Having kids was definitely on the tail end of Brandon DeCaro's agenda, never in his life would he have thought to conceive his own offspring, mainly because of the work of being a parent and not to mention the unidentified germs infesting a child's hands.

Yet, he didn't seem to mind this one.

"Woah!" Nic gasped dramatically, his head bobbling back and forth to marvel at the tall skyscraper that was DeCaro Industries' Manhattan Office, "Is that yours?" He liked to ask a lot of questions it seemed. Everything that they walked past he would point enthusiastically and asked if it were Brandon's property. Ninety percent of the time, it was something he owned, except for that random Starbucks on the way he pointed at.

He could have bought it if he wanted to.

Brandon pondered if he should buy the child the entire coffee shop just to prove a point but decided against it upon thinking of Stella's reaction.

"Yes," He said for the umpteenth time today. Nic giggled excitedly, unaware of the tediousness clouding the tycoon he was holding onto. Nic's eyes widened as they passed through the roller door that led into the lobby, his jaw on the floor at the people that walked through it while Brandon continued strolling absentmindedly.

"Mr. DeCaro, good morning," His secretary, Oliver's, voice sliced into his thoughts as Brandon came to a stop in front of the tall slender man holding the tablet regarding Brandon's morning agenda.

Brandon opened his mouth to address the man but was cut off as small hands quickly latched onto the fabric of his slacks at his left leg. Both confused pairs of eyes wandered down to Nic who stood with a frown as he held Brandon's leg with both hands.

Oliver's eyes widened to the size of saucers at the small duplicate of his boss standing merely 2 feet off the ground, clutching onto Mr DeCaro as if his life depended on it. There were an abundant number of rumors circling around that the Bachelor Brandon DeCaro made his secret family public but Oliver regard them as they were, escalated rumors.

Plus, he knew better than to question Brandon DeCaro on rumors if he fancied his life.

"Sir, Is that-"

"Yes," Brandon shot back even before Oliver could form the words, "This is Nicholas," Brandon gestured, his hand hovering behind Nic's shoulder as Nic buried his face into the fabric of his pants in response.

He recalled Stella vaguely mentioning that Nic gets antsy around crowds. Funny how alike that was to Brandon himself.

It seemed that the presence of the child had caught everyone's attention as they gawked at the kid that miraculously got within 3 feet of Brandon DeCaro without crying.

"Hello Nicholas," Oliver crouched to his height, tucking his tablet under his arm to extend his hand, "I'm Oliver,"

Nic looked at his hand shyly before nuzzling his bashful smile into Brandon's fabric again. Oliver knew the moment the child let go, those slacks were going to get sent to dry cleaning immediately.

"Ca- err, my wife is out for the day, so I'm looking after him," Brandon told him stoically and Oliver shot up to his feet at the words.

"Y-Your married?" He couldn't help the words blurt out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Brandon rolled his eyes in response and Oliver quickly cleared his throat and gulped back the words stuck in his throat. "This way sir, you have a meeting with the tax and finance division in an hour,"

Brandon took the agenda into account and stepped forward in the direction of the elevator, only to be weighed down immediately. Nic stood rooted to his spot, his eyes wide and a pout on his lips.

"What's wrong?" He asked curiously and Nic immediately raised his hands.

"Up," He whimpered, looking around at the people who were murmuring as they walked past. Brandon's lips parted in confusion as he gazed around at the crowd that seemed to have stopped to peer at the child.

Nic didn't like crowds.

Stella always held him when they were at any place that was crowded.

A glare formed in Brandon's eyes and immediately the entire room stiffened, gazing awkwardly around as if they hadn't been staring moments before.

"Alright, buddy," Brandon sighed, turning his softer gaze down at the child. God's children were so needy, but for some reason, he felt like he saw himself in Nic.

Brandon didn't like crowds; he would often have panic attacks as a child when he was around too many people. His father use to drag him to all sorts of social events and he would lock himself in the bathroom every time he felt his pulse increase.

As an adult, he had gotten his anxiety under control to the point where he would hardly notice it sometimes. The only time he ever recalled being too overwhelmed, was 4 years ago.

He couldn't remember what exactly caused it, but all he could remember was the soft smile on her face as she held his hand reassuringly. It was her smile that slowed his racing heart and the fond look in her gentle honey eyes that eased his anxiety.

Shaking the thought out of his head, Brandon tucked his hands under Nic's arms and hoisted him up into his arms. Nic's pout immediately dissipated as he wrapped his small arms around Brandon's neck.

It seemed that Brandon's presence seemed to comfort him when his mother wasn't around. A comfort that not many people seemed to find in the stoic tycoon. Oliver couldn't believe his own eyes, he would've laughed if someone had told him Brandon DeCaro had a child, let alone him behaving like an actual father.

