The Surrogate He Discarded

Isobel froze.

She knew that voice.

For the past three months, it had haunted her waking thoughts and slipped into her dreams when she least expected it. There were nights when she could almost hear him whispering her name, only to wake up and find nothing but silence.

Kristoff.

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

So the baby really was Alex.

Her son with Kristoff.

No wonder her heart ached to hear his cries. No wonder she felt a connection to him the moment she held him.

And perhaps, the baby also felt it. For how could he calm down when she held him?

Isobel’s gaze remained fixed on the child nestled in her arms. Alex rested peacefully against her chest, his tiny fingers curled around the fabric of her dress as if he had found the safest place in the world. A soft coo escaped his lips, followed by a sleepy smile that melted across his cherubic face.

She held him instinctively, naturally.

As though she had done it countless times before.

As though every part of her body remembered what her mind was desperately trying to suppress.

Kristoff’s jaw tightened.

The woman had clearly heard him, yet she remained completely absorbed in the baby. Her head was lowered, her attention fixed solely on Alex.

His irritation flared.

”What the hell are you doing?”

This time, his voice cut through the room like a whip.

Isobel stiffened.

Kristoff’s eyes darkened as they locked onto the child in her arms.

”Who allowed you to hold my son?”

Startled by the sharp accusation, Isobel slowly lifted her head.

The moment their eyes met, the world seemed to stop.

Kristoff took an involuntary step backward.

Then he stood motionless.

Frozen.

The blood drained from his face.

When he first saw her from afar, he thought she merely resembled Isobel.

But now...now she was right in front of him.

Alive, real and even more beautiful.

He had imagined countless ways they might meet again but not at a time like this and a place like this.

Never this. Never with their son in her arms.

”It’s you...”

The words barely escaped his lips. They were little more than a breath.

Charlotte’s stomach twisted.

She saw it. The shock and the disbelief on Kristoff’s face.

So, the woman could still affect him in ways that Kristoff did not realize.

Her fingernails dug painfully into her palms.

With a subtle glance, she signaled the nanny. The nanny immediately stepped forward and carefully took Alex from Isobel’s arms.

The instant the warmth left her embrace, Isobel felt an unexpected ache in her chest.

Charlotte forced a smile.

”Why did you let a stranger hold Baby Alex?”

Her voice was gentle. Almost sweet. But her eyes were sharp enough to draw blood.

”If something had happened to him, would you have been able to take responsibility?”

The nanny paled. Her shoulders trembled as she lowered her head.

Before anyone else could speak, Pamela finally stepped forward.

”Ma’am, if I may.”

Her tone remained respectful, but there was steel beneath it.

”The baby was crying pitifully earlier. In my ten years of caring for children, I’ve never heard a baby cry so hard and for so long.”

Pamela glanced briefly at Alex’s nanny.

”Nothing worked. Rocking him, carrying him, feeding him—nothing. He cried until his face turned red and the nanny could not soothe him. Honestly, I was afraid something might happen to him.”

Alex’s nanny bit her lip.

She wanted to defend herself. But she couldn’t. The baby had rejected every bottle she offered.

Pamela continued.

”Miss Isobel only stepped in because she couldn’t bear to watch anymore.”

Her eyes shifted toward Isobel.

”And the moment she held him...”

Pamela shook her head in amazement.

”He stopped crying and calmed down.”

The words struck Kristoff harder than they should have.

Calmed down.

The phrase echoed repeatedly inside his mind. So, she could calm the baby even without trying. Did Alex recognized his mother?

But he was only three months old.

His gaze drifted back to Isobel.

Three months. Only three months. Yet she looked entirely different.

The softness pregnancy had added to her figure was gone. Her face had regained its delicate oval shape, her features more refined than ever. Her skin glowed with a healthy radiance, and there was a quiet maturity about her now that hadn’t been there before.

She looked stronger. More beautiful. More dangerous.

His eyes dropped to her chest unintentionally before he caught himself.

His throat tightened.

The changes motherhood had brought to her body were impossible to miss.

And suddenly, an uncomfortable realization hit him.

Pamela’s next words landed like a bomb.

”And perhaps that’s also why he’s so content right now.”

Every head turned toward her. Pamela pointed at the sleeping baby.

”He isn’t hungry anymore.”

Charlotte frowned.

”What do you mean?”

Pamela blinked innocently. ”Miss Isobel breastfed him.”

The room went dead silent. Even the air seemed to stop moving.

Alex’s nanny trembled and nearly dropped the baby.

If looks could kill, Pamela would have been buried six feet underground. The nanny wanted nothing more than to sew the woman’s mouth shut.

Pamela, however, remained blissfully unaware.

”He liked it too,” she added.

Charlotte’s composure shattered.

”What?!” She lost control and her voice rose sharply.

”You mean she breastfed Baby Alex?”

The accusation rang through the room, leaving a stunned silence in its wake.

Pamela blinked innocently.

”The baby practically latched onto her even through the dress,” she explained. ”Maybe he liked her scent.”

Kristoff’s gaze drifted back to Isobel.

She had risen from her chair, her head lowered as though she wished to avoid the attention.

Then slowly, she looked up. Their eyes met.

For the first time since their unexpected reunion, neither of them looked away.

Three months of separation.

The tension between them was so palpable that everyone in the room could feel it.

Suddenly, Charlotte’s outrage seemed insignificant compared to whatever silent battle was unfolding between the two.

Charlotte noticed it too. And she hated it. A flash of jealousy burned through her chest.

”How dare you, Nanny Darcy!”

Her voice cracked like a whip.

The nanny immediately lowered her head.

”I-I apologize, Ma’ams—”

”Apologize?” Charlotte laughed coldly. ”Do you think an apology is enough?”

Her eyes narrowed.

”That woman is nursing other babies, and you allowed her to feed Alex?”

The disgust in her voice was unmistakable.

She turned toward Isobel and swept a contemptuous gaze over her from head to toe, as though looking at something unclean.

”As if anyone knows where she’s been or what she’s carrying.”

The room fell silent.

Even the servants looked uncomfortable.

Kristoff frowned. Charlotte had crossed a line.

But before he could speak, a calm voice cut through the room.

”Miss Harris...”

Everyone turned.

Isobel’s expression remained composed, but a flicker of relief appeared in her eyes.

”Are you implying that my babies are filthy?”