The Surrogate He Discarded

In the open parking lot of Hope Hospital, Richard had been sitting inside his car for nearly an hour without turning on the engine.

The hospital lights spilled across the windshield, but he barely noticed them. His attention was fixed on the glow of his cellphone, his thumb scrolling through article after article about Kristoff and his son.

He had seen the engagement photos with Charlotte before.

They were everywhere.

Charlotte stood beside Kristoff, radiant and elegant, while the baby rested safely in Kristoff’s arms. In the accompanying announcement, Kristoff had revealed that they had welcomed their child through surrogacy, explaining that he had not wanted pregnancy and childbirth to interfere with Charlotte’s career.

The three of them looked flawless.

A beautiful couple. A beautiful child. A perfect family.

The kind of family that belonged on the cover of a lifestyle magazine.

Richard stared at the photos for a long moment.

Alexander looked remarkably like Kristoff, but there were differences—subtle ones that were easy to overlook.

His gaze lingered on the baby’s face.

Something about those eyes bothered him.

Richard locked his phone and leaned back against the headrest, but the uneasiness wouldn’t leave him.

After a few seconds, he unlocked his phone again and opened his gallery.

He scrolled past photographs from the orphanage until he found the one he was looking for.

A group photo.

Charlotte, Kristof, Isobel, and him.

They were all standing together, with Isobel between him and Kristoff.

Richard enlarged the picture.

His eyes immediately went to the baby.

Then to Isobel.

He zoomed in.

There was no trace of Charlotte in him.

But the shape of Alexander’s eyes...

...the delicate arch of his eyebrows...

The resemblance wasn’t obvious at first glance, but now that Richard had seen it, he couldn’t unsee it.

They were Isobel’s eyes.

His chest tightened.

His fingers slowly curled around the phone.

Kristoff had said the child had been born through surrogacy. It should be through an IVF.

But Isobel’s words came crashing back into his mind.

I bore him a child.

The sentence echoed inside his head again and again, each repetition striking harder than the last.

Richard suddenly slammed both hands against the steering wheel.

What did Isobel meant earlier? That Alexander was hers and Kristoff’s?

”Dammit!”

His breathing grew heavier.

He was angry.

Angry at Isobel.

Why had she allowed herself to be used like that?

How could she have let Kristoff take advantage of her?

Then another memory surfaced.

Mama Rena’s voice.

An unknown benefactor donated a huge sum of money to cover the deficit.

Richard’s anger faltered.

Isobel hadn’t done it for greed.

She needed the money.

She was desperate enough to sacrifice herself for the people she loved...for the place she called home.

His jaw tightened.

No.

Isobel wasn’t the one he should be angry with.

She was a good woman. Naive, perhaps, and far too trusting—but she wasn’t cruel or calculating.

Kristoff was the one who had known exactly what he was doing.

How could he use a woman like Isobel?

And now, if Alexander really was her son by blood...

Richard’s stomach twisted.

Kristoff wasn’t merely keeping Isobel close.

He had a child tying her to him.

A child she had carried for nine months, a child she had given birth to, yet one she was forced to watch from a distance while another woman played the role of his mother.

Richard’s gaze remained fixed on the photograph.

Then a search suggestion appeared on his screen.

Would you like to check the recent rumors about Kristoff Dalton and Charlotte Harris breaking off their engagement?

Richard stared at the question for a moment.

His thumb hovered over the screen before he typed a single word.

Yes.

The AI assistant immediately pulled up several recent articles. One caught his attention—a post written by a blogger who claimed to be a close friend of Charlotte.

According to the blogger, the rumors were true.

Kristoff had indeed called off his engagement to Charlotte.

The reason?

Irreconcilable differences.

Richard let out a short, humorless chuckle.

”Irreconcilable differences,” he repeated with a trace of disdain.

He shook his head.

”It should say Isobel.”

His eyes narrowed as he stared at the screen.

”She was the reason you broke things off with Charlotte, wasn’t she?”

A bitter smile touched his lips.

”That cunning man.”

The more pieces fell into place, the more convinced Richard was that Kristoff had deliberately kept the truth hidden.

”Is he sincere with Isobel or is he just playing some game and using Isobel as a pawn?”

Isobel’s invention was unprecedented in the history of Ambrussia.

If he was just using Isobel....

His phone suddenly rang, slicing cutting through his thoughts.

Richard answered without checking the caller ID.

”Hello?”

”Richard.”

Kristal’s sweet voice came through the line.

Richard frowned and straightened slightly.

”Yes?”

”Grandma asked me to call you. She had someone prepare your favorite dish. She wants you to come to the villa for dinner.”

Kristal paused before adding warmly, ”She also wants to thank you for accompanying me last night.”

Richard closed his eyes.

He wanted to refuse.

The last thing he needed was another social obligation when his mind was already in turmoil.

But this was Grandma Sharon.

He couldn’t bring himself to disappoint her.

”All right,” he finally said.

At the other side, a small smile appeared on Kristal’s voice.

”Really? You’ll come?”

”Yes.”

After ending the call, Richard placed the phone face down on the car’s dashboard.

Perhaps going to the villa was for the best.

He needed somewhere else to be. Someone else to talk to. Anything that would keep his mind from returning to Isobel’s confession.

Because if he stayed here any longer, he was afraid he would keep looking at that photograph.

And the more he looked at Alexander’s face, the more pain he would feel.

Richard finally started the engine.

Tomorrow, he would go to the office early.

He would accommodate more meetings.

He would bury himself in work, in reports and contracts.

Anything.

As long as it kept him from thinking about Isobel...about the domineering Kristoff and about that baby Alexander with Isobel’s eyes.