The Breeding Deal: Brother-in-law's Forbidden Offer

It had always been this way. Whenever Adrian was at home, whether going out or coming back, Christine would always greet him like this.

Adrian lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes falling on Christine's swollen belly. Counting the two months they hadn't seen each other, Christine was now five months pregnant. Her figure didn't appear bulky—perhaps because she had been doing Pilates regularly. Instead, she looked vibrant and full of life. Her flexible body was hidden under a loose down jacket, making her pregnancy not particularly noticeable.

James had given Sophie a task: to take "useless" photos every few days and send them to him.

In most of the photos, Christine was in the hospital room, leaning by Ethan's bedside, quietly reading a book. Or when Ethan was awake, she would lean close to his ear, smiling sweetly, whispering something intimate to him.

Occasionally, she would sit alone by the window, wearing black-framed glasses Adrian had never seen before, her hair tucked behind her ears, with a laptop on the small table as she focused on typing her thesis.

There was one photo of Christine tying her hair into a ponytail, her slender fingers gathering her silky black hair. With a hair tie between her teeth, she lifted her head slightly, her eyes wide with curiosity as she looked toward Sophie at the doorway.

"Christine looks so pretty!"

Sophie said as she clicked the shutter and sent the photo to James.

When James received the photo, it was daytime in N City and evening in Bangkok. Adrian and James had just finished a meeting and were in a car heading back to their hotel. James also thought the photo was lovely—Christine looked lively and natural in the frame.

He held up his phone to Adrian and said, "Miss Christine even wears glasses."

He wasn't sure how far Adrian and Christine's relationship had progressed. During these months following Adrian around in Thailand, busy with work, Adrian hadn't mentioned Christine once. But James instinctively felt that he would want to know about her.

The man glanced at the screen, then turned back to the documents in his hand, showing James an indifferent profile. "Don't send these anymore."

Since seeing that photo of Christine leaning close to Ethan's ear, whispering to him, Adrian had rarely paid attention to any news about her.

He woke up very early every day, doing cardio and weight training at the gym. During the day, the man kept himself constantly busy with meetings, appointments, handling official business, and video calls. At night, even while taking a bath, he would review business materials. Before sleeping, he would sit in bed and meticulously check all his work, big and small, before turning off the lights and allowing himself to sink into darkness.

He needed to keep himself busy—he needed to make himself the busiest person in the world.

Only this way, day after day, could he forget Christine.

Forget this woman who belonged to his brother.

Adrian shifted his gaze away from Christine and stepped forward. His presence was cold, and as he passed by Christine, that familiar cedar scent lingered—like a chilly whirlwind that made Christine instinctively shrink her neck.

She quietly called out to James, who was following behind Adrian, asking him to wait. Then, she quickly walked to the cabinet in the living room and took out two gift boxes.

"Happy New Year. These are gifts for Thomas and Daniel. Please give them to them. I gave your gift to Sophie this morning—I didn't think you'd be back today, so I asked her to pass it on to you later."

James was quite surprised as he accepted the gift boxes. After politely thanking her, he glanced at Adrian's retreating figure and tentatively asked, "Um... is there a gift for the boss? I can deliver it to him."

Christine paused, then explained, "Well... I usually only give gifts to you all, to thank you for your hard work throughout the year."

"But, but the boss works hard too!"

James, who rarely showed emotion, now appeared unusually hopeful, whispering, "Doesn't the boss get a gift?"

Christine awkwardly shook her head. "...No."

She would never—and didn't want to—give Adrian gifts anymore.

Not only to avoid creating more misunderstandings, but also... to avoid having too many connections with him.

She would repay his kindness, but definitely not in the ways she had before.

Besides, they hadn't contacted each other for over two months—no calls, no messages... no communication at all. She assumed that after this business trip, Adrian had completely lost interest in her.

She was waiting for him to speak up—actually, it was fine if he didn't. As long as he no longer had any interest in her, their relationship could return to what it should be: he was her husband's brother, and she was his brother's wife.

They both loved Ethan, so they both made their own efforts so that Ethan would not give up staying alive.

That would be good enough.

