The Villainess's Secret Baby

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I was pinned against the edge of the bed, heat searing through my veins, the metallic tang of blood filling my mouth.

That low, mocking laugh still echoed in my ear, forcing an impossible choice.

So many options, Layla. Who are you going to pick?

I had spent three years chasing Dominic like a desperate, lovesick fool.

The day I found out I was pregnant, I was ready to lay all my cards on the table.

I was going to ruin the engagement.

But then, comments started scrolling across my vision like a live stream chat.

"Omg, the heroine finally figured out it wasn't her stepbrother who saved her, it was the childhood sweetheart!"

"Groveling arc starts now! Main leads better get their happily ever after, stat!"

Right at that moment, my phone buzzed.

It was Ainsley.

"I changed my mind. Stay away from Dominic. I'm marrying him."

I blinked. "Oh. What about the five million?"

"Go after my brother instead," she snapped, her voice dripping with annoyance. "He's against me marrying Dominic, and he's being a total pain."

Chapter 1

I covered the mouthpiece. "That's going to cost you extra."

I was already pregnant.

I had the whole 'pregnancy trap, forced marriage' script ready to go.

And now she wanted a last-minute casting change?

Ainsley's voice was crisp on the other end. "Fine. I'll give you another five million."

"Just chase my brother the exact same way you chased Dominic. Keep at it until the wedding is a done deal."

I paused. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Just two days ago, she had given the scarf Dominic hand-knitted for her to a waiter, just to make Damien laugh.

"Because Damien is a liar," she huffed.

Ainsley sighed, sounding genuinely aggrieved. "I just found out today. When I fell into the pool years ago? It wasn't Damien who saved me. It was Dominic."

"We should have been together ages ago. We've wasted so much time."

"Your job is to keep my brother busy. Distract him so he can't stop me from marrying Dominic. Got it?"

I hesitated.

Another wave of comments floated across my vision.

"The villainess is definitely going to say no. She's obsessed with the male lead."

"Even though she's zero threat to the heroine, just thinking about the male lead being 'tainted' by her makes me sick..."

"Guys, not to spoil anything, but they're both clean."

"Wait, what?! The male lead never touched the villainess?"

"Then who was in bed with her that night?"

I froze.

That night. Ainsley's birthday party.

Every trust fund kid in the city was there.

I wasn't supposed to be involved.

But right before bed, I got a text from Ainsley: We're out of booze. Bring some more.

When I pushed open the door to the VIP suite, Damien and Dominic were sitting on either side of Ainsley, like guardian statues.

The other guys, drunk and rowdy, blocked my path, laughing as they forced drinks into my hand.

I gripped the hem of my shirt, my eyes darting to Dominic.

He looked away. Cold. Indifferent.

He swapped the wine glass in front of Ainsley for a bottle of water, his voice gentle. "You have a sensitive stomach."

"Let someone else drink for you."

After that, everything blurred.

I woke up in Dominic's bed. Or I thought I did.

The memories were fragmented, hazy with heat and alcohol. A chaotic, feverish night.

A large hand gripping the back of my neck, heavy breathing against my ear. I remembered crying, my voice breaking over and over.

Hands on my waist, bruising, possessing, like they wanted to snap me in half.

When I woke up, I was clean.

But my body ached. Everywhere. A deep, sore reminder of what happened.

And now I was finding out that man wasn't Dominic?

Then who the hell was it?

I racked my brain, but the faces were a blur.

I decided to stop thinking about it. It didn't matter now.

On the other end of the line, Ainsley laughed.

"Just be prepared. My brother isn't as easygoing as Dominic. He only cares about me. He won't even look at you..."

Won't look at me?

Perfect.

I cut her off. "Deal."

Chapter 2

I was eighteen when the glitch happened.

I realized the world was just a script. A Reverse Harem novel, to be exact.

My roommate, Ainsley, was the Protagonist. The center of the universe.

And me? I was the NPC. The background extra with no lines and no future.

The first time I saw the floating comments was during Freshman Orientation. We were standing in formation under the brutal sun.

"Ainsley looks so pale. Is it her cramps again?"

"My poor baby! Where are the Male Leads when she needs them?"

"Someone save her! She's too delicate for this heat!"

I handed Ainsley a painkiller.

She snatched it, wiping sweat from her forehead with a grimace. "Go get me some water. Are you trying to choke me?"

I paused, then nodded. "Okay."

At the water station, a guy was filling a bottle.

He was devastating. The kind of handsome that felt expensive. Gentle eyes, an aura of quiet luxury.

My heart did a traitorous little flip in my chest.

I was just about to open my mouth, maybe ask for his Snap.

He turned. His gaze bypassed my face completely, landing on the paper cup in my hand.

"I'll take that."

His voice was polite, distant. He reached out and took the cup, then pressed two crisp hundred-dollar bills into my palm.

"Thanks for looking out for Ainsley."

It felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. I stood there, frozen.

So he was the Childhood Sweetheart.

The tragic Male Lead who loved the heroine in silence.

