The Billionaire's Secret Baby

In A Nutshell

Hope's POV

" Girls, we need to pay the rent in a few days, Hope do you have the money?" Gina, my stepmother asked me and her step daughter.

She is right, we need to pay rent in a few days, every month we go through the same thing and I hate it. As of now, I don't really have a choice. You see I was raised by my father till the age of five. I don't know who my mother was and I never got the chance to ask my father. When I was five, he married Gina and Gina came with a daughter, one who was the same age as I was.

My father was not wealthy but he was a hard working man. Gina on the other hand was a house wife, a suburban house wife who wears expensive designer clothes and fine jewelry. She didn't really have time for me, neither did my stepsister. I spent a lot of time alone when they would go out and do things together. She tolerated me but she never really cared for me. I don't know why my mother left me and Gina made sure I felt it every single day of my life.

Things got worse when I turned ten and my father died. I never knew my father's side of the family and since I didn't even know my birth mother, I was practically an orphan. Gina said that she would keep me. I don't know why she adopted me only to turn around and treat me like I was less than the bottom of her shoes. A few years ago things got worse, we lost our house. Gina was too caught up in spending my father's money that she even went far as selling the house without telling me.

Things have been bad ever since. Losing the house meant that we had to find a new place to live in. We found a house, a two bedroom house where I have to share the room with Stacy, my stepsister. Even with all the troubles we went through, I managed to graduate highschool with flying colours, so much so that I got accepted into Harvard. I haven't told Gina yet. I don't want her to know because she would find a way to ruin it somehow.

I don't know what this woman and her daughter have against me but they have made my life a living hell. I was not even sure if I would get accepted let alone get a full scholarship. I want to make something of myself but above all of that, I don't want to be here anymore. This small town is holding me back and if I want to be a successful lawyer, I cannot be stuck here. Harvard is the start I need to make my dreams come true. I have managed to get myself a job at the hotel.

Never did I think that I would one day end up cleaning up after people. A job I was forced to get because we would have died of hunger. Even that is not enough for Gina, every cent I make, she keeps for herself with a reminder that she didn't have to take me in, that she has been the only person kind enough to raise. Her daughter also makes me feel like I owe them my life and maybe I do. I don't know much about the foster care system but I know that there are people who have had bad experiences.

While some people do it because they love helping out, there are many others who do it just for the money. Many kids even suffer abuse, I did not want to be a statistic, I just didn't think that it would be this bad.

" I don't think that I will be able to have the full amount this month..." I said and put on my shoes.

" What is that supposed to mean?" Gina asked me just as Melissa walked into the room. Her face was covered with a green mask that looked like projectile vomit. I don't get how she manages to buy expensive beauty products and not be able to help out with the rent.

" It means that I do not have money to cover for rent, maybe Melissa could help out!" I said and walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

" I don't have money, I just bought a new phone, I needed better pictures for the gram. " Melissa said and went to the coffee machine.

" You got your first cheque and you bought a phone?" I said to her. I was astonished that she did this. I have been the only person working in the house and when she got a job at the bar, I thought that she would help out a bit. I need to save for University, I cannot give up my whole money to them. I am leaving in two months and nothing is going to stop me, not even them.

" Your sister is trying to be a model, she needs a better phone to do that... You need to ask for more shifts and ask for an advance, we have to pay the rent. " Gina said to me.

" I am sorry but you will have to figure this out somehow Gina, I do not have it!" I said to her.

" You ungrateful little t**t! I have been feeding you, clothing you for years after your father died and this is the thanks I get? Your mother left you when you were just a baby and I stepped in, you owe me little girl, you will pay that rent you here me?" She said to me. She was angry, so angry that she was starting to turn into a tomato.

" I am sorry, I just don't have it. " I said to her and took my purse on the kitchen table, a very old table.

