Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 3

But a second later, a sudden thought crossed Summer's mind, and she let out a silent laugh.

It was a laugh dripping with bitterness and sheer mockery.-

What Xavier didn't know was that he suffered from severe asthenozoospermia—he was practically sterile.

Years ago, when they hadn't conceived after their first year of marriage, the Sterling family grew anxious. They pressured her into getting checked, terrified that her body was to blame for delaying the family lineage.

She played the dutiful wife on the surface, but feeling the sheer unfairness of it all, she dragged Xavier to the hospital for testing as well.

Since it was a deeply personal matter, she had a doctor friend handle the exams. When the results came out, her friend contacted her first.

Knowing how fragile the male ego could be, she took matters into her own hands and hid the medical report to spare Xavier the heartbreak.

Her friend had comforted her at the time, explaining that severe asthenozoospermia didn't mean it was absolutely impossible to conceive. But she hadn't mentioned that the odds were essentially like winning the lottery.

After that, she learned to cook specialized meals to nourish his body. She sought out a retired holistic doctor for prescriptions, dutifully drinking the bitter remedies right alongside him. She worked out with him, enforced a strict routine, fed him a healthy diet, and made him quit smoking, drinking, and staying up late.

By some miracle, she actually got pregnant.

In the years that followed, the company grew busier. Xavier was constantly traveling, pulling all-nighters, drinking at social events, and inhaling secondhand smoke—all of which were notorious for killing sperm counts.

Meanwhile, Lily lived abroad year-round, and Xavier barely visited her more than a few times a year.

So, whether the baby in Lily's belly actually belonged to Xavier was highly debatable.

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