The orphanage was always noisy during lunchtime—children shouting, food clattering, someone crying because their banana was missing. But little Alex, with his fluffy brown hair and chubby cheeks, sat quietly in a corner, hugging his teddy bear tightly.
He wasn't like the other kids who dreamed of toys, chocolates, or video games.
Alex had one dream.
"I want a CEO daddy," he whispered to his teddy, "Someone rich and cool... someone who wears a suit and has a big house… but also hugs me and calls me my son with a smile…"
The aunty-in-charge often laughed when he said this.
"A CEO, huh? Not even a regular dad?" she'd say, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Nope," Alex would puff up his cheeks. "A CEO daddy. The one who plays with me and protects me."
But fate wasn't funny. One rainy evening, a couple came to the orphanage. Their faces were pale, their eyes cold, and they barely said a word.
"We want him," they pointed at Alex.
The staff hesitated. But the paperwork was fine. They adopted him.
It should've been the happiest day of his life.
But it wasn't.
---
Days passed, and Alex realized something was wrong. They never smiled. They never hugged him. They yelled when he asked for help with homework. They scolded him if he dropped a spoon.
"Stop acting like a baby!"
"Why are you always talking about CEO this and CEO that?"
He stopped talking. Stopped dreaming.
Until one afternoon.
They were heading to the grocery store, Alex walking silently behind them. The streetlight blinked red, but no one held his hand. The couple walked ahead, still shouting at each other.
And then—a loud honk.
A car.
A flash of headlights.
Then—
Darkness.
---
Alex slowly opened his eyes.
Bright white lights. Shiny floors. People walking around with tablets and ID cards.
"Where… am I?"
He sat up, rubbing his eyes.
Huge posters of video games were all around. Lifelike animations, characters, glowing dragons…
Was this… heaven?
No.
A sign nearby read: "Infinite Loop Studios – No.1 Game Development Company in the Country."
Alex's eyes sparkled.
"A game company?!" he gasped. "Then… then there must be… a CEO!"
Without hesitation, the little boy wandered off, past the blinking security gate (which strangely didn't stop him), and into the building.
People turned as he passed by.
"Who is this child?"
"Oh my god, he's so cute!"
"Look at those eyes!"
"Wait, is he lost?"
But Alex kept walking confidently.
He finally reached a big wooden door that said: "CEO – Ethan Carter."
He knocked.
Then opened the door.
Then climbed onto the CEO's big leather chair and waited.
---
A few minutes later, the door burst open.
Tall. Sharp suit. Black hair. Jawline that could cut glass. And eyes that looked like they hadn't slept in three years.
Ethan Carter.
He paused.
"...What the hell."
Alex looked up at him with the most innocent eyes in the world.
"Are you the CEO?"
"Yes," Ethan blinked.
Alex smiled.
"Will you be my daddy?"