“What other avenues are you looking into?” I ask, briefly looking across at Kyle, who gives me a stern look. The look that tells me not to go there. He always tenses up whenever anyone talks about babies. It pisses me off sometimes.
Sarah pushes her golden locks from her shoulder and smiles, which seems a little off tonight. It makes me wonder if she’s given up hope. I pray that isn’t the case because they would make a beautiful baby together.
Sarah is as stunning now as she was when we first met. We’ve known each other since secondary school. Despite us being polar opposites…she has blonde hair, I have dark; she has dark blue eyes, I have light brown; she’s five-four and petite, I’m five-eight with curves…we’ve always gotten along.
Come to think of it, Kyle and Ethan are opposite, too. Kyle, having thick blond hair, is not much taller than I am, whereas Ethan has short dark hair and towers over me. He’s also more toned than Kyle, working out at the gym down the road from my job. He lives a healthy lifestyle, hoping it would produce a healthy baby. I know he is going to be a fantastic father.
“We’re thinking of surrogacy.”
Ethan’s voice halted my thoughts. “Surrogacy? I ask.”
Ethan smiles brightly, but Sarah’s is still off. “Yes. We realise now that IVF won’t work, so we’ve been talking about a surrogate mother. Someone who could carry our baby.”
I frown, looking at Sarah. “You mean one who will carry the egg from you?” I look at Ethan. “And the sperm from you?”
“Not me.” I snap my head to Sarah. “My infertility runs a little more complicated than that. Not only do I have endometriosis, my eggs are of poor quality. The best solution is for another woman to carry Ethan’s baby.”
Ethan grabs Sarah’s hand and looks at her. “Our baby.”
The sadness in Sarah’s face makes my heart ache. “It’s no use, though. The chance of us finding someone who is willing to carry our baby is virtually nil.”
Just then, something comes over me. It’s almost like clarity has formed in my head. It feels as though I know why I have been put on this earth. Like, for the first time in my life, I have a purpose.
Before thinking about the implications, I blurt out, “I can be your surrogate.”
Tears fall as my husband’s cruel words whirl around my head. He could have been a little more understanding, even interested as to why I want to do this. Yes, I am curious to know what it feels like to have another life growing inside me—even knowing I won’t be a mother to the baby. I have been friends with Sarah for eighteen years. We grew up together, met our husbands together, laughed together, and cried together. We are almost like sisters. I wouldn’t think twice about doing this for my sister, so Sarah’s definitely no different.
Despite my husband’s obvious disgust at the thought, I need to go ahead with this. Something inside me still says it’s the right thing to do.
But I guess convincing Kyle is going to be harder than I imagined.
Devon Jackson is a smug, arrogant prick. He’s also CEO at Worldwide Airways, and I’m the lucky one who lands a job as his PA—a job I soon learn to regret taking.
I do absolutely everything for him, from organising his appointments to picking up condoms for him every Friday afternoon.
Why do I put up with it?
Because, despite it all, I am obsessed with him and have been since I was fifteen. He treats me like dirt, yet I still come back for more.
To him, I’m untouchable. And not only to him, but every other man on the planet. The fact he’s my brother’s best friend has seen to that. They’re both possessive jerks.
And I put up with it…for a while.
Once I put my foot down, the dynamic changes. And it is at that moment I find out how he really feels.
In fact, I find out so much more than I bargain for. Not only is Devon host to some serious demons, but he also holds a very big, dark secret. A secret that could destroy our relationship before it gets a chance to begin.
I stand over my father’s grave, wiping the tears that threaten to fall onto the soil beneath my feet. I’m wearing a black dress, which is cut just above the knee, and on my feet is a pair of brand new, black and red Louboutin high heels. I scream class, but I am also the perfect image of a daughter in deep distress over her father’s untimely death.
And what an untimely death it was.
I clutch my chest, heaving sobs of grief as I bend down to lay new flowers at his grave. I have been coming here every single day, bringing new flowers to replace the old ones. I pick up yesterday’s flowers and toss them aside as I trace the line of my father’s name on his headstone.