Christian Valerius stared at the accounts spread across his mahogany desk, the numbers swimming before his eyes like a dark tide. The Valerius family business, once a thriving empire of textile manufacturing, was collapsing under debts and failed investments. Every spreadsheet, every overdue invoice, felt like a nail in the coffin.
"Father, perhaps it's time we considered bankruptcy," his assistant suggested cautiously, breaking the heavy silence.
Christian slammed his hand on the desk. "Bankruptcy is not an option, Marcus! Valerius Enterprises has survived wars, recessions, everything. I will not let it die on my watch."
Marcus shifted nervously. "I understand, sir, but the banks are calling, suppliers are threatening legal action, and the employees… they don't know how much longer we can keep them paid."
Christian's eyes darkened. "I know. I know everything. That's why I've been thinking, Marcus… thinking about solutions."
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Thoughts of the future weighed heavily on him, especially the life growing inside his wife. The child—still unnamed, still a mystery—represented both hope and unbearable responsibility. Every choice he made now could shape a world for them he might never be able to control.
"There's one possibility," he murmured, almost to himself. "A way to save everything… but it comes at a cost."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "What cost, sir?"
Christian hesitated, the words tasting bitter in his mouth. "The Ashwell Corporation. One of the most powerful companies in the world. Their wealth, their influence… it could keep Valerius alive. But it's not a simple partnership. They would demand… a union. A child promised to another child, both yet unborn."
Marcus blinked, stunned. "You… you're saying—"
"Yes," Christian interrupted, his voice firm but heavy with sorrow. "I would have to promise that my child—still unnamed—would marry the eldest child of the Ashwell family. We do not even know their name yet, Marcus, but the contract would bind us, our families, and the future of these children before they even take their first breaths."
He rose and walked to the window, staring out at the city that seemed indifferent to the suffering of a single family. "I do not like this," he admitted softly, almost to himself. "But our company is drowning. Our employees, our family… I cannot let them suffer because I am too proud to make the necessary sacrifices."
Marcus cleared his throat. "And these children? They haven't even been born yet. How can you make such a decision for their lives?"
Christian's jaw tightened. "Happiness is a luxury. Survival is a necessity. One day, perhaps, they will understand why I made this choice. But for now… I must do what I can to ensure they are born into a world where they can live, not merely survive."
He sat back down at the desk, staring at the blank page before him. The weight of destiny pressed down on every thought he had. He had not signed anything, nor did he yet know the names of the children whose fates hung in the balance. But the idea of what he might have to do—the path he was considering—felt both inevitable and horrifying.
Outside, the first drops of rain began to fall, washing over the city streets like a silent witness to the decisions still to come. Christian closed his eyes and whispered, "This… this may be the only way."
The storm outside mirrored the storm within him, a prelude to choices that would one day shape the lives of two unborn children, whose names—and destinies—were still hidden in the shadows of the future.