I knew the rules of this genre. The girl who fights the heroine for the man ends up miserable, exiled, or dead.

I didn't have a death wish. I wanted a happy ending.

So, I became Ainsley's shadow.

First, I played the beard. I acted as the cover girlfriend for her illicit affair with her stepbrother, Damien.

Then, I pivoted to playing the desperate simp for Dominic. My job was to be so annoying, so clingy, that Id blow up the arranged marriage between him and Ainsley.

Honestly? I was a professional.

Damien and Ainsleys secret was still safe.

And Dominic? He treated me like background noise, but he tolerated me. We went to movies. We had dinners. We did all the things couples did, without any of the emotion.

Then came the rejection.

Ainsley turned him down again. Dominic spiraled.

He took off to the desert to "find himself" or whatever heartbroken rich boys do.

Terrified hed do something stupid, I followed him like a lost puppy.

I wasn't built for hiking. I tripped, scrambled, and scraped my knees on the jagged rocks. He had to double back, his face cold with annoyance, to haul me up.

The desert was vast. Terrifying.

Under a sky bruised with a billion stars, Dominic woke me up.

He looked at me, his eyes unfocused, lost. "Should I keep moving forward?"

He wasn't talking about the trail.

I hesitated, then leaned into his side, pressing my shoulder against his. "You don't have to move forward."

"Stay. Go. It doesn't matter. I'll always be right here waiting for you."

I almost choked up saying it.

Peak desperation. The ultimate simp line.

But Dominic didn't look moved.

I thought hed finally snapped.

Because a second later, he leaned down and crushed his mouth against mine.

The wind whipped my hair across my face, tangling between us. The desert night was freezing, the cold seeping into my bones, making his sudden heat the only thing tethering me to reality. My heart slammed against my ribs, a chaotic, frantic rhythm.

That night, I fell asleep in his arms.

I dreamed of things I shouldn't have.

But sunrise brought reality crashing back.

Under the harsh glare of the morning sun, Dominic stood over me. His eyes were ice.

"Stop imagining things, Layla."

"I don't love you. I never will."

Chapter 3

Ainsley was ready to drop the bomb on her parents.

"I have to marry Dominic. Right now. We can't waste any more time."

Her voice cracked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Do you think he hates me? After everything I did?"

The comments flew across my vision like a chaotic ticker tape.

"Don't cry, baby girl! You're literally the moon in his sky."

"Even though she broke his heart a million times, he's always been her silent guardian. Sobbing"

"Exactly. Look at the villainess. She tries so hard, and he doesn't even see her."

"Facts. If he doesn't love you, you could literally die for him and he wouldn't care."

I ran into Dominic in the courtyard of the Damien family estate.

Under the dim, amber lights, his gaze swept over me, cold and assessing. "This is a family dinner. Why are you here?"

I lowered my head, playing the part. "Ainsley invited me."

He didn't buy it. A slow, mocking sneer curled his lip. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

"I already love someone else. These little stunts of yours? They just make you pathetic."

He tossed something at me.

A ball of yarn hit my chest and unraveled at my feet. It was the scarf I had started knitting for him.

Back when Ainsley had tossed his handmade scarf to a waiter, he hadn't said a word. But I saw the way his light dimmed.

I wanted to fix it. So I started knitting him a new one.

If this were the old script, I would have picked it up, wrapped it around his neck with a thick-skinned grin, and launched into a monologue:

If others have it, my man has to have it too!

I knit this super tight, so you'll be warm all winter. I need you to be cozy.

Just be with me. I'll cherish you forever.

But tonight? I just smiled. A calm, empty smile.

I picked up the unfinished scarf and dropped it into the nearest trash can.

"If you don't like it, you don't like it. I'm just here to apologize, Dominic."

"I won't bother you anymore. I hope you and Ainsley are happy."

Dominic's eyes flickered.

He looked down, shoving his hands into his pockets, regaining his icy composure. "Don't think that just because you warmed my bed once, you have any leverage."

"Playing hard to get? Reverse psychology? It won't work on me."

"Damien might have fallen for your tricks, but I'm not him. I don't break that easily."

I laughed, a genuine, baffled sound. "You're overthinking it..."

I didn't get to finish.

A lazy, drawling voice drifted from behind me. "Well, well. If it isn't my ex-girlfriend."

Before I was Dominic's stalker, I was Damien's girlfriend.

Back then, he and Ainsley were in the honeymoon phase. But a step-sibling romance? That was a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

So, to keep their parents in the dark, Ainsley paid me three hundred grand to be Damien's beard.

Damien would tell his parents we were going to the movies. In reality, he was sneaking Ainsley into the theater.

3 AM. The credits rolled.

I stood by the exit, waiting for them.

It started to snow.

They walked under the only umbrella, strolling slowly down the street. I trailed behind, carrying their shopping bags like a pack mule.

Under the streetlights, they kissed amidst the romantic flurry of snowflakes. I jogged in place, trying to keep my blood from freezing.

