The Price of a Hastings Heir
The Hastings Group had one unshakable rule: the heir could never marry a commoner. Despite this, the group's heir, Sheldon Hastings, secretly married me.
To be with me, he openly defied the board of directors. He surrendered thirty percent of his shares, an act for which his family locked him away for three days and nights.
Though his face was pale with exhaustion, he smiled at me. "Aria, don't be afraid," he said. "It's only ever been you."
Eventually, the board relented. They would allow Sheldon to be with me, but on one condition: he had to produce an heir with a woman from a family of equal standing.
From that moment on, the word I heard most from Sheldon's lips was "wait."
First, he asked me to wait while he wooed a socialite to carry his child.
He and Talia Rossi played the part of a devoted couple until she became pregnant with his daughter. Then, he asked me to wait again. The first child was a girl, and the board demanded a son to solidify the line of succession.
So, Sheldon and Talia played the loving couple once more, until she was pregnant with his second child.
Just when I thought our ordeal was finally over, their daughter, Grace, suffered a severe allergic reaction after accidentally ingesting peanut butter at her first birthday party.
Everyone was convinced I had done it.
As they confined me to a cold guest room, Sheldon stood at the door, his eyes bloodshot.
"I told you to wait…" His gaze was icy and sharp. "You know what a peanut allergy means for a child. Why would you hurt her?"
The words "my child" were a dagger to the heart. Pain lanced through me, and my nails dug deep into my palms.
When the door to the guest room opened again, I unclenched my blood-stained hands.
This time, I wouldn't wait anymore.