The Surrogate He Discarded

Meanwhile, in the penthouse suite, Charlotte’s phone buzzed with an incoming video. She tapped the screen, expecting nothing of consequence.

Instead, her blood ran cold.

The footage showed Kristoff stepping away from the crowd before moving to Isobel’s side. Without hesitation, he escorted her toward the exclusive VIP section, his attention fixed solely on her as if no one else in the room existed.

Charlotte replayed the clip, hoping her eyes had deceived her.

They hadn’t.

The image was unmistakable.

A sharp, furious scream tore from her throat. In a fit of rage, she hurled her phone across the room. It landed harmlessly on the plush carpet, bouncing once before coming to rest, completely intact.

”Bitch!” she hissed through clenched teeth. ”How dare she? How dare she try to steal Kristoff from me? She’ll regret this. I swear I’ll make her pay.”

Her chest rose and fell with each ragged breath, but she forced herself to regain control. Anger alone would not win Kristoff back.

After carefully touching up her makeup until no trace of her outburst remained, she slipped into a figure-hugging sage green Chanel dress that radiated effortless elegance. With one final look in the mirror, her expression transformed into a poised, confident smile.

Moments later, Charlotte swept out of the penthouse and made her way back to the summit hall.

She refused to stand by and watch Isobel charm the man she had already claimed in her heart.

Never.

...

Charlotte spotted Kristoff seated at the VIP table, deep in conversation with Morgan.

From the seriousness in their expressions, it was obvious that they were talking about business.

Seeing them together stirred memories she had long tucked away.

Morgan and Kristoff had always been rivals.

Back in college, Morgan had been a junior while Kristoff was a freshman. Both were extraordinary talents. Both were stars on the university’s varsity basketball team. Morgan was the respected captain—the face of the team. Then Kristoff arrived.

It didn’t take long before whispers spread across campus that the Kristoff was outshining the captain.

Morgan had the experience. Kristoff had the raw talent.

Morgan was the undisputed king of the court. Kristoff was the rising prodigy everyone wanted to watch.

Every game became a comparison between the two. Every practice turned into an unspoken competition. The sports pages debated who deserved more recognition. Even the coaching staff was said to favor Kristoff’s explosive potential over Morgan’s polished leadership.

The rivalry soon spilled beyond the basketball court.

Both were campus heartthrobs with devoted admirers following them wherever they went. Girls screamed their names during games, slipped love letters into their lockers, and fought for seats closest to them.

Charlotte had proudly founded Kristoff’s fan club.

Katherine, naturally, became the president of Morgan’s.

The two fan clubs competed almost as fiercely as the players themselves. They decorated opposite sides of the gymnasium with banners, argued endlessly over who was the better player, and even tried to outdo each other during campus events. The debate over who deserved the title of the university’s ultimate heartthrob became legendary.

In Charlotte’s eyes, there had never been any contest.

Kristoff had always been destined to surpass Morgan.

And he did.

The day Morgan graduated, the crown passed to Kristoff without challenge. He became the undisputed king of the campus, the athlete every freshman admired and every girl dreamed of dating.

Yet judging from the icy looks the two men exchanged at the VIP table, Charlotte realized one thing.

Time had changed their status.

It had never buried their rivalry.

...

A sudden wave of applause from the far end of the summit hall pulled Charlotte from her thoughts.

Her brows knitted together.

What now?

She followed the sound and immediately found the source of the commotion.

Isobel.

She stood confidently at the Aioryx exhibition booth, which had become the busiest display in the entire hall.

A crowd of executives, investors, journalists, and technology enthusiasts surrounded her, hanging on every word she said.

Charlotte frowned.

She had changed into a tailored business suit and hidden half her face behind oversized sunglasses, hoping to blend into the crowd unnoticed. Curious—and unwilling to believe Isobel deserved so much attention—she edged closer.

”...our adaptive neural architecture reduces processing latency by nearly forty percent while maintaining data integrity...”

”...the system can identify anomalies in real time using predictive behavioral modeling...”

”...our proprietary algorithm allows seamless integration without replacing existing infrastructure...”

One question after another flew from the audience.

And one after another, Isobel answered without the slightest hesitation.

Charlotte understood almost nothing of the technical jargon. It sounded like a completely different language.

The others, however, understood perfectly.

She watched seasoned executives nod in approval. Engineers exchanged impressed glances. Reporters scribbled furiously into their notebooks. Every answer Isobel gave drew more admiration, more applause, and even more people toward the booth.

By the time she finished answering another question, several attendees were already lining up just to speak with her.

Charlotte’s nails dug painfully into her palms.

Why?

Why was everyone looking at that woman as though she were some kind of genius?

The attention... the praise... the admiration...

Those should have belonged to her.

Unable to bear another second, Charlotte spun on her heel and strode away.

Thud!

She collided with someone.

”Miss, please be careful.”

It was a calm, elegant woman’s voice.

Charlotte looked up, annoyance flashing across her face.

The moment she recognized the woman standing before her, her expression froze.

Claire Landers.

The name instantly transported Charlotte back to their college days.

If Katherine had been Morgan’s fiercest supporter, Claire had been his greatest cheerleader—quite literally. As co-leader of the university’s cheer squad, she had rallied Morgan’s fans with infectious energy, often turning every basketball game into a battlefield between the two camps.

Charlotte had led Kristoff’s fan club.

Claire had stood proudly on Morgan’s side.

The two of them had clashed more than once, exchanging sharp words and competing over everything—from who had the louder supporters to which star player truly ruled the campus.

What irritated Charlotte the most was that Claire had always outshone her on the sidelines. Her routines were flawless, her charisma effortless, and the crowd adored her.

”Claire Landers.”

Charlotte’s lips curved into a courteous smile, her voice perfectly pleasant despite the memories swirling in her mind.

”What a coincidence.”