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.

"Sweetheart, I thought you promised to keep it a secret between you and Daddy?" Now I remember why she was so sweet to him. I never painted Rominic as a bad person to them. Zach and Savia were the only ones who knew the truth. To the other children, their father was a rich, gentle, and kind man who loved me a lot and wanted to marry me, but I didn't feel good enough for him because there were a lot of better women around him. When I couldn't take it anymore, I broke up with him and ran away before our wedding, then later found out I was pregnant but didn't have the courage to go back because I hurt and betrayed him. I was ashamed. That was the bullshit backstory I told them to get them off my back. They didn't blame me but they loved him to my dismay.

I should have ruined his image.

"Mommy, did you finally get the courage to call Dad? Is Zyaire okay now? Are you back together now?"

"Serenity, meet Stacy, your father's secretary and your very first fan. She's going to hug you now and keep you company while Mommy and Daddy step out to talk for a bit. Is that okay, angel?"

She looked at Stacy with disinterest and then back at me with a deep frown. "Are you going to drive Daddy away? Are you guys going to fight?"

"Baby, you know I hate violence,"

"So says the woman who has a 6th dan rank in Taekwondo, a black belt in judo, and is skilled with Gōjū-ryū and Yoshukai karate, and jiu-jitsu," Rominic snorted. I glared at him and he bit down on his bottom lip.

"Daddy, Mommy doesn't know how to fight. It's not possible for her to even learn since she has been busy taking care of us,"

"Baby, your mother had a life even before she met me," I wanted to comment on how he ruined that life but Serenity was there. I couldn't do that when she was there or I wouldn't just be the woman who made them miss their father, but a liar as well.

"Wait, Mommy, you're a ninja?" Serene asked, blinking her eyes innocently. The naughty little thing already knew what I could do. It wasn't something for me to hide, especially as they used to attend lessons in self-defense before I couldn't afford the fees. I smiled grimly and nodded. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Very funny, sweetie, but I'm serious. I need to have a chat with your father," I gave Rominic a dirty look, turned around, and walked away.

"Laverne," Rominic called after me. Boy, I hate that name. I walked into an empty ward, huffing and puffing. "Laverne,"

I turned around abruptly and glared at him. "What the hell are you doing here?! Couldn't you just get the ‘I don't need you’ memo and get lost?!"

"Laverne—"

"Don't you dare ever call me that! My name is Jamila!" I'd never felt so much rage in my entire life. I knew I hated him, but I didn't know how intense it was until I was back in his presence. All the murderous thoughts I'd ever had, the seething disdain, the ugly scenarios, it all flooded me in an intense rush. It was so overwhelming it spotted my vision with black. If a knife was in my hand, I would have stabbed him in the heart.

"Lavender, please, let me talk, I beg you," he pleaded, his voice laced with desperation.

I glared at him, my fury making my skin bristle. "What do you want? Ask me what I want, and I'll tell you to be crushed by a truck, buried under a skyscraper, boiled alive, buried alive, or made to suffer a painful and slow death!" I seethed, the words spewing forth like venom. "But hey, we don't always get what we want, now can we?" I added, my tone dripping with disdain.

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, I get it, you hate me and I deserve it. But Laverne…"

"Stop calling me that!" I snapped, my voice rising in anger.

"Lavender—" he began, only to be cut off.

"Jamila!"

He regarded me with a gentle, yet infuriatingly amused smirk. "Stop screaming in a hospital before you get yourself kicked out," he chided, seemingly unfazed by my outburst.

The nerve of this man, to find my rage so entertaining after everything he's done! I gritted my teeth, knowing he was right about not making a scene in a hospital. "Leave," I demanded, my voice trembling with suppressed emotion.

"I should, but I won't. You want to know why, Laverne… sorry, Laven… Mila? Whatever?" he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Because those kids in there are mine as much as they are yours. I know I don't deserve to call them mine or show my face, but I will—"

"I've been taking care of them just fine without you for almost ten years, so I'm confident that I can continue to properly care for them by myself—"

He cut me off, his expression stern. "If the situation was within your ability, why then did you lead me to you? If you could really take care of them by yourself, you wouldn't be living in a hospital."

"And whose fault is that?" I snapped, my anger bubbling to the surface. "The last time I checked, you're the motherfucking asshole who took away everything I had so you could please your fiancée! Do you think I was happy to carry the child of the man who ruined my life? No, I wasn't! And to make things worse, I ended up with five children who reminded me of you every single day!"

I paused, taking a deep breath to steady my voice. "You left me with nothing but five mouths to feed, and you expect me to become a billionaire overnight and be financially stable enough to take care of their every need? Who the fuck do you think I am?!"

"Yes, I'm a bastard, a dick, a useless and incompetent man, I get it. I'll accept anything you call me, but it won't change the result," he said, his voice tinged with resignation.

He leveled his gaze at me. "Lavender, you already know that I cannot leave here without my children, and they need to become legitimate."

I snorted derisively, folding my arms across my chest and stubbornly looking away. "Sounds like a you problem, not mine," I retorted.

Rominic sighed exasperatedly. "Lavender, I cannot leave my children in this state. They are the future of The Verlice, my only offspring. Even if I'm the worst example of a father, that was when I didn't know about their existence." His expression turned stern, and there was an underlying threat to his words. "You and I both know that those children cannot spend one more year with your mother's last name."

I clenched my jaw, feeling my anger simmering. "You can just send money all the time from where you are. You don't need to see them, or they can make scheduled visits," I muttered through gritted teeth.

Rominic burst into laughter, a cold, sinister chuckle that sent a shiver down my spine. I knew that laugh all too well — it was the one he gave right before making a serious threat. It was the calm before the storm.

"I'll be staying here for three months," he declared, his expression hardening. "Between this date, our marriage will be registered, or consider me a single father."

I looked at him, eyes filled with a mix of anger and tears. "You can't be serious," I breathed, my voice trembling.

"Try me," he challenged, and I felt a wave of humiliation wash over me. He was probably reveling in seeing me in this vulnerable state, knowing that this was exactly what he wanted all along. I could practically see the gears turning in his head, plotting how he would make me rue the day I came back from the dead.

I hated him, but I despised my own fate even more. "Laverne… Jamila. I know you don't want to see me right now, but do you have a choice?" he asked, his tone dripping with false concern.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, glaring at him with unbridled hostility. I was all too familiar with this feeling of helplessness, but when it was at the hands of Rominic, it was a whole other level of torment.

"I am not going to Chicago with you!" I snapped. "We can get married, but I don't need to follow you."

"They are coming with me, Laverne," Rominic declared, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You either choose to follow, or not. Choose wisely."

I felt my heart racing, a surge of indignation rising within me. "This is emotional blackmail!" I cried out, my voice quivering with a mix of anger and desperation.

Rominic's expression softened slightly, but his eyes remained unwavering. "I'm sorry, I promise, I won't take your right away from you as long as we live under the same roof," he said, his words dripping with a barely concealed threat.

In other words, if I didn't agree to go with him peacefully, he would make sure I had no choice in the matter. The implication was clear — compliance or force, those were my only options.