Chapter 30

Yvonne’s body stiffened at the unbelievable statement.

Something hot seemed to lodge in her throat, stuck and unmoving. Her dry lips parted after several attempts.

“You, who hate children, suddenly want a child?”

Carlisle Polshared never wanted a child. At least, not with her—he’d made that clear over their three years together. He had never once allowed himself to father a child with her.

Even the faint hope she had was shattered that night.

‘There’s no way I’ll have a child with Yvonne.’

‘You refuse to have an heir? You won’t have a child to carry on the Polshared family line?’

When she went to him, battered and broken, Yvonne heard her husband’s voice through the closed door with her own ears.

‘That heir—there’s no need for it to be Yvonne’s child.’

At that moment, it felt as if the ground she’d barely managed to stand on collapsed beneath her.

Remembering that night made her eyes sting. It was only a month ago that he said those words, so it was natural to be suspicious of his sudden change.

Carlisle tilted his head as he saw Yvonne’s tearful eyes.

“I don’t know what you mean. I don’t recall ever saying I hated children…”

“That’s…”

She almost confessed what she’d overheard that night, but stopped herself. If she revealed she’d listened in, it would be admitting she’d gone to Bermingwell that night.

Someday he might find out, but she couldn’t let him know yet that she’d seen the design plans. Yvonne answered with a sigh.

“It’s no different. You should know what I mean if you think about our nights together.”

“I explained. The situation has changed, and now I need an heir.”

He claimed it wasn’t just a whim, but the reason was so insincere it didn’t suit the meticulous Carlisle—a mere need for an heir.

“Why are you doing all this?”

She really couldn’t understand. The idea of keeping an unwanted woman in his home just because he disliked her relationship with a rival company’s CEO made no sense.

She had tried to provoke him using a man he disliked, but only to make him angry—not to end up like this.

“Stop using the child as an excuse. Be honest. You just hate that I’m seeing a man you dislike.”

“You seem to think quite highly of yourself, but you’re wrong. This is just unfinished business.”

Yvonne frowned, thinking his pride was wounded by rumors about her and Ethan. Suddenly, something else crossed her mind.

“Did you meet my father?”

Carlisle handed her a document, indifferent to her question about some scheme.

“This is the contract I signed with the Earl when we married. Take a look at the clauses.”

Yvonne hurriedly opened the unfamiliar premarital document, flipping through the pages. Her eyes widened as she read the final clause.

“It says, ‘The marriage between Carlisle Polshared and Yvonne Sellus cannot end until an heir is produced.’”

Carlisle’s lips curled into a bitter smile as he recited the clause, locking eyes with her trembling gaze.

“I… I’ve never seen this document. My signature isn’t even on it.”

“What difference does it make if you didn’t know? The Earl himself added that clause out of his overwhelming love for you, his daughter. He wanted to make sure his precious daughter wouldn’t be thrown out. Even if I sign the divorce papers again, if the Earl uses this to sue, you’ll be dragged into all sorts of dirty, troublesome business. Just thinking about it is annoying.”

His sarcastic tone made her dizzy.

She’d only worried about Bernard’s threats, never imagined this man would have a document to trap her.

“You didn’t come after me just because of this contract. Tell me—it’s all about the benefit of reclaiming me, isn’t it?”

Carlisle watched Yvonne, who still couldn’t accept it, and poured wine into his glass, filling it to the brim. The rough, red wine sloshed violently in the clear glass.

“That’s not entirely wrong. It was a miscalculation. All these divorce talks stirred up my mood, even the royal family and the military making noise. All the gossip about my personal life annoyed me. So I decided it was better to bring you back to my side.”

“No matter what…”

“Let’s stop with the boring talk.”

Carlisle stood up. As his large frame moved, Yvonne was pressed close to him before she could step back. The feeling of his firm muscles and hot body through her clothes made her heart race.

“Ugh, let go.”

“Should I explain it simply? Sorry, but whatever the reason, I can’t let you go yet.”

His strong hands pulled Yvonne’s waist closer. His sharp gray eyes came near, their dry light chilling her.

“If you married a normal man, you should fulfill your duties.”

“Why do you think I’ll accept that?”

“If you don’t, you’ll pay the price. For example, you’ll take all the blame for the theft and go to prison, or the Sellus Trading Company will go bankrupt.”

“……!”

Carlisle looked into her trembling eyes as if he didn’t understand her, whispering in her ear.

“Don’t say you didn’t know. Just the money I sent to your family is nearly twenty percent of Rein Kleint’s shares. If I make an issue of your actions ruining my deal and causing trillions of francs in losses, it’ll be even easier.”

“You’re despicable.”

Yvonne struggled harder to escape his grip. She thought she was clever enough to know resistance was pointless with her frail body, but it was futile.

“You really think this kind of rebellion will work on me? You should have stopped with your bold acts.”

His authoritative voice pressed down on Yvonne’s helplessness.

“It’s not a bad deal. Unless I grant you a divorce, you have to stay here—you have no choice.”

Yvonne bit her lip, speechless, but as he said, she had no options. The deadline she’d agreed to with the Earl had already passed, and if she left now, the Earl would immediately carry out his threats.

If she left, she might be dragged away by his men.

If that happened, she’d be locked in that dreadful annex at the Earldom, paying a harsh price. Meanwhile, the Earl would send his men to sell the children of Euphoria—he was cruel enough to do it.

Her mind was tangled.

My deal with Ethan… The plan to create a scandal for this man—what should I do?

Pull yourself together, Yvonne.

She tried to calm herself with a deep breath.

Since the divorce wasn’t finalized, rumors with Ethan could be labeled as adultery.

Whatever she did, she’d be attacked first, before any blame reached Carlisle.

Carlisle could easily get rid of her, and perhaps that was what that woman wanted most.

She couldn’t let that happen.

Besides, there was no way she could get pregnant again. She had no choice but to pretend to cooperate and buy time.

As if reading Yvonne’s thoughts, Carlisle spoke.

“If you give me an heir, I’ll let you do as you wish. If you want, you can live happily in the grand mansion in Gagnon for the rest of your life. If you’re building a mansion for a villa, I can get you the materials. You must have been desperate, since you tried to divert goods.”

Carlisle’s lips curled as he read Yvonne’s agitation.

“You’ve agreed.”

As soon as he released her hand, Yvonne’s body collapsed onto the bed. Her platinum hair contrasted against the white sheets as she lay there.

She tried to get up, but Carlisle’s agility was faster. He climbed onto her in an instant, lowering his head. Her lips, letting out a m*an, were swallowed by him. The act continued quickly, before she could even process it.

“Mm… wait, I haven’t decided…”

Carlisle ignored Yvonne’s protest, gently pressing her cheeks and forcing her mouth open, sliding his tongue inside. The red tongue, glimpsed when she swallowed wine earlier, entwined and sucked deeply, the act explicit.

The white bones on the back of her hand gripping Carlisle’s arm showed how hard she was holding on. Her trembling fingers crumpled his pristine shirt, but Carlisle, busy devouring her lips, didn’t care.

“I forgot to mention—the deal starts now.”