The Surrogate He Discarded

The viral video that showed Morgan rising from his seat to drape his coat over Isobel surpassed three million views in less than three hours.

Another account posted side-by-side screenshots.

One showed Morgan looking at business partners during previous events. The other showed him looking at Isobel.

The difference was impossible to miss.

The caption simply read:

”Corporate Morgan vs. In Love Morgan.”

The internet collectively lost its mind.

By evening, the rumors had evolved into something much bigger. People were no longer asking whether Morgan liked Isobel.

They were asking how long they had been together. Some claimed they had been secretly dating for months.

Others insisted she was the mysterious woman who had captured the famously unattainable billionaire’s heart.

A few were already planning their wedding.

The most absurd theory claimed that Morgan had attended the summit for one reason alone—to support Isobel’s performance.

Judging by the flood of comments, thousands had accepted it as fact.

It was as though everyone had conveniently forgotten that Morgan Foster was a married man. Just hours earlier, he and Isobel had presented KitKat, a revolutionary product named after his twins. During her interview after the song, Isobel herself had acknowledged Kristine and spoken of her with respect.

None of it mattered.

People weren’t looking for the truth.

They were looking for a story.

A gossip...

A scandal..

A version of reality exciting enough to satisfy their hunger for entertainment, whether it was true or not.

...

Inside Aioryx headquarters, employees watched the frenzy unfold with stunned expressions.

Because unlike the public, they knew one thing.

Morgan Foster had never publicly shown that level of concern for anyone.

Ever.

Which only made the rumors seem even more believable.

Meanwhile, amateur body-language experts emerged from nowhere.

One popular influencer posted a ten-minute analysis.

According to her, Morgan’s posture, eye contact, and protective gestures all pointed toward one conclusion.

The billionaire CEO was hopelessly smitten.

...

At Hayes Villa, Katherine let out a sharp, delighted laugh as she scrolled through the trending topics on her phone.

”Poor Kristine,” she muttered with a smug smile. ”I warned you, but you wouldn’t believe me. Now look where that blind trust has gotten you.”

The last time she’d tried to warn Kristine about Morgan, her sister had only gotten angry with her. Katherine had insisted her intentions were good.

They weren’t.

Not entirely.

She had always hated the certainty in Kristine’s voice whenever she spoke about Morgan—as if no force in the world could ever shake his loyalty to her. That unwavering confidence irritated Katherine more than she cared to admit.

But if she were honest with herself, it wasn’t hatred.

It was envy.

Kristine had found an extraordinary man, and he loved her with unwavering devotion.

Katherine had dated plenty of handsome, wealthy men, but they had only admired her beauty. Their affection was shallow, fleeting, and easily replaced.

Kristine, on the other hand, had only ever loved one man.

And that one man had given her his whole heart and his world.

It wasn’t fair.

Katherine couldn’t accept it.

A slow smile spread across her lips.

”Sis, I know you’re hurting right now,” she murmured. ”Don’t worry. I’ll be there for you.”

She tapped Kristine’s number and waited for the call to connect.

When Kristine answered, Katherine’s voice instantly turned shaky and full of concern.

”Sis...”

”Whatever you do, don’t look at your phone right now.”

At the Foster Mansion, Kristine had just tucked the twins into bed. Frowning, she stepped quietly out of the nursery and lowered her voice.

”What’s wrong, Katie?”

....

”Oh, thank goodness,” Katherine said, letting out a relieved sigh. ”For a second, I thought you’d already seen it.”

”Seen what?” Kristine asked, her voice sharpening. ”Katie, stop talking in circles. Tell me what’s going on.”

Katherine hesitated, deliberately stretching the silence.

”I... I didn’t know whether I should call. But I figured it was better if you heard it from me than from someone else.”

That much was true.

If she waited any longer, Morgan’s people would probably scrub every photo, video, and article from the internet before Kristine ever saw them.

”Sis...” Katherine said softly, ”Whatever you’re about to see, please don’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation. Morgan would never intentionally hurt you.”

Kristine’s uneasiness deepened.

Without another word, she walked back into the nursery. The twins were sleeping peacefully in their cribs.

She picked up the tablet on the side table and opened the news feed.

The top trending topic filled the screen.

Morgan and Isobel.

The Photos.

The Videos.

The hashtag #Mobel.

Kristine’s fingers froze around the tablet.

Her heart skipped a beat.

”Sis?” Katherine’s anxious voice came through the speaker. ”Sis... are you still there?”

Kristine stared at the screen, her mind refusing to process what her eyes were seeing.

Photo after photo.

Video after video.

Morgan and Isobel arriving at the same hotel. This one, she knew that they would be attending a Tech Summit today.

But then there was Morgan looking worried when Isobel was splashed with juices and wine...

Morgan draping his suit jacket over her shoulders.

From the carefully chosen angles, they looked every bit like an intimate couple.

Her grip on the tablet tightened.

”No...” she whispered.

Morgan would never do this. Not him. There had to be an explanation.

On the other end of the line, Katherine remained silent, waiting for the seed of doubt to take root.

”Sis...” she said gently. ”I know what you’re thinking.”

Kristine swallowed hard.

”These pictures don’t prove anything.”

”They don’t,” Katherine agreed at once. ”But... the videos are harder to explain.”

With trembling fingers, Kristine tapped one of the clips.

The footage showed Morgan watching Isobel on the stage as she was singing. He looked mesmerized.

The clip ended there.

Kristine looked at the photos again.

This time, she forced herself to ignore the captions, the comments, and the hashtags. She focused only on Morgan.

On his eyes. On his expression.

Then a memory surfaced.

Years ago, Morgan had sat through his younger sister’s first major recital. He had worn that same look the entire evening—a quiet mixture of pride, encouragement, and protectiveness.

The same look.

Kristine exhaled slowly, the knot in her chest loosening.

Morgan wasn’t looking at Isobel the way a man looked at a woman he desired. The way he looked at her.

He was looking at her the way he looked at someone he wanted to support.

Like a younger sister. Like family.

A faint smile touched Kristine’s lips.

The internet had seen romance because that was what it wanted to see.

She saw something entirely different.

”Sis?” Katherine’s voice broke through her thoughts. ”Sis, are you still there?”

For the first time since opening the articles, Kristine sounded calm.

”I’m here.”

Katherine’s heart skipped a beat.

”Sis, please don’t do anything rash.”

Kristine let out a soft laugh.

”Katie, don’t worry.”

Her gaze drifted back to the photos.

”I am not foolish.”