It Should Have Been Like This (The Revised Version)

Chapter 9: A Marriage of Convenience

Dammit! I don't want to get married! Especially to him!

There was a time I would have been glad to marry him, but now, that was a nightmare. I didn't want to spend a day looking at his face, let alone a long time. It didn't please me. Yet, I also thought about why he would want to marry me for a long time. If he only needed to legitimize the children, then we could get divorced shortly, right? But wouldn't that still mean I'd lose my children to him?

I groaned, throwing my head back with frustration. I felt like slamming my head on something but that wouldn't have changed anything. Stacy followed closely behind me as if she was worried that I would do something stupid. What exactly she was expecting, I didn't know. I wasn't going to kill myself, never. As long as my children were alive, I was more than willing to live.

‘Hmm, what if I ask for alimony? If I receive money from him, I could start a business, get enough money and maybe challenge… bullshit,’ I thought. Even if I worked my hardest, I wouldn't be able to have enough money and power to outrank Rominic's family. They had been wealthy for generations. I had nothing and I might not even be eligible for spousal support. Rominic had absolute power in this case and if I refused to agree to the marriage, he might find another way to make me marry him or legitimize the children.

Dammit!

I pushed the door to the hospital ward open and almost had a heart attack from how hard my heart jumped. It wasn't anything that surprising… Okay, it was. Rominic was seated on the bed with his legs stretched out and Serenity snuggled between them. He was feeding her while they watched something on his phone.

There were a lot of surprising things about the image. One, when did Serenity wake up and why wasn't I, the mother who brought her here informed? Two, when did Rominic get here? How long ago was yesterday for them to get this chummy? Why was Serenity letting a stranger feed her and smiling like that? Why was he smiling so happily when he ignored the other children? I knew Serene was an angel that is almost always instantly loved, but this was ridiculous. She didn't even ask after us and what right did he have to hold her? When did he get her food?!

"Good afternoon, sir," Stacy greeted, getting their attention. Her voice was shaky and filled with adoration. I couldn't blame her. The image of the gorgeous father and the adorable daughter could heal a broken soul.

They simultaneously looked at us. Rominic's smile fell while Serene's eyes lit up and her lips stretched further. "Mommy! You're back! Mommy, look, Daddy's back!" What did he tell her? Why the fuck did she believe him?

"In my defense, I said nothing to her. One look at my face and she guessed the answer. She's a smart little cutie," his tone turned lovely when he was teasing her and he pinched her cheek, making her giggle and covering her blushing face. It irked me.

"Serenity, just because a stranger looks a lot like your brother doesn't mean he is your father. He could be a kidnapper or a killer,"

"That's not a pleasant thing to tell a child," Rominic said scoldingly.

"How is it any of your business? She's my child and I can tell her whatever I want. You don't have the right to question me,"

"You forgot something, Mom," Serene said and I was surprised she was glaring at me. Serene had never looked at me like that before. "He doesn't just look like Brother Zach, Zyaire, and Zayne, he looks like me and Savvy too. Only a dummy will look at him and believe it's a coincidence. Plus, why would a stranger who's not my Dad but looks exactly like him be sitting next to my hospital bed and confessing his—" Rominic clamped his hand on her mouth and laughed nervously. My eyebrows furrowed suspiciously and I stared at them questioningly, but he only laughed.