James immediately felt distressed. He anxiously wanted to say something but couldn't speak plainly. He could only pace back and forth helplessly until he heard Adrian calling him from the study downstairs. He quickly gestured to Christine and hurried off to find Adrian.

The study on the first floor contained various materials left by Adrian's grandfather.

Although the old man hadn't received much formal education, after he started dealing in art pieces, he developed a habit of making excerpts and illustrated guides. Back then, he didn't have a printer and couldn't afford to hire someone to keep records for him. He personally drew every single art piece in thick notebooks, documenting the appearance, material, source, and destination of all the artworks that passed through his hands.

Among these, his most treasured items were two gemstones—a ruby and a sapphire—each over 30 carats. By today's standards, they would be worth at least 50 million dollars.

According to Adrian's father, the old man had acquired these two gemstones from an Indian merchant. They originally belonged to generations of Asian nobility before being displaced during wartime. Before his death, the old man wrote a will, leaving the ancestral sapphire to his eldest son, Victor Blackwood, and the ruby to his second son, Adrian and Ethan's father.

After the family split, Victor's family situation deteriorated. His business wasn't doing well, and both his wife and son required financial support. His wife Lily was a big spender, blowing tens of thousands every month on beauty treatments and designer bags. His two sons, Marcus and Wesley, lacked real skills—finding wives, buying luxury cars, showing off to friends—all funded by Victor's money. After the family division, they gradually depleted the money and properties they had received.

This time, with Marcus and Wesley beaten so badly and needing rehabilitation therapy in Europe, Victor was truly struggling financially. Finally, he made the difficult decision to secretly send the sapphire to an auction house in Asia and sell it—naturally, behind Adrian's back.

What Victor didn't know was that the auction house owner had personal connections with Adrian. The gemstone was so large, and seeing the seller's name, combined with some rumors circulating, the owner guessed the situation.

So, through a roundabout way, this valuable sapphire found its way back into Adrian's hands.

He had returned home specifically to confirm if the gemstone in his possession was authentic.

The man flipped through his grandfather's notes, confirmed that the gemstone matched exactly with the one in the company safe, then tossed the notebook to James to take away before turning to leave.

For New Year's Eve, that social lover Harrison had organized a yacht gathering to a friend's private island where they planned to set off fireworks and hold an all-night party. Together, they had purchased over a million dollars' worth of fireworks, all loaded onto the yacht, promising to color the night sky.

By now, over a hundred young men and women invited by Harrison were already on the yacht, just waiting for Adrian's arrival before setting sail.

Christine was sitting in the living room, eating the small cream cake by herself. A stack of tissues lay beside her as she blew her nose. Seeing them hurriedly walking out, she quickly stood up and asked, "Are you leaving already?"

Adrian didn't speak or look at her. He just nodded in response and walked straight toward the door without a sideways glance. James glanced at the cake on Christine's table, stepped forward, and asked softly, "Boss, shouldn't we have dinner before leaving?"

"Oh." Christine was surprised. "What time is it now? You haven't had dinner yet?"

"No, we haven't."

James said, looking back at Adrian. The man was already standing by the door, his eyes cold as he waited impatiently. James hurried to catch up and said in a low voice, "Boss, it's New Year's Eve, and Miss Christine is spending it alone at home. That seems a bit... lonely. Why don't we have dinner with her?"

As an assistant, his attempt at matchmaking was becoming painfully obvious to both Adrian and Christine.

Boss, I'm trying to create an opportunity for you!

"No need."

The man coldly declined and walked out without looking back. He pushed open the door and didn't even wait for James to hold an umbrella for him before stepping into the snowy night and going down the steps.

James sighed, made an apologetic gesture to Christine, then hurried after Adrian with an umbrella, closing the front door behind him.

Christine sat back down and turned on the TV, which was showing New Year's Eve celebrations. Young people and tourists were gathering in Times Square, waiting for the grand countdown.

She had thought Adrian's hurried return home was for dinner.

Now, in the huge mansion, there were only the sounds of her fork lightly tapping against her plate, the TV, and the ticking of the clock.

She glanced at the clock: 10:19 PM. In just over an hour and a half, the new year would arrive.

This year, she would be spending New Year's Eve alone.