Roseville, Country V.
Inside the private hospital of the small town, the hall was shrouded in dread. The sharp smell of disinfectant was overpowered by the fear radiating from everyone inside.
Rows of men stood with their bodies ramrod straight, while the doctors and nurses between them trembled from head to toe. Not a single word spoke, not a single person dared move.
At this moment, the wind picked its pace as the sound of a helicopter sliced through the isolated place.
The men straightened and the hospital staffs' knees buckled.
Soon, a pair of long legs greeted their vision. And then, their gazes landed on the man who stepped inside the small hospital hallway.
He was dressed in a classic navy blue suit that hugged his tall and muscular body. But what stood out the most about him was his face.
Like the creation of a god, the man had magnificent facial features. The light arch of his lips, his straight nose, the pair of ice blue eyes and his striking jawline; everything about him was breathtaking.
His dark hair was coiffed to perfection and when he tilted his face, a diamond stud sparkled on his earlobe.
A gentle smile lingered on Zaiden's face as he came to stand in front of the queue of men, "Where is the woman?" His voice was like the spring rain after stormy weather, soothing one's soul.
But nobody dared to be soothed.
It was one of the bodyguards who stepped forward and reported, "President, there are no signs of the woman here but..."
'Wahhhh!'
Before he could finish speaking, the loud cries of a baby reverberated in the small hospital hallway.
And in the next moment, an old nurse stepped out of the adjacent room with a small baby in her arms, her wrinkled face scanning the place before landing on the newcomer, "You are the father of the child? Good, you came on time!"
Clueless to the doctors' warning gazes, she shoved the child in Zaiden's arms.
"Not my child..." Zaiden had not even finished speaking when the child suddenly stopped crying.
For a moment, nobody dared to breathe.
Zaiden glanced at the newborn whose face was red and the pair of round ice blue eyes that looked at him intently.
"We came here tracking that woman down but we found this child through the clues we gathered. And the child is indeed hers!" A woman in her late 20s came into everyone's view as she came to stand in front of Zaiden, "President, the DNA samples of that woman match with the baby."
As she spoke, she raised the reports in her hands.
Zaiden glanced at the little ball in his arms and the corner of his lips twitched into a gentle smile.
A smile, that, for some reason, sent shivers down everyone's spine.
"This child is not mine," As he spoke, he passed the child to the woman.
Holly's professional expressions crumbled slightly. But under her Boss's resolute smile, she reached out to hold the child. Yet the moment, her fingers came in contact with the child—
'Wahhhhh'
The shrill sound of the child crying pierced through the hallways.
Secretary Holly immediately retracted her hands and the child quietened down in Zaiden's hold.
The Old nurse stepped forward, "The child is too young. At a time like this, she would feel the most comfortable with her parents."
Zaiden froze, the smile on his face vanished gradually, "Lock down the entire place and search every corner. I want that woman."
Zaiden paused and his gaze lowered to the little ball clinging to him, a pair of eyes identical to his own looked at him innocently.
His eyes narrowed slightly, "Conduct a DNA test."
…
Zaiden Allister was not a man who ever suffered a loss. He was the kind of man who would take a crushing defeat and turn it into his victory, all with a gentle smile on his devilishly handsome face.
Alas, the records shifted a year ago. Slightly drunk after a business party, he had been on his way to an important meeting when the door of a hotel room opened.
A dainty hand curled around his tie and dragged him inside and pinned him to the wall.
He hadn't seen that woman's face in the darkness. Yet, her audacity made him want to teach her a good lesson she would remember for her entire life.
But before he could act on his intentions, he sensed a sweet fragrance in the room. His body convulsed and he immediately sensed something amiss.
However, it was too late for Zaiden. When he turned to leave, the door was locked and suddenly his mind slipped beyond his control.
All he could feel was the woman's gentle touch on every inch of his burning body. And in no time, Zaiden had the woman pinned to the floor.
The positions switched, the tables turned and it was a long… long night for the both of them.
The next morning, Zaiden woke up with a splitting headache, feeling miserable for the first time in his 22 years of life.
But when he turned around, the cause of his misery was long gone.
The only thing of hers that she left behind was her long hair strands on the bed, an evidence that last night was not a figment of imagination.
And he… really touched a woman for the first time in his life.
…
Local hotel, Roseville.
Inside the small yet cozy hotel room, there was a serene air.
One couldn't tell if it was the peace that monks longed for or if it was simply the calm before the storm.
The door opened and Secretary Holly stepped inside with a stoic face.
Zaiden's eyes landed on the transparent bag in his secretary's hand.
The transparent bag contained strands of medium length blonde hair that had been preserved in the lab storage for about a year now.
"Another round of DNA tests were done by our private doctors this time, President. That woman is indeed the mother of the child. And you are the father."
Something shifted in the bottom of the pair of ice blue eyes.
Zaiden pushed himself to his feet and walked to the bed in the middle of the room, neither too close nor too far from the child who was fast asleep on the bed.
After a long time, Zaiden did not say anything. And the atmosphere in the room turned even more unreadable.
"President, the arrangements have been made for your return to the Capital," Holly bowed.
With his brows furrowed, Zaiden sat on the bed, observing the little thing sleeping steadily. The gentle smile on his face did not waiver and one couldn't tell what he was thinking.
He reached out his hand towards the child but before his fingers could touch her, he moved away.
But before he could completely pull his hand back, he felt a soft grip on his fingers.
And his entire hand froze.
The grip was so light that it seemed like a caress of a flower petal, as if it barely existed. Yet, Zaiden's gaze remained stuck to the tiny fingers that had firmly wrapped around his little finger.
"Indeed," The smile on his face flickered and faded as Zaiden spoke, "Let's return to the capital."