Triplets for the Billionaire

Late August always marked the chaotic end of summer, a time when transit corridors were choked with the restless energy of migration.

The train compartment was a suffocating crush of bodies, a mix of weary migrant workers and university students heading back to campus. Daisy Cloud leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window, watching the landscape blur into streaks of green and grey. The cacophony of voices inside the carriage grated on her nerves, amplifying the gloom that had settled in her chest.

She was leaving Ceres City, heading towards Terrence City.

Terrence City—the place where she had spent the last two years teaching. But this return trip wasn’t for work. It was for an arranged courtship. A blind date.

Daisy had never chosen teaching; it had been thrust upon her. The Cloud family was a dynasty of educators. Her father, Walter Cloud, and her mother, Eleanor Cloud, believed their children should sacrifice their youth on the altar of the classroom, just as generations before them had.

They hadn’t put it so bluntly, of course. Walter lectured endlessly about the grim economy and the safety of tenure. Eleanor spoke of the quiet dignity of the profession. Their arguments differed, but the conclusion was identical: teaching was the only path.

Daisy and her twin brother, Ethan, had grown up under this microscope. They knew the benefits by heart.

Ethan, however, possessed a spirit too large for a classroom. He dreamed of West Point, of glory. He had sworn to break the family curse. Daisy remembered the night he filled out his college applications—the shouting match with their father had shaken the house. But in the end, Ethan had outmaneuvered them. On the final night of the application window, he had quietly submitted his choice: the Military Academy.

Daisy hadn’t been so lucky. She had cried, starved herself, and begged. But her resolve was weak, and she had fainted from exhaustion. By the time Ethan tried to wake her to change her application to Jewelry Design, she was dead to the world. The deadline passed. Her dream vanished.

College became a haze of mediocrity. Surrounded by beautiful women and scarce men at the teachers’ college, she found no one who could measure up to her brother—until a basketball game in her sophomore year. A stray ball to the forehead had led to a sweet romance, but reality had been cruel. Three years of love were shattered when his wealthy family refused to accept a girl of common standing.

After graduation, she had fled Ceres City, seeking refuge in Terrence City. She thought she had escaped.

But this summer, her parents had ambushed her. She was twenty-three—an age Eleanor claimed was “dangerous” for a single woman. “If you don’t find a husband now, Daisy,” her mother had warned, “by twenty-six, you’ll be picking through the leftovers.”

Daisy sighed, pulling her phone from her pocket. It was a pink model, a gift from Ethan. His words echoed in her mind: *“If you can’t forget the past, moving on is impossible. Maybe a date is exactly what you need.”*

She slid the phone shut. Just the thought of a blind date gave her a migraine.

When the train finally hissed to a halt, Daisy dragged her suitcase off the platform, her head down. She didn’t notice the sharp edge of a bench catching the back of her denim jeans.

Outside, the bus terminal was a battlefield. Students swarmed the buses, ignoring the security guard shouting through a megaphone, “Get in line! Back of the line!”

Daisy stood on her tiptoes, scanning for the route to Springsun Apartments.

Suddenly, a firm hand tapped her shoulder.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned around.

The man standing behind her was striking—tall, with sharp features and eyes that seemed to see right through her. He was, undeniably, handsome.

“What? Do I know you?” Daisy snapped, her patience worn thin by the heat. She turned back to scanning the bus numbers.

The man stared at her profile for a beat, then cleared his throat, lowering his voice. “Excuse me, Miss. Your trousers… there’s a tear. Right on the seat.”

Daisy whipped around, glaring at him. A handsome pervert? “You creep! My pants are fine!”

Her outburst cut through the noise, drawing the attention of the crowd. People turned to stare.

The man looked slightly abashed, turning his head away and coughing into his fist.

However, the people around them were less polite. A few men nearby craned their necks, spotting the rip in her jeans, and began to whistle suggestively. “Hey, look at that! Pink lace! Hot pink!”

Daisy froze. She *was* wearing pink underwear today.

Her face scorched. She reached back, her fingers finding a gaping hole in the fabric. The man hadn’t been lying.

Panic surged. She clutched her backside, looking around wildly. Without a second thought, she abandoned the bus line, sprinting toward the taxi stand, suitcase bouncing behind her. She didn’t care about the cost anymore.

“Take me to Springsun Apartments, please!” she gasped, throwing herself into the backseat of a cab.

Back at the terminal, the crowd dispersed, chuckling. But the man remained.

He watched the yellow cab speed away, a faint, amused smile touching his lips. “A reckless little thing,” he murmured. “Though the pink suits her.”

From the shadows behind him, an assistant stepped forward, glancing at his boss. “Mr. Sterling, shall I run a background check on the ‘little rabbit’?”

The man—Sterling, the CEO of one of the city’s most powerful conglomerates—straightened his cuffs, his smile deeping. “Do it.”

Outside the grand entrance of The Royal Hotel, a commotion broke out. Two women were engaged in a tug-of-war, though their words suggested a domestic dispute rather than a physical altercation.

“Grace! Please, sis, have a heart! No more blind dates, I’m begging you! My head is about to explode!” Daisy Cloud clung desperately to her cousin’s sleeve, tears streaming down her face.

Guests entering the hotel couldn’t help but turn their heads to stare at the dramatic scene.

Grace Gu pried Daisy’s fingers loose, her expression stern. “Daisy Cloud! If you don’t find a decent man to marry by the end of this, I will have wasted all my money for nothing!”

Ignoring Daisy’s protests, Grace grabbed her by the arm and dragged her through the revolving doors of The Royal Hotel.

Whether it was Grace’s colleagues setting her up with unreliable candidates or just Daisy’s terrible luck, the past three days had been a disaster. Ten men, ten failures.

Daisy had come