Yet here Oliver was, with his tyrannical and heartless boss who was holding a toddler, that looked almost exactly like him, nuzzled in his arms.

Brandon stepped into the elevator, ignoring the gobsmack stares of his assistant as everyone that had stopped to observe, "Cancel that meeting Oliver, I can't leave Nic alone,"

"O-Of course Mr. DeCaro,"

It had been an hour since Brandon had brought Nic up to the top floor where the CEO's office resided. In the last mere 60 minutes, his office was flooded with toys as the 3-year-old sprawled some Legos on his Persian rug and was busy building some tower.

Brandon had silently observed him for a few minutes before going through his papers for the day. Every few seconds he found his eyes flickering over to Nic to make sure he hadn't swallowed anything or left his presence to wander around.

He was a well-behaved child for the most part.

Placing his pen down, Brandon linked his fingers together, amusedly watching Nic struggle to place a thin Lego piece on another. He guessed being 3 years old did excuse him from having proper motor skills though he was already impressive for his age.

"Here," Brandon murmured, leaving his seat to walk down the step that led to the couch arrangement in the middle of his office room. Nic looked at him eagerly as Brandon fixed the tower and sat down on the couch beside where he was sitting on the floor.

"Fank you," He beamed happily, placing the blocks onto the arrangement he had already built. Stella had home-schooled him herself since she didn't have the funds to send him to pre-school, yet his speech was still well above most his age.

Brandon felt a small smirk tug at his lips as he leaned back in his seat and observed the child curiously. He reminded him so much of Stella, albeit he was obviously her child, he behaved so much like her. Her laugh, her giggle, the flowery look on her face when she spoke. Everything.

He was more like his mother.

Part of him wondered what the child would be like if he had a father figure. What was the child's father like? What was it about him that made Stella choose him over Brandon DeCaro? He felt himself scoff at the idea that crept into his thoughts.

He didn't want to dwell on something that could've been.

Yet the only thing that seemed to be bothering him since this morning on the balcony was something that could be.

He knew Stella wasn't officially involved with anyone at the time of his proposal, but was there someone who might've had her on their mind?

"Who's Luc?" Brandon felt the words leave his lips before he could even weigh the pros and cons. Nic grinned ecstatically at the mention of the man's name as he turned to Brandon with that same beaming look his mother had.

"The bestest uncle in the world," He repeated his answer from earlier, expanding his arms to show what apparently was the world.

Brandon kissed his teeth at the response, "Yes, I'm aware," he murmured distastefully, "But who is he to Ca- your mom?"

Nic tilted his head in confusion before a thought light bulb manifested in his eyes, "Mommy loves Uncle Luc!" He declared abruptly and Brandon sat there speechless. Love?! Does Stella love him?

"Is he your mom's boyfriend?"

A tilt in Nic's head signaled he had absolutely no idea what Brandon was insinuating. Common sense immediately flagged in his mind as he sighed. He was talking to a 3-year-old about his mother's affairs, the child barely knew what love was let alone what a relationship entails.

Brandon didn't even know why he was asking, he didn't care if Cara was in love with another man, she was already legally married to him until the duration of this charade comes to an end. She had agreed, so even if she were in love with another, she couldn't walk out on this deal.

Paternity was as easy as a test for someone who could pull strings like Brandon, yet he knew breaking Stella's trust would be equivalent to signing away his own company. Right now, this empire mattered more than some affair that broke his old relationship.

Stella's current involvement with him was purely business. As much as he wanted to know who it was that she had chosen to have a child with and throw away their relationship for, it was in the past and he wasn't interested in a relationship with her now to want to find out.

Or at least that's what the logical part of him thought.

"Is Luc standing in as your dad?" He asked absentmindedly.

Nic's smile sank the moment the words were spoken, and his eyes drooped a little as he stared at the floor, "No," He murmured with a little break in his voice, "I don't have a daddy," he sniffled.

Among crying women, crying children ranked just above in the list of things Brandon DeCaro didn't know how to deal with.

"Hey, it's okay," He asked around quickly, trying to find something to cheer him up. His mind was filled with her name, and it was all he could think of, "You have your mom remember?"

Nic sniffled again, "Mommy misses daddy too," He admitted with a frown, "She cwies about it sometimes,"

Does Cara cry about that man?

"I want mommy happy," His small tears filled his waterline, and he began brushing them away repeatedly.

Shit shit shit Brandon muttered to himself, as he debated whether he should call Oliver to handle this. Nic doesn't like new people so Oliver being any form of comfort was out of the question.