" You know what? I don't have to take this from you, if you do not do as you are told, you will find yourself out in the cold. You will never ever again set foot in this house, Melissa can sleep with me, I am sure that we can find a tenant. " Gina said.

" You are right mom, you know what? I think that's a great idea. " Melissa said.

" A tenant? Ha! Good luck finding someone willing to actually pay to live in this dump, as for me, you won't have to worry about me for much longer, I'll be back later to get my things." I said and walked out.

My heart was beating fast, I am supposed to leave in a couple of months, I had hoped that I would have been able to stay there till then but now it seems like I might have to move out sooner. I don't have much money but I am sure that I can be able to sleep into a motel for a couple of nights, after that I might have to sleep in my car. I have to save as much as I can, I had been checking prices for plane tickets and I can't afford one at the moment.

I walked out of the house and got into my car. In that moment I felt tons of emotions thinking about what I was going to do from here. Gina told me to ask for extra shifts, what she doesn't know is that I am already doing extra shifts. Just like tonight. There is an event at the hotel. Apparently it's a big deal and they needed extra waitresses, a few hundred bucks for six hours was exactly what I needed. I had to beg my manager for the opportunity.

Of course the gig came with a lot of rules, including an NDA, we are not allowed to talk about things that happen at the event, apparently there is going to be some very important people and their privacy is at the top of the list. Also, I have to look presentable and try to look comfortable in the tiny outfits they want us to wear. I am a bit of a tomboy and I don't care much about heels and make-up, that is why I don't need the extra pressure from Gina and Melissa.

I also feel terrible that they won't be able to pay the rent. I suppose maybe this is what they needed to finally get up and work. Melissa got that job because of me. I know that she is good with makeup and so I asked a friend of mine to put in a good word for her. Being a make-up artist in one of the biggest department stores was the perfect job for her. My stepsister is not like me. She is more interested in finding a rich man rather than going to school.

I get it, she is in her pretty girl era and it is not a bad thing, what I do know is that if I was a man, I wouldn't be going for a woman with no ambitions, a woman who lives just to look pretty. I would want to go for a woman who is able to fend for herself. Melissa wouldn't last a day in my world.

I finally found the strength to start the ignition and my car did the worst thing ever, it wouldn't start. I own a second, possibly third hand car, it is old and rusted, I am not surprised by this, I always knew that at some point, it will die on me. I am glad that it didn't die in the middle of the road, that would have been worse. I would need to call a tow truck and right now, I cannot afford it.

I called a cab and found my way to the hotel. I went to the staff entrance, I went to the kitchen, that is where the team is meeting up for a brief before we begin with our jobs. I have never done this before but Tina, my boss assured me that it won't be too hard. She said that if I am lucky, I might even make a few tips, which is my biggest concern right now. I need every cent I can get.

Walking into the kitchen felt strange as I didn't see what I was expecting to see. I thought that there would be other people in there with me but it seems like I was wrong. I couldn't even find Tina.

" Stacey? " A woman's voice called out. I turned my back and saw a beautiful woman standing there looking at me. She was tall, perfect skin and long blonde hair, she looked like a model.

" Excuse me?" I said to her.

" Where the hell have you been? Mr Hardy doesn't like to be kept waiting!" The woman said and walked up to me. She grabbed my arm.

" Excuse ma'am, I think you have..." I said to her, I was trying to explain to her that there might be a mistake she is making, I know that my name is not Stacey. She cut me off before I could even finish telling her that she had the wrong person. She stopped walking and let go of my arm, she went into her pocket and took out an envelope.

" Here... Half now and half at the end of the night as per our agreement, make sure that you make him happy at all costs. " The woman said and gave me an envelope. I took the envelope and opened it, there was a stack of hundred dollar bills. My eyes went wide.

" Ten thousand dollars, you can count it if you want," she said to me.

