying to "disgust" me. I finally managed to push him away, saying time was up... only to find my hand searing hot. Adrian pinned me down, his voice panicked. "David, why... why does it hurt so much today? And it's so hot... help me..." I froze. Just when I thought I'd get a break while he was an amnesiac, his susceptible period had to arrive this soon? This was not good. I patted his head and reached for the suppressants in the drawer... but my hand knocked over a box of condoms, which clattered to the floor. The concentration of Alpha pheromones in the air skyrocketed. Adrian, already hard, went critical. A shiver ran down my spine. I retracted my hand. "No, I can't. The baby..." The rest of my words were swallowed by his frantic mouth.
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