He's going to have to do it himself.

"Come here," Brandon finally caved and extended his arm. Nic didn't hesitate for a moment before throwing himself onto Brandon's lap, nuzzling his face into his shirt. Successfully staining the powder blue button-up in salty tears, "You're okay buddy, don't cry,"

He found himself gently stroking his back, the same way he would comfort Cara when she sobbed into his arms. Small hiccups escaped Nic's lips as his sobs settled into soft sniffles as he sat in Brandon's lap.

"There you go buddy, no more crying," He murmured softly, as Nic rubbed away his tears, "Your mom wouldn't want you crying,"

"Mommy doesn't cwy now," He said out of the blue and his oak eyes stared up at Brandon with a blotchy nose smile, "Mommy doesn't cwy with 9you,"

Cara didn't cry around him. By what Nic says, she would cry a lot back home, but ever since she had come here, she must not feel as alone.

"Mommy says we have to go back home soon," Nic explained, fidgeting with his fingers, "But for now…" He whispered nervously, unable to meet Brandon's gaze as he played with his nails, "Can you be my daddy?"

Not many things shocked Brandon, but this was a surprise. Was the child asking him to be his father? His big pleading eyes gazed up at Brandon with a pout as he waited for an answer and Brandon felt himself at a loss for words.

By law, he was the child's father, and he was fine with that on paper. But to have the child address him as such was a whole other thing. The logical part of him didn't want another man's child addressing him as 'dad', even if that child were part of his ex-lover.

Yet something about Nic's pout and those big chocolate eyes made it easy to succumb to the child's demands. Perhaps he didn't mind being called such a name for the duration of their charade. Besides, the child himself knew it was temporary.

"Alright," He agreed and Nic's grin exploded on his little face as he clapped his hands.

"And you take cawe of Mommy?"

"And I'll take care of your mom," He added with a small playful scoff, "You do realize she's married to me right kiddo?"

Nic's head tilted in confusion again and Brandon chuckled, "It means, I already promised to look after her," That was what a marriage was, a promise. Though theirs was far from it, this charade was going to be more believable if he were to take the role of the child's father.

"You pomised!" Nic cheered again.

Stella's POV

"I can't believe he's acting all chivalrous now that he's afraid to lose his little empire," Bloom's voice cut into my thoughts as I shifted my gaze to meet her eyes. She pursed her lips with a discontent look, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It benefits both of us Bloom, Brandon gets what he wants and Nic will be sent to the best school for his education," I told her as she rolled her eyes at the idea of Brandon getting what he wants.

"But you won't stay in Manhattan, will you?" Bloom questioned softly as we fell into step. Both of us had been walking around Westfield Mall despite my full objections after Vince drove us here. It was one of the most expensive malls in the city and way beyond the budget I was hoping to spend, but allegedly it was Brandon's orders.

I shook my head at Bloom's question, "I can't stay here, as soon as this marriage is over, Nic and I are going back to Australia," I told her sadly and she nodded slowly in response.

I wondered what my child was up to, despite being with Brandon was the safest place for him, I wasn't so sure if it was the happiest place for him. Brandon's not very good with kids and he's not exactly very friendly. I was afraid Nic would cry for me or misbehave when he gets antsy.

Fishing out my phone I stared at Brandon's personal number, contemplating if I should get an update on Nic. My mind went back to this morning when Nic willingly left my arms to go to Brandon and how unseeingly attached he's gotten to him.

Maybe Brandon can handle his own. Or at least if he can't he'll hire an expensive babysitter to do so. The latter seemed more appropriate given Brandon DeCaro's distaste for children.

"We have another hour before we go back," Bloom said, glancing at her phone to confirm. "And we already did all the shopping," She grinned, pointing at the black carry bag with the gold designer logo etched on it.

"You know what this calls for?" She giggled, and before I could respond, she screeched out, "Mani-Pedis!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm and shook my head. Bloom and I loved going to mani-pedis when we were at the mall, it was like our therapy. I can't remember a time I had my nails done since leaving my lavish designer life.

"I don't have any money to pay for it-"I told her reluctantly and she beamed back devilishly.

"Sure, you do," Bloom snickered, pointing at the black card I had tucked safely in my purse.

Brandon's black AmEx card.

"I'm not using that!"

"He gave it to you, didn't he?" She pointed out with a smirk, "And didn't you say he said there was no spending limit,"

"Bloom!" I chided her playfully and she giggled, linking her arm around mine. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips at her sly suggestion, "I'm not using his card for mani-pedis!"