At this point I have two options, the first option would be to tell her that she made a mistake, that I am not the person she thinks I am. The second one would be to take the money and do whatever it is that she wants me to do. She spoke about making a man happy and that could mean a lot of things. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money, the kind of money that I need to make my way to Harvard a little more bearable and if I do this correctly, I will get another ten grands.

I am tempted to do this but then again, the real Stacey might show up and blow this whole thing out of the park. I will also lose out on the few hundreds I came here to make.

" I am sorry ma'am but I think that you might have mistaken me for someone else, I am not Stacey! " I said and gave her the envelope.

" Oh! Sorry, I haven't actually met her as of yet, tell me... are you a guest here?" She asked me.

" No, actually I came here for a waitressing gig, we were supposed to meet up here," I said to her.

" Oh I heard about that, your team is already at the event, it was moved an hour earlier, didn't you get the notice?" She asked me.

" No... I didn't get it. " I said in a low voice. I felt like crying because I need the money.

" Look, my girl is not here but if you are willing to let loose a little, you can make yourself twenty thousand dollars by the end of the night!" The woman said to me with a smile.

" What would I have to do?" I asked her.

" Look, I am not going to lie to you, I run an Escort agency, a very discreet escort agency with high end clients and tonight I am in need of someone like you, one night is all you get to spend with the client." She said to me.

" You mean that I have to have s*x with him?" I asked her with a shocked voice.

" Yes I want you to do that, don't worry, he is not an old man, infact I don't think that you will mind being with this one, you were going to work the same hours and earn much more less than I am offering you, we are completely descreet, no one has to know about this! " She said to me.

I was appalled, I never thought that anyone would mistake me for a working girl, let alone suggest that I sleep with strange men for money, even if I do need it. Things are hard at home and this money would go a long way but this is not who I am, I cannot do this.

"I am sorry ma'am but I can't," I said and gave her back the money.

"Fine then, have it your way, I am sure that I can find someone else to do this, take this, call me if you change your mind, you are what he is looking for, remember what I said, this is completely discreet, no one has to know, I promise you that! " She said and took the money. Letting go of the envelope was hard but it had to be done. This is not me and still I took her card and slipped it in my pocket.

I called a cab and I went back home. I should have known better because when I came home, my things were gone, including all the money I have been saving up so that I can leave this little town. It felt like I was dreaming. I wished that the earth would open and swallow me. They ransacked my side of the closet and took everything that was worth of any value.

"This is it, I am never getting out of this place," I said as the tears came running down my face. Then I heard it, laughter coming down from downstairs. I wiped my tears and went downstairs and there I saw them with shopping bags. I couldn't hold myself, I felt like exploding.

"What the hell is wrong with you two people!" I yelled and they both turned in shock and looked at me. Gina squinted her eyes.

"What is wrong with us? What the hell is wrong with you? You were going to have us thrown out of our home while you had money? " She said with an attitude.

"So you decided to steal from me? Do you have any idea how long I have been saving that money and you went shopping? We are taking all of that back RIGHT NOW! " I yelled as I marched to them.

"Oh no you don't you little slut! I have been taking care of you all of these years, you owe me and since this is my house! Whatever is in here belongs to me! You know what? I don't have to do this anymore, I mean you are eighteen right? I think it's time for you to leave, Get Out!" My stepmother said to me.

"What? Where do you expect me to go? You took all of my money, took anything worth of value, where the hell do you expect me to go?" I asked her.

"Don't make this hard for yourself, just leave!" My stepsister said as the both of them grabbed and pushed me out the door.

"What am I gonna do?" I whispered as I sat down on the floor.

I have nowhere to go, I have no family and no one to help me. I am supposed to leave this place in a few weeks, how am I going to do that without money? My next moments were not my proudest, I was backed up into a corner. I went into my pocket and took out the card, I took out my phone in my pocket and I called the number on the card.

The phone rang and a part of me wanted to hang up, I was about to hang up when she answered.

" Hello..." She said. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't even speak.

" Hello..." She said again.

" Hello, it's me!" I said to her.