Damien glanced back at me, shivering in the cold. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He stripped off his coat and tossed it at me. "Put it on."

Japan trip. Same deal. I was the cover story.

Hokkaido. Ski resort. They made vows under a sky full of stars.

When they left, they forgot one tiny detail. Me. Still on the slopes.

A sudden blizzard hit. Whiteout conditions. I was nearly buried.

Just before the cold took me, my lashes were heavy with ice, my vision fading into white static. I truly thought I was going to die there, forgotten.

Damien found me. He dug me out of a snowdrift with one hand and hauled me into his arms.

He looked at my red, frozen nose, at the tears freezing on my cheeks.

With a careless thumb, he wiped away the ice. "Why are you crying?"

"You're my girlfriend, aren't you? I wouldn't let you die."

After I got Ainsley's new orders, I deleted Damien from my contacts.

His call came through almost instantly.

His voice was terrifyingly cold. "Did you just dump me?"

Chapter 4

I froze.

I thought the "fake girlfriend" arrangement was the one thing we were all honest about. An open secret.

I didn't think I owed him an exit interview.

Damien's voice dropped, smooth and unbothered. "You've got talent, Layla."

Excuse me?

"You dive in headfirst, and you pull out just as fast."

The sarcasm dripped from every syllable. He wasn't complimenting me.

In the three years I spent humiliating myself for Dominic, I rarely crossed paths with Damien.

The last time was months ago. Ainsley had fallen asleep after a gala, and she ordered me to escort her brother home.

In the backseat of the Bentley, Damien had barely opened his eyes.

The tip of his polished oxford shoe nudged my ankle. "Girlfriend."

He dragged the word out, turning it into a tease.

I corrected him automatically. "Ex-girlfriend."

"What's your deal with Dominic?"

I kept my voice small. "We're classmates."

He crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "You know he's Ainsley's childhood sweetheart, right? Her property."

"I know."

"Knowing that, you still chase him? You really get off on being a doormat, don't you?"

I shot back, mild and unbothered, "Just paving the road for their true love."

Damien had leaned forward then, tilting my chin up to inspect me like I was a piece of abstract art he couldn't quite figure out.

He wired me five hundred grand right then and there. A cold smile. "Fine. Be a good little simp. Just don't come bothering me again."

Memory lane ended.

Back at the dinner table, I opened my banking app. I transferred the five hundred grand back to Damien.

His reply was instant.

What does this mean?

Setting your sights on me again?

Across the table, the man in the charcoal suit set down his chopsticks. He crossed his arms, raising a brow at me.

I took a slow sip of red wine. Mhm.

His fingers tapped the screen, face expressionless. You think I'm as stupid as Dominic? You think you can play me like a fiddle?

Why did these men always think I was the one playing them?

They were the billionaires. I was the hired help.

The absurdity of it bubbled up in my throat. I let out a soft laugh.

Dominic's gaze snapped to me, sharp as a laser. "Who are you talking to?"

I locked my phone screen. "No one."

Dominics hand shot out, clamping around my wrist. His grip was iron. "Show me."

His tone wasn't asking. It was demanding.

I ripped my hand away. "I'm texting the person I like. It has nothing to do with you."

The air around Dominic dropped ten degrees. His face went dark.

I ignored him and looked across the table. Damien didn't look much happier.

He looked disgusted.

Damien stood up, smoothing his jacket. He patted Franklin on the shoulder. "Stepping out for a smoke."

Ainsley shot me a look. The Signal.

She was about to confess her undying love to Dominic. I needed to be the goalie and keep Damien from crashing the net.

I barely made it out of the dining room before a hand clamped onto my arm, dragging me into the shadows of the corridor.

Damien cornered me, his voice low and dangerous. "Who do you like?"

"You."

I blinked slowly. "Actually, I've always liked you..."

Damien let out a cold, sharp laugh. "You spent three years worshipping the ground Dominic walks on, and now you realize you like me?"

He was too sharp.

I lowered my eyes, reaching out to grab his hand. My thumb brushed his knuckles. "You don't believe me?"

Damien shook me off, his lip curling. "Give me a reason to."

I didn't speak. Instead, I went up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.

Soft. Tentative.

I pulled back just an inch, looking up at him through my lashes. The Doe-Eyed Stare.

It was my go-to move for Dominic. It usually made him freeze, made him see me as harmless and sweet.

But on Damien? It didn't work at all.

"Are you kidding me?" he scoffed. "Am I a toddler to you?"

He grabbed my jaw, his fingers digging into my cheeks, and slammed his mouth down on mine.

It wasn't a kiss. It was an invasion.

Hot, aggressive, and suffocating. He devoured the space between us, his tongue sweeping in with zero hesitation.

Our noses bumped. He didn't care.

He bit down on my lower lip, hard enough to sting, then released me with a dark, satisfied chuckle.

"Layla," he rasped, his voice rough with friction. "Between the two of us who do you think is the better player?"

I sagged against his arm, gasping for air, my legs turning to jelly