The CEO Offered Marriage in Exchange for an Heir Novel – Cory Brantley had a secret—she’d been in a five-year long relationship with “the” Marius Braithwaite. It’d shake the whole of Lincoln, Nebraska if they learned that the untouchable CEO made two of her dreams come true. First, she was carrying his child. Second, he proposed to her. What else could that mean if not that her unrequited love had finally paid off? But that fantasy shattered eight months later.
In the underground parking lot of Braithwaite Holdings, she found him in the backseat of a car—making out with his secretary. His familiar voice, though low and lustful, unmistakably betrayed Cory with a promise made only for Jenelle McVicker. “Once she gives birth, I’ll divorce her and marry you. You know you’ve always been the one I love.” It turned out that the secretary was his ex-girlfriend. They only broke up because of a condition that made her infertile. Meanwhile, getting pregnant was just one of the many things Cory was willing to do for Marius.
And he took advantage of that devotion for the one thing his ex couldn’t give him: an heir. In ten years of trying to earn his “I love you, too,” not once did he say it back. That tycoon only married her in exchange for a son! But instead of confronting him, Cory talked again to the man she had long taken for granted for a manipulator. “I’m leaving him. You once said you’d wait for me no matter how long it took. Now, are you willing… to be my child’s father?” The answer came without hesitation.
“It would be my honor.” Marius was used to effortlessly getting anything he wanted. But this time, one average woman wasn’t going to let him win. Cory would dump him—taking the very heir he thought would complete the family he had always dreamt of building with Jenelle. Only then would the billionaire CEO realize how much he’d lost. And for the first time in his life, he’d get on both knees just to take it back. But by then, Cory had already found where love was not a transaction—and Marius could never afford it. —— At eight months pregnant, Cory caught her husband and his secretary having an affair in the company’s underground parking lot. “You need to marry. I need a stepfather for my child.
Isn’t that perfect for us?” A warm chuckle came from the other end. “Pleasure doing business with you, my future wife.” As the call ended, she turned her gaze back to the car. Inside, the woman was gasping, “Babe… slower…” Marius was slouched in the driver’s seat, one hand still resting on the woman’s thigh. His breathing was heavy, and his voice low and intimate. “Once she gives birth, I’ll divorce her and marry you, alright? You’re the only one I ever truly wanted to spend my life with.
Cory? I’m just staying with her for that child she’s carrying.” The words sliced through Cory like knives. “I’m sorry I can’t give you a child, but…” the woman said sweetly, her voice laced with something crueler beneath. “What if I don’t want to raise someone else’s child?” “Don’t worry,” Marius reassured her. “The baby’s just a means to an end. Once he’s born, I’ll send him off to live with my parents.” Cory’s fingers clenched into fists so tight, her nails punctured the skin. Blood began to pool and drip between her knuckles, but she barely felt a thing.
The woman—Jenelle McVicker—wasn’t just some passing fling. She was Marius’s ex from college, the one he’d once loved fiercely. Apparently, they had never really ended. They were still together—reigniting their flame right under her nose. Only now did Cory finally understand. The man she had loved all these years never once truly loved her back. He didn’t see her as a wife. Just a surrogate. A body to carry his heir. Without a word, she lowered her head, pulled out her phone, and began to record.
She didn’t confront him. Not yet. The baby was almost here, and she wouldn’t let her child be born only for Marius to please his parents. She would wait—strike at the perfect moment. She would endure this betrayal until he lost custody on grounds of infidelity. She would endure until that tycoon who used her as a tool walked away empty-handed. “I’m not gonna let that jerk win,’ she swore to herself, never seeing Marius again as the same guy she fell in love with. Not even as the childhood friend she used to care for.
That afternoon, as she stepped out of her office after submitting a document, she spotted Jenelle waiting outside the door with a cup of water in hand. “Vice President,” Jenelle called sweetly as Cory passed. Cory stopped, her voice neutral. “Yes?” “Oh, nothing,” Jenelle replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Just thought I’d remind you—women shouldn’t get greedy. You already got the position. Wanting love too? That’s just sad.” Then she leaned in, her voice dropping. “You really think having a baby is going to keep a man by your side?” Cory’s brow furrowed. Just as she was about to shoot back something—Jenel