"He wouldn't even notice even if we bought a house with it,"

I rolled my eyes at her with a smile. She was right, he was worth billions of dollars, he wouldn't even notice a million dollars coming out of his card. Chuckling to herself, Bloom leaned her head on my shoulder and towed me in the direction of the spa we had walked past earlier.

"Lucky for brunette Satan, It'll be my treat," She beamed at me, waving her own card around and I gave her a soft look.

"All right fine let's get mani-pedis!"

We stood outside the luxury spa as Bloom cheered like a child. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the counter where a neatly dressed lady stood with a smile. "Two mani-pedis please," Bloom grinned, putting two fingers up. The lady nodded, pointing to the various colors of nail polish arranged beside her on the wall.

There were colors there that I had never seen in my life. Reaching for one of the peach hues, I was about to turn to Bloom and suggest the color before we were both cut off.

"Ugh, look what you did!" A sharp voice hissed, and Bloom nosily stuck her head over my shoulder to peer.

A tall tan leggy woman stood at one of the spa chairs, her arms crossed over her black blazer as she glared at the worker in front of her. "This is disgusting, how dare you cut my foot?!" She bellowed, grabbing the attention of the whole store as other customers in their spa chairs peeked over at the commotion.

I narrowed my eyes at her, scanning her sharp and defined facial features that were donned behind her glossy black locks. Her dark green eyes held a spine-shivering glare as she looked down at the poor attendant.

Somehow, she felt familiar, yet I couldn't tell if I'd met her before or who she is. But her attitude and her insults were boiling my blood,

"I'm so sorry ma'am, if you could please stop moving your foot-," The spa attendant replied meekly in an apologetic tone.

"How dare you talk back to me, you filthy bitch!" She cut her off brutally and I turned my head to look eyes wide at Bloom who looked back at me equally shocked.

By now the entire spa was eavesdropping on this escalation and the poor attendant bowed her head apologetically multiple times, but this woman wasn't having it. "What's your name? I'll have you out of a job!"

I felt bad for the attendant who was just trying to do her job. There wasn't even a cut on her foot from the way she was standing and there was not even a hint of blood to even rule off as a scratch!

"I know that look, stay out of it Stell," Bloom grabbed my hand and murmured in my ear.

"That's so unfair Bloom, she's literally tearing into someone for no reason," I mumbled back wanting nothing more than to walk over there and defend the spa attendant, but Bloom held my hand tight.

"You're not the manager Stell, let whoever is in charge handle it," She shot back and I sighed. It didn't long for the commotion to draw out the manager who then began her groveling towards the black-haired woman, offering discounts and extras.

"Enough," She snapped abruptly amid the manager's apology. She tilted her head to the man in a black suit standing beside her who had been standing there and observing the ordeal. He was wearing black sunglasses and an earpiece which gave me the impression that he was her bodyguard of some sort, "Have them both fired,"

My jaw dropped, as did everyone else in the room as the bodyguard uttered back, "Yes ma'am," The spa attendant broke into tears as her manager stood there stunned and rooted to her spot.

Satisfied with herself, the woman slipped her feet back into her heels and grabbed her purse off the man beside her. Her heels clattered eerily against the tile floor as she stalked out of the spa, no payment, no manners whatsoever.

Her sharp green eyes flickered to my figure for a second on the way out and I could see the smirk on her face. Bloom grabbed my arm before I could bite something at her, and she continued to walk out of sight.

"Are you insane?" Bloom chided quickly, "Don't waste your breath on harlots like that!"

"I couldn't just watch, she was so degrading!"

"Making an enemy out of someone like that is a waste of time," She sighed, "You're not fashion designer Stella Solaria, bringer of justice anymore, you're Stella DeCaro," She reprimanded with a slight mock of my old tendencies to let my mouth speak before my mind could agree, "Need I remind you that you have an equally self-absorbed snob for a fake husband?"

"Brandon isn't anything like that bitch!" I found the words blurting out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Bloom looked stunned for a second before a bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Since when did you of all people think Brandon DeCaro isn't a snob?"

"I-" Since my heart keeps skipping beats around him. I shook my head, quickly dispersing the unwelcoming thoughts, "He is, I'm just saying he isn't that bad,"

She looked unconvinced, "Riiight," Her voice drawled with a tone of disbelief. I could tell Bloom wanted to say something more but decided against it as we continued to pick colors and I was quite thankful she did.

As long as I convince myself this relationship is fake and everything Brandon does is for show, the better it is for me and my son.

So you're probably wondering if I died LOL. If you count academic burnout as death then yes! Luckily, I don't have uni this coming semester so I'm FREEEEE hence you will be seeing more of Mr. Brandon DeCaro in your reading list!

(Unless I get writer's block and die again)

Peace Out!

- Star :P