The Temporary Boyfriend

Chapter 104: Is it mine?

"Marco, pick up the damn phone," Lily hissed, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. freewebnovёl.ƈom

​The line clicked open on the fourth ring. "Lily? It’s eleven pm. This better be—"

​"Shut up and listen," she interrupted, her voice shaking as she stared at the glowing document. "I just got the deep-dive on Andrew Thorne. You know how he’s supposed to be this rising star in medical engineering? The guy everyone says is a genius?"

​"Yeah, the lecturer. What about him?" Marco’s voice was instantly alert, the sleepiness vanishing.

​"He doesn’t exist, Marco. Or rather, he shouldn’t." Lily took a jagged breath and enlarged a scanned image on her monitor. "I’m looking at a grainy photo from a 2006 yearbook from a private academy in Switzerland. There’s a boy named Andrew Thorne. Same eyes, same structure."

​"Okay? So he went to school in Switzerland. Lots of rich kids do."

​"Keep up," Lily snapped, her mouse clicking rapidly. "I cross-referenced that name with the national database. Marco, Andrew Thorne died in a skiing accident in the Alps when he was fifteen. There’s a death certificate, a police report, and a grave in a small village outside Zurich."

​There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line.

​"If he’s dead," Marco whispered, "then who has been standing in front of a lecture hall for the last five years?"

​"That’s the terrifying part," Lily said, her eyes tracking a series of encrypted wire transfers she’d just uncovered.

"Someone did a ’identity ghosting’ job on him. They took a dead boy’s credentials and built a masterpiece of a life over it. And guess who’s been paying the maintenance fees for the ’living’ Andrew Thorne’s luxury apartment and lab equipment?"

Marco groaned.

...

Early in the morning, Mark sent clarisse to the hospital. Susan then personally picked her from the hospital and brought her to the Vaughn family’s residence.

She was so happy and even instructed her servants to tend to her every need.

"There is an heir," she said excitedly. ​"Unlike that woman Lyvana, you have given this family what it actually needs."

Alex overhead her and pulled Clarisse to his room. ​

​"Alex, what the hell." Clarisse stumbled. "You can’t just..."

​"Is it mine?"

"Is what yours? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Don’t play with me. Is that my blood in there? Or are you really going to let my brother raise my child as his trophy?"

"I don’t know ok. Alex, please. I don’t know!"

​"You don’t know?" he repeated, a bitter laugh breaking from his throat. "You are with me, more than you are with him. Do the math, Clarisse. It’s not that hard."

​"It could be his. It could be yours."

"I’m not letting Mark raise my kid."

"If I tell him it might be yours, he’ll kill us both! Susan will throw me into the street!"

Alex’s gripped Clarisse’s arm. "You’re going to get a paternity test, and you’re going to do it quietly. If it’s mine, you’re leaving Mark and coming to me."

Clarisse’s eyes widened. This wasn’t her plan. "Why don’t I just stick with your brother and you can have all the fun you want with me. I will even agree to the threesome you want so badly."

Alex’s expression darkened instantly.

"Have you lost your mind?" he said, his voice low and dangerous.

Clarisse forced a small, shaky laugh, trying to lighten the tension she had just created.

"I’m just saying—there are easier ways to keep everyone happy," she said quickly. "You get what you want, Mark stays satisfied, and I don’t end up on the street."

Alex stared at her like he didn’t recognize her.

"That’s your plan?" he asked, disbelief cutting through his tone. "To turn this into some kind of arrangement?"

Clarisse’s smile faltered.

"You don’t understand—"

"No," Alex cut in sharply. "You don’t understand."

He stepped closer, his grip on her arm tightening just enough to make his point.

"This isn’t a game. That child—" he stopped himself, jaw clenching, then continued more quietly, "—if it’s mine, it’s not staying in this house under my brother’s name."

Clarisse’s heart pounded.

"You think it’s that simple?" she shot back, her voice rising. "You think Susan will just let it slide? You think Mark will simply smile and wave?"

Alex didn’t answer immediately.

But the look in his eyes said enough.

"I don’t care what they think," he said finally.

Clarisse shook her head, fear creeping in now.

"You should," she whispered. "Because they will never forgive us."

A heavy silence filled the room.

Then Alex released her arm and stepped back, running a hand through his hair.

"Get the test done," he said again, calmer now but no less firm. "Quietly."

Clarisse didn’t move.

"And until we know for sure whose it is," he added, "we simply assume the baby is mine."

Clarisse let out a slow breath, her mind racing. She loved Mark — at least, she loved what he represented. Stability. Status. A future.

But Alex...

Alex was different.

He was reckless. The kind of man who didn’t think about consequences, and that was exactly what drew her to him.

She remembered the first time, they got together.

Mark had gone out for a business dinner with Lyvana and Susan, leaving her alone at the house. The place was quiet until Alex came in.

She remembered that first time clearly — how it hadn’t even been planned. They had been in the garden, arguing like they always did. His voice low, hers sharp.

Then suddenly, everything changed.

He had pulled her closer kissing her, his hand gripping her waist. Before she could think, before she could stop it, he had lifted her dress right there, like he didn’t care who might see.

And she hadn’t stopped him.

Her heart had been racing, not from fear — but from the thrill of it. She knew she was crossing a line.

Alex didn’t hesitate.

And neither did she.

She told herself afterwards that it was a mistake. They had even argued. They always argued.

But it didn’t stop there.